Hi r/books,I have recently completed a science-fiction novel called The Floating Man. For the next few days it is free for down load from Amazon.The story follows the adventures of the postman Wayne Maynard, his navigable scow, the Yang-Mills Field, and Candy, a barmaid and PH.D student of machine psychology, as they become embroiled in the mystery of Edzard Chong and the future of machine intelligence.In the year 2356, Wayne agrees to retrieve a vacuum can for the summoner Armipad Armistaw. When Armistaw reneges on their deal, Wayne and Candy pursue him across the solar system in search of the truth and a sizable reward.I have included an excerpt below. I hope you will download and enjoy the book.While the waitress ordered up his coffee, Wayne tried to move his stool so that he could have a better view of the street, but found it bolted to the floor as if the Coffee Cobblers had a particular fear of badly aligned furniture, or perhaps that someone might become too comfortable. A few skinny teenagers lounged in a booth by the back wall, nestled there against a mural backdrop of Martian destruction, drinking fluffy things and engrossed in their phones. A fan pumped the scent of freshly ground beans and bacon into the air while a sliver of retro guitar pop looped on concealed speakers.Hideous, thought Kane. Get me out of here. He considered leaving without his coffee, but decided against it. He wanted to allow for some distance between himself and the churchmen. It was also likely that the street hawker might be hanging about with his eyes open.The waitress returned a couple of minutes later toting a steaming cup of something which aped something else that had no right to exist in a civilised universe. It came on a tray with a marshmallow and unique napkin. She flashed her teeth again and placed the assembly on the counter in front of him. “There’s your Big One.”Wayne stared at it before pushing the cup away by a few millimetres. “Thanks,” he said, and tipped her twice the usual amount. “Remember anything while you were away?”“He hasn’t been in,” she said. "And therefore is not protected by the Coffee Cobbler confidentiality pledge. Have a nice day.”She laughed at her own cleverness and retreated behind the counter, leaving Wayne to contemplate his Big One. He stared at it, smelled it, ran a spoon across its foamy surface, tried to understand it, but could not. “Yang-Mills Field,” he said. “You there?”“Always here,” said Yang-Mills Field. “Always somewhere, anyhow.”“What madness has compelled civilization to unite coffee, chocolate, and pork in a large cup for consumption on the farthest human city from the sun?”“Total madness?”“Total madness. Quite right.”Another voice cut in. It was Candy “So what does it taste like?”What does it taste like? It seemed a question of little relevance. And yet, he had paid for it. There must be a reason. He raised the cup to his lips and became at once hyper-aware of a layer of something sickly and sweet on his tongue, the looping, looping, looping sliver of electro guitar pop, and the suffocating stink of beans and bacon. The teenagers remained engrossed in the elsewhere against the backdrop of another Martian scene of destruction. The waitress at the counter caught his gaze, nodded and smiled sweetly. He shook his head, spitting the coffee back into the cup, and pushed it away.Once outside his head began to clear. He bought a bottle of water and rinsed his mouth. “Fuck that,” he said to his phone.“What did it taste like?” Candy asked.“I don’t even know." via /r/ebooks http://ift.tt/2AbNVSu
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