Seven billion people on Earth go about their daily lives, and no one is prepared when a global EMP slows the world to a crawl. With all our technology incapacitated, everything changes. Within days alien soldiers line the streets, and life will never be the same. In the midst of chaos, Rachael Hill struggles to adapt to the new order, doing her best to keep herself and her cat alive.On a ship far above the planet surface, Peter just got his new Earth name, and can’t even remember his identity from the last world he visited. It’s another day on the job, one more planet on a never-ending list. That is, until Rachael bumps into him, dropping exotic objects all around his feet. His culture taught him females should be obeyed and protected, but he never had an urge to leave himself at a woman’s mercy until now.ExcerptFar above the Earth, a nearly endless line of men dressed in identical black uniforms moved through a long corridor towards a number of reprogramming chambers. They all stared forward, keeping their eyes on the neck of the person ahead.No one spoke.Not a sound could be heard except for the sound of the men's boots on the floor of the ship's interior.A thick, waist-high tentacle stretched up from the floor. One of the men held his wrist above it, just like the person before him had done, and the person behind him would do. The voice of the ship echoed in his mind.Peter. Adın Peter olacak.His name would be Peter. Such an unfamiliar word, and difficult to say. No matter. If the ship chose it, this was who he would be.Bu, Amerika diye bilinen ülkede en yaygın olarak kullanılan 23. isimdir.Interesting. Peter was the twenty-third most common male name in a country known as America. That word was also hard to say, but as soon as the new brain-tip was installed, it would be second nature. Not a thing to look forward to, but a necessary step.He had carried so many names during the years, known and forgotten so many languages he could barely remember his own. Sometimes he tried to think about it, but fighting the information in the brain-tips made his head hurt.Felsefe yapmanın sırası değil.This wasn’t a time to get philosophical. It was a time to comply. The queue moved forward. Ten steps, thirty, a hundred. It would be his turn to enter the chamber soon. The memories of the last world visited, Ka'thwuk, would be gone and his mind would be filled with awareness of Earth.He stepped into the reprogramming chamber, obediently following the line.Evde kalıp hayatı paylaşacak bir eş bulabilir miydim?Could he have stayed home? Found a chosen to share his life? No way to know and a futile line of thought.A tentacle brushed over his hair, and he shuddered. At least he didn't have to connect with the ship. Being a man had many disadvantages, but this was a definite upside.The tentacle uncovered his old implant and ripped it out, sending blazing pain through his being. Excessive training kept him on his feet, even as his legs threatened to buckle. Then the ship thrust the new brain-tip in, and his stomach flipped over as new and unwanted knowledge forced its way into his mind.