The Unincorporated Man

The Unincorporated Man

The Unincorporated Man is a provocative social/political/economic novel that takes place in the future, after civilization has fallen into complete economic collapse. This reborn civilization is one in which every individual is incorporated at birth, and spends many years trying to attain control over his or her own life by getting a majority of his or her own shares. Life extension has made life very long indeed. Now the incredible has happened: a billionaire businessman from our time, frozen in secret in the early twenty-first century, is discovered and resurrected, given health and a vigorous younger body. Justin Cord is the only unincorporated man in the world, a true stranger in this strange land. Justin survived because he is tough and smart. He cannot accept only part ownership of himself, even if that places him in conflict with a civilization that extends outside the solar system to the Oort Cloud. People will be arguing about this novel and this world for decades. Story lines involving a contemporary protagonist’s displacement to a distant future via time machines or suspended animation have been a genre staple since H. G. Wells. In this striking variation from first-time novelists Dani and Eytan Kollin, the clash between today’s cultural values and those of a vividly imagined future has never been more compelling. Justin Cord is a twenty-first-century multibillionaire who uses his fortune to cheat death by building his own suspension unit. Three centuries later, after reanimation technicians discover the unit and restore his body to pristine health, Cord awakens to a world transformed in ways he could never have imagined. As the only surviving member of civilization before the Grand Collapse, not only is he an instant celebrity, but he quickly learns that everyone is a minicorporation unto themselves. Unfortunately, there are also forces at work that will stop at nothing to make sure Cord incorporates or dies yet again—this time, permanently. The Kollin brothers’ debut captivates with unforgettable characters and an ingenious vision of the economic future. --Carl Hays “This is a bright, stimulating work that deserves a wide readership.” --Gregory Benford, author of Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs “Reminiscent of Heinlein—a good, old-fashioned, enormously appealing SF yarn. Bravo!” --Robert J. Sawyer, award-winning author of Rollback “ Fans of SF as a vehicle for ideas will devour this intriguing debut. . . . The Kollin brothers keep the plot moving briskly despite the high proportion of talk to action. Their cerebral style will especially appeal to readers nostalgic for science fiction’s early years.” --Publishers Weekly “A narrative with a strong, fascinating voice--the Kollin Brothers write like a younger, more innocent Heinlein; there's the same rare sense of personal freedom inexorably combined with personal responsibility. The characters are clear and appealing, but the real fascination is the human condition explored in their post-corporate nation world. It cries out for a sequel, and I'll read it eagerly!” --Kage Baker, author of The Sons of Heaven Dani Kollin lives in Los Angeles, California. Eytan Kollin lives in Pasadena, California. They are brothers, and this is their first novel. Chapter One   Look What I Found Though he was filthy from head to toe, bloodied, and his skin shredded as thoroughly as a cat's scratching post, Omad couldn't suppress a grin. He was a miner with a knack for finding veins of valuable material even in old, worked-out quarries, and he felt in his bones that today was his day. Today he'd find something valuable enough to achieve his dream, and achieve it at the respectably early age of sixty-nine. His stock was selling for 183 credits a share, and all he needed was one more good find and GCI would owe him enough credits to enable him to buy a majority of himself. Even if his stock price rose, as was often the case with personal success, he could still make majority. He'd just have to pray that his personal valuation wouldn't go over 200 credits a share, and that he'd take home at least 20,000 credits from this venture. Yes, Omad was 100 shares away from controlling himself. He could taste it. The thought of being able to choose his own vacation times and consume what ever substance he wanted, when he wanted, almost made him too excited to work. But he quelled his feelings of joy and concentrated on the task at hand. He was walking into a mine on GCI's property that hadn't been worked in centuries, and he was walking in without a corporation mine car or drill-bot. The less of GCI's equipment he used, the less of a percentage they'd be able to claim of his profits. It wasn't the norm, and he'd never have been as successful without corporate sponsorship and equipment, but this was different. Though it might take a little longer, this excavation would have to be done carefully and in person. Maximum allowable risk for maximum pr