//25 September, 0517 - New Angeles time

The crime scene was chaotic: a riot of blood, street trash, and bodies. Floyd 2X3A7C’s sensor suite swept the scene, parsing all at once the individual blood spatter patterns, the cooling IR traces drifting from the corpses, and the distinct chemical formula of human sweat, urine, and pheromones that combined to spell fear and death.

The world has changed. People have not. Discover the secrets of the Android universe with The Worlds of Android, the Android art and setting book, now available at retailers throughout the United States!

A hardbound book of 272 beautiful, full-color pages, The Worlds of Android is divided into three major sections that immerse you deep in the Android universe. The first guides you through the four defining technological innovations of the not-too-distant future. The second section surveys the cultures and trajectories of the largest megacities, nations, and off-world colonies. Finally, the book closes with an exploration of how humanity has chosen to interface with its new technologies—and the possibilities they have created.

…“What about the bioroid parts? Could a golem have done this?” asked Jiménez. Floyd looked at him, “The First Directive prohibits a bioroid from harming a human. That protocol overrides all other subroutines, including those for self-defense or carrying out instructions. This is most likely the work of an augmented human.” Floyd’s sensors had scanned the blood pool again during the exchange. Something contradicted his theory, and now a lingering doubt was worming its way into his logic processes. “Fine, fine,” said Jiménez. “So, three Human First members pick a fight with a ‘borg who proceeds to beat them to death with their sledgehammer, all the while not taking even a single hit.” In the center of the blood pool lay a piece of twisted plastic; Floyd recognized it immediately as part of bioroid torso. A support strut, found between the shoulder and base of the neck to be precise, equivalent to a human collarbone. “Floyd? Is that what happened? Floyd!” The plastic lay on top of the blood; other than a little splash back, the piece was clean, which meant it must have fallen onto the blood pool. An unexpected subroutine blossomed in Floyd’s mind, and he was immediately connected to Director Haas’s private terminal. “Floyd? Are you even listening to me? Are you saying this was a cyborg or not?” Floyd turned to look at Detective Jiménez. “I apologize, Detective. I am unable to adequately process your query.”

In many ways, it is this third section that is the heart of The Worlds of Android. As we saw in our last preview, science fiction demands not just the introduction of some fantastic, futuristic technology, but a human response to the introduction of that technology. The Worlds of Android has this in spades.

__Art. Information. Science Fiction.

From the use of brain-machine interfaces in modern war efforts to the criminal exploitation of the Network for personal gain, from the resentment of the android workforce to the questions of clone spirituality, The Worlds of Android presents a humanity that is every bit as recognizable as the world's technologies are advanced.

This vision of humanity gives the Android setting its edge. It makes it engaging. For all of its space travel and jacking into the Network, The Worlds of Android presents a world so immediately recognizable we almost feel we can step into it.

Of course, it helps that this world is brought to life not only in the abstract, through a presentation of facts. Instead, we have it blasted before us in brilliant full-color. The book is loaded with stunning imagery, including fold-out gatefolds, and it's not just imagery that smacks of color.

Short fiction pieces have been scattered throughout the book, each offering another entry point into the world and another take on its various news and issues. There's not one way to view the corps. There's more than one side to the terraforming of Mars. The Android universe is one that's rich with diversity, and that means, too, a diversity of points-of-view.

//Hack into the Not-Too-Distant Future

Does your interest in the Android universe stem from your love of one of the many great games set within it? Are you interested primarily in the ways that its science fictive technologies cast current issues in a new light? Are you intrigued by the possibilities of braintaping and bioroids and the questions they ask of what it means to be human?

Satisfy your curiosity about the Android universe. Feast your eyes on dozens of pieces of beautiful new artwork. Discover vibrant personalities. The Worlds of Android is now available throughout the United States. Availability in other regions may vary. Pick up your copy today!

…Seconds ticked into minutes without his searchers finding anything useful or interesting, and Noise grew frustrated, then nervous. He was about to ditch everything when one of his subroutines returned a vid file. A quick secscan revealed nothing dangerous, so he opened it.

Images of a hallway, strewn with bodies, their faces hidden by armored visors. Something passed over them, a lithe humanoid shape of dubious gender with long hair, moving faster than any human had a right to move…