The Annunciate

In a dark, brutal new age, humans have crossed vast stretches of space & incorporated new levels of technology into their very beings. Yet they still struggle with the bloody instincts that have tormented humanity since time immemorial. ThreeSys is a triangle of stars with eleven planets each, where people are divided into three classes-Meshed, Jacked, & Jackless-a caste system of technological access. "Mesh" has emerged as the universe's single greatest power: a tiny elite of Meshed humans can access unsurpassed knowledge, enter another dimension, & manipulate lesser mortals' reality. But three of these gifted humans-Eve, Corey, & Annmarie-have harnessed this power for their own evil ends. Traveling throughout ThreeSys, the trio devotes their extraordinary abilities to selling what they claim is an end to all wars & aggression. What they're actually selling is Staze, an opiumlike, instantly addictive drug that wraps the user in dreams & lethargy. Yet some Jacked & Jackless have retaliated against this & other abuses of power, mercilessly hunting down & killing Meshed humans. Time is running out for the three, even as ebony-hued Eve falls in love with lower caste Naverdi, who's Jacked, a supplier of a key Staze ingredient, & an addict herself. The only answer is on Paradise, the first ThreeSys planet where humans ever set foot. Paradise hadn't survived its first brush with human habitation, & was blasted from its orbit into another solar system millennia ago. Now it's the only place where the Mesh is intact-the old Mesh, the original Mesh, the real one. The Annunciate-the first person to step off the first ship-still lives in Paradise's myths & legends. All Meshed wear the Annunciate's medal, her mysterious, enigmatic image etched at the gates of Paradise, offering the elusive promise of a new world clean of sin & violence. But a far more dangerous presence awaits Eve, Naverdi, Annmarie & Corey on the abando… (more)