Emergence — J.M. Martin

Emergence (Humanity 2.0, #1) is compiled and edited by award-winning editor J.M. Martin (Blackguards) and features nine shared universe tales of super-powered fiction by Edward M. Erdelac, C.T. Phipps, Eloise J. Knapp, Rob J. Hayes, Steve Diamond, Jeff C. Carter, Geoff Brown, and also by series creator Tim Marquitz. Cover illustration by renowned video game and comic book artist Patrick Brown. In this open-ended series, Ragnarok gathers authors to write superhuman fiction in a shared universe. An ancient trigger gene buried deep in humankind's DNA is sporadically activating, evolving some humans into something superhuman. Influenced by comic-book culture, many of these 'chimerics,' as they have been dubbed, have taken on costumes and adopted codenames. Organizations have risen up to either train, exploit, or police chimerics, and the world is at odds about their very existence. Emergence collects eight tales, each with a unique perspective on what it might be like to be superhuman in today's day and age.