THE RISE OF NEGA-STATE:The inhabitants of Nega-State were the greatest threat to Herman and his allies. Yet they did not start out that way. This territory had a very strange beginning: it was created when a group of monks found a mysterious crystal in their monastery. That crystal slowly transformed the nearby city, the surrounding countryside and the people who lived there.Among those facing this calamity are the monks of the monastery, the Liaison Officer, Stranger, Maurice the bouncer, the Old Woman, Brother Joy and many others.This novella is a series of vignettes and interconnected stories that chronicle the transformation of the city and the rise of Nega-State.THE SECRETS OF BROTHER JOY:Having escaped to the territory of Bliss, Brother Joy gave up on the idea of going home. Mysteriously, Brother Joy remembered what happened in the past while those around him did not. What's more, he also escaped the changes that were brought on by the crystals. Eventually, he met the inhabitants of Bliss and settled into his new life.Then others started showing an interest in the territory of Bliss. The local inhabitants called on Brother Joy to help in their negotiations with Nega-State, Posi-State and Civilization. Some members of these delegations may have had prior experiences with Brother Joy. While all claim not to have any memories of the past, some could be lying. A few of them may have had hidden grudges as well!THE GREATER THEFT:The inhabitants of Nega-State were the greatest threat to Herman and his allies. Yet they did not start out that way. This territory had a very strange beginning: it was created when a group of monks found a mysterious crystal in their monastery. That crystal slowly transformed the nearby city, the surrounding countryside and the people who lived there.Among those facing this calamity are the monks of the monastery, the Liaison Officer, Stranger, Maurice the bouncer, the Old Woman, Brother Joy and many others.This novella is a series of vignettes and interconnected stories that chronicle the transformation of the city and the rise of Nega-State. A.J. Slipchenko is a Canadian who wrote Herman's dream and the Pre-Herman series (The Rise of Nega-State, the Secrets of Brother Joy and the Greater Theft) which were inspired by undergrad psychology and sociology classes taken at university.After university, he taught English internationally where he developed an interest in travel, photography and different cultures.When not creating new psychological vistas, he drinks coffee.
