City of Thicket

Do you know the tale of the man who tried to live forever? Imagine a world without the urge to follow. Imagine a creature that has in its hereditary traits the ability to live forever. Imagine connecting everyone in a realm most comfortable, where the impression of heaven is closer than we all think. For the past seventeen years, Oscar Sunder, an electronics specialist for the Silver Collar Society, has been working on the design for a comp-ucube, an isolated processor that can re-imagine a way for humans to live forever. He knows how powerful the device will be and if fallen into the wrong hands, what it will mean to the population of Thicket. When Oscar loses his wife and child in a SCS raid against the absconders of the wasteland, he is faced with a new routine that involves black market sales and gypsy fortune tellers. On the most important day of his career, the blueprints for the comp-ucube is stolen and a mysterious young girl is dropped on his doorstep with news of his daughter's recent disappearance. With the legend of the immortal man growing each day through the rumors that spread across Thicket, Oscar sets out to find his daughter, but he does not know who to trust. If the comp-ucube is able to free the minds of everyone in Thicket, what will stop the immortal man from using it against those who stand in his way? Who should Oscar trust if he is to get his daughter back? Whose actions should Oscar scrutinize to insure safe passage? Why is the Silver Collar Society determined to read into and record everyone's beliefs? If Oscar cares, he may be the only Silver Collar specialist with the authority to re-imagine and salvage the last stronghold in existence. Arlita stands to return the thick book back to its shelf. "Your confidence not only amazes me, Sunder. It frightens me." She turns to face me. "My advice is a warning."Not the best thing in the world, but next to it." I laugh at Arlita's warning, having heard the same excuse a hundred times in the past."Ev