Body of a Man, Mind of Machine – Chapter One

My most famous story is back! (I always thought it was Light of Hellfire…) I’m currently working on building this story into a four-part book series, and while it will take years for it to be completed, I have updated the writing and even added some new content to this version. Enjoy!



Chapter One:



Somalia, one of the poorest and most chaotic countries in the world, sits at the Horn of Africa, when at one time it was a beacon of the worldwide shipping economy. It now suffers from an ongoing civil war, between the struggling government and the Islamist group Al-Shabaab. In the capital city of Mogadishu, piracy thrives in the chaos as people struggle to survive the violence and turmoil. In essence, it is perfect for someone with certain needs.

A strange sound to be heard in this area, the hammering of nails and crying of drills, so similar to the calls of combat normally echoing through the ravaged streets. Outside of the city, houses are being built, nice ones, standing out like islands in a sea of squalor. A new plumbing and electrical system is installed, providing clean water and power to all the new homes, which strangely sit vacant. The men building these houses are not Somali, their varying skin tones and languages confirm it. They do not associate with anyone besides their coworkers. They simply build during the day, eat food that they brought with them, disappear at night, and then reappear the next day to continue their work. Nobody knows who hired them or whom these luxurious houses belong to. Now, movers are showing up with trucks full of furniture and appliances. People come out from the city to watch, wondering what in the world is going on. They are now surrounded by what looks like American suburbia.

Today, a man approaches a local tavern with a metal briefcase in hand. His posture, his clothes, and his haircut give away his identity as the foreigner, at least to this city. He is a mercenary from Egypt, armed with a handgun and even some grenades hooked to his belt. He steps inside, momentarily pausing to acclimate himself to the smell of bad cigars and cheap booze. The dank bar is filled with men, openly carrying assault rifles and talking amongst themselves. Everyone here is a pirate and everyone here has killed before.

The mercenary walks over to the counter, ignoring all the cautious stares he’s getting. He stands out too much to not raise alarm. Setting the briefcase on the counter, he turns to face everyone. “I’m looking for Mahmud Hussein,” he says, speaking Arabic.

Nobody answers him, but everyone is preparing to grab their weapons should they need them. Annoyed, the mercenary draws one of his grenades, sending a shiver of terror through the room as he pulls the pin. He keeps the spoon pressed, preventing the bomb from going off, but should he release his grip, there will only be seconds to get away. A dozen men get their feat and shout at him to return the pin, pointing their AK-47 rifles at him.

“I repeat: I am looking for Mahmud Hussein.”

He eases his grip on the spoon, starting the countdown.

“I’m the one you want.”

The mercenary turns to the one man not pointing a weapon at him, sitting in the corner amongst his bodyguards. He seems amused by the situation, more curious than fearful. His target found, the mercenary returns the pin to the grenade and stows it, replacing it instead with a cellphone. Set to speakerphone, he dials in a number, walks over, and places it at Mahmud’s table. Without saying another word, the mercenary departs, leaving his briefcase on the counter. From the cellphone, a voice is heard, distorted by a modulator.

“Hello Mr. Hussein, it’s nice to meet you.”

The stranger’s voice has a slight accent, unavoidable to anyone who doesn’t speak Arabic as a first language, but the way he speaks was otherwise perfect.

“Who is this?” Mahmud demands with everyone listening in.

“My name isn’t important. Am I correct in claiming you are the one in charge here?”

“That is right.”

“Good, then my sources are accurate. Allow me to get to the point: I have a business proposition for you, all of you. Work for me and I’ll give you all a future beyond your wildest dreams.”

Mahmud laughed at the offer. “And what would be we doing?”

“Bringing stability and prosperity to Somalia. Unfortunately, the instability and volatility of your country stands in the way of my endeavors, so I’ll have to fix it, and you’re all going to help.”

“This joke is wearing on my nerves.”

“It’s not a joke. The man who approached you left a metal briefcase on the counter. Have one of your men open it.”

All eyes turn to the briefcase, setting off alarms in everyone’s mind as to what could be inside. Enough C4 could be crammed into it to reduce the entire building to dust. They felt like it was staring back at them, daring them to make a move.

“You honestly expect me to fall for that?”

“If I wanted you dead, I would have leveled the building with all of you inside, and I could have done it with the push of a button. Might I add that that is still an option for me? The young man by the counter, Elijah, have him open it.” Standing closest to the suitcase, the emaciated nineteen-year-old looks like he was about to faint. “That’s right, I’m looking at all of you right now. You’re surrounded by eyes, many of which are behind sniper scopes. Open the case.”

Having forgotten the last time he had felt such fear, Mahmud hesitates and then nods to Elijah. The young man slowly approaches the case and unfastens it, the unclasping of the locks sounding like gunshots to everyone in the room. He at last works up the courage to open the case and gives a sigh of relief when nothing happens. Everyone gives similar gasps, having expected to be wrapped in a thunderous fireball.

“Boy, what’s in it?” Mahmud asks.

“Keys, sir. It’s full of keys.”

“My gift to all of you,” says the stranger. “Each key goes to one of the new houses that have been built. You can move your families into them whenever you want.”

The men gaped in amazement looking at the keys set out for them. Was this really happening? This was too good to be true!

“Why are you doing this?” Mahmud asks.

“There is no reason for my subordinates to live in squalor. I need people to help me save this world and one of the first steps in ensuring that countries like yours are stable. You’re all just the start. Besides, the lives you’ll be living will set the standard for the new era.”

“We’re just fishermen and pirates, we can’t fix this country!”

“Well then let’s change that, shall we? There is another building being set up, I’m sure you’re all aware of it. It’s the large facility on the other side of town, a university I’ve opened. Tomorrow at 8:00 am, all of you show up there and you’ll be given a free education to help welcome you into the 21st century. I’ll even pay you to attend classes so that you can focus on studying rather than work. Until then, take your keys and show your families to their new homes. Your country is about to be rebuilt from the ground up.”



On the other end of the line, Adrian turned off his phone, satisfied with the results, but without his face showing even a glimmer of joy. Stowing his phone, he got out of his car and made his way to the high school entrance. First period would start soon.

His name was Adrian Ashford, eighteen years old and a high school Junior, but by no means was he like any of the other guys his age. With an IQ of 300, he was regarded as the smartest man alive, past, present, and possibly even future. The only reason why he attended public school was because students at gifted schools were too competitive and desperate to beat him. To him, they were little more than arrogant little lap dogs, nipping at his heels as if they were his equals.

Since he was ten years old, he had always preferred to be left alone and his cold personality was proof of this desire. He saw no use in human socialization and found it to be a hindrance and did whatever could to avoid it. Love and friendship only got in the way of his goals and Adrian wanted neither of them. He had closed off his heart so that he wouldn’t feel lonely and mastered complete control of his hormones and physical desires so that he wouldn’t feel attraction or arousal.

Having recently transferred in at the end of September, he already had a reputation. Most people at school couldn’t stand being around him, because his logic and focus on reality basically crushed all of their dreams and beliefs. He could scientifically explain why their religion is false, why the habits that they think help them actually serve no purpose, why their views go against logic and reason, and he can list all of the flaws in their arguments. When someone asked him how he could possibly develop the views he had, he replied by saying that he simply came to conclusions by looking at problems the way a machine would. This tendency to crush their human traits had earned him the nickname ‘Adroid’, since he was basically the closest thing they’d ever come to meeting a robot.

The world knew him only for his record IQ and his groundbreaking inventions, but no one on Earth knew just what he was capable of and how powerful he was, intellectually, physically, and economically.

“Hey, Adrian!”

Clasping his hand as he reached the front doors, a girl seemingly appeared beside him out of thin air. Jenny Sinclair, her appearance meant nothing to his cold heart, but his opinion was of no concern in the unquestionable fact that she was exceptionally beautiful. She had a well-tanned complexion, bright blue eyes, and long blonde hair. It caught the light beautifully with a deep full golden shade. Her figure was… womanly, to say the least. Were he a normal teenager, Adrian would have gone into a stupor at the sensation of her hand touching his, but with his emotions and desires sealed away, her appearance meant nothing to him.

She asked him questions as if he was an all-knowing magic 8-ball, but she always picked her questions carefully, because his harsh logic was like fire: it’s comforting if you keep a safe distance, but you’ll get burned if you come too close. She sought him out for guidance and wisdom, using his inhuman logic in a human world. She was a social goddess, a celebrity to the other students, so why, of all people, would she so much as say hello to someone like Adrian? If anything, he just considered her an annoyance.

“So, Adrian, how about having lunch with my friends and I?”

“Why in the world would I ever do that?”

“Because you need to spend time with people. Think of it as like a social psychology experiment. You get an up close and personal view of how people interact.”

“You’re just going to keep badgering me until I say yes, aren’t you?”

“Not badgering you, encouraging you!”

“Ugh, fine, whatever. Now leave me alone.”



Most of Adrian’s day was spent on his phone, silently taking care of business while his teachers droned on. After all the books he had read, there was nothing they could tell him that he didn’t already know. He had mastered all academic subjects years ago. The people he was texting weren’t friends; they were subordinates. What was going on in Somalia was nothing out of the ordinary for Adrian. He was in the process or reformatting dozens of countries around the globe, with his oldest factions boasting thousands of members. There were also several other people, subordinates in charge not of countries, but corporations. Whether it was taking over companies or starting them himself, Adrian had used his intellect to build up a corporate empire, one that the world knew nothing about, and the profits from these companies funded his endeavors.



There was something new being muttered by the students in the halls, something that almost seemed to scare them. Normally ignoring everything around him, Adrian began to get curious. For once, he was glad that Jenny trailed behind him at every chance.

“Jenny, do you know what is going on? I’m only picking up small pieces of the story.”

“A bully named Logan is coming back from suspension. He was almost kicked out of school on the first day because he and his friends slashed the tires of all the teachers’ cars and set off fireworks in the halls.”

“Oh great, just what this school needs.”

“Well you’ll get to meet him, we have the same English class for fourth period.”

“Huzzah,” Adrian groaned sarcastically.



“So you’re the new kid,” Logan mused.

He was six feet tall, had short blond hair, a sadistic look in his eyes, and he was dressed like a cliché bad boy from an 80’s movie. Jenny was sitting in the back of the classroom with her friends, watching him.

“No, I’m just a figment of your imagination. As the kids would say, you are ‘totally tripping balls’ right now. Is that the answer you were looking for?” Adrian asked sarcastically.

“Very funny, prick, very funny. You must have been the funniest guy in the mental hospital.”

Adrian just rolled his eyes and sighed. The teacher had yet to show up, and until he did, Logan saw no reason to stop. Everyone was watching as if this was a sporting event.

“So fag, how do you like the new school? I bet a scrawny little bitch like you fell apart on the first day.”

“Your sense of assumption is far from correct,” Adrian said as stood up.

“Well you’ll find that my aim is better!” Logan laughed as he reached out to punch him.

With little effort but lightning-fast reflexes, Adrian blocked his fist with the back of his hand, completely halting his attack.

“Who the fuck are you?” Logan hissed, pushing as hard as he could, but finding Adrian’s arm to be as strong as steel.

“I already told you, I’m a figment of your imagination.”

Without warning or hesitation, Adrian bolted forward and stabbed him with his hand, straight in the solar plexus. The attack had been so fast that Logan didn’t even feel the impact, but the pain was so intense, that just a fraction of a second later he couldn’t even scream. Adrian had stabbed with his fingers folded halfway and his hand between a fist and being completely flat. Had his fingers been straight, Adrian could have pierced his skin, with his whole hand coated in blood and a gaping hole left in Logan’s chest.

Adrian pulled his hand back and Logan fell to the floor, gagging in pain and gripping the place Adrian had stabbed him. “Before your talk to me again, you had better learn respect, for I will not tolerate such insulting behavior. You are nothing more than a misbehaving dog that needs an attitude adjustment, and I will continue to treat you like one if you continue to act like one. Do I make myself clear, or am I going to have to put you in your place?”

Everyone was staring at him with disbelief as Logan slowly got to his feet, chuckling like a serial killer. “Go fuck yourself. You’re no better than the rest of us, no matter how much you want to be.”

“I’m not saying everyone is below me; I’m saying that you are below everyone. Like I said, you are nothing more than a misbehaving dog that needs an attitude adjustment. A pathetic sub-human like you deserves to be treated as such. You had better learn respect, because I won’t be as merciful next time.”

“You condescending son of a—”

“Sorry I’m late, everyone take out your textbooks,” the English teacher said as he stepped into the room, cutting Logan off. He immediately knew something had just being going on. “Logan… Adrian… what were the two of you just doing?” he asked, waiting for a reason to start handing out detentions.

“Nothing sir,” Adrian said as he brushed his messy black hair out of his face.