Search Worlds Without End

Fifty years ago, the town of Gouldens Falls was evacuated, flooded, and submerged under two hundred feet of water. Along with its secrets. Just as well it was buried. There was always something not quite right about that town.

Today, on the anniversary of its watery fate, the man-made lake that was once Gouldens Falls is the source of fascination for a visiting journalist. And a cause for alarm. Because something else is down there. Something evil. And on this special anniversary, it's going to surface.

Tristan is the perfect spy. He's a "mime", an artificially created and cloned human who's metamorphic DNA can be programmed to transform him into a "masque" - a perfect genetic copy of anyone. Mimes can be turned into anyone their corporate city-state owners want, until the stress of assuming masques causes a meltdown.

Earning Selfhood - citizenship and a permanent form - is a mime's sole hope for survival. Tristan is one mission away from Selfhood. His assignment is to enter the heart of the enemy corporation's nerve center, steal top-secret data, and escape through a lawless surreal hell of psychopathic cults and mutant undergrounds. At stake in his assignment is a looming holocaust that can bring destiny - or genocide - to an entire race.

Returned to the home he thought he would never see again, American hostage Simon Farrell finds his homecoming bliss shattered by a sadistic ex-con.

76th Precinct, Union Street, Brooklyn - 8 a.m.

NYPD cop and family man Jack Murphy starts his first day of work at the 76th Precinct in Red Hook. Back at the academy, they had heard stories about these first few days, about being paired up with an old timer and getting "mentored." It was more like hazing.

The salary wasn't bad. You could still retire after twenty years. Benefits were good. And you always had the brotherhood of blue. It didn't sound bad to Jack.

But those days were over.

With the onset of a food shortage, society is crumbling. Grocery store shelves are emptier by the week, and the city has gone from bad to worse. People are getting desperate. And hungry.

Jack and his new partner, Schiller, take to the streets on a blistering hot summer day, cruising around for hours until they can grab lunch. But when they get a routine noise complaint call, they get more than they bargained for, and must do all they can to avoid becoming lunch themselves...

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.