Last Laughter

A wicked court jester gets his comeuppance in this cautionary tale, first published in Silver Blade Fantasy Quarterly.Carolyn Kephart is the author of the acclaimed epic fantasy THE RYEL SAGA: A TALE OF LOVE AND MAGIC and the contemporary magic realism novel QUEEN OF TIME. 'Last Laughter' is part of the collection PENTANGLE: FIVE POINTED FABLES.The revised edition of Hacker School, now a trilogy with the addition of two new stories. In a dystopian world, who will decide the future of mankind?After the Great Chaos, Jake's tribe decides it's time to expand from their hidden valley and once more deal with other societies.David's tribe is trying to gather technology and reconstruct some of the technical marvels that once existed. They are violently opposed by anti-scavengers that wait for promised help from now vanished bureaucracies.Charlene is mostly healed from her many battles. She's surprised by what may be a way to survive. Does this hacker really offer a small chance of escape? Maybe human rights hacktivism is in her future. Probably not. Is it foolish to trust someone just because he remembers how to laugh?Hacker School is a three act prelude to the cyberhug.me series. "Your life is a burning match. Ignite a bonfire." - Allan R. Wallace