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    Grey Enigmas
    Grey Enigmas
    Grey Enigmas
    Ebook179 pages2 hours

    Grey Enigmas

    By Gareth Lewis

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    Alex is a detective in a world that considers them unnecessary.

    When everyone is a telepath, with their own inner policeman, crimes cannot escape notice. So a murder with no obvious culprit leaves the authorities at a loss.

    Woken from a virtual sentence, still unrepentantly anti-social, Alex is given the opportunity to finally investigate a mystery. One that puts him in danger, and leads to mysteries of a more personal nature. Exactly how long has he been asleep? And is this really the first mystery he's been awakened to investigate?
    A 40000 word novella.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGareth Lewis
    Release dateApr 5, 2014
    ISBN9781311340795
    Grey Enigmas
    Author

    Gareth Lewis

    Gareth Lewis has written a number of novels and shorter works in a few genres, including fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers. A programmer, he has a degree in computer studies, and lives in South Wales.

    Read more from Gareth Lewis

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    • 5/5
      One more in the list of books in Scribd-I am reduced to having to purchase these in other places to leave a review which is disappointing because this one is theoretically from smashwords though I can't review it there until I purchase from there so this is like checking a book out of a library but having to pay the library 9 dollars a month.

      This is a cute little novella with rather unique idea in a strange cyberpunk like novel that (like many novels I've recently read) seems to take a page from these game MMORPG's with the mind-scape and the Actors. There's one of the MMORPG's I'm thinking of that specifically calls them Actors instead of Avatars.

      I think this might be an extension of a longer work called the Grey Engines. In this story we have the futuristic society that is full of zombie like workers who allow their actors to take over the daily grind while they live in some idealistic world that exist in some sort of connected mind-scape.

      Of course this story revolves around the people who spend less time in the mind-scape and more time in the real world. In the real world there is less crime and more control but occasionally things happen and when they can't solve the crime they look to people like Alex whom they have sentenced to live in a special section of mind-scape to met out their time for their crime.

      Everyone has two personalities their own and their Actor-the personality who keeps an eye on them and when they do something wrong the actor will turn them in and this is what happened to Alex. But Alex is an investigator, one of the best, and they need him to solve a murder before more happen. Someone had committed a murder and their actor has not turned them in which means something is seriously wrong with the system.

      So Alex is brought out of storage to solve the crime while being hamstrung in so many ways that he can hardly do the job. But that's not all: because there is something else going on that's going to greatly affect Alex because the members of the sheriff brain trust that pulled his body out of cold storage are not telling him all the truth.

      Alex has no regard for their laws or rules, so he's going to get to the bottom of things if it kills him.

      This is a great read for fans of SFF (a bit on the soft-side) There were some few moments when the style of writing confused me enough I had to step back a page to see where we were but those were minor distractions and the over all pace of the story was handled quite well.

      J.L. Dobias

    Book preview

    Grey Enigmas - Gareth Lewis

    Grey Enigmas

    Gareth Lewis

    Copyright 2014 Gareth Lewis

    License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Any piracy of this work shall result in the forfeiture of the pirate's soul to the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Language Note

    This novel is written in British English, so contains spelling differences from American English.

    Chapter 1

    Consciousness was overrated. Also, occasionally, elusive, returning far too slowly. The light, when Alex opened his eyes, proved overwhelming, and took a few moments to cohere into recognisable colours.

    Not that the plain white room offered much colour. It was so sterile they’d even erased the smell of antiseptic, leaving an odd blandness to the air the threatened to send his nose back to sleep. Alex vaguely recalled the room as similar to the one in which they had put him to sleep, though that seemed centuries ago.

    The slab on which he lay was the only furniture. They wanted nothing distracting the resident. As a welcome back to the waking world, the message seemed to be wait here until we’re ready to deal with you. A reminder that he remained a prisoner.

    His body felt awkward. Not exactly stiff. More like the body had yet to re-attune itself to his mind once again being in control. They should have exercised the body while he served his time, so the oddness shouldn’t be muscle deterioration. Possibly just his mind’s haziness.

    He had no idea how long he’d been asleep, or even how long it should have been. He didn’t recall his time inside. While he’d expect to have served his sentence before being woken, he didn’t feel especially penitent, which would be required before they’d let him back out into society.

    He let his body reacclimatise, as he’d have to wait for someone to come for him. His mind probed the room as he lay there. The shielded walls prevented him telepathically venturing any further, as he’d expect. Until officially released, he remained a prisoner.

    The haziness of his mind didn’t clear as fast as it should, and this was hardly his first time. With the disorientation, it took almost a minute to identify one source of the wrongness: he was alone in his head. Jacob was absent.

    The silence felt deeper as he noticed the absence.

    While uneasy at the sensation of such loneliness, a part of him was curious how humanity had lived with it before they became telepathic. Not that ACTORs had been created for company. Artificially constructed thoughtforms were implanted within a person’s mind during their first few years to smooth the potentially traumatic process of the brain developing telepathic abilities. They regulated the abilities which would otherwise be uncontrollable in the young - and reported on infractions later in life. A constant companion - or at least presence.

    He examined the experience, picking it apart to see what that said about him. While a pedestrian hang-up, it was obviously a part of his psyche. To ignore it as an embarrassment would be pointless.

    Jacob’s familiar presence slid into his consciousness before he had a chance to reach any conclusions.

    Didn’t wake you, did I? thought Alex.

    Hello to you, too, said Jacob. His avatar appeared before Alex, clear despite the haziness of his vision as his eyes continued to adjust. The image was in his mind, which seemed clear enough for illusions. The overly patient stare offered a reassuring familiarity.

    The edges of the wall came into focus, and his breathing no longer required concentration. His mind seemed as realigned as he’d likely get in the immediate future.

    Alex slowly sat up, and turned to ease his legs over the edge of the slab. Even moving at a measured pace, he experienced a light-headedness on sitting upright. At least his surroundings remained in focus and didn’t spin too quick.

    Have we served our time? asked Alex.

    Our time? asked Jacob. I seem to recall it was your time we served.

    Because you snitched on me.

    I’m programmed to report offences, as you’re fully aware.

    Of course you are, said Alex. Snitch. Grass. Tattletale.

    Yes, very good, Jacob said in a long-suffering tone.

    I’m not finished. And when they let us out, I’m accessing a thesaurus.

    I’m sure if you keep pushing at the joke, it’ll eventually become funny out of sheer desperation.

    His inability to conjure a quick rejoinder was clearly a result of his muddled mind. That was irritating.

    Yet as irritating as the disorientation and inability to recall his incarceration was, it was admittedly preferable to the old way of doing things. Barely a couple of centuries ago they’d sent offenders to isolated prison colonies to learn the errors of their ways, encouraging them to become productive members of society. Barbaric. Far better to yank an offender’s mind from their head and shove them in a confined mindscape designed to educate anti-social instincts out of them.

    Perhaps the colony would’ve had more effect on you, said Jacob.

    Perhaps I’m still in the mindscape, said Alex. He reined in his thoughts, irritated that Jacob had heard. Recovery was clearly slower than it should be.

    He doubted he was still in the mindscape. There was a realness to the touch of the table, a stale sterility to the room’s aroma, and a stiffness to his body that he wouldn’t expect of a mindscape. It was too imperfect, but not in the perfectly imperfect way that suggested programming.

    Even if it were, he wouldn’t act any different. He’d derive what entertainment he could from the situation, if only to pass the time.

    The dull hum only registered as the pitch changed fractionally. The seals around the door released a faint rush of air. His mind remained confined to the room, but Alex now sensed the field containing it. He wasn’t sure if these were standard precautions, or if he was right that his time hadn’t yet been served.

    His memories of previous times waking from forced sleeps, along with most memories, remained elusive.

    The door slid aside, and an unfamiliar woman entered. Beyond her was a corridor wall as bland as those of his room.

    She wore the dull grey uniform of a deputy - an enforcer of the laws as directed by the sheriff brain trust.

    Brain trusts directed every facet of society. Hive minds composed of the unconscious - or occasionally conscious - minds of members of society with knowledge of the subject, both living and dead, and thoughtforms designed specifically to deal with those areas. The sheriff brain trust, while he wouldn’t label it draconian, was annoying in its adherence to the ill-conceived laws.

    The deputy’s impassive gaze seemed artificial, no doubt a result of training. At least she wasn’t openly hostile. Yet.

    Alex glanced at the ID mantle surrounding her. Despite the restrictions placed on him, he could still read her telepathic label. Theresa Patel. Other than confirming her profession, the mantle held no personal information. While on duty, she’d keep what those she met knew about her to a minimum. If he had access to the public knowbases, he could look up more.

    ‘Can I assume this isn’t my release?’ asked Alex. He was sure they’d have left him waiting far longer. At least until his memories had time to return.

    ‘You’re not considered rehabilitated,’ said Theresa. ‘But your skills are of use, if you’re willing to cooperate.’ Her tone remained as impassive as her features, revealing little. Not nothing though. An awkwardness to her words suggested they might be more formal than she was used to being, a hint of the facade she’d adopted.

    He lay back on the table, more for effect than from weakness, although he remained tired. ‘Doesn’t the sheriff consider my skills unnecessary in the modern world. What mysteries can there possibly be?’

    Her irritation was almost audible in her silence, but she made a creditable attempt not to react. He was admittedly probing for a reaction, to get an idea of who she was. His mind needed the exercise.

    ‘There’s been a murder,’ she said. ‘The sheriff has determined that your skill and experience can be of use in determining the killer.’

    That got his attention. He sat up and met her gaze. ‘A murder? With the murderer unknown, and their ACTOR apparently not having reported them.’ It was rare for even minor infractions to go unreported. Unsolved murders had been a thing of the far past. At least now he knew why they’d woken him early.

    While not impossible to act without your ACTOR’s knowledge, it took some doing. Mainly acting outside your body, on the mindscape. Despite not being universally supervised, the mindscape had a fair amount of surveillance, not all of which was obvious. To plan a crime sufficiently to avoid detection would require consideration, and that level of thought would be hard to hide entirely from one’s ACTOR. It would require an intensely disciplined mind, or some means to control your ACTOR. If the murder required physical activity on the part of the murderer, control of the ACTOR seemed more likely.

    The mystery had his interest.

    He smiled. ‘I’d imagine you want my experience as a detective rather than my skills, since they’re downloadable. And you disagree with the need for my assistance.’ More of an educated guess than a fact.

    ‘Your skills and experience have been determined to be of use. I have no reason to question the decision.’ Her indifference sounded less than genuine. He suspected she didn’t like him, which was hardly uncommon for her profession. She could probably suppress that, provided he didn’t push. Realistically, that didn’t seem likely. ‘Alex Travers, are you willing to assist in this investigation, in exchange for consideration in reviewing your sentence?’

    ‘Consideration?’

    ‘Your case will be reviewed, with the service you provide taken into consideration.’

    That might mean absolutely nothing, if they were determined simply to use him. But the brain trust shouldn’t theoretically be prejudiced against him. If he helped, thereby proving himself a productive part of society, that would weigh in his favour in deciding his fate.

    Not that the consideration really mattered. The chance to investigate an actual murder mystery was rare, so of course he’d leap at the chance.

    ‘You silver-tongued devil,’ he said. ‘You’ve talked me into it.’

    She offered a disappointing lack of joy at his compliance.

    ‘So, Theresa,’ he said. ‘May I call you Terry?’

    ‘No. I’m Deputy Patel. Here are the rules: You will do as I say. Stray from me, or leave your assigned sleeping quarters, and we will shut your body down. Your mind is confined to your body, not allowed access to any public mindscapes without supervision. Should you require skills downloaded from the encephalopedia, or access to any knowbase information, you will ask me, and I shall provide them. Is this clear?’

    ‘That you want me for yourself? Absolutely.’

    Not even a hint of irritation. Amusement would be too much to hope for, but she could give him something. Yet she remained unreadable. But he’d have plenty of time to elicit a reaction.

    That’ d be secondary, of course. And if she got too upset, he might even have to control his impulses. The murder mystery was the important thing. It was what every good detective wanted, and he finally had his chance.

    Chapter 2

    Alex’s disorientation persisted as the two-person flyer rose above New Troy. The sensation was hardly unfamiliar, yet the sleek vehicle seemed oddly new to him.

    His memories of the city were similarly distant. Difficult to recall any experience of them in detail, though he knew where and what everything was.

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