Future Prometheus — J.M. Erickson

It's End of Days... With his men missing in action and the target of his black-op mission killed by his own men, Sargent Jose Melendez requests extraction from the jungles of Brazil. Prior leaving, he sees an entire city population wiped out by apparent violence by its own citizens against each other -- no patterns or organization, just a free for all murderous rage. Upon arrival at a makeshift refugee, army fire-base, he learns that the majority of the male population has been affected by toxic steroid levels resulting in uncontrollable violent behaviors. With the human species at risk of extinction, his own past is the key to the future. Joining forces with Dr. Marcella Del Cruz, an experiment in long-term cryogenic sleep is in the final stages of testing. However, a several month cryogenic sleeps goes terribly wrong, leaving Melendez frozen in stasis on Ross Island, Antarctica, for more than 160 years. He awakens to a future where there are walled mega-states run by a militant matriarchies, with cybernetic life forms, artificial persons (AP's) providing services to keep their civilization flourishing. While human horrors such as war, poverty, and disease of the "Pre-Fall" days are a thing of the past, there are other secrets just below the surface of this utopia. Wondering if he should return to stasis for the hope of a better future or death, Melendez finds that his duty as a soldier requires he takes action. With the help of his cybernetic rescuers, he formulates a plan that will not only change the course of future but will force humans to evolve and a new artificial sapience to emerge. Who's left... Second Lieutenant Jose Melendez, USMC, awaits extraction from the jungles of Brazil as the world's male population succumbs to toxic steroid levels that drives them to kill everything in their sight. Dr. Marcella Del Cruz, Chief Scientist, USAF, leads a classified mission on Ross Island, Antarctica that holds the key to humanity's future. Major Mara Singh, NCSF -