Journey To The West Valley Wall

Science fiction writer Jack Van Horne has been struggling with an increasing case of Agoraphobia for about the past ten years. This mental affliction makes him powerless to leave his current surroundings of the street his apartment is situated. His doctor has tried many types of medication with zero effect to break him from his self-imposed prison. The impact of his mental illness prevents Jack from finishing the final book of his space fantasy series, which has increased the psychological strain on his well being. Jack’s editor believes he is just suffering from writer’s block. However, Jack knows that he isn’t well and that people are dismissing his mental illness as a genuine illness. When Jack is tasked with watching his niece for two days out of the sanctity of his safe zone surroundings, his journey begins to the West Valley Wall. In Jack’s mind, this adventure will either aid in his sanity or cement his demise.

Being immortal is not as advertised in the year 2792. In a world where humans with the means to do so can live forever in artificial bodies, ‘carnationist’ (body creator and soul installer) Harry Higgins becomes entranced by a beautiful, artificial woman who he purchases from a shady dealer. This mysterious woman, Kora, has the ‘husk’ body of an immortal (transcended) human, but has illegally been installed with artificial intelligence. Those two systems were never meant to mesh, and Harry tries to mentor Kora as she struggles to control her functionality and recover ‘human’ memories she insists she has. Meanwhile, Harry faces his own demons. He is suffering from an affliction called ‘expiration fever’. When artificial bodies (husks) were developed, it was recognized by the creator of this technology (a genius named LaPorte) that human minds and souls occasionally need to recharge. His stasis deep sleep system, or SDS, is the answer to this, allowing for multiple year naps for this purpose. However, the SDS system has been offline for more than 50 years, with zero sign of ever returning. As expiration fever takes him, Harry’s mind wanders from being sane to delusional. Soon, Harry comes to believe that he can do the impossible and pass Kora off as a transcended human in his secluded society. He whimsically mentions this to his friend and colleague, Melbray, and a bet is placed as to whether he can fool everyone at a festival celebrating the creation of immortal technology. This ignites an adventure, as Harry attempts to keep his mind sound while navigating this wager to a successful end.

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Half a century ago a rag-tag group of innovators was building a foundation for modern American rock climbing from a makeshift home base in Yosemite. Photographer Glen Denny was a key figure in this golden age of climbing, capturing pioneering feats on camera while tackling challenging ascents himself. In entertaining short pieces enlivened by his iconic black-and-white images of Yosemite's big wall legends, Denny reveals a young man's coming of age and provides a vivid look at Yosemite’s early climbing culture. He relates such precarious achievements as hauling water in glass gallon jugs up the east face of Washington Column, nailing the 750-foot Rostrum in a punishing heat wave, and dangling overnight on El Capitan’s Dihedral Wall in a lightning storm. Each true tale captures the spirit of historic Camp 4, where Denny and others plan the next big climb while living on the cheap and dodging park rangers.