What is 10,000 Dawns?
Graelyn Scythes and Archimedes, the heroes of our tale.
10,000 Dawns isn't just this story though, this is the start of a whole new universe, featuring stories by tons of great writers already in the works!
We've released two stand along novels, several online fiction collections, and one huge anthology featuring 16 different writers! There's tons to explore. We'll also be featuring occasional free spinoff stories, like the fan favorite "The Adventures of Mister Sprinkles the Cat." 10kd will be huge adventure, so get on board and explore the universes! |
"Humanity reached for the stars, and as its hand neared the edge of the solar system shrugged and said, "Eh, good enough." Its hundreds of years in the future, Mars and many moons have been colonized, and Graelyn Scythes is stuck on Earth with her cat.
After she accepts an internship with Project Atlantis, an underwater city lead by a mysterious visionary , Graelyn's easy job bringing coffee gets harder when she makes the choice to bring in a sinking Cyborg named Archimedes from the depths, and the secret purpose of the city goes massively awry. Graelyn quickly becomes part of an adventure larger than herself... And herself, and herself... And finds that the possibilities for herself are not always what she imagined. Welcome to 10,000 Dawns, a future where revolution is on the doorstep of Earth, alien invasion is imminent, and travel between parallel worlds throughout history is possible! We have a full novel of adventure for you to read featuring Graelyn and Archimedes by James Wylder (An Eloquence of Time and Space, Cryptos), featuring illustrations by Annie Zhu (Tumblr's CardinalCapaldi)! You can read the whole story so far by clicking here or at the link below! http://www.jameswylder.com/read-every-chapter.html Every chapter will also be available in an audio version to take with you in the car on the go via the Southgate Media Group podcasts at: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com/10000dawnspodcast 10,000 Dawns is:
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About Our Heroes...
Graelyn Scythes was born in future Moscow, where she promptly proved herself a keen scientist from an early age. Still a teenager, Graelyn has moved out of her parents, and is trying to make it on her own with her cat Mr. Sprinkles. She wants to work as an intern at Project Atlantis, but why does she want to get away from the surface world so badly?
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Archimedes was born on a lonely spacestation, and had his body augmented with cybernetic parts before he could even crawl. Told that Earth had died, a disaster sends him running from his home only to find everything he'd been raised to believe was a lie. What does Archimedes want now, and will he be able to trust the young woman he's thrown into an adventure with?
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Exclusive Preview: 10,000 Dawns Chapter 0!
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Why wait to get going? Check out a preview chapter set before the events of the first chapter of 10,000 Dawns and get a taste of the fun ahead!
Watch the Youtube Video to the left to hear the story read aloud to you, or keep scrolling down in order to read the story! 
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10,000 Dawns
A New Serialized Story by James Wylder
Graelyn Scythes created by David Koon
Chapter 0: the Application
The Universe began in chaos. Matter exploded outward, clumped together, tumbled off, and over a timescale nearly unfathomable formed the space we all live in. Through all of that, order formed, and order was the thing that kept the universe from falling into the anarchy of creation. In the grand scheme of things, there was no form of order more stern and heroic in its unwavering necessity for precision than the human invention of the Internship Application.
This particular internship Application was being filled out on an old maglev monorail that was old when other trains people called old were still sucking on their pacifiers on the assembly lines. The form was in the hands of a girl with black hair tied back in a pony tail in a blue skirt and suitjacket who gave off the distinct impression she'd worn a different copy of the same outfit yesterday. She shoved her glasses towards her nose, and tried to follow along with the instructions:
Welcome to your application to Project Atlantis, a subsidiary of Anubis Corp. Simply complete this short questionnaire of 270 questions, as well as your personal information, four recommendations, and a cover letter, and you'll be all set to-
She sighed. 270 Questions? She wasn't above putting in a little elbow grease, but the number seemed a bit excessive. She tapped in by rote her personal info, as well as the contact info for her recommendations, and began the long questionnaire. Whatever they needed to feel safe and secure, she supposed.
1. What would your reaction be if you found yourself unexpectedly drowning and being crushed by unsurvivable pressure?
Graelyn wasn't sure what she was expecting on the application, but it wasn't that. She held the tablet up to her mouth, and bit it lightly, as though the infantile gesture would help her think. It did, apparently, as she quickly tapped in the answer, “Die.” May as well be practical about this.
“Everyone on the ground now!” the man said, standing up, while he and several other men and women pulled out railgun-rifles. Graelyn looked up at them, as the rest of the compartment got to the ground. She looked at the time in the corner of the screen: 3:45. The application was due at 8 and she had to answer 269 questions. She groaned, and slumped down out of her seat onto the floor, trying to get back to her application as the people with weapons did whatever it was they were doing.
2. Consider the hypothetical situation where you meet yourself from another reality-- what would your first reaction be?
This was a tougher question, certainly not a one word one, but also not one that she'd need to spend a lot of time on. The revolutionaries casually went through the train, occasionally rifling through people's bag's, until they stopped at her.
“You, where's your bag?” Graelyn pointed to her purse, which was still up on the bench, and went back to her application. Graelyn supposed she wouldn't do anything rash, if she met herself. She'd probably just compare notes. She filled the blank in and moved onto the next question. “No devices.” The man said, leveling his gun at her. “Sorry, this is really important.”
“I don't want you reporting us.”
“You've already been reported by the automated camera system, calm down.” She said trying to focus. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd been in a hostage situation, she did live in the city after all. The man grimaced, and spitefully dumped her purse out on the seat, for which a woman who seemed to be in charge yelled at him, and made him apologize. Graelyn accepted the apology and tried to get on with the application. She breezed through a few questions, as the man rifled through the pile of her lip gloss, hair ties, sanitary pads, and tissues. “Nothing here ma'am,” he yelled and moved onto the next occupant, finally. She kept going, finally she was really in the zone on this!
24. A farmer has a chicken, a fox, and a bag of seed he needs to get across a river-
Easy. She'd memorized that puzzle.
25. If you were-
“You seem awfully calm.” The leading woman said. She'd walked up to her, rifle held patiently, a bandolier of ammo and grenades striking the light like she'd rehearsed this spot before.
“You guys have held up my train before. I have a lot of work to do.”
“You should care more about what's going on around you.”+
“You should get on with finding whatever you're here for.” She gave a curt laugh, like the kind gruff men make to bad jokes in movies.
“You'd make a good soldier.”
Graelyn ignored that, the woman was just distracting her now. She kept looking at her, and turned away as though disappointed. “Ma'am, we found it!” The man who had bothered her was now holding a balding man in a sportcoat by the elbow, and holding up a datacard in the other hand. “Good work, lets move out.”
“You'll never get away with this!” The balding man cried, “Centro has eyes everywhere. We'll find you!”
“You haven't yet!” Said the woman with a gleam in her eye, and punched the emergency release button for the door. The revolutionaries jumped out in perfect order, their feet and backs lighting up as they began a controlled flight downwards onto a rooftop. An older woman got up, and shut the door. For some reason there was applause, and Graelyn briefly took the time to put her things back in her purse. She looked down at the tablet, and was struck by how close she had nearly been to something totally different. She could have tried to foil the plotters somehow, she was clever, they might have just shot her, but it would have been memorable. The woman in charge, with a little talk in a different direction, might have offered to let her go with them. She could be in some dank basement learning how to assemble a railgun blindfolded, or glide through the air with an energy pack. There were so many possibilities, and she had chosen to finish filling out this internship application. It seemed heavy, like it was made of the plaques on buildings, or was secretly some monument.
She turned to the next question.
* * * * *
Graelyn Scythes got back to her one-room apartment, took off her blazer, skirt, and tie, picked up her cat Mr. Sprinkles who was desperately wanting some cuddling, reheated some old stir fry, and sat down on the couch. Only a hundred questions to go. She strokes Mr. Sprinkles, who purred deeply into her lap, grounding her, his soft fur felt nice on her bare legs.
171. Are you, or have you ever been, a member of the communist party?
Graelyn laughed, and checked no, but her face grew still. She didn't give a damn about the communists, but she suddenly wondered if she'd be able to believe in anything like that. She rubbed the cat behind the ears.
“I'd make a bad soldier Mr. Sprinkles.”
The revolutionaries had gotten something important she'd never know about. She never saw them again. Maybe they were shot dead. Maybe they made some secret victory. Rain started hitting the window pane, and she at least knew they would likely be wet. Mr. Sprinkles adjusted himself, making it very hard to move between the questions and picking at the stir fry. She resigned herself to the situation, as she had done through most of the day, and focused on the internship application.
“I'd make a bad soldier.”
A New Serialized Story by James Wylder
Graelyn Scythes created by David Koon
Chapter 0: the Application
The Universe began in chaos. Matter exploded outward, clumped together, tumbled off, and over a timescale nearly unfathomable formed the space we all live in. Through all of that, order formed, and order was the thing that kept the universe from falling into the anarchy of creation. In the grand scheme of things, there was no form of order more stern and heroic in its unwavering necessity for precision than the human invention of the Internship Application.
This particular internship Application was being filled out on an old maglev monorail that was old when other trains people called old were still sucking on their pacifiers on the assembly lines. The form was in the hands of a girl with black hair tied back in a pony tail in a blue skirt and suitjacket who gave off the distinct impression she'd worn a different copy of the same outfit yesterday. She shoved her glasses towards her nose, and tried to follow along with the instructions:
Welcome to your application to Project Atlantis, a subsidiary of Anubis Corp. Simply complete this short questionnaire of 270 questions, as well as your personal information, four recommendations, and a cover letter, and you'll be all set to-
She sighed. 270 Questions? She wasn't above putting in a little elbow grease, but the number seemed a bit excessive. She tapped in by rote her personal info, as well as the contact info for her recommendations, and began the long questionnaire. Whatever they needed to feel safe and secure, she supposed.
1. What would your reaction be if you found yourself unexpectedly drowning and being crushed by unsurvivable pressure?
Graelyn wasn't sure what she was expecting on the application, but it wasn't that. She held the tablet up to her mouth, and bit it lightly, as though the infantile gesture would help her think. It did, apparently, as she quickly tapped in the answer, “Die.” May as well be practical about this.
“Everyone on the ground now!” the man said, standing up, while he and several other men and women pulled out railgun-rifles. Graelyn looked up at them, as the rest of the compartment got to the ground. She looked at the time in the corner of the screen: 3:45. The application was due at 8 and she had to answer 269 questions. She groaned, and slumped down out of her seat onto the floor, trying to get back to her application as the people with weapons did whatever it was they were doing.
2. Consider the hypothetical situation where you meet yourself from another reality-- what would your first reaction be?
This was a tougher question, certainly not a one word one, but also not one that she'd need to spend a lot of time on. The revolutionaries casually went through the train, occasionally rifling through people's bag's, until they stopped at her.
“You, where's your bag?” Graelyn pointed to her purse, which was still up on the bench, and went back to her application. Graelyn supposed she wouldn't do anything rash, if she met herself. She'd probably just compare notes. She filled the blank in and moved onto the next question. “No devices.” The man said, leveling his gun at her. “Sorry, this is really important.”
“I don't want you reporting us.”
“You've already been reported by the automated camera system, calm down.” She said trying to focus. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd been in a hostage situation, she did live in the city after all. The man grimaced, and spitefully dumped her purse out on the seat, for which a woman who seemed to be in charge yelled at him, and made him apologize. Graelyn accepted the apology and tried to get on with the application. She breezed through a few questions, as the man rifled through the pile of her lip gloss, hair ties, sanitary pads, and tissues. “Nothing here ma'am,” he yelled and moved onto the next occupant, finally. She kept going, finally she was really in the zone on this!
24. A farmer has a chicken, a fox, and a bag of seed he needs to get across a river-
Easy. She'd memorized that puzzle.
25. If you were-
“You seem awfully calm.” The leading woman said. She'd walked up to her, rifle held patiently, a bandolier of ammo and grenades striking the light like she'd rehearsed this spot before.
“You guys have held up my train before. I have a lot of work to do.”
“You should care more about what's going on around you.”+
“You should get on with finding whatever you're here for.” She gave a curt laugh, like the kind gruff men make to bad jokes in movies.
“You'd make a good soldier.”
Graelyn ignored that, the woman was just distracting her now. She kept looking at her, and turned away as though disappointed. “Ma'am, we found it!” The man who had bothered her was now holding a balding man in a sportcoat by the elbow, and holding up a datacard in the other hand. “Good work, lets move out.”
“You'll never get away with this!” The balding man cried, “Centro has eyes everywhere. We'll find you!”
“You haven't yet!” Said the woman with a gleam in her eye, and punched the emergency release button for the door. The revolutionaries jumped out in perfect order, their feet and backs lighting up as they began a controlled flight downwards onto a rooftop. An older woman got up, and shut the door. For some reason there was applause, and Graelyn briefly took the time to put her things back in her purse. She looked down at the tablet, and was struck by how close she had nearly been to something totally different. She could have tried to foil the plotters somehow, she was clever, they might have just shot her, but it would have been memorable. The woman in charge, with a little talk in a different direction, might have offered to let her go with them. She could be in some dank basement learning how to assemble a railgun blindfolded, or glide through the air with an energy pack. There were so many possibilities, and she had chosen to finish filling out this internship application. It seemed heavy, like it was made of the plaques on buildings, or was secretly some monument.
She turned to the next question.
* * * * *
Graelyn Scythes got back to her one-room apartment, took off her blazer, skirt, and tie, picked up her cat Mr. Sprinkles who was desperately wanting some cuddling, reheated some old stir fry, and sat down on the couch. Only a hundred questions to go. She strokes Mr. Sprinkles, who purred deeply into her lap, grounding her, his soft fur felt nice on her bare legs.
171. Are you, or have you ever been, a member of the communist party?
Graelyn laughed, and checked no, but her face grew still. She didn't give a damn about the communists, but she suddenly wondered if she'd be able to believe in anything like that. She rubbed the cat behind the ears.
“I'd make a bad soldier Mr. Sprinkles.”
The revolutionaries had gotten something important she'd never know about. She never saw them again. Maybe they were shot dead. Maybe they made some secret victory. Rain started hitting the window pane, and she at least knew they would likely be wet. Mr. Sprinkles adjusted himself, making it very hard to move between the questions and picking at the stir fry. She resigned herself to the situation, as she had done through most of the day, and focused on the internship application.
“I'd make a bad soldier.”
Check back every Thursday for a new chapter to read or listen to, all totally free! Don't miss out on the exciting adventures of Graelyn and Archimedes. Find out what's going on on Earth, why Graelyn really really wants that internship, why the cat is named Mr. Sprinkles, and what awaits them both at the bottom of the ocean...
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