Forced Conversion

Forced Conversion is set in the near future, at a time when mankind has largely retreated to the realms of virtual reality, where resources are unlimited and the problems of the real world violence, conflict, sickness, and pain can all be avoided. Everyone can have heaven, any heaven they want, but some people don't want to go. Unfortunately, those who stay behind in the real world pose a risk to the immortality of those in the virtual worlds. Derek, a soldier in the Conversion Forces (ConFoes), seeks to enforce the Mandatory Conversion Act on the remaining mals (malcontent Luddites, gangbangers, and religious fanatics). He just wants to put in his time and join his family on one of the virtual worlds. But until then, he is forced to deal with his psychotic squadmates, the increasingly brutal tactics of the ConFoes, and a female Lieutenant from a mal religious faction who might just be a better soldier than he is. Most science fiction deals with worlds transformed by technological advance. Forced Conversion highlights the troubling and chaotic process of that transformation, itself. It combines the adrenaline soaked action of military fiction with the extrapolation of current scientific trends of the best speculative fiction, while dealing with the moral and religious implications of both war and technology. When Moore's Law meets God's Law, the result is forced conversion. Says Ed Greenwood, Creator of The Forgotten Realms and Author of the bestselling Elminster novels: "I loved it! Many writers have explored hardhitting and brutal possible futures for Earth, and told colorful tales of people trying to stay alive in them, but few have brought such imagined futures as vividly to life as Don Bingle and no other book I can think of examines how and why such a future might just happen as well as FORCED CONVERSION does or provides half the breathcatching twists and turns of Bingle's yarn. A 'good read' of the old school, coupled with all too plausible reasons for everything. A grim warning and a fast action adventure tale, all in one! Highly recommended!" Says Jean Rabe, Author of The Dhamon Saga: "Though this is Donald Bingle's first novel, it reads like the work of a seasoned thriller author. Forced Conversion is filled with plenty of suspense and surprises, deep and quirky characters, and engaging dialog. It is not easy to set down, so read it when you have time on your hands. It is a helluva trip into the realm of virtual reality." Technology can be a wonderful thing, when it's not ruining the world completely. About the AuthorBest known for more than fifteen years as the world's topranked player of classic role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Donald J. Bingle is not only a writer of a variety of role playing adventures and gaming materials (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Chill, Paranoia, Timemaster, and more), but of movie reviews (in early issues of Knights of the Dinner Table), stories, and screenplays. He has fantasy stories set in the Dragonlance world of Krynn in The Players of Gilean and The Search for Magic, science fiction stories in Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Tales from the Eternal Archives #2, Sol's Children, and Transformer Legends, spooky stories in Carnival/Circus, Historical Hauntings, and Civil War Fantastic, and whimsical stories in Renaissance Faire and All Hell's Breaking Loose (coming next year). He is also the author of Extreme Global Warming, a darkly comedic screenplay about an environmental organization that is about to save the world, but doesn't want to get caught doing it. He is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Role Playing Game Association Network, the American Bar Association, and the St. Charles Writers Group. Don works as a corporate and securities attorney at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC in Chicago.