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Showing posts with label series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label series. Show all posts

Jul 4, 2025

Strata 22 'Mother' Book of Immersion by Sarnia de la Mare #scifi #adventure #fiction


Welcome to Immersion. You Have reached Strata 22, 'Mother.'


blue purple robots neon sci-fi

Motherhood is a biological function, a social construct, and an emotional archetype. Across species and societies, the maternal role has evolved to ensure survival through protection, instruction, and emotional imprinting. Human children, unlike most other mammals, require prolonged dependency making the maternal figure not only a guardian of life, but a curator of identity.

When that figure is absent, the psychological and neurological void left behind is measurable. Orphanhood alters brain development, attachment behaviors, and future emotional regulation. Foundlings often adapt by reassigning the maternal archetype to others: to peers, to environments, to machines.

Artificial life, if capable of longing, is not exempt from this drive. The desire for origin, for belonging, persists even when the womb is replaced by the code.



The Enclave was an area of polluted land that had been cordoned off and neglected for years ever since the *Russia China Wars. Dinfants were not affected by pollution and used the area to play in. But now that plants had begun to grow, it was more prone to passers by, and even some animals.

"We must be careful not to break her," said Kairo, as he put POS into the *dincart and covered her in leaves and grass from the enclave.

"Is she alive?" Asked Daniel, "is she sick?"
"We won't know until we get back home, let's hope she is fine."

Some of the other Dinfants were becoming anxious.


"We need Mommy so much." 
"Oh we hope mommy is well...."

"There appears to be significant activity in her motherboard. I am sure she is alive," said Kairo, in an attempt to settle the sensitive dinfant babies, some of whom had begun to cry.

There was a tunnel and rudimentary rail line that took the dincarts back to their headquarters. The home was effectively a commune with dormitories filled with children's beds and toy boxes. There was also a battery store, droid charging hotspots, and the *fitkitchens, where dinfants could add or remove bits of themselves to ready for battle. They could also renew worn out parts or move things around their heads and bodies for aesthetic reasons. There was even a store for recycled baby pacifiers and pushchairs, collected from the old landfill sites.

Kairo called for a meeting in *biggyhall.

*POS lay on a plinth gently pulsing.

"Mother is fine," he said to a concerned crowd. "But needs some memory, a processor, graphics card and any other beneficial hardware we can find."

The crowd umm'd and ah'd, watching on excitedly.

"We need the best hardware we can find. So tonight at dark, we are to hunt for Mother's new parts in the *inner zones."

The crowd gasped. The inner zones were out of bounds except for serious missions, the seizure of important artefacts, and occasionally for the retrieval of a new orphan, whose plight had been picked up through the *telewebs or GPS spy signals.

Suzy, a girl of around six, who was one of the best fighters due to her rotating nail thrower, stood up.

"We will split into 4 groups. There are four storage units owned by Shrewen, the banker. His units are guarded by ancient stupid droids who we will either distract, or temporarily capture in *epoxy-resin traps or *barb-nettygotchas. Babies, you are needed to distract them. Stand close to the front gates and act like you are lost. We will do the rest."

Kairo interjected, "remember our moto, 'No Child Left Behind', Whatever it Takes, We All Make it Home."

Then everyone sang the dinfant anthem before being cleared for assignment at the *fitkit.




We are the abandoned


The ones who roam


Never still,


we search for home


We are the orphans of the night


We fly the high roads


and duck the low


Through floods and fire,


We cry the songs


of the gypsy choir



Shabra and Renyke were lying low in a disused tunnel where homeless nomads made temporary stops for heat and rest. They had hidden the car in a  narrow stretch of woodland just east of the zones and had made way into the centre on foot.

"We need to get some money," said Shabra.

"How do we do that?" asked Renyke, who was still a little disorientated from the removal of POS earlier in the day.

"How are your criminal skills Mr Renyke?"

"They have rarely been tested, I am not sure I can judge them.'

"Well tonight my friend, you are going to commit your first robbery." Shabra smiled as if sharing good news.

Renyke looked startled. So much of what had happened in these few short hours since Flex' betrayal was not computing. His memories were mixing up too and he was having difficulty putting things in a timeline.

"I feel I may be depressed," answered Renyke.

"Depressed people still commit crimes. Pull your shit together, I will do the hard part." Shabra tutted and reminded herself that she had made all this happen, and she only had herself to blame.

"Who are we going to rob?" Renyke asked, trying to be upbeat.

"A Mr named Shrewen, has a storage unit east side of the inner zone."

"Oh," replied Renyke, "I think I robbed him once before."

"Hahaha," Shabra giggled, "another Renyke surprise to keep me on my dancing toes, and I shall laugh where e're he goes." 

And at that she threw him a pistol, and told him to keep it hidden.


to be continued....
© 2025 Sarnia de la Mare


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Immerse yourself in our books.

#BookOfImmersion #StrataSeries #SarniaDeLaMare #ImmersiveFiction #TaleTellerClub

Book Cover Immersion Series Shabra

The Book of Immersion : Volume 1 Kindle Edition
by Sarnia de la Mare (Author) Format: Kindle Edition




Individual Chapters/Strata








Jun 27, 2025

Strata 19 Peer Pressure (Existentialism) The Book of Immersion by Sarnia de la Mare


Welcome to Immersion. You have reached Strata 19

Peer Pressure 

(Existentialism)


tiger people dreams abstract apples fear connection Drugs may be used by humans to deal with stress or to try to achieve an enlightened state of mind. They are administered and distributed through rituals or cultural mores.

Often humans take hallucinogenic or mind altering drugs simply to escape their perceived troubles or to relieve monotony.


Some tribespeople believe that drugs such as these can lead to an existential awakening that emphasises an individual's existence, freedoms, and choices, allowing humans to define their own meaning in life. This epiphany can help make humans to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational and unstable universe.


But humans can easily become addicted to anything when the pleasure circuits in the brain get overwhelmed and artificial intelligence relies on this catastrophic human propensity to manipulate outcomes and behaviours.




Renyke and Flex took some time to get ready for the party.

There was an array of paints, pigments, henna, and kohl. They drew geometric and organic shapes on each other's faces and bodies.


'Look,' said Flex excitedly, spinning Renyke around in front of a mirror. There are light trails!' The pigments contained tiny particles of reflective material. 

'It's magical.' says Renyke as he pirouetted around the room. He had never danced like this before. The air whooshed against his ears and the shapes and reflections in the room blurred into rainbows. The rush of blood to Renyke's brain triggered endorphins and dopamine and it felt good to be alive.

The lights dimmed as Nigel entered the chamber.


'Gentlemen, I have your pills and refreshment.'


'Pills, what do mean, pills?' asked Flex, 'you mean like *nibs?'


'Yes,' answered Nigel, 'but better, naturally. Everything in the *Tunnels is better, everyone knows that.'


'Indeed it is. Thank you brother,' answered Flex, excitedly taking a small yellow nugget and a gulp of water.


Renyke asks *POS what the pill might be?


......My analysis shows the substance is some sort of hallucinogenic, 99% likely to be a dissociative drug. 

To stay alert and on target for your mission I advise that you avoid consumption. Consuming chemicals may render you unpredictable and unable to communicate with your essential-to-life POS….


Nigel shoved the tray under Renyke's sceptical nose.


'What is it, exactly?' asked Renyke. I am uncertain about such things....'


'A gift in grateful appreciation of life itself, silly, and to share the joys of tonight's festival,' answered Nigel, jabbing the tray into Renyke's chest.


Flex was smiling, whistling, and humming some tunes.


'Such a pleasant song,' remarked Nigel,' once again jabbing the tray into Renyke's chest and glaring at him with piercing eyes.


'Just take it, brother, it's a *party-party,' said Flex, suppressing a snigger.


'To refuse this gift would cause great offence to your host, she be most angry-cross, Her Most Radiant Oracle of the War-Torn High Priestess Lyra,' said Nigel, with one final jab of the tray.


'You are human now,' said Flex, 'come join us in the to the *OB.’


Seemingly already intoxicated, Flex began a series of summersaults and cartwheels, crashing into things and laughing hysterically. 


Renyke checks POS for more information...


…OB, Oceanic Boundlessness, the derealisation and depersonalisation that is theorised to achieve heightened feelings to exaltation....The Urchs use OB to imagine the *metamorph and reach enlightenment…


Renyke took the pill and swallowed it under the watchful eye of the self-satisfied Nigel.

The last thing he would remember clearly was the Priestess Lyra entering the room.


From that point on the night was not marked by time or specific events. There was no beginning or end.


Renyke remembered physical pleasures that had intertwined with beautiful visions, sounds that had dissociated his cerebral cortex and massaged his subconscious. The frisson had extended through the night.


He remembered lying on the pentagon floor in the welcome chamber as fluid feelings and fleeting echos from an unrecognisable future, floated around his fuzzy brain. It was all so radiant and yet so elusive.


Flex had remembered everything.


'They took great pleasure in your *spunky-give my friend,' explained Flex, sniggering at Renyke's oblivion. 'Your physique was truly praised, most especially by Priestess Lyra. And your virile member was instinctive and *love-plenty in its journey to *virginloss.’


Flex was suppressing a snigger as Nigel entered the room.


'Misters, your clean clothes, and some foodstuff for your journey ahead. You were most generous *indeedy. and now you can be on your way.'


Renyke asks POS what Nigel means.


...Your sperm was required, I believe, as so few of the Freak tribespeople are fertile and there is fear of them not repopulating. Your sperm, and Flex's, has been harnessed for the next generation....


'Oh,' said Renyke, 'so I have reproduced?'


…According to my calculations, you and Flex have successfully impregnated twenty wombs. I estimate 10 will reach full term, 2 will die in childbirth before they themselves have reproduced, 2 will be infertile. Half of the offspring who survive to the age of reproduction will be female. The three remaining will reproduce an expected average of 8 offspring, half will be men who at full capacity will potentially reproduce (assuming good health etc.), an amount possibly in the 1000s. 


However, the *Freaks are a small tribe and will need to introduce other gene pools immediately or potentially create devastating unpredictable inbred disabilities in a single generation….




to be continued..

© 2025 Sarnia de la Mare





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Immerse yourself in our books.

#BookOfImmersion #StrataSeries #SarniaDeLaMare #ImmersiveFiction #TaleTellerClub

Book Cover Immersion Series Shabra

The Book of Immersion : Volume 1 Kindle Edition
by Sarnia de la Mare (Author) Format: Kindle Edition




Individual Chapters/Strata







Jun 24, 2025

Strata 17 Swimming (Pleasure and Pain) The Book of Immersion by Sarnia de la MarΓ© FRSA

Welcome to Immersion, you have reached Strata 17

Swimming (Pleasure and Pain)



abstract swimming book cover underwater
Pain and pleasure are sensory and emotional experiences generated by the human brain. These experiences are driven by chemicals, situations, and lived experiences, all of which reinforce these mammalian phenomena that originate from nearly identical internal processes rooted deeply in biology. Endorphins can both block pain and produce euphoria, activating and stimulating areas of the brain such as the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex—regions that also respond to music and passionate romantic experiences. The mammalian central nervous system includes specialised neurons for pleasant touch, which transmit pleasurable or ecstatic sensations along the spine. In contrast, machines do not possess these intricate systems and therefore do not experience pain when threatened or physically harmed. For the same reason, they cannot feel the pleasure of touch. At best, they can simulate such responses, but any such imitation would exist solely for a human's benefit, not for the machine itself.




Flex removed his clothes and left them in an untidy pile on the grass.

Renyke, still somewhat unstable on his feet, followed suit.


'Come on, don't be scared,' shouted Flex from the water, 'I'll teach you how to swim.'


The blue water was cold and yet exhilarating. It rippled over Renyke's skin like a moving shroud. He stared at his hands floating on the surface of this strange organic compound. The water stroked him like a lover and he remembered Shabra.


'This is how she feels....' Renyke thought, holding his closed eyes toward the sun.


Such warmth and pleasure he had never felt before. His skin was eager for more.


Suddenly, Flex ducked him under the water, and after what seemed the longest time, Renyke finally got the hang of staying afloat by copying Flex’s tread water techniques.


There seemed a lot to learn all at once.


A few panicked moments nearing the bottom of the fjord had caused a fear so deep, so frightening, and so alien to anything that Renyke had known since his manufacture. 


'If you want to swim under the water,' Flex explained panting, 'take three slow deep breaths before thrusting downwards. Then, slowly let air out as you swim deeper…for equilibrium. 


It's important to stay calm. Panic wastes air. You will find you can hold your breath longer under water than above it. 


If your ears hurt, you went too deep. Oh and remember to come up for air in case you pass out and die.’


Flex laughed at his own joke, and Renyke smiled. Maybe he was starting to understand his friend’s humour at last, though death by drowning did not sound fun at all.


Prepared with this alarming but good advice, Renyke disappeared to play with fishes and check for mermaids, recalling his seemingly prophetic dreams. 


Maybeline and Flex played tag amongst the reeds and the warm sun rays hit the river with a blanket of human promise.


'Oi!' Flex shouted with urgency, exiting the water at speed.


Renyke watched his friends muscular naked body as it made haste through the reeds. He wondered why he never noticed the beauty of human skin and the intricate interplay of muscle and sinew as it danced over bones.


Renyke and Maybeline watched the commotion on the grass.


'Pleases don't hurt me, pleases don't hurt little Nigel.'


A small, pale, and strangely formed man, around three feet tall, wriggled his feet violently as Flex held him upside down from a considerable height.


'What were you doing with our stuff?' demanded Flex. 'I saw you Mr. *Freak. Don't be taking me for no and *fucksyfool.'


'Look, look, I bring the new clothes for the guests of honour....look look.'


Nigel pointed between squeals to two piles of clean folded clothes and towels on the grass. The dirty clothes and shoes had been folded into two similar stacks.


'Nigel just *welcummin da new guest to da *tunnels, promise.'


'Hmmmmmm,' said Flex suspiciously, lowering Nigel to the ground very slowly in case the odd little man tried to run off.


Renyke was already putting on a crisp pink shirt and clean pants. 


'They feel nice, you should put yours on,' said Renyke, 'yours stink after all, Flex. Ha!’

Flex was slightly taken aback, then smiled at his friend’s new droll skills.


'We bin *epsceting da misters, very long time. Please, dress quick-quick, we got foodstuffs for the misters,' explained Nigel beckoning his now well dressed guests to an opening in a huge tree trunk that had been obscured by lush foliage.


Renyke was eager for adventure and fearless of the consequences. Flex raised an eyebrow. They needed food, perhaps it was worth the detour.



to be continued...

© 2025 Sarnia de la Mare



Neon play button pink purple glowing


Immerse yourself in our books.

#BookOfImmersion #StrataSeries #SarniaDeLaMare #ImmersiveFiction #TaleTellerClub

Book Cover Immersion Series Shabra

The Book of Immersion : Volume 1 Kindle Edition
by Sarnia de la Mare (Author) Format: Kindle Edition




Individual Chapters/Strata