Medical Science Fiction

When a team of scientists discovers the deadly consequences of a human gene they dub “the evolution gene", they quickly realize that the human race is on the brink of extinction. As pandemic after pandemic ravages the world, symptomatic of the looming eradication of all humankind, this team heads to the Amazon for one last chance to save humanity.

Nature abhors static and seeks change, for better or worse. The Pandemic strain is mutating in ways no one can predict, and time is running out. Military scientists sprint toward a vaccine, but without the Source they fight a losing battle. Navy SEALs race against foreign invaders to rescue one of the only scientists in the world capable of defeating the flu, but enemies - and traitors - plot their downfall at every turn.

The discovery of concealed remains in a mass grave in Russia forces top scientists to question everything they believed about human origins. For molecular biologist Kaye Lang and "virus hunter" Christopher Dicken, it means pursuing a mysterious flu-like disease that has been dormant for millions of years—and is now coming back to life. With the world threatened by a deadly epidemic, they must solve an elusive puzzle and find a way to prevent the next terrifying step in evolution.

Sabrena Collins feels her life is finally coming together, now that her abusive ex-husband is a distant memory. She has a good job, two wonderful daughters, and a best friend who is more like a sister. And then there's the gentle and generous Steve, who is everything her ex wasn't. But what about the lonely nights when the phone doesn't ring?

CDC researcher Nadine Parker and her team are baffled. Lukas Behn’s daughter Kyndra has contracted a bizarre new virus that leaves her screaming in pain. But they can't identify any physical, biological source for that pain, not in Kyndra, nor in the dozens, then hundreds, and finally millions of children worldwide succumbing to the same virus. And no one seems to have made a connection between what's happening with the infected children and the events on a small coral reef in the South Pacific.

You either build your world or you burn in someone else's. With every fleeting moment, the whole world draws closer to being overcome by the deadliest virus known to man. Steele's family home lies in burnt ruins on the shore of Lake Michigan. His group hunts for his missing mother in the apocalyptic wilderness filled with the dead. Instead he finds a group of refugees badly in need of his skills learned in the shadow war on terror, for they are persecuted at every step by the Chosen, a group of fanatics hell-bent on creating God's Kingdom in the rubble of society.

"How do you form a more perfect union?" Unlock the continuing mind-bending possibilities of ethical and moral dilemmas with "After Dinner Conversation - Season Six," the next (and final) installment (look for the After Dinner Conversation - Best of" series) of the must-read collection of the best short stories from the critically acclaimed After Dinner Conversation magazine series. Spanning all genres, from science-fiction to historical fiction and everything in between, each story is guaranteed to captivate you and leave you questioning your own beliefs. Perfect for philosophy students and...

Sweeney is a druggist by trade; Danny, his son, is in a persistent coma, the victim of an accident. Hoping for a miracle, they have come to the Peck Clinic, a fortress-like haven in a post-industrial city overrun by gangs. Doctors there claim to have resurrected two patients who were similarly lost in the void.

A wealthy businessman, known by most as Joe Kettleman, narrowly survives an attempt on his life. While recovering from surgery to remove a bullet, imaging reveals a lethal tumor. Unwilling to spend his final days under chemical bombardment, he returns to a remote cabin in New Mexico to die in peace. But when death takes its time and Joe outlives his supplies, he's forced to take a perilous journey through the deserts of the Bisti Badlands. Two days into what was supposed to be a five day trek, Joe comes across a town.

Certain Cure: Where Science Meets Religion, chronicles the life of 3 generations of the Cummings family; Claire, a woman in her 70s who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Helene, her television journalist daughter, and Justin, the teenage grandson whose adoration of his “Grams” leads him to discover the dark secret behind the miracle technology that is not only curing Claire of her cancer, but tempting his mother with eternal youth, as traditional medical industries wage war against the mysterious doctor from China who threatens them all.

Mary and Senator Tad Williams pushed their son, Justin, to go on a date that went horribly wrong. Now, they try to figure out a way to help their son out of a coma. At almost $5,000 a day for ICU expenses, their insurance options are running out. Amber, Nick, and Jacob built a new immersive game system for the future. The only problem is, at $800 a day, no one can afford it. Dr. Dubois wrote a paper about how you might help a person out of a coma, but it was crushed under the might of the medical lobbyists on Capitol Hill.

Nature is unpredictable, as are viruses; when one so volatile surfaces with a vengeance, there is little time to comprehend the devastation and even less time to do anything about it. In the wake of the virus, there are three types of people: those immediately infected, those who are vulnerable, and those who are immune. The initial infection ripples across the globe infecting half of the world's population. A small fraction of the ill are fortunate and die quickly from the disease.

Can the digital networks that record our footprints hold us steady when dementia threatens to push us off the path? This question has real stakes for data analyst Charlie Sanders. His best hope for a father succumbing to Alzheimer’s comes from assistive technology that Charlie helps design for a scrappy start-up. Despite early successes, Charlie has growing doubts about the motives of each of his colleagues.

Luke Abramson, a brilliant cellular biologist who is battling lung cancer, has one joy in life: his 10-year-old granddaughter, Angela. When Angela is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and given less than six months to live, Luke wants to try a new enzyme, Mortality Factor 4 (MORF4), that he believes will kill Angela's tumor. However, the hospital bureaucracy won't let him do it because MORF4 has not yet been approved by the FDA. Knowing Angela will die before he can get the treatment approved, Luke abducts her from the hospital with plans to take her to a private research laboratory in Oregon.

As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother's cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them. Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the Center for Disease Control - but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days.

"How do you stop yourself from growing up?" Unlock the continuing mind-bending possibilities of ethical and moral dilemmas with "After Dinner Conversation - Season Five," the next installment of the must-read collection of the best short stories from the critically acclaimed After Dinner Conversation magazine series. Spanning all genres, from science-fiction to historical fiction and everything in between, each story is guaranteed to captivate you and leave you questioning your own beliefs. Perfect for philosophy students and fiction lovers alike, each story comes with five suggested ...

A deadly virus - and a desperate race against time. One spring morning in New York City a 17-year-old student wakes up feeling vaguely ill. Hours later she is having violent seizures, blood is pouring out of her nose and she begins to attack her own body in the most hideous way imaginable. Soon, other gruesome deaths of a similar nature have been discovered, and the autopsies reveal that a previously unknown virus is at large. It replicates horribly fast, it is always fatal - and is just too efficient to be entirely natural.

Valerie Ramirez, a special ed teacher still haunted by her toddler’s drowning accident, faces a fateful decision when she’s admitted into an exclusive program run by a mysterious biotech company. Kaden Baker, an elite hacker who dabbles in covert ops, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers her parents turn out to be imposters. Where does she come from? Who’s been financing her high-stakes secret missions? The answers lead back to the same sinister biotech firm. As Kaden and Valerie become allies, they make one startling discovery after another about the company’s dark intentions.

In a small Montana town, it takes four minutes for every man, woman, and child to die. It isn’t a virus or biological attack, but rather the beginning of a geological event that triggers a chain reaction across the globe with devastating effects. A repeat of an extinction event that occurred millions of years earlier. There is no stopping it. The only way to survive is to stay ahead of it. Tom Foster hasn’t flown in decades, yet, he sets his fear aside for a vacation with his grown sons.

Get ready to be swept away on a thrilling adventure with Zeus, the powerful and willful leader of the gods! Created by the Origin to help the wealthy have children, Zeus and his brothers quickly became test subjects and were forced into mercenary work. But when a Special Ops team led by the feisty and beautiful Sierra offers them a chance at freedom, Zeus and his siblings know it's now or never. As danger looms and the stakes get higher, Sierra and Zeus must fight side by side for their survival against the cunning Origin. Along the way, secrets are revealed that threaten to tear them apart...