At Moolka Waxtor's farewell party in the English Department offices, Derrick Dexter recoils in dismay at their out-of-control lovemaking in a closet minutes earlier. How can he handle an affair with his flirty cousin? Should he try to escape the oppressive Soul Institute with her? How can he deal with his wife Jipo, TSI's ruthless administrator? But Moolka, now fully in love with Derrick, tearfully declares she's decided to stay at the Institute even as Director Alfred Burlcron hires a midlevel computer technician from Chicago, Himal Steina, to replace her as the writer in residence. Burlcron makes Himal one of the secret ruling caste of Overcrons, but Himal falls for Moolka and begins chronicling his feelings for her in the pornographic memoir TSI is committed to publish. Michael D. Smith was raised in the Northeast and the Chicago area, then moved to Texas to attend Rice University, where he began developing as a writer and visual artist. The seven novels in his Jack Commer science fiction series, The Martian Marauders; Jack Commer, Supreme Commander; Nonprofit Chronowar; Collapse and Delusion; The Wounded Frontier; The SolGrid Rebellion; and Balloon Ship Armageddon, are published by Sortmind Press. In addition, Sortmind Press has published his literary novels Sortmind, The Soul Institute, Akard Drearstone, CommWealth, Jump Grenade, and Asylum and Mirage.Smith's web site, sortmind.com, contains further examples of his novels and visual art, and he muses about writing and art processes at blog.sortmind.com.
