Scott Overton

The Oceanus Crisis A deadly blast of unknown energy strikes a jetliner over the Pacific Ocean. Hostile aliens? Or a new and unthinkably powerful form of Earth life? An ingenious troubleshooter, a reluctant psychic, a bionic xenobiologist, a brilliant engineer, and a blind psychologist will descend to the depths in a prototype submarine habitat, facing the most inhospitable environment on the planet to attempt a First Contact. Before the nuclear nations of the world take matters into their own hands. The critical question is: are they investigators? Ambassadors? Or just bait.

The crimes of the past-the perils of the future.500 years ago, the world's wealthiest abandoned a ravaged Earth and left billions to die of plagues and climate disasters. Now the space colonists plan to return. Killian Morningcloud, a discontented Earth man from the stagnating communities known as Allocations, and Natira Celestia, a video celebrity of the off-world ruling class, are on a collision course. When they discover a secret that powerful people are desperate to hide, they face a brutal test of endurance and shattered dreams. And their fire-and-water pairing will shape the course of the whole human race.

The crimes of the past-the perils of the future.500 years ago, the world's wealthiest abandoned a ravaged Earth and left billions to die of plagues and climate disasters. Now the space colonists plan to return. Killian Morningcloud, a discontented Earth man from the stagnating communities known as Allocations, and Natira Celestia, a video celebrity of the off-world ruling class, are on a collision course. When they discover a secret that powerful people are desperate to hide, they face a brutal test of endurance and shattered dreams. And their fire-and-water pairing will shape the course of the whole human race.

Since the age of fourteen Damon Leiter has had a brain-computer interface implanted beneath his skull to correct a neurological disorder. As a teenager, it branded him as an outcast-as an adult it endows him with extraordinary abilities: he may represent the next step in human evolution. When computerized brain augments replace smartphones as the must-have status item, mega-corporations and governments conspire together and marketing becomes mind control. Damon is the only one equipped to lead a global resistance movement. Caught between the fervour of his followers and the tide of rampant consumerism, he can't be sure he isn't playing into the hands of the rich and powerful. They may even be in the right. Maybe the real enemy of humankind is Damon Leiter.

Since the age of fourteen Damon Leiter has had a brain-computer interface implanted beneath his skull to correct a neurological disorder. As a teenager, it branded him as an outcast-as an adult it endows him with extraordinary abilities: he may represent the next step in human evolution. When computerized brain augments replace smartphones as the must-have status item, mega-corporations and governments conspire together and marketing becomes mind control. Damon is the only one equipped to lead a global resistance movement. Caught between the fervor of his followers and the tide of rampant consumerism, he can't be sure he isn't playing into the hands of the rich and powerful. They may even be in the right. Maybe the real enemy of humankind is Damon Leiter.

The glowing structure at the bottom of a lonely northern lake is clearly not of this Earth, but scuba diver Michael Hart can't stay away. It could be a scientific treasure like no other. First Contact. Or it could be a trap. But his day-to-day routine as a university professor has become a disappointment, and his shocking discovery is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be someone special. The alien artifact is ancient but not abandoned, and what it offers will change him forever, leaving him with astonishing abilities, and a destiny he would never have imagined. Except it might be a destiny he no longer controls. He might not even be human anymore. Ocean researcher Sakiko Matthews is desperate to find a cure for Earth's dying seas, willing to put her career on the line to learn the answers she needs. In Michael Hart she finds a mysterious ally who could be the key to her success, but the price of his partnership will be terribly high. The path they choose will affect the very future of the human race. The actions Michael takes will make him a hero, or the greatest traitor the world has ever known. Because he is no longer alone, not even in his own body. There is another. Na da.

6 Speculative Tales by 3 Sudbury Authors Sudbury is not only in our blood, but it also courses through our veins, is a part of the very breaths we inhale and exhale, the way that those deposits of nickel, gold, copper, and platinum, which slammed into the earth via a crashing meteorite some 1.8 million years ago enrich the very bedrock of the grounds that formed the Sudbury basin. Something else courses through the veins of authors Sean Costello, Mark Leslie, and Scott Overton. A seemingly supernatural connection to the strange; a penchant for exploring speculative tales: Stories that do not turn away from the shadows, but, instead, explore them, embrace them. Stories that consider science or the paranormal, and wonder "what if?" Stories that dig deep into the darkness. If you dare, come with all three authors as they dig below the surface, a veritable mining operation of fear, speculation, and strange wonder.

A woman's bloodstream has been seeded with death. An American president must betray his country or sacrifice a woman he loves. And their only hope lies with a broken man and a desperate gamble. Curran Hunter almost died at the bottom of the ocean. Now an innocent victim will die unless Hunter can purge her body of deadly devices by piloting the Primus, a prototype submersible the size of a virus. Its control system uses Virtual Reality--its creators assure Hunter there can be no danger. They are utterly wrong. Hunter's every belief will be tested, his very sanity on the line for a woman he doesn't know. And to save her life will require the deepest violation of all. Ride the currents of the inner ocean in a race against time in The Primus Labyrinth

A print version collecting the stories published in the BEYOND ebook series plus the Disastrous and Body Of Opinion anthologies written by Scott OvertonNo WallsShakedownThe Long CommuteLockdownA Taste of TimeTartarus RisingMarathon of the DevilBody Of OpinionDemocracySaviourNode Of ThoughtThe CleansingThe RiftHurricaneOnce Upon A Midnight