Vicarious View

Nihon Cyberpunk #5

by Brian Barr

With the help of powerful mind-link technology, the bed-ridden Nishiyoka gets another chance at life through the eyes of the attractive actor Tanaka. Women, drinks, and the glamourous life offered by Japan's film industry are all at Nishiyoka's fingertips, which allows the old man to forget the cancer that eats away at his own body in a lonely hospital room.

Just as Tanaka assumes his roles in popular samurai dramas, Nishiyoka can feel everything Tanaka feels, as he experiences life not only in Tanaka's mind but his body as well. With such a rewarding second opportunity at life, what could go wrong?

32 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2018

About the author

My name is Brian Barr. I am a published fiction author. Along with novels and short stories, I've also written comic books, including the Empress series with Chuck Amadori. I am NOT the author of God's Plan for Us, written by some other Brian Barr.

My debut novel is Carolina Daemonic, Book I: Confederate Shadows. My second novel is Psychological Revenge: The First Super Inc. Novel, and I have a short story collection called Daemensions. All books are out now on Amazon, for Kindle and Print.

Carolina Daemonic is a dystopian alternative timeline urban fantasy-horror with LGBT, steampunk, and occult elements.

Psychological Revenge is a fun, campy superhero novel with zany villains and lots of action.

Check out my short stories, some of which are in anthologies, a few reprinted on Kindle for .99 cents.

Thank you for visiting my page.

www.brianbarrbooks.com

Reviews

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story of the highest caliber, set in the most underused (in my humble opinion) categories of science fiction, cyberpunk. A subgenre of science fiction not done well enough and one that seems to be neglected as of late. In this story, we have a man, Nishiyoka, withering of cancer, but rather than waste what little life he had has his mind linked to a successful actor and lives as much as he can in the other man’s mind. But the actor has problems of his own, in both his love and professional lives. Soon those problems come to take their toll and Tanaka is accidentally swept up in it. The story asks the simple question (with no answer given, like all great literature) about the quality of life. -Nishiyoka, along with his wife who is simply a brain in a jar, have been robbed of all the pleasures of life. But is their vicarious existence actual living? Is it a life worth having. From a modern day perspective, it is similar to a person who spends nearly all their time playing video games or watch movies. Is that the life you want? Living through others achievements.