The Rookie

It's not easy being a machine!

Unit 838 is a machine built for a simple purpose: To destroy humans, by appearing to be one of them. His ability to anticipate the actions of the inferior but unpredictable biologicals puts him on a fast track to promotion. But when he disobeys an order to win the wrong battle, he is sentenced to be used for target practice. His only chance at redemption is to carry out a perilous deep-cover mission against a renegade machine. His cognitive processing will be tested to the utmost, as he faces such trials as getting past suspicious humans, dodging machines that want to recycle him for scrap and (most difficult of all) playing poker. But in the end, his greatest trial will be deciding whose side he wants to be on!

David N. Brown is a resident of Mesa, Arizona