 Canadian author Tanya Reimer creates a future where AI is both essential and a threatTwo groups of people dependent on AI for their survival, one group knowingly and the other unknowingly, struggle to stay alive while that very AI is seeking artificial life for itself.
By: Elsewhen Press In this post-apocalyptic world, one group of survivors have been managing to eke out a living in a village that they believe is maintained for them by a supernatural being they call Dragon. The villagers eschew technology of any kind, believing it to have been the cause of the conflict that devastated the world centuries before. Unknown to them, the heat and water that keeps the village alive are actually the by-products of an underground city, where a different group of survivors are being sustained by an artificial intelligence program known as Nogard. In the city, genetic engineering and cybernetics are promoting the rapid evolution of residents who have never seen daylight. Nogard has been evolving too and is intent on making the jump from artificial intelligence to artificial life. But a series of devastating earthquakes damages the city and kills many of its inhabitants, forcing a group of youngsters to try to escape to the surface, in the hope that it is habitable. Meanwhile, above ground, the villagers believe the earthquakes to be an indication that they have upset Dragon, and two of them set off through tunnels at the back of a cavern sacred to Dragon to try to placate it. Tanya's story tells us of these two very different cultures that are on an inevitable collision course, how they navigate the dangers that beset them on their respective journeys, and what happens when they finally meet. Meanwhile the true nature of Dragon is revealed, as is the extent of Nogard's ambition to become mortal. Peter Buck, Editorial Director at Elsewhen Press, says, "It is interesting to compare Tanya's vision of a future in the next millennium with that of H.G. Wells' far distant future in his classic story, The Time Machine. But although both the village and the underground city are inhabited by separate groups of humans, they have not evolved according to class divisions as Wells foresaw from his Victorian perspective. Rather the diversity is based on the availability and attitude towards science and technology, perhaps a much more telling reflection of our own times." Programmed to Breathe will be available to buy on all popular eBook platforms from 26th April 2019 and is already available to pre-order. The paperback edition will be available on 1st July 2019. Notes for Editors About Tanya Reimer Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Tanya enjoys using the tranquil prairies as a setting to her not-so-peaceful speculative fiction. She is married with two children which means that among her accomplishments are the necessary magical abilities to find a lost tooth in a park of sand and whisper away monsters from under the bed. As director of a non-profit Francophone community center, Tanya offers programming and services in French for all ages to ensure the lasting imprint and growth of the Francophone community in which she was raised. What she enjoys the most about her job is teaching social media safety for teens and offering one-on-one technology classes for seniors. Tanya was fifteen when she wrote her first column. She has a diploma in Journalism/Short Story Writing. Today, she actively submits to various newspapers, writes and publishes the local Francophone newsletter for her community, and maintains a blog at Life's Like That. Programmed to Breathe is her fifth title published by Elsewhen Press. Visit https://bit.ly/ About the book Title: Programmed to Breathe Fiction / Science Fiction / Cyberpunk; Fiction / Science Fiction / Genetic Engineering; Print edition: ISBN 978-1-911409- Electronic edition: ISBN 978-1-911409- About the cover The cover artwork, inspired by Tanya's description of an image of Dragon in the sacred cavern, was produced by the artist Alison Buck. About Elsewhen Press Elsewhen Press is an independent publisher of Speculative Fiction. Based in the UK, in the South East of England, Elsewhen Press publishes titles in English in digital and print editions, adopting a digital-first policy for most titles. Elsewhen Press is an imprint of Alnpete Limited. Contact details: Elsewhen Press contact: Al Murray Information about Elsewhen Press, authors and titles can be obtained online from https://elsewhen.press Interviews with authors can be arranged through Elsewhen Press, contact Al Murray. Elsewhen Press titles are available from good retailers, for more details visit our website, as above. This and other press releases from Elsewhen Press can be obtained as pdf files from our website or can be viewed in our PRLog Pressroom. Contact Al Murray ***@elsewhen.co.uk Photos: https://www.prlog.org/ https://www.prlog.org/ End
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