Clarkesworld Magazine Heart of Thunder by Raahem Alvi (audio)
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Aug 29, 2025 Dive into the gripping tale of Damien Marshall, a man grappling with his identity in a dystopian world of neural augmentations. Explore the psychological turmoil of a cyborg existence as he faces conflict and trauma on a war-torn Mars. Witness the intense duality of military duty and personal struggle as he confronts both external foes and his own deteriorating enhancements. Amidst chaos in a Martian labor colony, secrets unfold about a powerful augmented super-soldier, hinting at a deeper mission beneath the surface.
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Identity Eroded By Broken Augmentations
- Damien's neural augmentations blurred the line between his identity and implanted directives.
- Failing prototype chips produced intrusive voices and hallucinations that rewired his agency.
Work Tied To Lifelong Augmentation Debt
- Employment increasingly requires physical and neural enhancements, making organic workers obsolete.
- Module's system ties livelihoods to lifelong debt and mandatory updates, trapping workers in dependency.
'Normal' Is Manufactured By Personality Edits
- Personality edits and neural chips can create a temporary sense of 'normal' by silencing hallucinations.
- Those edits strip messy humanity and can leave a person feeling alienated from their body.