Tatters
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He died. He came back. Now he has outlived his own identity. Is he willing to die....again? The year is 2025. The place is New Columbia¸ the nation's capital. It has been constructed over what was once Denver¸ Colorado. The United States has suffered the extremeness of polarization. Factions separated by race¸ politics¸ religion¸ and special interests have turned the melting pot into a jigsaw puzzle and now the pieces have fallen apart. A new political party has moved in and the Alternative Party manages to pass their greatest act of legislation....The State Sovereignty Act. The power of the federal government was severely cut but now there are 50 different units of power¸ each vying for their own agenda. Once the Federal government took back control¸ the die was cast. There was a huge division among the classes and the new capital was built on top of the once proud city of Denver. The new site epitomized the new structure of America¸ as the well too do moved into New Columbia and the poor were forced to settle in Old Denver¸ now called the Warrens. Whether or not America sees its 250th birthday depends on a man who doesn't even exist. Into this strange world¸ murder sets the stage for a cadaver to come back to life for the cadaver was an experiment...an experiment that kept cerebral and corporeal function alive in an artificial extension of life. This cadaver¸ Peter Collinson aka Tatters¸ is a lost and angry soul capable of speaking a language no other person can understand...at least not alive…for he has the ability to speak to both sides of the boundary he has crossed. The living of course¸ but also the dead and it will be the dead that will provide him with all the answers. Tatters must struggle to come to grips with his new abilities that constantly have him walking a fine line between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. He is a man afraid of dying…again. But Tatters¸ having tasted death once.....will he want to die again for a cause? Outliving his own identity¸ Tatters exists in a world where the governmental agency¸ Step Ten¸ operates behind the scenes and even its own operatives are unsure of the agenda. Tatters¸ despite its science fiction and espionage trappings is foremost a gothic story with a gothic protagonist. The lead character is a lost and angry soul who is uncertain what course to pursue....retribution or anonymity. But an image keeps him going¸ it is of a young woman...a woman he does not know....but might have before. Her vision leads him like a carrot on a stick down a dangerous path. But to where? Tatters is a wholly self-contained story.