**for the ladies**  After The Passing of the Veil, humanity retreats into the Maya because a hyper-realistic virtual universe is more appealing than a barren nuclear wasteland. In the Maya, you can "phase" any place or any time, real or imagined. All five senses are present, but biological urges like hunger, thirst and sleep are optional. It's reality, but better.  Lawrence Padd is another Immersant visiting The Auburn Palace, greatest brothel in the history of personkind. The Palace is home to the Anodynes-- ordinary women and girls bestowed with great powers of seduction and sensation. Veritable demigods, they are renowned not only for their bodies but their singing voices, which give the listener an opiate-like, hallucinogenic high. Padd is a Repentant-- a cishet white male, lowliest of all demographics, forced to atone for his ancestors' sins through enforced social isolation.  As Padd navigates the fantastical, strangely sinister vistas of humanity's true final frontier, he begins to have dreams featuring a deceptively familiar girl who preaches the end of all things. Though all Padd wants is to live his new eternity in peace, he soon finds himself caught between infinitely powerful forces that threaten existence itself. Cover art by Gerry Siorek  Anodyne/character portraits credited to: Jane Nane-- https://www.artstation.com/janenane Dion Harris-- https://www.artstation.com/dionharris *No part of these stories may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording or photocopying form without written permission of the author.