Timerman's Dilemma
In the year 2444, what remains of a United States that was nearly annihilated centuries ago now dominates the globe. The Yukon Confederacy's power comes not through technological progress, but by deliberately suppressing most forms of it. Orbiting Storm Machines flood the ionosphere with positrons, instantly neutralizing industrial electrical activity and electronics. Above them, Blinking Stars satellites relay code that grants flawless communications and near-omniscient surveillance to the Yukon military. These systems-guarded by the secretive order of Timermen-have frozen civilization in a controlled steam-and-gas era powered by brute manpower and constant labor.
The result? Stasis. The alternative? A new age of barbarism and death.
John Randel, brilliant botanist and decorated soldier, was born a bastard orphan on the streets of Grand Harbor-once San Francisco. Through genius and hard work, he's made a fortune from his scientific discoveries and forged a place in society. Randel is recruited by the Timermen to infiltrate the court at Cumberland, the capital city. His task: penetrate the orbit of Lady Chelsea, the de facto ruler of the Yukon Confederacy.
Chelsea is the dazzling and dangerous "Chrysanthemum Woman," who seeks to reforge the old technologies, centralize power, and build a new empire of pleasure, spectacle, and dominance. She's rumored to be hoarding a cache of ancient energy weapons, and Randel suspects she intends to burn the Old Lords' aristocracy-and the Timermen's stable order-to a literal crisp.
In the capital, Randel must navigate decadent salons, political conspiracies, and philosophical struggles while maintaining loyalty to the Timermen. But they are just as harsh and pitiless in their way as Lady Chelsea. Nevertheless, Randel believes the Timermen's ultimate aim is true, and the fight becomes a good man's heroic battle to come to grips with the brutal, implacable currents of history. From firefights in Mexico to a final showdown in Cumberland, Randel's choice will determine whether the old order endures-or humanity burns again on the stake of technological excess and descends into a new Dark Age.
