WIP: The Kingdom of Heaven Projected word count: 35-40K. Summary: A woman working for a futuristic intelligence agency is sent beyond the reaches of civilization in order to infiltrate and take down a mysterious cult known as the "Kingdom of Heaven".
Yes, I know. We're all sick of dystopias. We're living in one. That's why this isn't a dystopia, it's a response to a dystopia. Although I've been formulating dystopic worldbuilding for years, the plot is driven more by character than worldbuilding. Which is why you'll have to forgive me if the first few chapters resemble a dystopia. Maybe it'll be a cliche. I don't care. I want to write it. Maybe it'll at least be entertaining to a certain audience on Tumblr. I know better than to think a book with a premise like this would be marketable any time soon. I won't spoil it, though. I have nearly the entire plot figured out so with luck I'll finish quickly.
Chapters added in reblog. Follow for periodic updates.
“Alex.” The Administrator met my eyes, and I flinched. She was a gray woman, not just of hair, but of countenance. Her entire appearance was like marble, from the starched legs of her pantsuit to her straight shoulders to her bloodless lips; but her eyes were only nearly gray. They were the icy, bleached blue of a January sky, threatening to snow, and her pupils were chips of flint, tiny flecks that suggested she could see past my flesh into my soul, and loathed what she found there. It was enough to intimidate a grown adult. To complete the statuesque illusion, her angular body stood a full six feet and one inch.
I looked away, but she continued to stare down on me. “Your resume is impressive,” she said. “Perhaps too impressive.”
Chapter Three:
*
Every part of the Central building was largely the same in color and nature. Smooth, gray hallways led to smooth, black rooms. I rode the lift down to level twelve.
There were windows on level twelve. From the end of one of the hallways I could see out on the city. It wasn’t particularly scenic from this angle, but I thought it was impressive in its own way. I looked down into a deep crevasse between two buildings, an alleyway filled with a jumble of fire escapes.
No building in the Settlement had windows above level twelve.
Chapter Four:
*
In another room on level eleven, Cam double-tapped a large pane of glass.
This was the gym; one of the walls was mirrored and this time there were a few other DYNTEC employees around. Most of them were preoccupied with their own workout routine, doing push-ups, pull-ups, or lifting weights with various levers and pulleys.
The wall that Cam had tapped quickly faded from black to transparent. Within the transparent surface, a display of lights and lines appeared. Behind the lights and lines, there was an enormous display of guns.
Chapter Four Part Two:
*
There was an indoor pool on the tenth floor of the Central building.
“You need to learn how to swim,” said Cam.
For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine why.
Chapter Five:
*
I learned to shoot a gun ground-up from zero. Cam wasn’t always alone in this; there were other instructors. One of them was a Sergeant named Jesse. He was a man in his 40’s with a receding hairline and a perpetual frown. I respected him, because he was the one who stopped me when I was making ridiculous mistakes. Cam never did that.
Cam’s idea of “teaching me to shoot” was all about being a fast and accurate draw.
Jesse put the horse more in front of the cart.
Chapter Six:
*
I was an only child.
My parents’ Profiles and genome were clean enough to have a second, but like most people, they were dependent on the sizeable financial stipend issued for not doing so.
Chapter 7 pt 1: (splitting so I can catch back up)
*
“Alex.” Cam moved only his eyes as he spoke to me from his desk. His tone was unusual: a little quiet, as though he didn’t want to be overheard, but deliberately nonchalant. I moved closer.
Chapter 7 pt. 2:
*
When talking with superiors, it is usually advisable to put on the blankest face you possibly can, so that you can’t be accused of thinking anything.
Chapter 8:
*
“They call themselves the Kingdom of Heaven,” said Cam, reading from the screen.
Chapter 9 part 1:
*
I was back in the curved plastic chair surrounded by desks; the one in which Cam had first reprogrammed my Biometric.
