What's New

In the depths of a forgotten planet, Ziran, a dying colony teeters on the edge of oblivion.

Radiation poisoning ravages their bodies, while society crumbles beneath the weight of despair. In their darkest hour, they turn to an ancient ritual, birthing a child with otherworldly powers.

Zosimos, the chosen one, grows at an unnatural pace, his mind ablaze with extraordinary abilities. But an encounter with a mysterious plant unleashes a tempest of anger within him, and instead of becoming a savior, he transforms into something they never expected.

Amidst the chaos, a glimmer of hope emerges. Vallena, with her life-saving discovery, and Kelv, a sage bound to the path of nonviolence, become the last chance to salvage a future from the ashes. 

Can they unlock the secrets to healing the poisoned land and quell Zosimos’s wrath before it consumes them all?

Will the colony find salvation, or will they succumb to the haunting forces that threaten their very existence?

Find out more in “The Dot” – a page turning work of futuristic science fiction rife with mystery, fantasy adventure, alien technology, bio-enhanced humanoid races, and profound philosophical underpinnings that will linger in your thoughts well beyond the final page.

“The Dot” is an enigmatic tale of survival, power, and the fragile threads that hold humanity together. 

Mark Bertrand, in this dystopian novel, weaves a mesmerizing narrative, where darkness and redemption collide in a race against time. As you delve into the pages of this gripping and thought-provoking work of post-apocalyptic fiction, be prepared to encounter a myriad of captivating elements that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

But this thriller book offers more than just pulse-pounding action and intricate world-building. 

Prepare to explore existential questions and contemplate the nature of humanity as you navigate the intricacies of the narrative! Within this top technothriller, immerse yourself in a world where the line between A.I. artificial intelligence and humanity blurs, where ancient mysteries intertwine with modern advancements, and where the power of imagination knows no bounds. 

A captivating addition to the library of science fiction enthusiasts, geeks, and those who crave visionary literature. 

This enthralling mystery book combines space opera, advanced technology, alternate history, future wars, and metaphysical spirituality, making it a perfect gift for readers who enjoy immersive imaginative worlds. 

With its seamless integration of alien invasions, humanoids, and thought-provoking theology, this stellar piece of hard science fiction offers a unique reading experience that satisfies both die-hard sci-fi fans and those seeking compelling narratives. 

Spark your imagination and leave a lasting impression on your friends with “The Dot” – Get your Copy Today!

Draft: The Dot Blurb

The planet (Planet 444, a.k.a. Ziran) was terraformed eight hundred years ago by a race of cyborgs as a human colony experiment. The planet is today unable to produce food and the inhabitants are starving and sick from various radiation diseases. They believe it is the two suns that poison the food and causes the disease. The main character, King Zosimoss, encounters aliens through his supernatural mind. Through him, the alien discovers and takes over the colony’s supercomputer. There are four main characters who must work together but are at odds on how to save the colony. The alien becomes their only hope to escape the planet and find a new home. Two of the four create a chemical that, when consumed, allows others to hear the voice of the alien. The other two are leaders of a heavily divided population.

First Take: The Dot Blurb

Two sons on two planets discover themselves and their fathers’ legacies while confronting a planetary existential crisis of famine, radiation poisoning, and the collapse of society.

Eight generations after the Cyborgs sought to eradicate anger with their DNA-altering serum, the planet Ziran and its colony face extinction. The inhabitants are dying, their bodies and life-sustaining crops stricken by radiation poisoning. In a desperate grasp for survival, they turn to an ancient ritual, creating a child who is more god than human. 

The future of the settlement now lies in the hands of Zosimos, who matures at an inhuman rate and displays exceptional mental abilities. But when he’s exposed to a plant that reverses the side effects of the Cyborg’s serum, Zosimos experiences anger for the first time and realizes his power far exceeds those around him. Zosimos succumbs to a murderous rage that leads him to enforce a tyrannical rule upon the people of Ziran. 

The planet’s salvation resides in the hands of a girl named Vallena, and a sage, Kelv, who has sworn himself to a violence-free existence. Kelv’s DNA may hold the key to curing the radiation poisoning, and with Vallena’s discovery of a cure for Zosimos’s rage comes a seed of hope. Will Kelv’s lessons, Zosimos’s new morality, and the secret hidden by Zosimos’s father be enough to alter the dark forecast for Ziran’s people? Or will a force they never bargained for mean the end of everything they created on their peaceful planet?

Months now with no shining and glimmering words from you. Oh, how I miss the sounds of your laugh and hearing the song that recites in your thoughts. When you conveyed those happy moments, the days were in harmony. Music filled each passing moment. 

Where did you go? Into the deepest cavern and the darkest corridor? Perhaps the emotions have pulled you down through the layers of deception and there you sit. Immersed in suspicion and righteous indignation. Feeling wronged and taken advantage of. Vengeful and certain to never be wronged again.

This isn’t the time for a reckoning. You’re not a victim laying helpless under this crushing weight. I suspect it is me you blame. When you turn your eyes away from your toes, you see me pushing the load onto you. Look closer and you’ll see it is me laying underneath you. Crushed here as well.

Trust has left me. Desire and inspiration as well. Once there was no doubt of our ability to fly above the clouds. The comfort of a powerful, inseparable bond consumed the darkness with fires of passion. With those interlaced fingers, we went hand in hand in all directions. Smiles in our eyes.

When I am without the sound of your joy, I see only the end ahead of me. Without the sparkle from you, I hear no happiness. The feeling of days dragging on with directionless ponderings, like a star falling through space. A flash of light and then nothing more.

One further burst of energy. Emotion is an indicator, and feeling like a victim, vengeful and indignant, indicates you are out of alignment. Look at it and feel it. Use it to lift yourself up and out from under its weight. With one thought. Turn around now and travel in the other direction.

Never again miss the sound of joy in that voice of yours. Sing, hum, whistle, and bring back the shining glimmering words from you. This is a reckoning worthy of your time.

I’ve finished the manuscript for my new novel, the Dot. The introduction to, The Dot, is copied below. The release date hasn’t been announced yet, but before the end of the year. Meanwhile, I’ve entered the manuscript in the Book of The Year contest at Fictionary (https://fictionary.co). I’ll know more about the contest result at the end of September. Here’s the introduction to the dot.

. . . “It would never have worked out between us,” I say to Liria. She’s come to the prison to visit me. She stands on the free side of the holding cell wearing a revealing and form-fitting pantsuit. Her hair is let down, and it would seem she’s going out for a night in the city. “Keeping me locked up will not make me choose you over Rymirah.”

“If you think that’s why I’ve locked you up, then you aren’t as intelligent as I’ve come to believe.”

While she speaks, I sit up from my bed, spin out of the rack, and onto my feet. “Did you ever consider why, out of the myriad millions of sensations and feelings we can experience in this sensual, driven existence, the Buddha defines love as the purest and most sacred emotion and hate as the most destructive?”

Unmoved by my persistence, she runs her hands through her hair and then flips her head to spin it all onto her back. “It’s been five days since you have been in jail. I take it from your childish behavior you aren’t ready to reveal the coordinates to Planet 444. You’ll notice your neurolink and HUD implants are disabled in this prison cell. Hayden, listen to me. You aren’t getting out of here until you cooperate.” With that said, she leaves me in silent confinement.

There are a few key advantages to having a fiance who is the chief of Cyborg security. One advantage is that she has access to the security system in this prison. With that access, she can allow my biomechanical systems and HUD to operate inside the cell. And, her’s too, of course. . .

@@@@@@

In book one, we discovered how the Earth-based Gods of humanity lead civilizations to the edge of failure. Every system mankind has come to believe in had failed. Financial, environmental, education, medical, religion, social, community, news, information, entertainment, and government — all collapsed. The Gods of the universe beckoned humans to discover and inhabit other worlds across the near galaxy. Now with everything on Earth destroyed, mankind looked to explore and discover new gods.

One mutant, biomechanical enhanced human race, Cyborgs, didn’t give up on Earth-born philosophies. In Book two, the experiment for discovering Nirvana began on Planet 444. Where the eighth generation of a Buddhist civilization comes of age. A close group of friends bonding in age-old traditions will discover a newfound understanding of their heritage. While in book three, those now young adults face the realities of the struggle to survive on a planet with limited technology. Including, failing food supplies, and a neutron star emitting radiation. They further sacrifice their food crops by turning to marijuana to produce pharmaceuticals. They use its fibers to produce protective clothing. When it seems all hope for Nirvana was lost, they turn to ancient traditions to produce a child from the gods.

This child, Zosimos, is the planet’s only hope.

Here, in book four, Zosimos matures at an inhuman rate. As he ages, he displays exceptional mental abilities, helping his people solve a range of technological and medical issues. By the time he reaches the age of six, he is ready to take the crown. Then, his Great Uncle contracted a deadly disease from radiation poisoning. Soon after, Zosimos is exposed to a plant strain with the side-effect of reversing the DNA-altering serum. He feels anger for the first time. With that anger comes the realization that he is superior to those around him. In a fit of rage, he kills his parents and claims the throne, forcing his people to submit to his tyrannical rule.

The promise of a cure for radiation poisoning leads Zosimos to Kelv, the sage. Still filled with rage, Zosimos forces Vallena, who is friends with the sage, to trap Kelv and obtain a DNA sample. Hoping to learn why the sage has survived in the wasteland with no protection from radiation. However, Vallena discovers a way to reinstate the DNA-altering serum and cure Zosimos’s rage. She tricks him into taking the cure.

The cure works, and Zosimos grows depressed and filled with remorse. He seeks advice from the sage. Through their lessons on love, truth, and alignment between mind and body, Zosimos becomes enlightened.

Zosimos, contemplating the solution to his planet’s crisis, and questioning everything he thought he knew, turns to the conscious supercomputer his father hid in Vallena’s home. But it is indifferent to human suffering and unwilling to interfere with frail humanity. Using the teachings learned from Kelv, Zosimos convinces the machine to help them. The machine studies the human body’s ability to heal itself. In doing so, he finds a solution that can save everyone: transcendence. But in order for this plan to succeed, the people must trust the former tyrant Zosimos.

Centuries later, the Cyborgs return to monitor their experiment and to recover the hidden conscious supercomputer. They discover a planet vacant of life. There are no humans, no evidence of civilization, no skeletons. The only indications of the now failed experiment are the abandoned neurolinks and a dead supercomputer.

Have the gods of the universe, like those Earth-bound gods known before, failed the human race? After reading this fourth and final book of the series, you will awaken to a new perspective on happiness. There is joy in the struggles and the contrast in life. Here in this book, you will discover the truth about Nirvana.