Sixty years after the genetically enhanced superhumans known as Díamonts incited World War III and sparked a new global order, humanity has finally settled into an era of relative peace.
Within the United Eastern World, an underground revolution has a new leader who poses a serious threat for the first time in decades. Raven, an agent of the United Eastern World and a former revolutionary, is sent to locate the new leader but finds his old loyalties stirring as he reenters the slums of NeoLondon.
He meets Nalia, a young woman with superhuman abilities who persuades him to rethink his mission and his past crimes. His actions, however, destabilize the careful balance of political power between the competing world governments and war seems imminent.
Together, Raven and Nalia must face the start of a new war, one threatening to end life on Earth forever, as they follow their twin paths in an unknown and unforgiving world.
PROLOGUE
Medane ran through the deserted streets of London, his steps echoing against broken windows and collapsed buildings. He was out of breath. His genetically enhanced body was invulnerable to most damage and he hardly noticed when his feet hit glass rather than pavement, but his lungs constricted in fear as he thought of the destruction he was fated to unleash on the empty city. Everyone had been evacuated but there was still the chance that someone was left, someone who wouldn’t even have time to wonder about the sudden flash of light before the nuclear blast incinerated them. The diamond material sheathing his entire body glittered darkly in the sunlight as he neared the encampment. Twenty soldiers and nationalists; the only humans allowed to be in London. Most were well below the nuclear shield, but one man waited at the entrance to the bunker.
The man’s already pale skin was ashen as Medane stopped in front of him.
READ MORE“Plan A,” Medane said in as calm a voice as he could manage, “has failed. I request permission to obtain Plan B.”
Plan B lay on the ground near the two of them, a deceptively harmless sphere of metal. World governments had first created ‘suitcase nukes’ in an effort to prevent terrorism. But despite the small physical size, each bomb weighed several hundred pounds and could not be smuggled easily. The detonator was separate, and the man paused before giving him the small metal device that would trigger the seemingly innocent sphere next to them. Medane wondered if the man was regretting the decision to place one of the world’s most powerful weapons in the hands of a nonhuman.
“Permission granted. Shelter will be secured in ten minutes.”
Medane watched him scurry through the door. Technically it only took five minutes to completely secure the underground bunker from nuclear attack, but Medane knew the humans didn’t trust him as much as they claimed.
He lifted the nuclear bomb in one hand. It was barely bigger than the basketballs he and the two other díamonts had played with years ago, in human form, of course, since playing while protected by their virtually invincible diamond skin wouldn’t be a challenge. Medane tucked the bomb under his arm, carefully held the detonator, and started running back to the city. The closer he got the bomb to Soren, the rogue díamont, before detonating it, the better. The díamonts couldn’t be killed, but the nuclear blast would disable them. It would also disable Medane and his friend Atheus, both of whom were working with the nationalists to stop Soren from destroying the planet. The government assured them that they would not be destroyed along with Soren, but Medane knew they didn’t care about his life. He had no illusions about his future. The three of them would be kept unconscious until the government found a way to destroy them. The friendship and gratitude the humans constantly professed to Medane was simply a way to make sure he and Atheus didn’t turn against their creators the same way Soren had.
Medane slowed as he approached the sounds of shattering glass and falling brick, the only sounds of life in the city. He followed the sounds until he saw the two díamonts outlined against the blackened brick buildings. Atheus was safe, Medane noticed, and he glanced up as Medane approached. Despite their dire situation, Medane smiled at his friend. He wanted to greet him with a hug and pretend that nothing else was going on, but he knew that Atheus would never forgive him if he failed to detonate the bomb. Atheus, a human figure whose outlines were blurred by blood-red diamond, had been the first to recognize that wearing their díamont form made them immune to human emotions such as pity and sympathy. Only by remaining in their weak, vulnerable human form could they remain human. The longer the diamond isolated them, the easier it became to view the humans as destructive pests and nothing more.
He and Atheus made eye contact and Medane saw his own doubts about their fate reflected. He longed to reassure his friend that the humans would keep their word and allow the two díamonts to live, but before he could speak, Soren slammed into Atheus, knocking him to the ground.
Medane knew he needed to act now, before Soren did any more harm. But as he looked at the two díamonts, he understood that the kinship he felt with them could never happen with a human. He belonged with the díamonts, not the humans. Medane had been in díamont form for nearly three months, now, and was beginning to forget what it felt like to be human. What had the humans done to deserve his trust? Did he have the right to destroy himself and his brothers?
Soren looked like a sinister angel perched over Atheus, light from the sun sparkling against his snow-white body. Soren’s mouth was moving as he whispered something to Atheus, trapped under him on the ground. Soren used words as poison to twist minds to his will. He had manipulated religion in order to convince the humans to overthrow their governments and take control of the planet. Only Medane and Atheus had refused to listen to his eerily seductive and reasonable arguments. Medane lowered the bomb and stared at his friends and brothers, the only other díamonts who would ever exist. Medane swung his arm and tossed the bomb towards Soren, who instinctively caught the flying object the same way he had caught the basketball when they were kids. Medane closed his eyes and squeezed the detonator.
COLLAPSE