Release date: July 20, 2015
Subgenre: Metaphysical science fiction
About Finished with Life but Unable to Die:
At ninety-one, Michael Haynes finds his terminal cancer diagnosis a relief.
He’s ready to move on from this world. In fact, he's convinced his death will make things better for his children, providing both financial ease and closure for a long-ago event that still haunts them all.
But just when he thinks he is finally shuffling off, Michael wakes from a coma to find he has undergone a miraculous new procedure and his time here is far from over.
As his condition piques the government’s interest, Michael begins to discover a shocking secret about how the universe works. Instead of solving everything with his death, he must contend not only with continuing to live indefinitely but also with stopping his family from tearing itself apart.
He’s ready to move on from this world. In fact, he's convinced his death will make things better for his children, providing both financial ease and closure for a long-ago event that still haunts them all.
But just when he thinks he is finally shuffling off, Michael wakes from a coma to find he has undergone a miraculous new procedure and his time here is far from over.
As his condition piques the government’s interest, Michael begins to discover a shocking secret about how the universe works. Instead of solving everything with his death, he must contend not only with continuing to live indefinitely but also with stopping his family from tearing itself apart.
Excerpt:
Bright, white light. Shining through his eyelids. Making him
squint, even with his eyes closed.
He tried to open them, and couldn’t.
“Where am I?” he rasped.
Rustling, to his left. A hand
gripped his knee through a blanket.
“You’re in ICU, Dad. With us.” Luke.
“You’re still with us.”
This time, he opened his eyes. Luke
was there, and Valentine, and Stephen.
“How?”
“The cancer is gone. You’re a
survivor.”
Michael felt his facial features
draw downward. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’ve been working on this ever
since you got sick,” Luke said. “I didn’t tell you about it, or anyone, because
I didn’t want to get hopes up. But when I mentioned your cancer to a colleague,
the first day I found out, she told me about a new procedure that was almost ready
for human trials. I got in touch with the researchers and convinced them to
take you on as their first trial patient.”
“How on Earth did you do that?” This
was wrong. This was all wrong.
“Luke has some high-up contacts in
the government,” Stephen said. “He had them put in a good word.”
The two brothers’ eyes met, and
annoyance flashed across Luke’s face. Then he turned to face Michael again.
“That wasn’t all. Normally a ninety-one-year-old man would never be accepted as
a trial patient, let alone the very first one. They want
people in their prime, to increase the probability that the procedure will
work, which makes it more likely to be adopted as standard medical practice.
But these researchers were unusually confident. Animal tests weren’t just promising—they
were mind-blowing. I convinced them that if they could cure a cancer-ridden old
man, everyone would pay attention. Their procedure would be sure to change the
world. Plus, you’ve always kept pretty healthy. So they agreed. You gave
Stephen medical power of attorney, and we both knew you’d consent to it in a
heartbeat, if you could.” Luke’s glasses magnified his calm eyes, framing his
half-grin below.
“How do you feel, Dad?” Valentine
asked, a distinct note of uncertainty in her voice. Stephen seemed
uncomfortable too. Unlike Luke, they sensed their father’s distress. The cancer was supposed to fix things. It
was supposed to deliver me to Linda.
But here he remained, with his
children, two of who looked very upset. He couldn’t bear to see them unhappy.
He would pass off his torment as a joke. He would lie.
“You brats,” Michael said, and pain
in his chest made him pause. Stephen winced.
“You brats don’t get your
inheritance yet.”
They all chuckled, then. “That’s a
shame,” Stephen said. “I’ve had my eye on that ratty old couch you made us haul
over from Corner Brook.”
But it wasn’t just a ratty old
couch, and this disaster was no joke. Michael told them he needed to sleep, as
cheerfully as he could manage, and they left. Wrapped in the sensation that
everything in the world had spoiled, gone bad, he sunk into slumber, praying he
would not wake.
Amazon
About the Unable to Die series:
All 5 novellas in the Unable to Die series are available now!
About Scott Bartlett:
Scott Bartlett was born 1987, in
Newfoundland, Canada, where he currently lives. He has been writing fiction for
thirteen years.
Scott’s first novel, Royal Flush, received the H. R. (Bill)
Percy Prize, and his latest novel, Taking
Stock, was a semi-finalist in the 2014 Best Kindle Book Awards, and also
received the Percy Janes First Novel Award and the Lawrence Jackson Writers’
Award.
His short fiction has received
recognition as well. His story “The Proletarian” placed 2nd in Grain Magazine’s
Canada-wide Short Grain competition, and “Author’s Note” was shortlisted for
the 2014 Cuffer Prize.
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