The Last Stand of the Golems - a Short Story

ILLUSTRATED Science Fiction Short Story - followed by BONUS excerpts!
By Joseph Graff, at 15 years old: "may be a future major force in Sci-Fi literature" "everything one could want in a good Sci-Fi tale" "talented" "I wanted more"

What if the survival of the human race depended not on people, but on machines?

Humanity is an endangered species. Earth, once the cradle of life, is now a decaying wasteland overtaken by the unstoppable Mortis Plague. This ancient, incomprehensible force consumes all in its path, turning every living thing into part of its ever-growing army of the undead. Mankind's armies are shattered. Its will to fight is broken. Its last remaining hope lies in the fleet of interplanetary arks it has built, and the legions of mechanical golems set to defend them.

Many arks were destroyed before they could escape. Many more have launched, and are shoring up mankind's defenses on Luna or preparing an enclave to weather the storm on Mars. Only one ark ship, with thousands of lives aboard, has yet to leave its dying world. As the armies of the Plague close around it, many begin to doubt if it will leave at all.

All seems lost for the refugees on the ark. The last remnants of mankind's great army, a unit of veteran golems without the programming to feel fear, are all that stands between them and assimilation into the Plague's horrific legions. Their purpose is singular: to delay the enemy as long as possible and buy time to launch the ark.

As the countdown to launch ticks down and the golems are pushed back to the innermost barricades, the situation grows ever more desperate for the ark and its passengers. Will the captain's military brilliance, or timely aid from an unexpected source, save the ark from being overrun and joining its ruined brethren on the dead surface of Earth?

Buy this short story now - the first in a series that will make a saga - to find out!

BONUS excerpts:

1. Extended excerpt from In the Shadow of a Giant - a Novella by Joseph Graff

Sci-Fi tale of noble houses' epic starship battles, political intrigue, sabotage, betrayal, revenge, and ultimately, survival in a decaying galactic empire

2. Excerpt from SSSSnake Jokessss by eight-year-old Joseph Graff

3. Excerpt from The Ten Human Home Worlds a novel by Joseph Graff

4. Excerpt from Joffe nezum a "stream of consciousness", "modernist" (as pioneered by James Joyce's "Ulysses"), "mind-blowing" surreal literature by twelve-year-old prodigy Joseph Graff