Author Description

This is the first and second installments of a longer tale called The Sumerian Device, a story that bridges the gap between the normal and the paranormal without relying on the supernatural.So what is Anzillu? That is a question pondered at length in bars near docks all throughout the inhabited systems of the verse. The Demon of Deep Space, some call it. They speak about it the way ancient people used to talk about sea monsters or dragons, in hushed voices and never with less than a set of drinks in their bellies. Most of the stories come second or third hand and describe impossible, even paranormal happenings. Skeptics balk at such talk, claiming that the tales are tall, that it's nothing more than some marvel of technology no one's figured out yet, but those that have seen someone recount their encounter first hand know what its like to look into the eyes of someone who has come to the end of what they can understand. So what is Anzillu? The only true answer anyone ever gives comes from those that have seen it first hand. 'I don't know.'In The Book of the Artifice and Design we join a universe where the major governments are gone and planets and space stations govern themselves, reverting existence to simpler, albeit more dangerous, form. Space is hard for a human, you see, as we are not meant to be there. But then, isn't that part of the allure?Most people would say that, aside from pirates, slavers, and poverty, things have been quiet since the war, but things are about to change. Storms are brewing across the vast black of space, and a chance encounter between a brilliant young man and the thing called Anzillu is about to trigger a series of events that will resonate throughout the systems of the verse. Much is unclear as of now, but one thing that's certain is that things are about to change. Though is it for the better, or the worse? Spaced throughout these systems of the verse is a collection of characters with agendas ranging from the simple acquisition of