Adam's Stepsons

Tanja’s voice suddenly echoed in his head…or was it from speakers in the room?…

“The clones must have a complete working knowledge of racial, ethnic, and religious history…”

No, he thought. The fools…

Dr. Johann Heimann designed the perfect soldiers: superhuman in strength and intelligence, immune to sickness and disease, programmed to lead the United Americas to a quick victory in the Mars Colony War. But Heimann didn’t anticipate the military’s unrealistic demands, or his own emotional responses to his creations. And now Number Six is calling him “Father”! What exactly is going on during the clones’ personality imprinting cycle?

As Heimann starts his investigation, Number Six grows in confidence and self-awareness…and both discover the project hides a secret even Heimann, himself, doesn’t suspect…

"Apple's grasp of the science fiction genre and the concepts involved make this a masterful novella with an ending that is sure to shock." - Red City Review

"Adam’s Stepsons is a fun addition to the long canon of science fiction that dares to ask the “what if” of the future. It also seeks to ask the “should we, if we can” question that not enough science fiction is retrospective enough to ask. A good read for any science fiction lover, especially of the Heinlein or Asimov variety." - Literary Titan

"The age-old conflict between science and the military, and the moral questions the author raises, of being able to create life forms, come to a climax that is nothing short of spectacular." - Charles Freedom Long (Witches Gambit, Dancing with the Dead)

"A gnostic Phillip K. Dick! Like the best fiction, Apple uses science fiction as a visceral distraction while exploring man’s existential position in the universe." - Noah Mullette-Gillman (Luminous & Ominous, Farther Than We Dreamed)