Paytron of the Arts: A Science Fiction Short Story
About this ebook
They never saw R1000 again.
Zachary stepped back from the keyboard. The ending he'd just written echoed in his head. Destinies: Man and Machine. His best sci fi novel yet.
Thank God for Paytron. Not a scramble for nickels and dimes from a thousand fans, like that other service, but real money from a real, though anonymous, patron. Money enough to pay child support without needing a real job.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it increases your chances.
Until his patron gives Zachary a harsh choice. Compromise his artistic vision, or lose funding.
Zachary refuses to give in. He knows how to unearth secret information from the Internet. His patron won’t stay anonymous for long.
What will his patron say when Zachary shows up at his door?
—Previously published in Analog, January/February 2024
About the author
Raymund Eich is a science fiction and fantasy writer whose middle American upbringing is a launchpad for journeys to the ends of the universe.
His most popular works are military science fiction series The Confederated Worlds (novels Take the Shilling, Operation Iago, and A Bodyguard of Lies) and the Stone Chalmers series of science fiction espionage adventures (novels The Progress of Mankind, The Greater Glory of God, To All High Emprise Consecrated, and In Public Convocation Assembled).
He has over ten other published book-length works and more than forty published short stories. His short fiction has appeared in Analog, Odyssey, Boundary Shock Quarterly, and the anthology Surviving Tomorrow, and has earned honorable mentions and a semi-finalist award in the Writers of the Future contest. His works are available worldwide in ebook, trade paperback, and audiobook editions.
After circling the world by age five, he grew up in the Ozark Mountains of southwest Missouri. He earned a B.A. and a Ph.D., both in biochemistry, from Rice University. Though he’s no longer a working scientist, hundreds of papers cite his graduate research.
In addition to his writing career, he works in patent law, won a national quiz bowl championship, is a husband and father, and affirms Robert Heinlein's dictum that specialization is for insects.
He lives in Houston with his wife, son, and daughter. His last name has one syllable and is pronounced “eye-sh.” He can be found online at https://raymundeich.com.
