Lenders: The Unlicensed Consciousness (The Lenders Saga Book 1)

Emotionally charged sci-fi! Consciousness as a meal for "The Machines!" Artificial intelligence, and dreaming as an occupation...

But it’s no picnic. What must be done is not for the faint of heart, and very few can do it successfully, or stomach it—until Amy comes along. She's special all right, but not for any reason the townspeople of the very last city can imagine!

Master “Word Refiner,” Mark Schultz, who reads more than 60 books a year. Mark said, “This is the best book I have read this year. I am going to give it a score of 5.1 stars, on a 5-point scale. Yes, I know, I cheated. Read the book yourself and tell me I am wrong.”
Mark Schultz is not hard to find in the world of books! Read his review and interview of Travis Borne.

Reviewer, James Meadows, said, “The Dark Tower Series meets Ready Player One meets Lock In. The author wrote fluently and naturally as most speak.”

Reviewer, Larry Johnson, said, “By the end of the novel it had me believing in some astounding possibilities…”

Reviewer, Katie, said, “If you like movies like Inception, or The Matrix, you’ll love this book.”

Jump 25 years into the future where the last of humanity survives in the last city. Science is limited, except within “The Lending Facility,” where tech stabilizes the dream world and consciousness is harvested in exchange for protection.

When the unexpected happens, Jim and Amy are faced with a gut-wrenching choice. And it could change everything. But that’s what his malcontent self had always wanted, right?
They’ll travel through wormholes—into The NOTHING—The SOMETHING as some describe it—and explode out. To the edge of the universe and, depending on their choice, possibly into a world of doom purposed for the unimaginable. But is it really, all just a dream?

Journey into the desert with mezcal-slurping Felix. Bounce along in his clunker pickup, Esperanza, and meet Mister Quain Renmore in a land unfathomable; beware of Q’s slaps, kicks and pokes. Push the boundaries of the system, test limits.
Newfound powers, will it burst through causing the ultimate “purple” surge, or is it already too late? The drone army has already penetrated the defenses! Head to the safe room, pack in tight while the lenders battle against all odds to pull off the impossible.
Then, back—to the past. Where it all began, powerful companies fighting to develop A.I., and one man manages something special by working 20 hours per day. He's a rudely blunt misanthrope. Can he crawl out of his snake skin? Will he realize, he doesn't need to go at this alone. Years of abuse and mockery, once a nerd but now a king, haunted by doomsday speculations seething within his perspicacious mind, and things go awry. Herald decides to unfold a chair, pop open a beer, watch it burn.
Can he be changed, fixed? He meets someone, but can love save him, assuage the demons raging war in his mind?
With a select group of friends and a possible change of heart, will Herald alter his plans? Should they let the cat out of the bag? While there can be no stopping the coming destruction now, can he and his team even pull it off?
WARNING: What's coming is the snowball of civilization's demise. Fires rage, volcanoes vomit. Mass destruction. But just as the lights are about to go out for good, along comes Jim, Amy, Rico, and the lenders, assisted by head scientist, Ted—in the future... Herald and the love of his life, and his friends—in the past...

Can Herald and his team outrun the approaching nightmare in the hover-jet? Can Amy and Jim slip through where all others have failed? Will a humanity prove itself worthy? Will a beacon for assistance be heard, and if so, will it arrive in time?