A desperate young woman. A cruel training facility. Playing by the rules will keep her alive.
Seventeen-year-old Anya Macklin longs to feel safe again after escaping a rebel attack that killed her parents. Stuck in her own fear, her only hope of breaking free is by joining a machine-run training facility and learning how to survive.
Pitted against other teenagers in multiple game-like scenarios, Anya shakes off her fear to become stronger and more resilient. But when the facility pushes her to kill her competition, sheâs shocked by its cruelty.
Carrying a facility-issued chip that will kill her if she tries to leave, Anya can do only one thing: venture deeper inside the place keeping her prisoner.
But as dangers mount, she is faced with a heartbreaking choice: use the facilityâs cruel tactics and get out, or follow her heart and get left behind.
Broken heroines battle machine minds in this thrilling and gritty science-fiction suspense series. The Facility is the first book in the Breeder Files series.
A desperate young woman. A cruel training facility. Playing by the rules will keep her alive.
Seventeen-year-old Anya Macklin longs to feel safe again after escaping a rebel attack that killed her parents. Stuck in her own fear, her only hope of breaking free is by joining a machine-run training facility and learning how to survive.
Pitted against other teenagers in multiple game-like scenarios, Anya shakes off her fear to become stronger and more resilient. But when the facility pushes her to kill her competition, sheâs shocked by its cruelty.
Carrying a facility-issued chip that will kill her if she tries to leave, Anya can do only one thing: venture deeper inside the place keeping her prisoner.
But as dangers mount, she is faced with a heartbreaking choice: use the facilityâs cruel tactics and get out, or follow her heart and get left behind.
Broken heroines battle machine minds in this thrilling and gritty science-fiction suspense series. The Facility is the first book in the Breeder Files series.
The ends of Carissaâs long white dress trailed on the dirty ground in a space not many other Copies visited. She hesitated by the entrance to the workshop filled with spare bellies, legs and tails attached to steel girders in the roof. Three wolves in shutdown mode stared at her. She kept to the walls, keen not to get too close to the beasts.
She watched an old man in grease-covered overalls bend over the open body of a fully assembled wolf on a work table. The Collective called them âGuardiansâ, but the Inventorâs term, âwolvesâ, was a more accurate description of the part-organic, mostly metal beasts. Her organic heart thrummed at the sight of the wolves designed to act as guardians of the urbanos, built to protect the Originals who had been rescued from the towns.
The Collective ten who controlled the city of Praesidium disliked it when Carissa hung out in the workshop, then turned up to the Great Hall looking less than pristine. But she enjoyed the dirty space, a place she felt more comfortable in when the wolves didnât outnumber her. Nor would she discourage hugs from the grease-smeared Inventor. The human was just one of few Originals left in a city designed and run by Copies. Carissa preferred his lively company to the rule-following machines.
The Inventorâs workshop was located in a section of tunnels beneath the bright white city. A retractable roof, currently closed, dominated the centre of the room. It allowed larger machines to be lowered into the workshop for repair. Next to the passive wolves were machines for assembling and tearing down the urbanos.
The Copies, a claustrophobic bunch, preferred the brightness of the city and rarely ventured into the tunnels. But Carissa favoured the city beneath the streets; the gleaming white above ground made her new eyes water.
A pungent smell of oil and grease filled her nostrils. She pinched her nose and waited by the door for the Inventor to notice her. He continued to work on the open body of the wolf, muttering when he bent in for a closer look.
âSorry, boy. This is going to hurt a bit.â He tweaked something in the wolfâs belly. The wolf growled, deep and long.
The Inventor patted its head. âIâve got to get you ready. That means connecting your voice box and your pain sensors. Almost done.â
Carissa clutched her throat when the wolf lunged at the Inventorâs arm. He cursed and pulled his bloody arm away from the snapping mouth.
She stepped back, even though she was in no danger. She had warned the Inventor about treating the wolves like pets; they were dangerous and could not be tamed, not even when operating under the Collectiveâs directive.
In her retreat her shoe scuffed against the ground. The sound startled the Inventor. He stared at her, hand on heart.
âMiss, you gave me a fright. How long have you been standing there?â
âNot long.â Carissa moved further into the room, keeping her eyes on the alert wolf. The other three in shutdown stared past her. Â
She nodded at the mature wolf. Its yellow gaze tracked her movements. âIs it going to Arcis?â
âYes. The Collective wants four of them to act as supervisors.â
âTo keep them in line?â She shuddered at the thought of being under the beastsâ command.
The Inventor shrugged. âI assume so. Teenagers can be difficult to manage at the best of times. The Collective thought the presence of such magnificent creatures would command respect.â
ââRespectâ? âMagnificentâ?â
âYes. They are quite something, donât you think?â
Theyâre certainly something.
âBut the teenagers will be dazed. They wonât know whatâs happening.â
The Inventor moved over to a counter along one wall and wiped his hands on an oil-stained rag. âEven so, theyâll feel enough to know the wolves are there. The wolves will supervise them, miss.â
The wolfâs pink tongue darted out to lick its metal lips. Carissa hugged herself when its gaze fixed on her.
âHas this one received its directive yet?â The Collectiveâs directive was simple: âCopies must not be harmedâ.
âYes, miss.â The Inventor sighed and looked down at the wolf. âIt may look menacing, but it wonât, or canât, harm you.â
Knowing the live one had received its directive made Carissa feel better. She moved closer to the table. The wolf watched her silently. She kept her distance. âI suppose the teenagers have worse to fear than the Guardians, Inventor. The rebels are their true enemy.â
The Inventor kept his gaze on the wolf. âWhat happened to the townspeople was horrendous, but shipping the teenagers off to a Praesidium-built urbano isnât the answer. They need to deal with the truth, that this world is not safe.â He looked up at Carissa. âThey must learn how to survive in a vicious world. Relocating them to Essention so they can be enrolled in some education programme will only delay that.â
âBut wouldnât they be safer in Essention, than in the towns? Their own kind, the rebels, poisoned them.â
The rebels had been in existence for just six months. Their goal? To free the townspeople from the tyranny of Praesidium and the Collective. But the humans misunderstood the Collective, a group of ten who only wanted to protect the townspeople.
âThe rebels arenât the problem, miss.â He waved his hand around the space. âThis city is.â
She liked the Inventor, but she would not have him speak ill of the Collective. The ten had rescued the Inventor from a life of hardship. His town had also been hit by the rebellion, razed to the ground after a frenzied attack. The people living there had been left with nothing. The Inventor was a victim just like the other Originals who lived in Praesidium.
âYou should remember where you came from, Inventor.â Carissa lifted her chin.
He sighed. âI do, miss. Every day.â
She could tell the Inventor needed more convincing. âThe townspeople would be dead if Praesidium hadnât rescued the teenagers. The adults were killed, then the town blasted with radiation poisoning. Should they have been left to die?â
The Inventor concentrated on the wolf on his table. âNo, miss. But a place like Essention is not the answer. They donât need protecting. They need to face up to the cold and unforgiving truth of life. And they must learn how to cope with it.â
The Inventor was an Original, so naturally his loyalties lay with the townspeople, which included the rebels. Carissa was a Copy, designed in the image of her dead Original to help keep Praesidium functioning.
A bout of nerves almost tied her tongue, but she forced out her next question. âAre you a rebel sympathiser?â
The Inventor flicked his gaze to her. âOf course not.â He turned to the supine wolf and patted it on its head. The wolf snarled at him. âBut forcing the townspeople to live in Essentionââ
âSo they can get medical treatment.â
âYes, there is that. But enrolling the teenagers in Arcis, a place designed to separate them from lifeâs realities for who knows how long? That isnât the answer.â
âSo, what is?â
âLeave them in the towns with the right support to get on with their lives. Some of them are almost adults. Let them stay in the only place they know.â
Carissa didnât see how that was possible. âTheir parents are dead, Inventor, at the hands of the rebels.â
âI knew you wouldnât understand, miss. Youâre not likeââ
âLike you? An Original?â The reminder hurt. Around the Inventor, she felt less like a Copy, more human.
âWell, yes, if you must know.â
She pushed her hurt down and lifted her chin. âNo, Inventor. Iâm better than an Original. I am an improved design.â
She was about to say more when Quintus, the spokesperson for the Collective, spoke through the communication disc embedded in her skull, just above her ear.
â173-C. Please report to the Great Hall.â
She touched the disc. âUnderstood, Quintus.â Carissa looked up at the Inventor.
He nodded. âYouâve got to go. Iâll see you tomorrow. Tell the Collective the wolves will be ready by morning.â
Carissa climbed the stairs that led to the surface. She exited through a door and crossed a circular courtyard to the Learning Centre, a large white building located at the heart of Praesidium. The sun pinched her ocular nerve as it bounced off the bright façade. She rubbed the pain from her eyes and hurried inside.
She veered down a corridor to the right of the lobby, past the upload rooms, where each day she delivered her experiences for the Collective to review.
Entering the Great Hall, she approached a white podium in front of a grid-like screen. She laid her palm flat on the podium and touched another disc on the side of her head connected to her brain. The dayâs thoughts and memories caused her to shiver as they passed from her cerebral unit down the length of her arm and into the podium. Normally, she would do this in the upload room each morning, but the Collective preferred to receive real-time uploads when the group called Copies to the Great Hall. The screen shimmered and beeped upon transfer of the information.
In one corner of the screen, a shape morphed into a familiar face. The slightly distorted features, representing the Collectiveâs many voices, depicted a dark-skinned male in his thirties.
â173-C. Has the Inventor finished with the Guardians?â
âYes, Quintus. He said theyâll be ready by morning. Four of them are destined for Arcis.â
Essention, the wolvesâ destination, was an urbano built six months earlier by Praesidiumâs digging machines and overseen by a group of Copies. At its heart was Arcis, a facility designed to attract the adults from the towns. Carissa understood Arcisâ original purpose was to give the townspeople access to the latest Praesidium technology. Townspeople existed in a state of poverty, living off the land and old tech from Praesidium. But to accommodate the teenagers, Arcis must become an education facility.
âGood,â said Quintus.
Still attached to the Collective, Carissa felt Quintus search through the upload of her latest memories.
On screen, he frowned. âIt seems the Inventor is not as keen on our plans for the teenagers as you.â
Carissa nodded. âHe is an Original, Quintus. He views things differently to us.â
âHe must prepare the urbano to receive the poisoned townspeople, and Arcis for the teenagers. Will he be a problem?â
âNo, Quintus. The Inventor wants to help us.â
âIs he a rebel sympathiser?â
Carissa answered truthfully. âNo, Quintus.â
âGood. We need the townspeopleâs knowledge of the rebels to ward off any planned attacks on Praesidium.â
The Collective ten had a particular interest in the Originals who lived outside of Praesidium. Quintus called the rebelâs massacre of the adults âa necessary sacrifice that would work to Praesidiumâs advantageâ. According to him, the teenagers offered the best chance to understand the motives of the rebels who threatened Praesidiumâs existence. Teenagers were more likely to talk than adults.
Carissa heard some of the other Collective members speak through her communication disc: Septimus, Octavius, Unos.
âThe teenagers are en route to Essention,â said Unos. âThey will be treated at the hospital first, to alleviate the conditions of the radiation poisoning. They will be allocated accommodation in Essention. Families together. The sixteen- to eighteen-year-olds will receive a different chip to give them access to Arcis.â
âWhat can we learn from the teenagers that we didnât from the adults before them?â said Octavius.
Septimus spoke. âThe adults who came through Arcis provided us with some knowledge, but they were too rigid in their thinking, too loyal to the rebellion. We need the teenagers on the cusp of adulthood who are still young enough to shape and mould.â
Carissa frowned. âWonât they miss home?â
âThey will accept Essention as their new home, 173-C,â said Quintus. âWe will make sure of it.â
âAnd the rebels? Can they be reasoned with?â said Unos.
Quintusâ voice became edgy. âThe rebels kill their own kind to inflict damage on us. We will rise above their attempts. We will preserve whatâs left of their people after their barbaric attacks.â
âAnd weâre all agreed we need the teenagers?â said Octavius.
âYes. The teenagers are too important,â said Quintus. âThe Collective must do everything to protect them from the rebels. The teenagers will be instrumental in our survival.â
This should be truly great Young Adult Science fiction, bordering towards fantasy land. For a start the title, âFeeder,â in a single word creates intrigue and within the first few pages of the book all the classic ingredients of top notch science fiction are presented. From the word go there is a sense of enigma created that absorbs the reader, drawing he or she into to a nightmare world of the future which yet mirrors aspects of the problems human society faces today. This persists throughout the whole work and is not fully resolved in the ending. Thus, there is created an opening for a follow up or even an entire series.
There has been rebellion, whether just or not is unclear, and rebellious factions are still on the loose. Indeed they are highly active and pose a serious threat to what is perceived as good order. There has been a holocaust that has left a radiation blasted out world of broken, ruined townships through which marauders roam â though not necessarily members of the rebellious forces - creating orphans by brutal murder of parents. Above and beyond this mayhem is a citadel, an enigma in itself, a machine run city, a âsanctuaryâ â or is it a trap? â Into which the stricken young of the townships ââsurvivorsâ â are taken for âhealing,â for âeducationâ and âtraining,â or at that at least is what they are made to believe.
âCopiesâ of humans and âcopiesâ of beasts supervise the procedure. Pseudo men, pseudo women and outsize pseudo wolves overseeing the progress of the young people as they struggle to meet targets, to complete initially mundane tasks that transform, change into ever more arduous, ever more dangerous assignments which enable them to graduate â if they donât fail and sometimes die in the process of failing â ârotate,â to climb, to pass from one level to the next of a dizzying tower at the highest level of which awaits what? A fate far worse than death the reader suspects and certainly that is what members of the rebel forces struggling against all odds to mount a rescue, to breach the city walls with a combination of cobbled together high technology gadgets and outdated weaponry believe.
Strewth, with all this the book should be a truly terrific read. But, sadly, I have to say, that for me, at least it was not. Despite all it has going for it and despite being extremely well written I felt that âFeederâ lacked that vital human âspark.â It felt almost as if the author, utterly absorbed in the creation of an automaton run world had transfused automaton like qualities â blandness â into her writing. It was, I felt, as if the text was not so much the work of a person as perhaps that of a âcopyâ of a person - or even maybe a machine. But whether written by a machine, by a âcopyâ of a person or a person I will gladly give âFeederâ four stars.