The Have-Not Nines

By Augustus Boarsblood

It is The Place for the New World's Reckoning of the Old.

It is Time... for the Arrival of The Doc-Rua.

Both the purpose and focus of the Vanja University has shifted. The students are no longer allowed to choose their paths - instead, the City's Youth are given aptitude tests and pressed into service depending upon "results". An outcry of rebellious orphans refuses to cooperate with the reclamation and re-education project - leading to disastrous and dire penalties. The natural curiosity of youth seemingly becomes a beacon of rebellious solidarity, but the punishments for questioning authority are beyond disproportionate.
In their efforts to reconcile the Old World with the New, Joseph is expelled to the West, Verges to the East - and each attempt to return, reinstated, based upon their scientific discoveries. The false pretenses which forced their exile leaves a vacuum of leadership amongst the Orphan-students, who desperately struggle on the streets of 'Salem, as they often resort to criminal acts in an effort to survive.
In the East, Verges and Saleh are tasked with offering their medical developments to aid against the spread of a mysterious Memory-Wasting illness which plagues the citizens of 'Salem. Saleh's nomads - the Masked Men - engage in mutiny for what they feel is an insult to their ancestral ways as the Keepers of Time. A recently paroled Charon the Volonte becomes the political voice of the Populus while being manipulated by Joseph's competitor and classmate, Dr. Hilo.
In order to avert a civil war on the streets, Hilo re-designs Bentham's Panopticon and uses it to wipe the memory of 'Salem's outspoken citizens with a horrific, new technology called The Brights. From afar, a new Soul Detective - Bara - takes up arms against such violence - just as his predecessors had - in order to restore the City's Memory of Itself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B09LWP5FPT
• ISBN13: 9798471575837
• Release Date: November 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"