Heir Ascendant — Matthew S. Cox

In the aftermath of World War Three, the most famous face in the world belongs to a nine year old girl.

Maya Oman is the daughter of the woman who controls what's left of civilization, the CEO of Ascendant Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Her smile is as ubiquitous as air, selling everything from vital medicine to vanity drugs with risky side effects. Lifelike android clones reside in over a dozen homes, shielding her from the violent resentment of a population straining under her mother's boot heel.

Ascendant's power comes from Xenodril, a drug capable of reversing the effects of Fade, a disease some claim came from aliens or from the governments that predate the war. Only Ascendant sells it, and at a price only Citizens can afford. The rest are left to die.

Maya's earliest memories are of living alone in a penthouse apartment, desperate for the attention of a mother who never visits. Forbidden to go out except to record advertising video, her only friend has been the 'net. When she is taken for ransom by a group of mercenaries with nothing left to lose, she discovers her life may not be what she thought it was-or wants.