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The Below
Humankind rose from the carcass of a dead world. Lifetimes later, billions of people live in superstructures constructed atop the only habitable lands left, the Hawaiian Islands. Kilohana “Kilo” Ressler lives in Hawaii City (known to the people as Big City) along with his illegal Digital Psychological Manifestation (DPM), EO, a pseudo-twin only perceptible to the host, designed during the rebuilding years to provide companionship in a world of horrors.
Kilo has managed to keep EO a secret for most of his life, but when his skills are required for a diplomatic mission in Kaua’i City, Kilo and EO find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens to expose EO’s existence and endanger the fragile balance of power between the island cities. The only place left for answers is in the depths of the superstructure, the Below. As the walls close in, Kilo must undertake the impossible task of protecting his friend, facing his past, and holding a crumbling city together.
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About Scott T. Miller
Scott T. Miller is an author, researcher, and educator. He comes from a long line of teachers and didn’t stand much of a chance of doing anything but working in education. He received his PhD in Global and International Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and his MEd in counseling from Northern Arizona University. Scott grew up in San Diego and has lived in South Dakota, Arizona, California, and Hawaiʻi. He recently moved from Oahu back to California with his wife, Bell, and dogs Hiro and Pebble. Scott adores science fiction and, at every opportunity, is writing, reading, and watching science fiction stories. Scott has authored several academic works on identity, globalism, and socio-political stratification. The themes and theories explored in his publications have influenced his fiction as he’s worked to craft relevant and immersive stories that speak to the heart of societal and human experiences. Scott has a deep reverence for dystopian stories that explore the outer reaches of human capabilities and dysfunction and has been influenced by the immense wake of authors such as Phillip K. Dick and Richard K. Morgan.
The Story Behind The Below
![TheBelow_FrontCover [FINAL].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/23befa_7094b1b912604d8c872843975eec548f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_274,h_411,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/TheBelow_FrontCover%20%5BFINAL%5D.jpg)
In 2020, I moved to Hawaii at the height of the Pandemic to begin my Ph.D. journey at the University of Hawaiʻi. I quickly realized Hawaiʻi wasn’t like anywhere else I’d ever been; the culture, the food, the topography opened my mind to how different life could be. I’d been writing fiction after I left politics in 2016 and felt drawn to creating worlds that could say something burning inside me. After a few blind steps into writing with a screenplay and what could barely pass as a novel, I finally started to form the idea for what would become The Below. It was as if so many facets of my life congealed together to provide foundation for a story I didn’t know I needed to write.
So, I started. At my desk looking out the window through the island foliage, nestled in the hills above Punchbowl, just outside Honolulu, I wrote the first words of my story. Some say writing is who you are, it's a compulsion, but it was challenging. Like many writers, the story flourished in my mind as I laid my head down every night, but translating the story and the world I was building to paper took effort, time, and patience. I wrote for two years, all the while finishing my dissertation, and hoping I could create something special with the story unfolding before me.
When I typed the final period, I found myself with a cyberpunk noir, set in a futuristic Hawaii, blending architectural megalomanism and characters I could feel in my soul. Now, with my story published, it’s odd to think of the inception of The Below, the infinite moments that led to a story I promised myself I would share with anyone who, like me, crave exploring the endless bounds of dystopia. But, every moment of anguish, excitement, uncertainty, and strife was worth it as I feel the immense joy of sharing with you, unbeknownst reader, my story, The Below.
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