Bright Future: A Psychological Sci-fi Thriller

by John D. Payne

Abandoned by humanity. Hunted by machines. Sentenced to death.

Will is an outcast. Betrayed and offered up as a sacrifice to appease the mechahumans, he’s been condemned to die. And the means of execution? A ship headed straight for the sun.

With nothing but his nightmares and regrets for company, and the heat intensifying every day, he's finding it harder and harder to distinguish reality from fiction and focus on escape. But how can he escape when millions of people back on Earth are watching his every move?

Is there any way out? Or is he destined to die in the sun’s all-consuming flames?

Don't miss this, the first part of the Future Delusion Saga, in which nothing is ever quite what it seems.

62 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 11, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John^D.^^Payne

Reviews

[Elizabeth Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In true Payne style, this story is written with a more than a hint of witticism. This author has a knack for bringing the reader into his setting (in this case, you are on a spaceship heading directly into the sun) not a comfortable place to be. Although set sometime in the future, I liked the irony of the Big Brother game show element with the big eye and the audience watching the condemned guy's trip to his destiny.
I love Payne's quirky style of writing and will certainly look out for more from him.

[Lee Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly timed and sequenced short story

I really loved John's story about Will's machine led death sentence for a mistake, human error. It was enjoyable and paced well, with strong core messaging about AI and human pack mentality, about the scary path we're on right now. The epilogue solidified the machines views of humans and left me wanting more!