Babylon Black enters its third week. With 31% and 10 days to go, the finishing line is in sight!
Babylon Black is a tale of asymmetric warfare against false gods, cosmic horrors, and the cults that serve them. With the New Gods enjoying near-total dominion over mortal affairs, a dissident's tradecraft must be dead-on to stay alive. Especially if he has a history of conflict with the rulers of the world.
In this sample chapter, we'll take a peek at the kind of tradecraft necessary to survive the mean streets of Babylon. Enjoy!
How do you forge a man into a warrior against the New Gods?
This is one of the key questions Babylon Red seeks to explore. Outnumbered and outgunned, there is no way Team Black Watch can fight the New Gods alone. They need allies. But who dares to challenge the rulers of the world?
This alone will rule out ninety-nine percent of the population, and for good reason. Most people have signed up with one faction or another. All the team can count on are seculars and followers of minor Powers. Of those few, most just want to keep their heads down and stay out of trouble.
It is a natural instinct. The New Gods reign with an iron fist. Anyone who speaks against them will be silenced, anyone who stands against them will be cut down. Or simply disappeared. Anyone who aids their enemies will be destroyed, or forced to submit. It is easier—much, much easier—simply to hide in the shadows and avoid drawing the attention of the New Gods.
Only three kinds of people will support Team Black Watch: idealists who want to rid the world of the corrosive influence of the New Gods, dissidents who have personally suffered loss at their loss and seek revenge, and mercenaries. And the last don’t count.
It takes courage to stand against the herd. More so when wolves and lions and bears within the herd will turn on you the moment you do it. Courage is a rare virtue, even rarer in the mean streets of Babylon. In an age when the New Gods hold the world with an iron grip, those who would defy them are few, and those who would take up arms against them even fewer.
Of those who would fight the armies of the New Gods, none can match the STS.
The Special Tasks Section comprises of just under a hundred operators scattered across a continent. The New Gods are each a nation, with armies and economies that rival those of superpowers. The STS has few allies. The New Gods control the governments and corporations. It’s impossible for the STS to sustained prolonged operations against the New Gods.
We are 2 weeks into Babylon Black and the campaign is 40% funded. It's a little slow, but given the state of the economy, it's understandable.
Babylon Black is more than just an atmospheric action piece. It's a hyperkinetic mix of irregular warfare, political intrigue, and ironclad faith. In the previous chapter, we saw warfare and faith. In this next chapter, we pull back the curtain to reveal the machinations of gods and men. Enjoy!
During the events of Babylon Red, a rogue experiment nearly wiped out the megalopolis. Although the New Gods temporarily put aside their differences to deal with an eldritch abomination, they recognize that at least one faction has to power to destroy the city—and likely the world—entirely by accident. That faction isn’t powerful enough to dominate the world, but they can make sure no one else can rule over the ashes.
To counterbalance that faction, all the other factions are seeking an edge. They want as much manpower, firepower, and superpowers before the inevitable showdown. And they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.
Every faction is moving to consolidate their turf and gobble up new territory. What was once neutral ground is now a hunting ground, with Speakers and Elect competing for control over every street and every block. The mortal authorities are sidelined, the private armies of the New Gods moving openly in the daylight. Every escalation triggers a greater escalation, provoking an even greater escalation.
The New Gods fear that their rivals will kick off the next great war. By their actions, they create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In this milieu, what can Yuri Yamamoto and his team do?
J. manfred Weichsel is excited to announce that his latest book, Warrior Soul & Other Stories, is now available for purchase! This collection of twelve boundary-shattering tales explores the fringes of what's possible in speculative fiction, taking readers on a journey to the far reaches of imagination and beyond.
You can get your copy of Warrior Soul & Other Stories today from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Scribd, or Smashwords.
If you want a paperback, get it now before they make Weichsel change the cover. You can get the paperback on Amazon.
If you are international and want to be brought to your own country’s store, use the universsal book link.
With heart-stopping action, mind-bending science fiction, far-out fantasy, humor, and horror, these twelve stories reveal the naked truth of our humanity.
The New Gods rule the world. Their armies are endless. They possess cutting-edge technology, limitless resources, and the backing of corporations and governments. They grant supernatural gifts to their most loyal and capable believers, and unleash monsters on their enemies. How can the Special Tasks Section, a ragtag group of disavowed operators with limited support, hope to defeat them?
It's been a week since the IndieGoGo campaign for BABYLON BLACK kicked off, and the campaign is progressing smoothly. As of time of writing, we are now 30% funded!
To celebrate this milestone, here's the first chapter of BABYLON BLACK. Enjoy!
Everyone can see it. No one can stop it. The New Gods know that a single misstep will spark a conflagration no one can put out. They pursue their grand designs anyway.
With every act of aggression, the tension ratchets higher. A quarrel at a bar provokes a shooting, a shooting provokes a killing, a killing provokes a high profile assault, and it only gets worse from there. There is no off-ramp to sanity. Everyone knows it, but none of them wants to stop.
After two years of self-imposed exile, the disgraced operator turned street samurai has come home to Babylon.
Just in time for the country to tear itself apart.
The armies of the New Gods are on the march. Monsters in human skin await activation orders. Spies and deniable operatives wage a war of assassins. Minority communities are forced to choose sides—or be destroyed. With every act of aggression, the New Gods bring mankind closer to ruin.
As the world races towards the apocalypse, what can Yuri and his team of battle-hardened guerillas do?
Team Black Watch can’t fight the New Gods head-on. Even with Yuri's divine gift, their numbers are few and their resources scarce. They must make new allies, carve out safe havens, turn their enemies against each other, and attempt to stave off the inevitable.
