The Consortium is All. But Recorder Can No Longer Obey.

The Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing displays of bias.

Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, the Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.

With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, the Recorder’s time is running out.

Series Purchase Links: Amazon *The Recorder and Aberraion are on sale now.

Now for our interview with The Recoder.

CC: Yours is a unique story. Would you mind to introduce yourself so that I don’t steal your thunder?

TR: I do not have a name. No member of the Consortium has one, for to have a name would be a violation of the AAVA codes. All my life, my priority has been to maintain an unbiased attitude so I may best serve the system’s citizens. This is my record, an account of what happened on my disastrous first assignment. I have already acted in violation of my training. Glimpses of a freedom I will never have call to a part of me I did not know–

No. This is not entirely true. I did know, but I dared not acknowledge it.

Perhaps a name would be beneficial, after all.

CC: Names are definitely beneficial. So for the sake of this interview, we’ll just call you TR–The Recorder. 

So, TR, how do you think others view you?

TR: Citizens are uncomfortable with Recorders. I have learned that they trust neither our drones nor our constant documentation, even though all our efforts are done on their behalf. They do not see us as individuals, and there are times I doubt they perceive us as human.

We are, though. We are as human as they, though if we dare dream, we must bury that dream deep within, lest it prove our undoing.

CC: That is extremely ominous and very disconcerting. Do you have a dream that you keep close to your chest?

TR: A friend. Since I was young, this has been my deepest, most secret dream, but to strive for it would condemn me and whomever I befriended.

CC: What a horrible, lonely life. I imagine you deal with many unpleasant people. Who is your least favorite person to contend with?

TR: I do not like Captain North, whose rude and confrontational behavior extends past members of the Consortium to citizens. His discourtesy has been documented. Although I kept any personal bias out of my recording, I will confess that obtaining proof of his prejudicial statements, which will be submitted to the authorities, gave me a degree of personal satisfaction.

CC: Oh the joy we get in seeing justice served. Do you have a favorite person?

TR: Though it is a great betrayal of Consortium training, I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time thinking of Nathaniel Timmons. It is he who picked me up and carried me from disaster, and he remained by my side when I was ensconced in the medical tank. His kindness… it is a gift, though why his perfect eyebrows occupy my mind, I cannot say.

CC: You cannot can you? Hmmm. Interesting. Since you said there are other Recorders, do you enjoy family gatherings? Is it even a family?

TR: Like all members of the Consortium, I was gifted to serve before my birth. I have no family other than the others in my cohort, the novices, and the Elders. The Eldest is the parent over us all.

I have wondered about my mother. Why did she make the choice to gift me, and did she ever regret it? What she was like? Were her eyes brown like mine? Did she, too, long to see a sky unbound by rivets?

Even so, I will not search for her when I have the opportunity. To do so would betray her choice, and I will not be guilty of such disrespect. She made her decision, and I must live with it.

CC: Wow. That must be a hard decision to respect. With such a hard life, I wonder, if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?

TR: Freedom. To be able to love and be loved without fear of penalty or consequence, to have friends, a family, a name? Are these not the grandest of aspirations? And beyond that, to have a certain, fixed knowledge of worth and to know I am not alone.

CC: Oh, Recorder, my heart breaks for you. If there is one thing you could tell my readers, what would it be?

TR: I have thought long about this. Dr. Maxwell, the ship’s physician, told me that whether we are stardust or creation, we are unique. I can hear his deep voice rumble even now: “You are the only one of you in all of space and time.”

In all of space and time… Only one. Singular, unique, precious.

Even me. Even you.

CC: Such a powerful message. And a powerful series.

Readers, this series is truly unique, and I admit to having read ahead to the blurbs of the other books. (I’m sneaking a peek for you down below too.) Believe me, this is one series you don’t want to miss. 

 

About Cathy McCrumb:

Cathy McCrumb graduated from Biola University with a degree in English Literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children. They currently live in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

She enjoys long hikes (followed by long naps), gluten-free brownies, raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction, mystery, or fantasy movies with friends and family.

Most of her imaginary friends are nice people.

Connect with Cathy: Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

Abberation by Cathy McCrumb

 

The Recorder’s fate has been sealed, but the Consortium is not the only enemy.

Labeled an aberration by the Consortium, the Recorder is not yet free. Time is running out as an engineered bioweapon wreaks havoc on friend and foe alike.

Stopping both the biological agent and the people who created it is no easy task, especially since the Recorder and her friends are trapped on a research station infested with behemoth insects. Without Consortium technology, the probability of neutralizing the threat falls to nothing. In order to save her allies, the Recorder must activate a drone, but her success might destroy any hope for freedom, a future, and a name.