The Mechanism Transcript
by Kay Herhen
- Gore
- Profanity
- Sexual Content
- Traumatising content
Technological singularity proved that utopia was an illusion, unattainable, naught but a dream.
The Mechanism Transcript is a sci-fi/horror series with a veneer of fantasy esthetics. I like to describe it as if Blade Runner and The Lord of the Rings had a bastard child that grew up in the attic. Never mind; imagine a world beyond technological singularity where humans have made themselves obsolete and lost their meaning. Then imagine what would happen if a hyper-logical AI wanted to give it back to them…
After creating an AI far surpassing any expectations, taking on the role of a god of wisdom and love, humankind made itself obsolete. But love can manifest itself in many different forms.
A man is plunged into an existance of strife and confusion when he is made the first to populate a post-apocalyptic world. He learns about himself and the apocalypse as we follow him in his travels through a world of ruin and destruction but also life and growth. Will he be able to ignite the spark of a new civilization, or will human nature doom the world to a state of perpetual chaos? Can he stay sane in his loneliness, or will he spiral into madness?
The world is dying, and the gods are fighting the godless over its destiny. Woman or man, king or queen, warrior and slave alike; they will all play their part at the end of the world—until the light takes them.
Catharsis, from the Greek word katharsis—meaning purification or cleaning—is the purgation of emotions, mainly pity and fear, through art or any extreme change in sentiment that results in renewal and restoration. This story is meant as a catharsis.
Reader discretion is advised.
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- Total Views :
- 576
- Average Views :
- 41
- Followers :
- 19
- Favorites :
- 10
- Ratings :
- 7
- Pages :
- 62
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Something new
Reviewed at: 1:9 – The Burning Signs
This is something else... ok, I've read my fair share of web fiction but never something like this. It's not your usual starship & ray gun sci-fi or your usual dragons & wizard fantasy. Actually it's something new. It's hard to make a review when there's nothing to compare to. It feels epic (especially the beginning) and then it zooms in on the main character which isn't very contempt with life lol. Well, I won't try to review it, just read and make up your mind!
This could become a wild ride
Reviewed at: 1:11 – Monument to the Perverse
Ok. I see there’re is a review already so I’ll do my take at it.
I don’t usually review stories still in its infancy, which The Mechanism Transcript with its mere 44 pages, still is.
Nevertheless: it’s biggest strength could also become its biggest weakness. The story is marked as sci-fi/horror/fantasy, an interesting combination but also makes the story spread thinly. Transgressing genres is interesting and a fresh wind of air in an otherwise stagnant industry but many readers are looking for something more specific, a specific genre.
Something that that really stands out is the prose. It’s weird but beautiful. It’s utilitarians, almost “hemingwayesque” at times, but also flowery without becoming purple. A times it reminds me of McCarthy or some religious text or a fairytale weirdly enough.
Frankly, it’s promising and it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves.