Lifeliners
by
Stefan Vucak
Genre:
Science Fiction
When
everybody is against them, it is tough being a lifeliner, as Nash
Bannon found out. Lifeliners are ordinary people…almost. They can
draw energy from another person; they live longer and are smarter.
Scientists claim that Western high-pressure living and growing
sterility in developed countries has triggered the rise of
lifeliners, and homo sapiens will replaced by homo renata within ten
generations. So, what’s not to like about lifeliners? Protest
marches by extremist groups, riots, attacks against lifeliners,
repressive laws enacted by governments everywhere, were portents of a
dark future. Young, successful, Nash Bannon did not like what was
going on, but he thought he had the world at his feet and life in
Australia was good, provided no one found out he was a lifeliner. A
chance encounter with Cariana during a lunchbreak develops into
something he considered important. The Australian government calls a
snap election, and Nash stands as a Senate candidate on the Lifeliner
Party ticket. Unless lifeliners rise up and fight for their rights,
they can expect sterilization, incarceration, and possible
extermination as democracies everywhere turn into autocracies. To
survive, the Lifeliner Party must employ the same dirty tricks the
government used against them, but they were not prepared for what
awaited them.
He spotted her sitting alone at a small square table in the
open part of La Asiago along the promenade and the world faded around him.
Dressed in cream slacks and gray business jacket, flaxen hair spilling across
her left shoulder, time stopped and he stared at this captivating woman alone
in her shell, surrounded by chattering people, yet unreachable. He traced the
lines of her delicate face, the fall of her hair, and a small frown creasing
her forehead that made her perfect.
You
don’t want to become involved again, old son!
Probably not, but he could not see any harm in an interesting
lunchtime diversion compared to the alternative of a lonely bench beside the
river, warm sunshine notwithstanding. It might do him good to seek out some
distracting company and wash out the unpleasant taste of his IBM meeting.
With the exterior section of the restaurant packed and no
empty seats, he took a deep breath and weaved between the tables toward her. If
she didn’t like his approach, she could always tell him to buzz off. It had
happened before. Some women just didn’t want to be bothered. Peace.
“I don’t mean to intrude, but you seem to have the only
spare seat. May I?”
She glanced around, gave him an appraising look with eyes
that cut and probed, and finally nodded.
“There are tables inside,” she said softly, her clear voice
sending an unexpected tingle down his spine. What the hell was going on? He
reminded himself that this was just lunch—diverting as it might be—not a
romantic encounter.
“Yes, but it’s not the same thing, and it’s too cold and
crowded in there,” he declared as he pulled back a chair.
Her eyebrows rose. “You prefer your own company?”
“Depends on the company,” he said and eased himself down. “I
never take chances I don’t have to.”
“You’re taking a chance now, aren’t you?”
“Sometimes you have to.” He glanced at two David Jones store
shopping bags beside her, and she smiled.
“I took advantage of a nice day to pick up a few things before
returning to The Alfred,” she explained.
“You’re a doctor?”
The babble of voices around them created a shield of intimacy
and a sense that time had stopped. Even the crowd strolling along the promenade
faded from his view.
“Geneticist.”
“Fascinating line of work,” he said, genuinely interested.
When the waiter arrived, he ordered spiced ravioli and gnocchi
and half a bottle of red Chianti. Shortly afterward, her spaghetti marinara
arrived. Looking at her speculatively, he lifted the bottle. She frowned and
brushed back a stray lock of golden hair.
“Is this your standard gambit when picking up women?”
She had slim, delicate fingers with a subdued red nail
polish that complemented without being gaudy. He imagined fondling those hands,
running his fingers over her smooth skin. Could he be getting infatuated with a
woman he just met? No, this was merely an interesting meeting with someone
attractive and sophisticated. Still, she had a magnetism he could feel and his
soul reached out to her, warning bells clanging in his head. He clamped a lid
on them, prepared to enjoy this moment.
“I don’t do casual pickups.”
She inclined her head in disbelief. “And I am…”
“A fortuitous and pleasant accident. No spare tables, remember?
Besides, you looked so lonely…”
She lifted a finger. “Don’t push it.”
He grinned at her. “A peace offering, then. A glass of
wine?”
“I shouldn’t—”
“It’s a very light Italian red. Won’t do anything to spoil
your day.”
She bit her lower lip, then slid her glass toward him. “Only
a little.”
“Great.”
He poured both of them half a glass. She lowered her fork
and took a cautious sip. Her eyebrows arched and she nodded.
“Interesting flavor.”
“Glad you like it. By the way, I’m Nash Bannon.”
“Cariana Lambert, and I still think this is a pickup
routine.”
Nash winced. “Now I’m hurt. I really—”
Just then, the waiter brought a bowl of steaming ravioli and
gnocchi, cutting off whatever he was about to say. Nash thanked him, picked up
his fork, stabbed one of the gnocchi and popped it into his mouth. It was nice
and chewy the way he liked it and he relished the tangy mushroom sauce.
Cariana watched him with an amused expression. “That won’t
do much for your waistline,” she remarked dryly.
“It’s my carbs day,” he explained between bites. “I usually
have a mixed salad and fruit juice, but that is not always enough to keep me
fueled and beat off the sharks at work.”
She glanced at her bowl. “I know what you mean. Seeing you
relishing your gnocchi eases my own guilt for being weak.” She dabbed her lips
with a napkin and took another sip of wine. “And what fills your days, Mr.
Bannon?”
“Nash. I
do systems integration for IBM.”
“Weren’t
they taken over by Facebook?”
“They
certainly were. IBM culture was getting stale and needed an infusion of new
methodology and ideas. I have doubts that it worked, but they run some cutting
edge projects.”
“And
what are you working on right now?”
“I’m
currently managing a major Telstra network program where everybody is giving me
a hard time.”
“Poor you.”
“Your sympathy is appreciated.”
She turned serious. “I did not mean to tease you, and I do
understand, finding myself in a similar position. Doing research would be fun
if it weren’t for the oversight protocols, although necessary.” She finished
the last of her marinara and gathered her bags. “Thank you for the wine…Nash.”
Dismayed to see her about to leave, his mind raced. He could
not let it end like this. “I enjoyed meeting you and I would enjoy it even more
if we could do this again, taking more time.”
Now what the hell made him say that! This was supposed to be
a simple lunch without sticky romantic overtones.
She stood and laughed. “Are you always this forthright?”
“I don’t go out much, and meeting someone like you is rare,”
he said quickly and rose, figuring his pickup line could use some updating.
“What do you say?”
The world as we know it is slowly changing and so are the
people around us. Humans are slowly dying out and becoming extinct and
Lifeliners are being born every day and becoming the majority. Lifeliners are
humans that are born needing a little something more than other humans.
Lifeliners need more than food to survive they need the energy from humans.
Lifeliners hide from the world or they try to. They try to
keep anyone from finding out that they are Lifeliners. If they are discovered as
being a Lifeliner then they are taken away to be sterilized and or experimented
on in some cases.
One man a Lifeliner Nash has been living under the radar for
a long time. He works and pays bills just like any human. He is a very good
person who never hurts anyone and tries to stay out of everyone’s way until the
day he meets a nice young woman Cariana whom he starts to have feelings for. Cariana is human and makes it very clear to
Nash that she doesn’t like Lifeliners. Nash wants to be honest with Cariana but
is afraid that he will lose her if he is so he keeps quiet.
Nash meets another Lifeliner on the street, a little girl, Aleya.
Aleya ran away from home and has been living on the streets. Nash wants to help
Aleya by teaching her how to stay safe and hidden from the dobers. Dobers are
what most people call the police. Nash takes little Aleya under his wing after
she finally starts to trust him.
The plot for Lifeliners is brilliant and the world building
is just so out of this world and filled with awesomeness. Once I picked up
Lifeliners it was so hard to put down I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough so
I could reach the end to find out how it played out. I enjoyed seeing how each
character’s stories fit together. The Lifeliners world is filled with action,
suspense and intrigue as well as a little romance.
Lifeliners is a novel for all fans of science fiction and
brand new futuristic worlds. I recommend Lifeliners to anyone who is fan of
this world.
Stefan
Vucak has written eight Shadow Gods Saga sci-fi novels and six
contemporary thrillers. He started writing science fiction while
still in college, but didn't get published until 2001. His Cry of
Eagles won the coveted Readers' Favorite silver medal award, and his
All the Evils was the prestigious Eric Hoffer contest finalist and
Readers' Favorite silver medal winner. Strike for Honor won the gold
medal.
Stefan
leveraged a successful career in the Information Technology industry,
which took him to the Middle East working on cellphone systems. He
applied his IT discipline to create realistic storylines for his
books. Writing has been a road of discovery, helping him broaden his
horizons. He also spends time as an editor and book reviewer. Stefan
lives in Melbourne, Australia.
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