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Escape into another world . . .
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E A Carter's stories narrated with full cast audio. A new episode every two weeks. eacarter.substack.com

Episodes

  1. I, Cassandra | Chapter 5 | I'm Doing This

    12/15/2025

    I, Cassandra | Chapter 5 | I'm Doing This

    She is a prisoner who can alter reality. He is a dead soldier brought back to life as a sentient machine. 2086. In a dying world divided into a luxurious enclave for the super-rich in the far north of Canada and Greenland, and the billions left to survive outside its impenetrable walls, Cassandra’s ability to alter reality marks her as a valuable asset to Global Command. Lost in a terrorist attack to the United Freedom Fighters, she is discovered in the seedy underworld of London by an elite soldier who does not learn who she is until far too late, and he too becomes an asset owned by faceless powers. Resurrected as a near-immortal machine, his first mission is to extract her from London and return her to the ones intent to use her gift to give the rich a second chance at life in a new world. As the world collapses into its death throes, he fights to protect the one he loves, to save her from what is to come, and to give her a second chance . . . no matter the cost or how long he has to wait. A forbidden love affair that transcends time, the end of the world, and what it means to be human. Honorable Mention - Writer’s Digest 9th Annual Self-Published e-Book Awards 2021 Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyber-Punk, Dark Romance Keywords: chosen one, collapse of society, greenland and nunavut, billionaire bunker, forbidden love, cryogenics Comps: Elysium meets Altered Carbon “A stunningly innovative sci-fi novel.” — The BookLife Prize Critic’s Review “Surprising and unexpected.” — Writer’s Digest “The scale of I, Cassandra is truly awesome.” — C.N. Vair, Author “Stunning SF on a mythic scale.” — Kirkus Reviews “A believable extrapolation of our current situation.” — Judge, 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards Content warnings: violence, human trafficking, rape, suicide, drug use, language Spice Level: 3/5 At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts. Non-pornographic descriptions. No smutty language. © E A Carter 2021 All Rights Reserved © Michal Karcz Cover Art Excerpt from Chapter 5: I ease Blue’s door open—unlocked as usual—with the nose of my weapon. I slip inside, cautious. It’s dark. Two patches of scarred wooden floorboards stare back at me, bone-white, highlighted by the pale, insipid light of a crescent moon. I glance at the heat sensors again. The small smear in the corner moves toward me, hesitant. Miro emerges from the shadows, her eyes huge in her thin head. She walks, unsteady, starving, toward me. She sits by my feet and looks up at me, hopeful. I kneel and hold out a gloved finger, letting her rub her cheek against it. I can hear her purring. I have nothing to give her. In the kitchen, I search bare cupboards. My heart clenches as I run a finger along a thick coating of dust, guilt almost crushing me. This is my fault. When I called down the strike on myself, I left them to die. I glance at Miro, who hasn’t moved, though her eyes continue to plead, her message boring into me, visceral. Please. Feed me. Please. “Maddox,” Akron’s voice cuts in, urgent, “you have to be quick. The one shadowing Vallis is tight with Zandiki. GC has been looking for that bastard for a long time. We need the one following Vallis. He’ll lead us straight back to UFF’s headquarters.” He pauses. I hear typing, rapid. A French-accented voice murmurs in the background. So de Pommier is there after all, via her droid, watching me. “Yes Ma’am,” says Akron. “Maddox,” he continues, tense, “you have seventy seconds to get out before you compromise yourself.” “Copy that,” I say, low. “Get the shuttle ready. I’ll intercept the target in the stairwell.” “No,” Akron says, his voice hard. “Abort mission. You don’t have time. We can’t afford to lose this lead. Vallis can wait for another day.” I look at Miro, looking at me. Starving. I think of the blood trailing down Blue’s legs. Her eyes empty, bleak, her hope gone. “No she f*****g can’t,” I mutter. “I have time. Send the shuttle. I’m doing this.” Buy the book I’ve been using ElevenLabs for my audiobook and I love it. If you use my link to sign up, I get a commission which helps support The Understory: Love, Culture, Fiction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eacarter.substack.com/subscribe

    20 min
  2. I, Cassandra | Chapter 4 | Survival First, Family Later

    12/01/2025

    I, Cassandra | Chapter 4 | Survival First, Family Later

    She is a prisoner who can alter reality. He is a dead soldier brought back to life as a sentient machine. 2086. In a dying world divided into a luxurious enclave for the super-rich in the far north of Canada and Greenland, and the billions left to survive outside its impenetrable walls, Cassandra’s ability to alter reality marks her as a valuable asset to Global Command. Lost in a terrorist attack to the United Freedom Fighters, she is discovered in the seedy underworld of London by an elite soldier who does not learn who she is until far too late, and he too becomes an asset owned by faceless powers. Resurrected as a near-immortal machine, his first mission is to extract her from London and return her to the ones intent to use her gift to give the rich a second chance at life in a new world. As the world collapses into its death throes, he fights to protect the one he loves, to save her from what is to come, and to give her a second chance . . . no matter the cost or how long he has to wait. A forbidden love affair that transcends time, the end of the world, and what it means to be human. Honorable Mention - Writer’s Digest 9th Annual Self-Published e-Book Awards 2021 “A stunningly innovative sci-fi novel.” — The BookLife Prize Critic’s Review “Surprising and unexpected.” — Writer’s Digest “The scale of I, Cassandra is truly awesome.” — C.N. Vair, Author “Stunning SF on a mythic scale.” — Kirkus Reviews “A believable extrapolation of our current situation.” — Judge, 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards Content warnings: violence, human trafficking, rape, suicide, drug use, language Spice Level: 3/5 At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts. Non-pornographic descriptions. No smutty language. © E A Carter 2021 All Rights Reserved © Michal Karcz Cover Art Excerpt from Chapter 4: “Major Ezenwa,” I say and salute my reflection, sharp, precise. The title sounds good in my mouth. I say it again, the Rolex glinting on my wrist as I drape my jacket over my arm. I smile, my even white teeth brilliant against my deep complexion. My smile fades as I recall the request I made to my CO, thinking of Adiana, the neuroscientist I met a year ago, the chemistry between us palpable—the woman I intend to marry no matter how many barriers stand in our path. I turn away from the mirror, the memory of my CO’s reply over a smoky single malt souring my fledgling sense of accomplishment. “Right now, we need you serving Global Command. Maybe in a few years’ time. Anyway, it’s too soon to be thinking of settling down. You are still young. Plenty of time. Survival first. Family later, eh?” I let out a disgusted breath. ‘Survival first. Family later.’ The motto of the restriction zone. Everyone said it, and everyone lived by it, all of us marching to the same beat, even my father. But I am the son of the last, and arguably one of the best presidents of the United States and can’t help but chafe at the enforced equality across the A&O cities, at the utter lack of nepotism, of even the merest shred of favoritism. I had heard rumors the newest city, Alpha VII—completed in 2058 and nestled in a bay along Greenland’s north coast—where, it was claimed, the most valuable citizens to Global Command resided only by invitation. I had never seen it, and neither had anyone I knew. Once, I tried to look up information about it on the military database, but everything regarding the city, its construction, and its residents lay locked under several forbidding layers of security. I searched for satellite images. Nothing. Old data streamed across my screen of an empty green coastline edged with rocky fjords. Even now, as a major, I still didn’t possess Q Clearance—the level used for matters of extreme secrecy, and the one required to open Alpha VII’s most mundane files. I toss my jacket aside. All I know is Alpha VII is being kept isolated from the rest of us for reasons I have yet to learn, reasons I suspect point to a further separation of society. I glance at my jacket, draped over the back of a chair, the bright insignia of my new rank peeking out from between heavy khaki folds. All the more reason to elevate myself, to ensure I am invited into that hallowed, silent, invisible city perched at the top of the world, and not left behind. Buy the book I’ve been using ElevenLabs for my audiobook and I love it. If you use my link to sign up, I get a commission which helps support The Understory: Love, Culture, Fiction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eacarter.substack.com/subscribe

    32 min
  3. I, Cassandra | Chapter 3 | The Jackpot

    11/17/2025

    I, Cassandra | Chapter 3 | The Jackpot

    She is a prisoner who can alter reality. He is a dead soldier brought back to life as a sentient machine. 2086. In a dying world divided into a luxurious enclave for the super-rich in the far north of Canada and Greenland, and the billions left to survive outside its impenetrable walls, Cassandra’s ability to alter reality marks her as a valuable asset to Global Command. Lost in a terrorist attack to the United Freedom Fighters, she is discovered in the seedy underworld of London by an elite soldier who does not learn who she is until far too late, and he too becomes an asset owned by faceless powers. Resurrected as a near-immortal machine, his first mission is to extract her from London and return her to the ones intent to use her gift to give the rich a second chance at life in a new world. As the world collapses into its death throes, he fights to protect the one he loves, to save her from what is to come, and to give her a second chance . . . no matter the cost or how long he has to wait. A forbidden love affair that transcends time, the end of the world, and what it means to be human. Honorable Mention - Writer’s Digest 9th Annual Self-Published e-Book Awards 2021 Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyber-Punk, Dark Romance Keywords: chosen one, collapse of society, greenland and nunavut, billionaire bunker, forbidden love, cryogenics Comps: Elysium meets Altered Carbon “A stunningly innovative sci-fi novel.” — The BookLife Prize Critic’s Review “Surprising and unexpected.” — Writer’s Digest “The scale of I, Cassandra is truly awesome.” — C.N. Vair, Author “Stunning SF on a mythic scale.” — Kirkus Reviews “A believable extrapolation of our current situation.” — Judge, 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards Content warnings: violence, human trafficking, rape, suicide, drug use, language Spice Level: 3/5 At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts. Non-pornographic descriptions. No smutty language. © E A Carter 2021 All Rights Reserved © Michal Karcz Cover Art Excerpt from Chapter 3: “Got orders from the higher-ups,” he says, strapping a pair of pistols to his belt. “Pack your shit. We got a proper live one from Command looking for some fun. You’re back on the job at the bar. We leave in five.” My heart slams into my throat. Hope cripples me. Zee’s eyes are on me, calculating, narrow, suspicious. I look away. “Seriously?” Zee scoffs. “If anyone should know Maddox is dead, it should be you, the Oracle.” He makes a mocking woo-woo noise and twirls his finger in the air by his head, his way of letting me know how much store he sets in my abilities. He turns his back to me to open his battered locker. His hand goes in and a flak jacket slides out; he throws it over his shaven head, quick, expert. “It’s not him,” he taunts, still facing away from me as he pulls the jacket’s side straps tight. “He’s dead as f**k cause you didn’t do your job.” He turns, and eyes me, a flicker of jealousy hardening the blue ice of his irises. “You’re such a little traitor,” he says, tight. He steps toward me, his muscled bulk intimidating, solid. I lift my chin and hold my ground, even though I know he’s going to win like he always does. “He was our goddamned enemy,” he whispers. Zee’s close enough for me to catch the faint tang of his body odor. I hold my breath. “Forty of my best men were taken out because of that bastard’s last stand.” I say nothing, but inside, I’m dying, I miss Maddox so much. Even after six months it still hurts as bad as the moment Zee told me we’d lost him. Zee’s hand whips up, quick as a snake and catches hold of the back of my head. He pulls me toward him and presses his lips against mine, hard and possessive. A punishing kiss. “You’re mine,” he says as he pulls back. His eyes move over my face, searching, for something, anything. I feel nothing except emptiness. A hint of longing shears through his rugged features. “Why don’t you just let me in?” he asks, quiet, a flicker of vulnerability piercing the hardness of his exterior. “Am I so bad? I mean, I let you keep the cat didn’t I?” I nod, thinking of poor Miro, left behind in my grotty apartment, alone and lonely. Zee’s idea of letting me keep the cat meant no one could shoot her, and I was allowed to go back and check on her every now and again, although I had to feed her from my paltry rations. Her halcyon days of actual cat food were long gone. Once, I had hoped those days would never end. But they did and the bad days came back, harder than ever. Buy the book I’ve been using ElevenLabs for my audiobook and I love it. If you use my link to sign up, I get a commission which helps support The Understory: Love, Culture, Fiction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eacarter.substack.com/subscribe

    22 min
  4. I, Cassandra | Chapter 2 | Genesis II

    11/03/2025

    I, Cassandra | Chapter 2 | Genesis II

    She is a prisoner who can alter reality. He is a dead soldier brought back to life as a sentient machine. 2086. In a dying world divided into a luxurious enclave for the super-rich in the far north of Canada and Greenland, and the billions left to survive outside its impenetrable walls, Cassandra’s ability to alter reality marks her as a valuable asset to Global Command. Lost in a terrorist attack to the United Freedom Fighters, she is discovered in the seedy underworld of London by an elite soldier who does not learn who she is until far too late, and he too becomes an asset owned by faceless powers. Resurrected as a near-immortal machine, his first mission is to extract her from London and return her to the ones intent to use her gift to give the rich a second chance at life in a new world. As the world collapses into its death throes, he fights to protect the one he loves, to save her from what is to come, and to give her a second chance . . . no matter the cost or how long he has to wait. A forbidden love affair that transcends time, the end of the world, and what it means to be human. Honorable Mention - Writer’s Digest 9th Annual Self-Published e-Book Awards 2021 Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyber-Punk, Dark Romance Keywords: chosen one, collapse of society, greenland and nunavut, billionaire bunker, forbidden love, cryogenics Comps: Elysium meets Altered Carbon “A stunningly innovative sci-fi novel.” — The BookLife Prize Critic’s Review “Surprising and unexpected.” — Writer’s Digest “The scale of I, Cassandra is truly awesome.” — C.N. Vair, Author “Stunning SF on a mythic scale.” — Kirkus Reviews “A believable extrapolation of our current situation.” — Judge, 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards Content warnings: violence, human trafficking, rape, suicide, drug use, language Spice Level: 3/5 At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts. Non-pornographic descriptions. No smutty language. © E A Carter 2021 All Rights Reserved © Michal Karcz Cover Art Exceprt from Chapter 2: “It seems the line between life and death is much wider than we have been led to believe,” she continues, breaking into my thoughts. She sighs and sets aside her coffee cup. It’s still half full. “It is fascinating to think on the brink of our annihilation we have finally been able to transcend death.” She glances up at me. A look of regret fleets through her eyes. “It is . . . ironic, no?” I blink. I thought I was a droid, and a really ugly one, my memories copied and programmed piece by painstaking piece onto a hard disk buried somewhere inside me. But this—the transfer of a complete neural network, this is something else. It is the holy grail. Eternal life. “I once read a paper about a two-year-old boy who drowned in freezing waters in the United States,” she continues in her educated, French-accented electronic voice. “It happened just over seventy years ago, in 2015 when neuroscientists still quibbled over the so-called ‘hard problem’ of consciousness.” She graces me with a slight eye roll. “The boy was dead for one hundred and one minutes. Think of that. One hundred and one minutes with no heartbeat. They managed to resuscitate him. The child came back, fully functioning.” She shakes her head, incredulous. “His brain should have died from lack of oxygen, but it did not. It has taken decades of trial and error for science to ascertain precisely how to replicate the right temperatures to stop all physical processes, yet keep the brain intact, without carrying over the psychic trauma which sometimes comes with near-death experiences.” She falls silent and eyes me. I realize she’s waiting for me to speak. “Ma’am,” I hazard, uneasy, “exactly what am I?” She smiles, pleased. I must have asked the right question. Buy the book I’ve been using ElevenLabs for my audiobook and I love it. If you use my link to sign up, I get a commission which helps support The Understory: Love, Culture, Fiction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eacarter.substack.com/subscribe

    36 min
  5. I, Cassandra | Chapter 1 | Back From The Dead

    10/20/2025

    I, Cassandra | Chapter 1 | Back From The Dead

    She is a prisoner who can alter reality. He is a dead soldier brought back to life as a sentient machine. 2086. In a dying world divided into a luxurious enclave for the super-rich in the far north of Canada and Greenland, and the billions left to survive outside its impenetrable walls, Cassandra’s ability to alter reality marks her as a valuable asset to Global Command. Lost in a terrorist attack to the United Freedom Fighters, she is discovered in the seedy underworld of London by an elite soldier who does not learn who she is until far too late, and he too becomes an asset owned by faceless powers. Resurrected as a near-immortal machine, his first mission is to extract her from London and return her to the ones intent to use her gift to give the rich a second chance at life in a new world. As the world collapses into its death throes, he fights to protect the one he loves, to save her from what is to come, and to give her a second chance . . . no matter the cost or how long he has to wait. A forbidden love affair that transcends time, the end of the world, and what it means to be human. Honorable Mention - Writer’s Digest 9th Annual Self-Published e-Book Awards 2021 Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyber-Punk, Dark Romance Keywords: chosen one, collapse of society, greenland and nunavut, billionaire bunker, forbidden love, cryogenics “A stunningly innovative sci-fi novel.” — The BookLife Prize Critic’s Review “Surprising and unexpected.” — Writer’s Digest “The scale of I, Cassandra is truly awesome.” — C.N. Vair, Author “Stunning SF on a mythic scale.” — Kirkus Reviews “A believable extrapolation of our current situation.” — Judge, 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards Content warnings: violence, human trafficking, rape, suicide, drug use, language Spice Level: 3/5 At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts. Non-pornographic descriptions. No smutty language. © E A Carter 2021 All Rights Reserved © Michal Karcz Cover Art Excerpt from Chapter 1: “Read it,” my captor repeats from behind me, his voice harder. He shakes the tablet to focus my attention, or maybe just for emphasis. “Out loud. I need to run final diagnostics.” I blink, the pain in the back of my eyes is gone, and the shear of cold in my brain has eased. The letters and numbers on the tablet’s screen stare back at me. I glance over them. I blink again, disbelieving. No. I refuse to read this. I try to turn my head, to look at him, the one with the disdainful voice, to see if this is some kind of sick joke, but my head is strapped to the table, just like the rest of me. “Read.” He shouts. Spittle spatters against my cheek, stinking of stale cigarettes, coffee, and cheap whiskey. The table judders from an impatient kick, followed by another, harder. I grit my teeth and read. “Captain Ryan Maddox.” I pause. It’s not my voice I hear coming out of my mouth. Not even close. Another kick thuds against the table, and I feel it in my spine. He’s a strong f****r, I’ll give him that. I continue, my voice harsh, gravelly, unfamiliar, a hint of Slavic in it. “JSOC Delta Force, died of massive internal injuries while engaged in heavy combat against United Freedom Fighters on May 29, 2086, near Lubochnia, Poland, co-ordinates 51.602464, 20.009097. Per the agreement signed June 15, 2081, by all senior Delta Force personnel, the Department of Defense retains the rights to Captain Maddox’s remains. He was immediately collected via drone shuttle and frozen en route to this facility for reclamation. If successful, he will be repurposed for action in Project Cynosure. Q Clearance. Debriefing to follow at Headquarters. End message.” The screen went dark. “How can I be alive again?” I ask as the table kicker pulls the tablet back and reappears in front of me. This time he’s not a blur, but a hardened, shaven-headed vet. Scars criss-cross his face, his nose sits slightly to the right, kinked at the bridge, his eyes are steely and cold, and his jaw is grizzled with grey stubble. “Because you are the only one who knows for sure where the target is,” he answers as he drags a trolley over to him. “Or at least where they were six months ago before you decided to play the hero and check out. They must want you bad; top brass had to get an executive order signed to fund a separate off-the-record R&D division to develop the tech to rebuild you, so you better show some gratitude to Command when you get called in since there’s no one else here like you. No one.” Buy the book I’ve been using ElevenLabs for my audiobook and I love it. If you use my link to sign up, I get a commission which helps support The Understory: Love, Culture, Fiction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eacarter.substack.com/subscribe

    43 min
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E A Carter's stories narrated with full cast audio. A new episode every two weeks. eacarter.substack.com

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  • Creator
    Escape into another world . . .
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
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    © E A Carter
  • Show Website
    Well-Read