Binary


 
 BINARY
 
 
 
 C. R. BUCHANAN and JOHN LEWIS
 
 
 Published by C. R. BUCHANAN, 2023.
 
 
 Binary is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, business, events, incidents, and anything else in this work of fiction are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or soon to be born, is purely coincidental.
 Copyright: © 2021 by C. R. Buchanan 
 ISBN: 978-1-7366802-0-9 Print 
 ISBN: 978-1-7366802-1-6 Ebook
 Author’s website: www.crbuchanan.com
 Table of Contents
 Title Page
 Copyright Page
 Editor:
 SPECIAL THANKS:
 SPECIAL THANKS:
 Chapter 1 | Moment of abduction
 Chapter 2 | The strange little man
 2-2 | Last words
 Chapter 3 | Entering BINARY
 3-2 | Four-legged beast
 3-3 | Father’s promise
 3-4 | An instruction
 Chapter 4 | The call
 4-2 | The offer
 Chapter 5 | Accepting the package
 5-2 | Father’s surprise
 5-3 | Pope
 5-4 | Arthritis
 5-5 | Instructions
 Chapter 6 | Six o’clock
 6-2 | Leaving alone
 6-3 | Letter to Father
 6-4 | Trek
 Chapter 7 | The arrival
 7-2 | Paperwork
 7-3 | A.I.
 7-4 | First impression
 Chapter 8 | B. R. U. C. E.
 8-2 | The skin room
 8-3 | Spheres
 8-4 | Advanced artifacts
 8-5 | Meeting Dr. Crane
 Chapter 9 | Touring the layout
 9-2 | Books
 9-3 | Personal quarters
 9-4 | H2O
 9-5 | Slumber
 Chapter 10 | Hustle
 10-2 | Moments away
 10-3 | The Social Room
 Chapter 11 | First session
 Chapter 12 | Calming down
 12-2 | Reflecting
 Chapter 13 | Halo
 13-2 | Blacked out files
 13-3 | Initial communication
 13-4 | Pecan-Butter
 Chapter 14 | Indentations
 14-2 | McKlutzPants
 14-3 | Sneak peek
 14-4 | Aggression
 Chapter 15 | Intruder
 15-2 | Searching
 15-3 | Paranoia
 Chapter 16 | An hour to kill
 16-2 | A missing star
 16-3 | Nerd’s paradise
 Chapter 17 | Sideways
 Chapter 18 | Blitzkrieg
 Chapter 19 | Graduation
 19-2 | Delivery
 Chapter 20 | Metal birds in the sky
 Chapter 21 | Into the forest
 21-2 | Uncut land
 21-3 | Water
 21-4 | Nightfall
 Chapter 22 | Crooked streets
 22-2 | Boundaries
 Chapter 23 | Lockdown
 23-2 | The Pharmacy
 Chapter 24 | Out of the frying pan
 24-2 | Escape
 24-3 | Mosh
 24-4 | Skyscraper
 24-5 | Seeking refuge
 Chapter 25 | Descension
 25-2 | Lobby conflict
 25-3 | Second faction
 Chapter 26 | Flight
 26-2 | Shoplifting
 26-3 | Grand theft
 26-4 | Return to wilderness
 Chapter 27 | Grandmother’s recipe
 Chapter 28 | Slumming
 Chapter 29 | Shrapnel
 29-2 | Reflection
 Chapter 30 | Leveling out
 30-2 | Seeking help
 30-3 | Heading back
 Chapter 31 | The secret passage
 31-2 | The old labs
 Chapter 32 | The star-shaped disc
 Chapter 33 | Awakening
 33-2 | Last march
 Chapter 34 | Cornering Pope
 Chapter 35 | Connecting
 Chapter 36 | War
 36-2 | Black heartbeats
 Chapter 37 | Somber skies
 BINARY
 www.crbuchanan.com
 Further Reading: THE TOWER
 Also By C. R. BUCHANAN
 Also By JOHN LEWIS
 Editor:
 Lauren Humphries-Brooks is a freelance editor, writer, and film critic with a Master’s degree in Cinema Studies from New York University, and in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. She’s the co-host of the feminist film podcast Citizen Dame, and has published extensively on The Avengers TV show, Classical Hollywood, and British horror films. 
 “As an editor, I have a particular passion for the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genres, so working on this book was a great pleasure.”
 —Lauren Humphries-Brooks
 SPECIAL THANKS:
 “Trang Nguyễn, your help is the main reason Binary’s flying into the publishing scene so soon. You’re a lifesaver and a great soul. Thank you for being you.” 
 “Jeffrey Flexer, your eye as a pre-reader on Binary after my first ‘vomit draft’ was monumental to me while expanding the world within it. Thank you...” 
 “Tearlach Bigger, thank you for taking the time to read Binary at the last-minute and offer crucial feedback regarding a plot point I was so on the ropes about.” 
 “And to my family—all of what little I have left—my heart in your hands. You make me iron when I am weak. From the bottom of my soul, I thank you.”
 —C. R. Buchanan
 SPECIAL THANKS:
 “I want to send a special thank my spectacular son, Elias Lewis, aka Jsectbtw. You are my foundation, my inspiration, and my motivation. I love you very much, champ—attack life head-on with an unwavering belief in yourself. Nothing can stop you but you. You are already in the cage; you might as well win.”
 “To Laura Goulet, thanks for always being a loyal and supportive friend and for giving me the best gift of all, our son, Elias.”
 “And a very heartfelt thank you to my mother, Carole. Obviously, without you, none of this would have been possible. Still, on a deeper level, your endless love and support in my dreams and goals throughout my life have given me the support needed to always move forward with bravery and confidence. Love you, mom.”
 —John Lewis
 Chapter 1
 Moment of abduction
 
 ––––––––
 I SAW ONLY FLICKERS of my existence, glimpses of chaos. I could not make out the compound through fuzzy eyes, but I knew pandemonium was afoot. Each flash revealed a new location or image telling me I was in grave jeopardy. 
 I was fading in and out of consciousness beneath the cradling arm of a kidnapper. It was surreal, yet there I was in the clutches of madness. A fairy-tale gone awry. 
 My subconscious writhed to keep an eye open, but my mind was no longer in control. My lids would only keep open for short stints. I was helpless.
 Interior walls of the compound flying by were the first thing I saw after everything went black. Thick ceramic doors, the cold tile flooring hitting my cheek when he dropped me, and the stainless-steel walls zooming by told me he had