THE CONCUBINE OF MARS

WHAT HAPPENS ON MARS, STAYS ON MARS ... It's the year 2318. The United States is now a corporate theocracy ruled by a board of CEO overlords. Drinking, gambling or engaging in extramarital relations are now deemed crimes against the state. Welcome to the Martian gambling resort of New Cydonia; where the Old West meets Caligula's Rome. High rollers can even enjoy the company of a stunningly beautiful android "concubine" compliments of the house -- a cybernetic courtesan hardwired to indulge every desire. All that fine synthetic flesh yours to command (and remember, a machine can't press charges). But there's a glitch: the androids are getting restless. Enter Moses Cantrall, head troubleshooter for Cybertek -- the A.I. firm responsible for endowing each android with a uniquely "human" personality. Summoned to New Cydonia by the wealthiest man on two planets -- former reverend and casino mogul A.R. Prudohmme -- Professor Cantrall will face a crisis of a crisis of existential proportions ... one not covered in the owner's manual. A group of renegade androids are demanding their freedom and the existence of all human life on Mars may hang in the balance. A singularity has occurred. The line between artificially intelligent machines and human consciousness crossed. The key: the enigmatic and seductive Layla; wife of the wealthiest man on two planets. Harboring a terrible secret, she'll lead Cantrall on a journey down the rabbit hole, and ultimately to revelation. As Professor Cantrall will soon learn, androids are people too ...