Monday, February 9, 2015

SVS 10: TRACKER220, YA Sci-fi/Thriller

TITLE: TRACKER220
GENRE: YA Sci fi/Thriller
WORD COUNT: 74,000

My main character would prefer to live in:
I'm trapped in an underground hideout so I wouldn't know if it's raining, sunny, snowing, or pitch black outside. But I'd give anything to get away from this nerd techno-babble about my tracker malfunction and feel the sun's warmth on my face even for a second. Then again my bum tracker is what got me into this mess in the first place. 

Query:
Dear Awesome Agents,

When everyone has a tracking chip that interfaces with their brain, one glitch threatens the entire network. Sixteen-year-old Kaya Weiss is that glitch.

With a series of thoughts and blinks, Kaya can contact anyone and search for anything on the tracker network. But the authorities monitor everything—where Kaya goes, who she talks to, and what she searches. It’s never bothered her much, until her tracker malfunctions, and the authorities carve into her skull to reset it.

When Kaya’s tracker goes off the grid a second time, there’s no way in hell she’ll become a lab rat again. Except the authorities aren’t the only ones interested in her glitch. A rogue underground movement called the Ghosts intends to exploit her faulty tracker to destroy the network. Evading the authorities requires some serious tech skills, but Kaya’s not sure she can trust the Ghosts either—even if their top tech wiz, Bailen, has an interest in her that might be deeper than her bum tracker. Accustomed to having infinite knowledge at her disposal, Kaya must now rely on her own intelligence to uncover the source of the glitches before either side lobotomizes her for the defective tracking chip.

TRACKER220 combines technology similar to Google Glass with a fast-paced Minority Report style world.




First 250:

We were going to get caught. No question about it. Masking your tracker signal got you a date with the authorities at best, and at worst… I didn’t want to think about it. I wasn’t lucky enough to get away with this. I was never that lucky.

Troy grinned and held out the radio wave generator. “Come on, Kaya. You know you want to.”

I shook my head. A few minutes of freedom from the tracker network wasn’t worth the risk. If the authorities showed up, they’d brain probe us to check our chips for glitches.

Troy waved the box in my face. “You sure? It’s such a rush!”

I shivered despite the bonfire blazing in front of us. “No, I’m good, thanks.”

That little box was trouble. Worse than Pandora’s. My muscles tensed. At least if I refused to disrupt my tracker signal, I wouldn’t have to lie about breaking the law.

Trekking into the woods to watch everyone attempt to beat the record for longest signal disruption was insanity. Why couldn’t we hang out at the fly-in theater instead? Anything other than pursuing a one-way ticket to tracker juvie.
                                                                                                               
But they loved the thrill of tempting fate—the ultimate game of chicken. At best, they had about five minutes of interrupted tracker signals before the network alerted the authorities.

I leaned into Harlow, and he put his arm around me. He’d never ditch me. But most of his friends wouldn’t hesitate to use me as authority bait if the agents showed up. Not if—when.

Troy glared at Harlow. “Looks like your girlfriend’s afraid of getting caught.”

No comments:

Post a Comment