Awakened Control — Boyd Craven III

Welcome to the Wastelands! Remember the movie where Arnold played a cyborg? I'm like that, only I'm mostly human. Stick to the facts, Tony. By the way, Arnie is way more buff than you are. Who's that? That's Alice, the AI implanted in my brain. In a stroke of genius not witnessed since... well, ever... I chose my ex's personality profile for the AI to emulate. And the cybernetic enhancements don't stop there. I'm what they call an augment. Nanites have been infused throughout my body, giving me physical capabilities far exceeding those of the average man. But not the average stalker, as you discovered last week. A little context first, shall we? The world ended - oops - and the fate of humanity depends on my traversing the wastelands for parts to keep us alive. To fix this, all that stands in my way are gladiator fights, gigantic bugs, a cabal of bad guys, and the aforementioned stalkers. Think 8' tall gremlins with razor-sharp talons and teeth - make great souvenirs, by the way, just don't let them love on you. Like, at all. Their love? It hurts. I also have to survive a guy named Magnus, whose elite army of baddies is coming for my head (literally) and being outnumbered a gazillion to one. If that isn't enough, the Data ARC I protect shut down. It holds humanities hopes of digging out of the stone age, and the overlords who keep knowledge suppressed to better control their serfs. Gotta fix it. Fast! So if a Dystopian Action Sci-Fi that reads like the love child of the Mad Max movies and video games such as Rage, Fallout, and Borderlands with Deadpool-esque humor appeals to you, then welcome to the apocalypse's after-party! We have guns, power armor and wild and crazy dashes through the desert on tricked out dune buggies!