House of Nepenthe (2025)
DON'T CALL IT A PREQUEL, BUT WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING.
Before Vinestead ruled the world. Before the Synthetic Revolution.
One man walked down the wrong alley and set the apocalypse in motion.
Welcome to the House
He never should have been there in the first place.
When Vinestead International engineer Kenneth Barnes is shot in Austin’s Old Downtown, he wakes in the House of Nepenthe—a shifting labyrinth woven from his own forgotten memories. But something is wrong with his virtual reality hospice. The House is glitching, his past is unraveling, and time is running out.
Outside, a winter storm grips the city. Patrick Quinn, Ken’s closest friend, scrambles to contain a digital threat that could destroy more than just VNet. FBI agent Lee Gardner chases the truth behind Ken’s attack, only to find himself tangled in a conspiracy beyond comprehension. And deep in the Net, amateur hacker Raylene Jackson stumbles across a fragment of the House—one that knows her better than she knows herself.
If Ken can't find a way out of the House—and if his friends can't save him from the outside—he'll be trapped forever.
Somewhere between life and death.
Somewhere inside himself.
When your memories turn against you, where do you hide?
What is the House?
A farewell built from memory.
A sanctuary shattered by guilt.
A life flashing before his own eyes—and breaking apart.
The House of Nepenthe was never meant to be a prison.
Invented by Kenneth Barnes and delivered through his revolutionary Guardian Angel biochip, the House was designed as a virtual hospice—a dignified space where the dying could reconnect with loved ones as their bodies faded.
It was supposed to be beautiful.
Safe.
Comforting.
But when Ken is shot and his Guardian Angel chip is critically damaged, the House malfunctions. Memories he wanted to forget flood the hallways. Rooms rot and collapse under the weight of his repressed guilt.
Trapped inside his own broken creation, Ken must navigate a world built from the parts of himself he’s too ashamed to face.
And outside, someone is trying like hell to make sure he never wakes up.
This was never just a robbery gone wrong.
Someone wanted Ken Barnes out of the picture.
“Not every memory deserves the indulgence of recall. At the edge of oblivion, when the mind plays its final reel, even the soul may choose to look away.”
— From The Reflections of Noetica, Volume II
Who will save Kenneth Barnes?
Inside the House of Nepenthe, Kenneth Barnes is alone, fighting against his own memories.
Outside, three lives are colliding—each drawn toward the ending of his story for reasons of their own.
Friendship. Greed. Ambition.
None of them truly know what's waiting inside the House.
And none of them are ready for what comes after.
Kenneth Barnes
Inventor of the Guardian Angel biochip. Reluctant architect of the House of Nepenthe. Now trapped inside a decaying dream of his own life.
"If they move my desk one more time, I'm going to burn the network down."
Patrick Quinn
Chief architect of VNet. Kenneth’s oldest friend. Willing to break laws—and himself—if it means bringing Ken back.
"Bros before globally distributed virtual reality networks."
Lee Gardner
Disgraced FBI agent. Synth addict. A man with a badge, a gun, and just enough conscience left to sell it to the highest bidder.
"I’m only here because someone called in a favor. And because I’m too stupid to say no."
Raylene Jackson
Member of the John Marshall High School Computer Club. Desperate to make her mark on a digital world that's already forgotten her.
"Everyone wants to be a hacker, until it's time to do hacker shit."
When guardian angels fail, the sanctuary becomes a prison, and the memories become the chains.
The Tech Behind the Tragedy
It started with good intentions. A device to protect, to preserve, to save lives.
Kenneth Barnes created the Guardian Angel biochip to monitor vitals, detect trauma, and offer humanity a second chance at survival—even when the body began to fail.
But like all dreams inside the Vinestead Universe, it didn't stay pure for long.
Embedded at the base of the neck, the Guardian Angel chip monitors everything—heartbeat, brain activity, chemical balance.
It can sense when a body is slipping away.
It can trigger emergency interventions.
It can—if programmed—build a sanctuary where the mind can survive even when the body can't.
That's what Kenneth Barnes wanted to give the world: a dignified end.
A chance to say goodbye.
In a city where the rain washes away the blood but not the sins, death is just the opening act.
The Questions No One's Asking
Accidents happen.
People get hurt.
Even in a world as advanced as ours, tragedy can strike without warning—or so they tell us.
But when Kenneth Barnes was shot, too many details didn’t add up.
The location.
The timing.
The witnesses who didn’t see.
The cameras that didn’t catch anything.
Someone wanted Ken Barnes out of the way.
And whoever they are, they're still out there.
THE EIGHTH BOOK IN THE VINESTEAD ANTHOLOGY
DISCOVER HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Don't Miss the Fall of the House
Kenneth Barnes is trapped.
The House of Nepenthe is falling apart.
Outside, a new power is rising–and no one is safe.
House of Nepenthe is the first step along the path to the apocalypse.
Without Vinestead International, there would be no VNet, no Kaili Zabora, no Lassiter, no machine war...
It all begins here.
