Since the appearance of E. W. Farnsworth's 'DarkFire at the Edge of Time' in early 2016, the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased exponentially. From AI to robotics, 2016 was long prophesied as the year when the machines would start "taking over"", Now it is happening, according to Vivek Wadhwa of Crunch Network. Yet AIs and robots have come as our friends and helpmeets to improve our lives. They will become, as Lincoln wrote, the "better angels of our nature." From the 'Sarah Tetralogy' through the journey of Spaceship Arcturus conveying brilliant humans, artificial intelligences and avatars beyond the end of the universe, to 'Renaissance', which recounts the spaceship's successful return to instantiate a new Eden which replaces the black crisp that humans have made of Earth, these stories continue in the vein of DarkFire and his friend, the inimitable Loc Phuket. Science Fiction to some, perhaps, yet, day by day, increasingly part of our current events.

E. W. Farnsworth's DarkFire Warrior follows the pattern of the visionary science fiction tales and poems he established in DarkFire and DarkFire Continuum. Humans and intelligent machines cannot coexist peacefully on Earth, so a brave few of each kind escape. The epic Voyage of the Spaceship Arcturus is the enfolding structure for Farnsworth's creations. As Earth is destroyed by inevitable nuclear war, Arcturus slips through the evil space empire to discover that the edge of the universe is the gateway to a new, pristine realm. Meanwhile, the voyagers evolve into symbiotic organisms worthy of inhabiting the New Eden waiting for them at the end of their trek. A surprise reunion of The Avatar and The Dweeb rounds out the spaceship's journey, which starts where it began, but with everything changed. In this third volume, Farnsworth explores the logical backgrounds of the major characters and the execution of their plan for escaping Earth.

E. W. Farnsworth's brainy and visionary short stories in this volume are meant to be read individually as invitations to other of his creations. The uncanny interplay of the writer and his context can be understood by the thoughtful, patient reader capable of perceiving semantic patterns beneath the surface of words. The excerpt from 'Nightworld: A Novel of Virtual Reality' inspired the cover image for this book since the woman with the wolf in the forest is a boundary-crossing Artificial Intelligence. Part of Farnsworth's epic vision for the future of humankind, AIs and robotics, the stories from 'DarkFire' and 'DarkFire Continuum' weave a continuous cosmology as the adventures of the spaceship 'Arcturus' begin. These stories reveal how their many intellectual games open vistas to the author's past and future stories as well as to inventions and discoveries on the far-horizon of human thought. E. W. Farnsworth is currently working on a visionary epic poem, 'Voyage of the Spaceship Arcturus'.

several towns of the dead almost forgotten that force the predestined researchers to meet supernatural beings, an alternate African-like/African-inspired setting full of fabled treasures, unusual colorful fruit whose healing properties are so respected they would easily convince desperate people to take them, and many more tales of strange, perilous creatures who inhabit interesting and characteristic worlds full of strange plants and trees, where experience, readiness and personal skills make the difference between life and death."

Welcome to the ninth volume of AudioArcadia.com's series entitled AN ECLECTIC MIX. Within these pages are contained ten winning stories by ten different authors whose entries, amongst many others, were submitted to our short story competition which ended on 30th June this year. There are a total of twelve stories in this book which we hope you will find fascinating and intriguing, one way or another. Full details of how to enter our current writing competition can be viewed by clicking the ?Competition? tab on our website.

The buttstock, the trigger and the MACHINE GUN'S smoking barrel. There's a reason why the combatants of war call it "the devil's piano". "The solider above all prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." General Douglas MacArthur - USA The melodies of the devil's piano can play on in the minds of the living and sometimes even the dead. "If you are going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill - Prime Minister Great Britain

Does the afterlife really define a resting place? Do all dearly departed find an existence alongside serenity? Binding the temple of one's soul does not always secure the evil intentions festering and awaiting liberty beyond the shroud. Read to find out what really lies beneath the constraints of merciless cessation.