The March 29th release of my book, kongo.com is getting closer. It’s a bit different than your typical novel or short story collection. It is comprised of four related novellas that each tell a distinct story about a behemoth corporation, kongo.com.
It’s no secret that online organizations are part of our everyday life. The company portrayed in this book takes what we know today to the next level.
It takes place in a not to distant, potential future. The stories in this book are all based on the possible evolution of existing technology – nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and our obsession with our devices.
Leading up to the release, I’m going to tell you a bit about each novella. Three of the four were previously published on my blog as serials. these three have been enhanced and modified. The fourth story is brand new and is meant to tie the previous three stories together.
I look forward to your reaction to these excerpts. In this next story, I’m going to introduce you to Rachel and her husband Ben who, after much trying, have finally been told they’re expecting a child. At the same time, Rachel is diagnosed with a highly aggressive cancer. The story balances the choices she makes about her treatment with elements of artificial intelligence and suspense that, again, relate back to kongo.com.
Please enjoy this excerpt from the novella, Memories of Rachel, part of my
kongo.com collection. (now available for pre-order)
Memories of Rachel
It had been four months since Rachel died. It was a long, slow period where Ben watched her go from being a vibrant, athletic woman to a frail shell with skin barely covering bones. The onset of the cancer had been sudden and aggressive. She lasted for seven months. She might have survived if she had allowed treatment, but treatment would have killed the baby. Beautiful baby Erin would never have entered this world if her self-sacrificing mom had not refused aggressive chemotherapy.
Ben agonized
over his wife’s decision. He assured her they could have more children if she
would just save herself. He remembered the conversation.
“Please. Go through
the treatment. You can get pregnant again,” Ben pleaded. “I…I just can’t live
without you.”
“The treatment
will kill the baby. I just can’t do that. Parents are supposed to protect their
children. Besides, there’s a good chance the treatment will do so much damage
to my body that I won’t be able to get pregnant again. You heard the doctor.”
Rachel had a
roller coaster of a month. It ranged from the happiest day of her life, the day
she found out that, after three years of trying, she was finally pregnant.
Then, four weeks later, eight weeks into her pregnancy, what should have been a
joyous day turned out to be one of unimaginable confusion and chaos. It was at
the appointment for her first sonogram that the technician noticed something
unusual. It turned out to be a shadow on the screen. The doctor was called into
the room and he saved several views of the image and scurried off to his
office.
They had done
their best not to alarm Ben and Rachel, but the technician and doctor could not
totally mask their concern. Once Rachel had dressed, she and Ben insisted on
talking to the doctor. After he completed his phone call, which Rachel assumed
was about her, he ushered the couple into his office.
“First,” the
doctor began. “I want to assure you that the baby is right where it should be
at this point in your pregnancy.”
Rachel was
never one for the sandwich approach to delivering bad news. She liked to hear
and evaluate what she was dealing with upfront.
“I hear a big
‘but’ coming, doctor,” she said with impatience, “What are you not telling me?”
“We saw
something on the sonogram. I’m not 100% sure what it might be. I’m consulting
with a colleague and we think…”
“What kind of
colleague?” Ben said, cutting off the doctor.
“Well, it’s an
oncologist.”
“Oncologist?”
Rachel asked, stunned.
“Just a
precaution,” the doctor said. “He’s right in the same medical plaza and he
wants to see you today so we can see what we’re dealing with. You can go right
over.”
Ben and Rachel
went from the obstetrician directly to the oncologist.
Talk about the circle of life,
Ben thought to himself once they viewed the patients in various form of decay
in the waiting room.
“Ben, I’m
scared,” Rachel said.
This was the
first time Ben’s could ever remember his confident wife admitting to being
scared. He would find out, over the next seven months, it wouldn’t be the last.
Not by a long shot.
“Let’s hear
what the doctor has to say first, before we jump to conclusions.”
That was Ben’s
response. He was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to comfort
his wife. Even though he was feigning calm, his heart was performing
Olympic-quality gymnastics in his chest. Rachel was his rock. She was his North
Star. He wasn’t sure how he would deal with any bad news about their future.
Once the
receptionist took their names, they barely settled into the molded plastic
chairs when her name was called to go back and see the doctor ahead of those
that were waiting much longer.
There was no
sitting in an exam room. Rachel and Ben were directed immediately to Dr.
Kaplan’s office. The décor in his office was sparse. It didn’t have the usual
motivational or cheerful pictures or mementos. It was almost sterile with only
his diplomas and hospital affiliations on display. He was a man who was likely in
his 50s but looked like he was in his 60s. Ben imagined that Kaplan’s job was a
stressful one where delivering bad news far outweighed the positive.
Kaplan settled
into his well-worn chair behind his sparse desk. He turned the large computer
monitor so that Ben and Rachel could see it. Ben wondered what they were going
to see. He didn’t realize at the time that it would change their lives forever.
“As you were
having your sonogram, the technician noticed a…um, an anomaly.”
“What kind of
anomaly?” Rachel asked.
“Well, it was
a mass. It appears to be attached to your liver.”
“So, what do
we do to treat it?” Ben asked anxiously.
“We have a few
options. We need to assess the tumor and, if it’s cancerous, how advanced it is
and if it’s spread to other areas of the body,” Doctor Kaplan explained. “Then,
we can discuss treatment options.”
“What about
the baby?” Rachel asked.
“The baby, um,
yes. Your pregnancy is only about eight weeks in. The surgery and the resulting
treatment would likely cause you to abort spontaneously.”
“Abort
spontaneously? You mean a miscarriage?” Rachel asked.
“Well, yes.
That is the common term for it.”
“But she will
be able to get pregnant again, right?” Ben asked.
The doctor
leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head which caused his
brow to furrow. He was silent for a moment and then seemed to carefully weigh
his next words.
“There are
still many aspects of this that we can’t be sure about. The tumor could be
benign and might just need to be removed. If it is cancerous, it may not have
metastasized to other parts of Rachel’s body. If it has, the treatment might be
fairly aggressive and could damage the uterus and ovaries making pregnancy
difficult if not unlikely. This is all conjecture, however. I don’t want to scare
you into drastic action but, with that said, we need to move quickly to rule
out those worst-case scenarios.”
As it turned out, all the worst-case scenarios were confirmed. Rachel had cancerous tumors, not only her liver, but in her lungs and there was evidence that it had metastasized in her brain. She and Ben were devastated. The most aggressive treatment would possibly prolong her life, but not cure her. It would also end the life of their unborn child. This was not acceptable to Rachel. This drove her to the decision to forego treatment and concentrate on delivering a healthy baby. She more than exceeded this goal.
kongo.com is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com by clicking HERE.
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As I checked my books on Amazon this week, I came across a pretty cool surprise. My first novel, Frankly Speaking, reached the milestone of 50 reviews. I’ve come across this in several articles as a desirable milestone. With mounting Amazon reviews, there are some positive things that can happen to your books. They include:
Author Don Massenzio 