Tech-Nostrum

by Derek Berg

Bobby’s wife is dying.Her name is Mary Ellen, and she has been tested and treated—and tested and treated. But now there are no more treatments, and she is out of time. Desperate for a cure, Bobby and Mary Ellen give into the huckster's charms and begrudgingly turns to the fraudulent and seedy industry of “natural” remedies.With Bobby at her side, Mary Ellen endures loony swindles and showy massages. She watches the lights flash, and she smells the nice smells, and she listens to the hooey, but she knows she is wasting her time.But then, as Mary Ellen’s death draws near, there is a flicker of hope when Bobby is approached by a strange doctor with a peculiar proposition. The doctor claims he can upload a dying person’s mind into a durable and healthy robotic body. The doctor claims Mary Ellen can be saved.Naturally, Bobby is overjoyed. He has found the cure! But, there is a catch. Firstly, the procedure requires total commitment on Mary Ellen’s part. That is, she must die a horrible death for it to work. That is, she must be mutilated and devoured by a series of spinning blades and interlocking teeth. Secondly (as if we needed a secondly), when Bobby asks the doctor how the technology works, the doctor won’t, or maybe even can’t, explain it. With her own personal Doomsday Clock about to strike midnight will Mary Ellen agree to be mutilated? Can she have faith in the unbelievable before it is too late?Tech-Nostrum is playfully serious, dancing with darkness while repeatedly jabbing faith-based medicine in the nose.

255 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2017

About the author

Derek Berg lives in Washington State

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel with a dystopian/post apocalyptic feel. My favorite types of novels. It's a quick read and I had fun reading it. There's robots and hermaphrodites, what else can you ask for? This book brings the question, if you were to be transferred into machine to prolong your life, will it really be you?