CARL SAMPSON-Author of the MINDWIRE TRILOGY-
dystopian future thriller fiction
Sample Page
Samples for MindWire and The Sibyl and Mythic will follow.
MindWire

It could have been the opening sequence of a movie. A slow-motion, wide-angled, two minute take of the main entrance hall of a building. Security staff running in all directions, then huddled at the far end of the room trying to hold down a slight young woman. The woman was wearing some kind of black all-in-one, body-hugging suit that trailed electrical wires and connections. Whose view was this? The young woman at the centre of all the hubbub, one of the security staff trying hard to secure an arm lock; or the people watching here or on video screens elsewhere — even somewhere remote from this place?
The girl broke free and ran again, slipping past the grasp of the second security officer; the first was still clutching his groin. Upstairs, her superior was watching the unfolding drama on a video display while trying to stem the blood flow from his nose. The girl was small, but in spite of this had wreaked mayhem; she punched like a seasoned boxer and kicked like a horse.
The opening sequence was coming to a close. The girl was now corralled into a corner and pinned against a wall by five security guards. The hypodermic needle which had been searching for her slid in easily, and they supported the girl as her body went limp.
The Sibyl

The information revolution had really begun with the SensApps. Initially, the technology had used the early forms of surveillance developed in the Mindwire program. There had been some concerns over privacy but in the last few years the corporations and the government had undertaken a massive advertising effort to demonstrate the benefits of data-sharing. So it took very little time for the SensApps to take over. People soon forgot the controversy over the fallout of ‘Mendesgate’ and the government’s use of the Mindwire program.
Even though sibyls had increased in numbers and were still employed as data seers by the government and numerous corporations, it was the people, ironically enough, that were spying on themselves through the SensApps. The SensApps were freely downloadable to the devices of the moment, including the new InfoWatch. To the savvy individual, any fragment of information about body or mind processes was available at a glance. The SensApps offered the long held dream of opening up the inner experience of the human mind. Emotional, cognitive and physiological data was heavily number crunched and then fed to the corporations, helping them sell those indispensable products which they considered necessary to life. Life was no longer private, it was part of an immense database — a functional equivalent of life itself stored on huge computers with cloud access.
Mythic.​

Message incoming:
234.562.997. 113.212.764. 333.112.799 12. conjunction soon - location?
323.443.644. 664.667.111. 12.
219.657.774. 12.
Channel empty ...
Cypher integral ...
Revert ...
It had been 10 years since we had all given up the com devices, the phones and then the InfoWatches and wearables. People had protested about the use of the network and devices. There had been so many abuses of the information gathered from the system, or ConnectWeb as it was called then, that the Freedom party based its whole political manifesto on ridding society of the devices. So, we voted against the machines and the Freedom Party won a landslide on the promise to stop monitoring and limit the use of machines. Everyone partied for days. The name of the network was changed and new rules and regulations were put in place as soon as they could be. But nothing changed, in fact, it got worse; they got rid of the devices and replaced them with the chipping program. We were told about its benefits; how it would improve health, security, even help with loneliness! That was a complete joke. The reality was that every thought and emotion was recorded, permanently stored and no doubt studied in depth. Miniaturisation had meant that a tiny chip could now be implanted in tissue at the back of the neck. It was implemented when a child reached the age of five and retrospectively for all those older. A short and sweet procedure taking a few minutes and no need for hospitalisation. Of course the kids loved it, since it gave them instant communication with their friends wherever they were. As the advertisements said, ‘No man is an island’. The kids always accept what comes along, only with the passing of time do they become more suspicious or critical. The rest of us gradually realised that this was the beginning of complete slavery. Every thought was rendered and stored on the system and could even be used against you as evidence in court. A great hidden hand that could exact retribution at the slightest thought.