Andre's Attendant

By Stephen A. Theberge

The story begins in the 2030s. The Great Purge, a plague infinitely worse than Covid, wipes out a large part of the world's population. After his long convalescence, Andre, a wealthy writer, is now a paraplegic as well as blind. He engages Jared, a solicitous personal care attendant, and manages to remain more or less independent in his boyhood home on the East Coast.

Andre also invests in android development. After all, androids are very much needed to fill many jobs after the deaths of so many humans. But neither Andre's motives nor those of a great many others are entirely altruistic.

The story moves quickly into the worlds of mob bosses, drug deals, prostitution, and even art forgery, but also into the emotional realm of growing attachment between Andre and Jared.

What people thought were their servants soon get more ambitious ideas, and they move into the world of politics. They twist religious texts into cloaks of respectability and justification for their actions. The results of their power grab, of course, are disastrous for humankind. Only the epilogue offers a hint of rebellion and a ray of hope.

Succinct, often moving, and chillingly plausible, this is a tale of near-future possibilities that we can only hope are not just over the horizon here in 2023.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CK3VTS6X
• ISBN13: 9798862121230
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 78 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"