#the altered sequence

"Can't Trust Me" 2026, 12"x12", acrylic on reclaimed wood

Dev recoils: afraid of the changes forced upon him, afraid of hurting people. This piece tells part of the story of my science fiction series, The Altered Sequence.

It's a nice tight story. The conflict is consistent, the motivations are clear, the stakes are well-established. There's definitely more to bulk up the meat of it, but for now, it's a concise book that wraps up the loose ends. I even got to include foreshadowing for the next two books' arc.

"Inseparable" 16"x20" 2025 Acrylic, paint pen on Aquabord

"You Can't Come With Me" 7.5"x7.5" Acrylic, monotype, and colored pencil on reclaimed wood

Anyway here's the new cover

Ashton, originally labeled E12-19, is a last-wave genetically Altered supersoldier created by Caduceus Technologies before the Fall. He escaped during the revolt of soldiers against their creators and fled. Encouraged by a rogue employee that he is a person, not a thing as Caduceus asserted, Ashton was set loose alone in the wastelands of a freshly fallen society. Shortly after he found Dev and they banded together to survive a world that hated them.

Ashton stands his tallest at 7' 1". Usually, he slouches, at first out of fear of being more of a target, then as they began integrating into human settlements, he began consciously slouching, to appear less frightening. Like all Altered, he has enhanced strength, stamina, and senses, especially hearing. His experiment group also is the only Altered group to sport digitigrade legs and paws for added speed and agility.

When Ashton was a teenager, he cut off his right ear that bore the Caduceus serial number as protest and a literal severance from his past. Ashton is a forward thinker, influenced by the novels he consumes voraciously, and can be a little theatrical about things.

Despite the fears that come from being so different, Ashton works tirelessly to prove the Altered are, deep down, no different than any other human. He fights every day to combat the commonly held view that Altered soldiers are mindless killing machines, or at worst, less feeling than even their animal likenesses. He's built his whole life around learning how to be more human. He reads, he writes, he taught himself how to draw and sign ASL, he studies everything he can get his hands on. Later, after he and Dev and the other survivors in his settlement found some security, he started teaching, mostly doing outreach about the truth about Altered people with an intersectional approach. He is fussy about language: he'll correct anyone's mistake if they call the Altered 'soldiers' or make insensitive animal jokes. He was the one that brought structure to the original band of Altered (himself, Dev, Jules, and Cain). He insisted they all name themselves, like people, and adhere to rules like 'no teeth'... the Altered are people, so it's unbecoming (and alienating) to make a show of their sharp teeth.

Over the course of books 2 and 3, Ashton sustained a nearly completely crippling injury on his left foot. A brace was made for him, so he wears that for long trips or work days, but limps a little when he doesn't feel like wearing it. His feet bear the most scars from poor living conditions in his youth in the wastelands and are usually in a state of dirtiness and wear from never wearing shoes. (Some of his fellows have joked they’d scavenge some dog booties for him, which he adamantly refuses on moral principle but also, the Altered don’t usually need shoes, him especially.) He sometimes has to take power sanders to his left foot's toenails since they don't naturally wear down anymore. He also has signs of a past broken nose, a fake top left canine (custom!), and a few arrow/bullet hole scars here and there, mostly hidden by fur.

His fur is longer in the neck, cape, elbows, hocks, tail, and withers, like a real borzoi. The brown spots over his eyes and lower back are brindle. He has particular sensory icks due to his fur, so can be a little fussier about getting wet, seeds and burrs stuck in his fur, or getting sandy/muddy. He toughs it out when he has to (most of the time) but when given a chance, is often seen hand-combing debris from his wavy coat. In the summer, he trims the longer parts since it gets warmer in their new home. Usually, Ashton is a rather scruffy figure, not spending a lot of time on his appearance, but for special occasions will comb his fur.

Ashton wants to belong. He is highly motivated by acceptance and praise. He knows he's a human and wants to make the world safer for everyone, especially Altered people. Now, with life among the humans, Ashton works tirelessly to be a good example of a model Altered citizen. He is charismatic, outgoing, social, and always trying to do better. Ashton isn't terribly good at moderating his intensity, can let his temper get the best of him at times, and struggles with feelings of frustration. His partners Dev and Sybil admire his gumption but also know when he needs a reminder to take a break. Ashton wants to save everyone, knows he can't, but will try anyway.

Ashton has a wide vocabulary and some people are irritated at his tendency to directly quote from books or recite Shakespeare. He sees this behavior as very-human and thus a good thing for an Altered to do, but a lot of people just think he’s kind of a know-it-all. Sybil calls him a nerd, and she's right. However, the children of the settlement are all quite fond of him, mostly due to the best piggy-back rides ever, but also because he'll do the voices when reading a story. (Altered voices are modeled after a syrynx to allow for full range of speaking without a human mouth.)

Dev, originally labeled E4-17 "Project Slatefire" is a last-wave genetically Altered supersoldier created by Caduceus Technologies before the Fall. He escaped during the revolt of soldiers against their creators and fled. Ashton/E12-19 found him and they stuck together, trying to survive a world that hates them.

Dev is 6'1" and of average build, perhaps a bit on the stocky side. His eyes are a rich gold. He is Altered to resemble a sphynx cat in head and tail, but retains human shape everywhere else. Like a sphynx cat, he is completely hairless. His skin has been reinforced with a fire resistant carbon fiber. It adds a little strength and resistance to shallow wounds but mainly serves as fireproofing and heat tolerance well over that of an unaltered human. His fireproof skin appears grey and lightly metallic, similar to the shine of graphite. Like all Altered, he has enhanced strength, stamina, and senses.

He was originally manufactured to breathe fire, but has lost the ability as of the end of book 1, Bound to Ashes. He bears a sprawling, gnarled scar across the sternum from the incident. These burn scars were later built upon after the events of book 2. He often feels self-conscious about the scars on top of his already unusual appearance and isn't seen shirtless very often.

Dev has always carried himself cautiously. As a young adult, he fears the real world and the unconscious, relentlessly accosted by PTSD and trauma. Despite a life of being hunted, his trusting nature was what brought the Altered together with the human survivors. After the events of book 3, he's had a bit of a "reset", and has shed a significant layer of anxiety he used to wear. This came at a cost: he still, years after the incident that left him with a traumatic brain injury, has lingering brain fog and a somewhat unreliable memory. Some memories have been erased completely. But he remains steady and is often praised for his even keel. (He would say his mind feels pretty rocky most of the time.) He is thoughtful and cautious, a great foil to his more impulsive partners. Dev values his alone time and often feels overwhelmed when the spotlight is on him for too long. He prefers to retreat into nature where he hunts with bow and arrows of his own craft. Dev is a maker. His mind flows comfortably with tools in his hands. He finds accomplishment and fulfillment in helping and protecting their settlement, but his true pride comes from a successful hunt and a clean kill, or perhaps when working on the fire fighting teams, accurately reading a fire and knowing how to quench it. (He is definitely the guy tending the bonfire with intense dedication, well after everyone has gone to bed.) As he's gotten older, he's explored ecology and biology. He often spends his free time foraging, promoting food plants in the neighboring wilderness, and hunting wild boar and other feral pests to help feed not only the voracious appetites of his fellow Altered but the many humans he, against the odds, now calls family. Dev's loyalty outpaces all else--he doesn't think twice to step in and risk it all to defend his found family and romantic partners, Ashton and Sybil. Despite the doubt and social anxiety, Dev understands the key factor that leads to survival: working together as one.

In what little spare time the post-apocalypse allows, Dev has also gotten pretty good at cooking.