In the dark, distant future, densely populated hive cities rely on ancient technologies and rigid laws in order to endure.
Once a scion of a noble House, Paric Silver arrives on Terra as an unsanctioned psyker, hoping to regain his standing in the Imperium. With the walls of Schola Psykana closing in, he must solve the mystery of a wayward ghost or join it in the Sea of Souls.
As the standalone sequel to PSYKER, PSYKANA offers a genre-bending dive into a dystopian future where survival is only half the battle.
Appropriate for Adult and Young Adult readers.
In the dark, distant future, densely populated hive cities rely on ancient technologies and rigid laws in order to endure.
Once a scion of a noble House, Paric Silver arrives on Terra as an unsanctioned psyker, hoping to regain his standing in the Imperium. With the walls of Schola Psykana closing in, he must solve the mystery of a wayward ghost or join it in the Sea of Souls.
As the standalone sequel to PSYKER, PSYKANA offers a genre-bending dive into a dystopian future where survival is only half the battle.
Appropriate for Adult and Young Adult readers.
“This is Inquisitor Teodoro Locke on the Emperor’s Talon. We’ve arrived from the Fulcrum system in the Segmentum Pacificus to deliver a psyker for Schola Psykana.”
“Locke, this is Inquisitor Joffre Costain. We’d been informed via astropath that the rogue psyker on Fulcrum IV was terminated.”
“That young man no longer exists, but we think this one is promising.”
“Acknowledged. Your beacon has been added to the grid. An Ordo Hereticus shuttle is en route. What have you brought us?”
“A Delta grade psyker. Male. Highly lethal.”
“Intentional kills?”
“Yes.”
“Stability?”
“Marginal.”
“Name.”
“Silver.”
“Acknowledged. Beam us his file.”
To see Brianne Haaland at this moment was unfair, but it had always been that way. Our relationship had been one of glimpses and stolen walks. She stood in the shadows of the hangar deck, leaning on her brother Lyst rather than a cane and looking even more beautiful than I recalled. Every moment with her had been an exhilarating escape, and in the end, she was a silent reminder that I’d always been in over my head.
The Emperor’s Talon had carried me halfway across the galaxy to another world and a new life. The monstrous starship felt more like a cathedral than a vessel of war. It was a stand-in shrine and a beacon. The hushed tones of its crew only added to the feeling as I shuffled through the hectic bay. Newly shackled, I was being escorted to a shuttle for the short ride over to an orbital defense station.
My mind-dampening cowl had been replaced by a more subtle, multipronged device, a thick collar locked around my neck. Its cold fingers roamed up the back of my skull, pressing into my skin and dulling my spark. Carrying an explosive charge in its lock, the collar allowed me to see and be seen for the first time in weeks. As the key to my new life, it left me with nothing but a growing sense of dread.
By the standards of the Imperium, I wasn’t officially human. I was an unsanctioned psyker. After an evaluation in the holding cells of Ordo Hereticus, I’d be hauled to the surface of Terra and placed in the Schola Psykana. There, I would spend the next year or two under a psychic microscope, being trained, and if all went as planned, I’d regain my standing as a vital citizen of the Imperium. It only sounds great when one knows the alternatives, and Inquisitor Locke made sure I knew those before we ever emerged from the Warp on our trip across the Milky Way.
As we reached the shuttle’s ramp, I stole one final glance over my shoulder and offered a brave smile for the onlookers. Perhaps that final glimpse would be memorable for the first woman I’d ever loved. I was numb and too overwhelmed to know what it would mean to me or what it had meant.
It’s not you; it’s me, I thought, and that made me chuckle for the truth it captured about my life.
“Take any seat. We’ll strap you in.” The man’s uniform bore the symbol of the Inquisition, but it was his aggressive weapon that caught my eye.
The guard wasn’t looking to start a conversation, so I sat down first, replying, “I once kissed a girl over a weapon like that.”
“I doubt it.” The man brushed a bit of invisible dust off of his hellgun. He carried a version I hadn’t seen before, with a thick cable looping to the belt behind his back.
Through my exotic neckwear, I searched for the menacing hum of his hot-shotted weapon, and I nodded in appreciation, “It’ll do.”
“Do what?” he said.
“Whatever it wants.”
It didn’t seem a practical weapon for onboard security. It could punch a hole through me and the bulkhead without a second thought.
“True,” he chuckled. “Place your hands on the armrests.”
Polysteel restraints lashed my torso, wrists, and ankles into place, and I had an uneasy feeling it wasn’t enough. I asked the guard, “You got an overhead cowl that I could wear?”
“It’s a short ride. That ain’t enough?”
“I’m not used to being off-planet. The cowl keeps me from getting jittery.”
Jittery was the safest word I could come up with at that moment. The cowl had kept me sane in the throes of a long shortcut through the Immaterium, a chaotic dimension better known as the Warp, but I was still recovering from several life-saving surgeries and the loss of everything I held dear. According to the more experienced hands in the Medicae ward of the Emperor’s Talon, it had been an easy trip over from the vast region known as the Segmentum Pacificus. They didn’t wear scars that acted like beacons for the unreal.
The man sighed, “Give me a second.” He returned with a bulbous black mask and slid it over my head, turning the dimly lit cabin into a cornerless berth of black. Silent black.
I closed my useless eyes and relaxed.
My first day of Schola Primaris back on Fulcrum IV flashed through my head. The whirr of data and the small class hovering around a central node. The end goal had been to deliver everything needed to build the future leaders of the hive cluster. The years of shared knowledge and socialization made me what I am today. I wanted to believe that, but in the end, I’d changed and been offered a new path. Leadership was out of the question, but my existence might be allowed.
###
“Welcome to Orbital V, Terra. You may open your eyes.”
I complied, enjoying the dimly lit cell and the fact that my cowl and restraints were gone. The collar still hummed in place behind my ears.
An older gentleman sat across from me at a small ceramic table. “I am Inquisitor Costain of the Ordo Hereticus, and I will be blunt. We may not know who you are or what you’ve done to get here, but we will find out. Inquisitor Locke provided us with a sparse overview of your background on Fulcrum IV. He has been commended for his safe delivery and is on his way out of the system.”
The man’s words seemed to echo with a forcefulness from another dimension. He wasn’t completely human either. I could see he wasn’t afraid of me and found that comforting. I held my tongue.
“Very good.” Costain tapped the tabletop, and a report appeared. “While you were reminiscing, we completed our final evaluation of your psychic potential. We have assigned you a rating of Delta Standard and have reserved a slot for you in Schola Psykana. Being eighteen, you are on the older end of the sanctionite range but still acceptable. According to your Medicae scan, you’ve paid dearly for your life choices. You now have the opportunity to make a better choice, the first of many.”
I reached up and tapped my brutal necklace, signifying that I was in no position to make any decisions.
“That life is over. Inquisitor Locke delivered the death certificate along with the cadaver, and even though you’re still warm, you are still a cadaver. Don’t consider that collar a means of merciful death but rather an opportunity for your resurrection.”
I couldn’t argue with the man’s logic, “I accept.”
Costain tapped the table again, turning it off. “You are the last entrant in a class of ten. Your class designation is 1137-Lima, and your official name is Silver. As to your next question, the rules are simple. If you complete the first year at Psykana and are deemed trustworthy, the collar will be removed.”
Silver was a magic word, a reminder of when I was fully alive. A memory of Bree clung to it.
“Young man, it is time to let go of your past. We’ve given you a familiar name at Inquisitor Locke’s request, but its old meaning will only lead you astray. Don’t let it be your undoing.”
“Did my things arrive with me?”
“The power glaive and body armor? Yes, they will land with you on Terra. For a first-year, you are certainly over-equipped.”
“You don’t know who I was or what I did.”
“I know you died for your efforts.”
“I’d do it again.” While true, it hadn’t been my decision alone.
Costain smiled. “Let’s hope not, but just in case, Inquisitor Locke left you a gift.” He slid a pair of Medicuffs across the table and left me to ponder their meaning. A life on the brink and a second chance.
The expensive item was a life-preserver used by the first responders on any hiveworld. It was said that each device contained a machine spirit that learned the dire needs and proper rhythms of its users. The device provided chemical and electrical stimulation to sustain a person until proper Medicae treatment could facilitate their comeback.
Inquisitor Teodoro Locke wouldn’t have known the Medicuffs’ deeper meaning for me, so I took the gift as a warning and a guide. I placed the priceless item in my breast pocket, hoping I’d never have to use it again.
###
Besides the small table and chairs, the holding cell had a commode and a cot bolted to the wall. I had used both and fallen asleep when another visitor arrived. As an astral body projection, the man’s translucent form wore a uniform of the Astra Telepathica. He appeared young, certainly younger than me. As he stood there, watching me try to sleep, his excess of energy taunted mine, burning me like a gallon of strong coffee.
The back of my neck was certainly heating up as I stood, “Are you waiting for me to bow or something?”
“No,” he said. “I’m simply admiring the view at the bottom of the heap.”
I’d been to the bottom of the heap, and it was nothing like this. “What heap?”
“Class 1137-Lima, soon to enroll at the Schola Psykana. They always leave the dregs for last in each class.”
“And who are you?”
“Rynk. Gamma Prime. And you?”
“The Dregs,” I shrugged.
Rynk ignored my answer. “The first year is the toughest. That’s why you wear the collar. It protects you and those around you.”
I yawned, “I’ve already gotten the lecture about my chances of survival.”
“I can help you with that collar,” he said, reaching out.
I gave his hand a psychic slap, forcing it away. I didn’t have an abundance of power, but I had enough. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
“You’re not that pretty, but I’ve got an offer for you and a word of advice.”
“I’m waiting,” I said.
“The key to surviving your first year at Psykana is to join the right clan. Having someone to watch your back during downtime is crucial.”
“You’re offering me protection?”
“Actually, no. I’m more of a predator. I’m looking for someone to hunt the other recruits with me, but my reputation offers its own shield. If you’re with me, no one will mess with you.”
I didn’t know what to make of his offer or Psykana. “I’ll think about it. What’s your word of advice?”
Rynk smiled like a feral hound and barked, “McKittrick.”
“That’s a word. What does it mean?”
“You’ve got my best offer. If you change your mind, my card’s on the table.” With that, the unwanted visitor left in a disintegrating blur.
I walked to the table and tapped its surface.
An abridged Ordo file for Locadio Rynk, Gamma Prime, Class 1130-Delta (DEFUNCT) appeared. He was still a first-year student, a sanctionite from an earlier induction. He hadn’t worn a collar when he visited in his ethereal form and could go wherever he wanted, even off-planet. As a Gamma Prime, he was from the stronger end of the psyker pool. As a potential threat, Rynk was beyond my limited grasp.
Back on my home planet of Fulcrum IV, a Warp witch had taken root in my city’s deepest sector, the underhive. As a powerful rogue psyker, the witch had figured out a way to hide from the Inquisition and secure the services of the city’s most powerful gang. Through its nefarious designs, a pair of nasty parasites from the Warp had crashed my party. Their silver-tinted presence had been torturous and mind-bending, but they’d taught me everything they knew about hunting, scrapping, and scavenging among their kind.
As a fledgling psyker, I’d found a potent set of skills to leverage and a way to defeat the witch. I wasn’t all that powerful—average at best—but I had plenty of potential and know-how. I stole energy and the ways to use it from those around me. I had no idea why Rynk paid me a visit, but if he thought I was the dregs, he’d better buckle in.
###
Hours later, I saw my class for the first time as we were placed on a shuttle heading for the surface of Terra. Our class of ten had four males and six females. Everyone’s hair had been shorn in the style of a military recruit, and we wore loose-fitting scrubwear tagged with the eye-sign of the Astra Telepathica. Most of my classmates seemed a year or three younger than me and wore their angst on their sleeves. Nobody looked happy. Nobody said a word. Locked into our seats with a nervousness bordering on dread, I knew things could be far worse.
Psykers varied in terms of their potency and abilities. Those deemed too great a threat disappeared. They were shot dead or sacrificed to the Emperor on Terra. Suitably potent users of the Warp—those rated from Gamma Prime down to Epsilon Standard on the Astra Telepathica standard scale—were rounded up by the Inquisition and sent to Schola Psykana to begin a process known as sanctioning.
As soon as we landed, we would be inducted into the Astra Telepathica and given official standing as acolytes of Psykana. To say the ride-in was bumpy would be an understatement.
The transport’s passenger bay was sectioned into rows of two, with each seat separated by a broad aisle. The chair backs and outer bulkhead acted as walls, only allowing me to see one other recruit. A young woman around my age sat eight feet to my right, wearing freckles to distract from her pretty pale blue eyes. Neither of us said a word, but she smiled back and seemed to relax as our eyes met. It was another moment I’d never forget.
As we dove into the heavier atmosphere of the planet, the vehicle bounced hard, accelerating toward its destination on the planet’s surface. I hadn’t seen any pilot or crew once we were strapped in and assumed the g-forces didn’t affect whatever AI was controlling our descent. An imminent landing light flashed in front of me, and moments later, a security check light flickered and settled on green.
A sharp bang rattled the cabin as the shuttle touched down, and to my right, the woman’s head sagged forward. The back of her neck was a charred ruin. The focused explosion had cauterized her flesh, and what little blood there was had immediately blackened, dappling the walls and the seat around her. The remains of her collar had fallen into her lap.
Feth.
I was strapped in with dura-leather and polysteel cords, but still, I struggled to break free of the dreadful scene. I may have vomited in the process and bitten my tongue, hoping to avoid another lesson on the Emperor’s Mercy. I was still in the throes of a fit as a pair of attendants finally reached my row and pointed their stunners at me. They blocked the horrid view and didn’t even think to check on the woman. My Medicuffs couldn’t have brought her back.
“Dial it down, Silver. You’re the last one to get off.” The Ordo guard looked over his shoulder. “She was the first, and we’d rather you disembarked like all the rest.” They couldn’t care less that she was gone.
“W—why?” I coughed.
“She failed the security check—must have tampered with her collar.” The guard waved the working end of his weapon in my face.
My hands remained clamped to my chair.
I focused on the man’s words rather than his weapon, finding my way back to the immediate goal of survival. I offered the guard a far calmer tone, “She was so young. Who was she?”
The Ordo pair looked at each other and shrugged. “Her name was McKittrick.”
What would you do to clear your good name of a crime you hadn't committed?
Add to that burden the need to clear your family's good name, and you'll have an understanding of what Paric Kilhaven's facing at the opening of Psykana, the second of the Hiveworlds books.
But wait, dear reader, it's okay if you didn't read Psyker. Psykana is a standalone sequel, so while you would probably enjoy reading them sequentially, you don't have to.
Let me back up a little and give you an idea of what the Hiveworlds are. They are a collection of planets with a strict hierarchy - something that until very recently has always worked in Paric's favor.
At the beginning of Psykana, Paric's being hauled away to something very like a re-education camp of dangerous psychics.
Oh, did I mention there are mind powers and magic in this book? It's tons of fun!
Paric's got his hands full trying to navigate the dangerous waters of the Schola Psykana, a place intended to take those with psychic abilities and turn them into useful cogs in the machine or let them die in the process.
As if that's not bad enough, being in prison/school where people can and will kill you, Paric's been assigned to hunt down a rogue witch. However, things are not as simple as those in power would like Paric to believe, and he's not as docile a psychic as he would like them to believe.
For me, the pacing was sometimes a bit too fast. There's so much happening and the story world is so complex that I sometimes had to re-read passages. If you love dense world-building, this will definitely work for you, though.
What's to love about Psykana?
* Worldbuilding - as I mentioned, it's dense and complex. The story world of Psykana feels very real with all the human problems and all the tech ones you might expect.
* Complicated plot, with plenty of intrigue.
* Interesting characters with intersecting, aligning, and double-crossing agendas.
* Mind powers! So fun to find a story that melds mind powers/magic with high tech.
Recommended for fans of dystopian fiction, such as The Hunger Games series, Amberlight, Blade Runner, Neuromancer, and Glory Season will enjoy Psykana.