Synopsis

In The Psychic’s Memoirs, a hot-tempered Los Angeles detective and his distracted partner are assigned to find an alleged teenage psychic whose capture might determine the outcome of a looming civil war and humanity’s relationship with a misleading alien force. The standalone novel is part of Ryan Hyatt’s Terrafide series, techie tales of woe, and hope in which characters grapple with a world falling apart. The Terrafide universe, which also includes Rise of the Liberators and Stay Younger Longer, takes place on an alternate timeline that mirrors and mimics present-day events.

More about The Psychic’s Memoirs

The story begins in December 2026, months after the Coastal Earthquake ravages Los Angeles and compounds disaster brought on by the Greatest Depression, a global financial calamity underway throughout the decade. In the wake of the quake, a group of revolutionaries called Eco-Socialists clench a sweeping electoral victory in California. Led by a charismatic figure known as ‘Che Tay,’ the Eco-Socialists are committed to an autonomous Golden State freed from the constraints of a broke and bungling federal government. Hopes to end the federal occupation, symbolized by the presence around L.A. of giant mechas called Liberators, is the immediate goal. Over time, however, the Eco-Socialists hope to right the wrongs of the past and forge a model of statehood based on economic and environmental justice. If they could, they would save the world, or so their supporters claim.

Detectives Ted Kaza and Lydia Jackson of the Los Angeles Police Department are assigned to find an alleged teenage psychic, Alice Walker, whose capture might determine the outcome of the civil war looming between California and the United States. They visit the high school Alice attended to meet her former history teacher, Walter Newman, who leads them to a coffee shop where the teenager is apprehended. However, a surprise encounter during their sting involves Che Tay, who reveals himself to be not entirely human. Some even consider the revolutionary to be a greater threat to world order than Alice and her prophetic powers. Unfortunately for the detectives, Che escapes, and LA’s finest discover they have been manipulated by clandestine forces within the federal government to bring Alice into custody. When Alice disappears from jail and Kaza and Jackson fail to capture Che Tay after a political rally, the need to redirect the world’s bleak future suddenly rests squarely on the detectives.

Their trail leads them to their commander, James Elroy, who turns out to be a CIA operative along with his sidekick, a small sentient doll named Mr. Y. Jackson and Kaza’s quest to find Alice takes them to a mansion in the desert. Paranormal Plantation, which once played a part in California’s eugenics program, now serves as a federal outpost to experiment on individuals with extraordinary abilities. When Che Tay’s corpse turns up in front of LA City Hall, the public is up in arms, and time seems to be running out for the detectives to save the psychic and prevent a war. Thanks to clues left in Alice’s notebook, secrets are revealed at Paranormal Plantation about the nature of the extraterrestrial presence that has confounded the detectives’ investigation. If Kaza and Jackson are to quell an alien uprising and save their political friends and foes, they will have to prove they have faith in more than a nation or themselves; they must be willing to witness a dimension of their existence that is downright terrifying.

Praise

“The Best Cyberpunk Novels in 2020 and 2021” –Joel Stafford, Joel’s Books

“A mind-warping journey through an all-too-plausible near-future America where sociopolitical revolution and advanced technology represent the promise and peril of human evolution.” –Jake Anderson, author of Gone at Midnight: The Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam

“Hyatt’s superior ability to build a convincing lived-in world just over the horizon is on display page after page. This is not another orgy of post-apocalyptic horrors, but an opportunity to see every calamity as a possible stepping stone toward utopia.” –A.L. Lorentz, author of The Filter Trap and Dead Monkeys

Excerpt

“Good morning, class!” I say as the smartboard projects the notes from my computer screen. My voice is met with half-hearted grunts from half-awake juniors.

“Please, turn to the next page in your notebooks,” I say. “Date and title your notes as you see on the board.”

It’s Friday, May 8, 2026, and the title of today’s lesson is, ‘TREE OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES – CIRCA 1945.’ Three unlabeled branches stem upward and outward from a tree trunk labeled, ‘WESTERN CIVILIZATION.’

I meander between clusters of desks and monitor students as they flounder through backpacks searching for their notebooks, or at least pretending to be searching for their notebooks, as I catch several with contraband in hand: ear buds, licorice, soda, and other gadgets and junk they know they shouldn’t have.

I have to give credit to this group of juniors, they sure like to start the day off right with a solid breakfast of energy drinks and spicy chips, so that by the end of first period they’re fired up and ready to raise hell around campus. It’s as if school is little more to them than some lame party they are forced to attend, so they bring their own favors to liven it up.

I can’t deal with such nonsense so early in the day:

“Take off the earbuds, Jorge. They make you look like an alien from outer space. Try talking to Earthlings for a change. You might get a girlfriend.”

“Save that can of caffeinated diabetes juice for after school, Jeffrey, when you need it to stay awake to finish the homework you owe me.”

“Keep the flaming hot Salsalito chips stored in your backpack, Enrique. If you keep eating crap, your girlfriend will dump you and start going out with Jorge, as long as he’s willing to acknowledge her.”

Jorge, Jeffery, and Enrique laugh.

“Crazy Newman,” someone says.

******************************************************************************

The Urabus heads eastbound on Del Mar Boulevard away from the Caltech campus. The detectives spot the golf cart one hundred yards ahead of them and dozens of motorists driving leisurely between them on a thoroughfare lined with apartment buildings and single-family homes.

Kaza opens the sun roof, stands through it, and withdraws his Beretta—

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

“What are you doing?” Jackson demands, whacking Kaza’s thighs.

“Ouch, that hurts!” Kaza’s says, kicking at her flailing arm. “I’m just clearing the streets…”

Cars swerve out of their way. Two black SUVs turn a corner and gain on the detectives.

“Who are they?” Jackson shouts, glancing to her right and left at a set of tinted windows.

“I have no idea,” Kaza says, sliding back into his seat. “What the hell?”

Both detectives notice in the rearview mirror an airborne shadow approaching them from behind. Jackson eases off the accelerator, and the two SUVs with California government plates advance toward the golf cart. There’s a flash of light and a thunderous SWOOSH—

The SUVs explode. Jackson slams on the breaks. The Urabus careens toward the wreckage, skids to a halt and avoids two balls of billowing flame. Sweat pours from Jackson’s head as she clasps the steering wheel. Kaza opens the passenger door, hops out of the station wagon, and runs through the wreckage. A huge shadow looms over him and engulfs everything in sight.

The humongous bird of prey turns half circle, faces the detectives and transforms into a towering mecha. The hovering Liberator points a palm at the golf cart, which lifts off the ground. Cables extend from the mecha’s legs, wrap around the two screaming security guards, and fling them far and wide. Their screams are heard trailing off in the distance as Che Tay, clinging to the golf cart, shouts obscenities at the invisible force pulling the golf cart into the palm of the giant’s hand. The Liberator closes its grip around the wanted man. The mecha transforms back into a bird of prey. Its wings spread outward as the arms and legs fold into its chest. The soles of its feet, which also function as rockets, ignite and propel the magnificent machine and its cargo northeast toward the desert outside of Los Angeles.

About the Author

Ryan Hyatt was born in Tucson in 1976. He was raised in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Copenhagen before returning to his hometown and graduating from the University of Arizona in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in history, psychology and creative writing. Hyatt spent much of his twenties working as a reporter and columnist for newspapers such as the Apache Junction Independent and Santa Monica Daily Press.

In addition to the Terrafide series, he is author of the modern western, The Death of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and editor of the satirical sci-fi news site, The La-La Lander, as well as Not Your Father’s Bedtime Stories, children’s tales he creates with his daughter. He holds a master’s degree in education from California State University Northridge and develops and manages literacy intervention programs for Los Angeles schools.

Website * Amazon * Twitter