Publisher's Synopsis
Welcome to the fifth book of the Vinestead Anthology, a fast-paced cyber-thriller that explores a future where organics and synthetics fight to steer the course of human evolution.Open your eyes, my son, and behold the machinery of the world...Armando Carrillo has always lived with the nagging feeling that the world wasn't real, but he never expected to wake up naked in an abandoned underground bunker with a computer screen behind him flashing the words CLIENT DISCONNECTED.After the discovery that his life in Austin, Texas was nothing more than a computer simulation, Armando must unravel the mystery of his true existence and figure out who put him in the simulation in the first place, and more importantly, why.With ancient generators spewing noxious gasses into the underground facility and massive screens flashing ominous warnings, Armando will have to find a way to escape his cavernous tomb, not only to save his life, but the lives of the three other Austinites who were plugged in with him.Set in the Vinestead Universe and brimming with twists and clever one-liners, Hybrid Mechanics is another irresistible mash-up of technology, mystery, gunplay, and subtle sexual tension from Science Fiction author Daniel Verastiqui.
