Artifice

Artifice is a sci-fi webcomic created by writer Alex Woolfson and artist Winona Nelson that completed in April 2012 and can still be read in its entirely online. Deacon is a prototype android soldier so advanced he is referred to as an “artificial person.” On his first extended mission, Deacon was ordered by his corporate masters to eliminate a team of scientists who knew too much—and he has failed spectacularly. Not only did he let one of his targets live, he attacked the team sent to retrieve him. Now the Corporation wants answers and they bring in the brilliant robopsychologist Dr. Clarice Maven to get them, giving her the power to make sure Deacon never fails the Corporation ever again. As the doctor cuts through his defenses, Deacon is forced to reveal the shocking events that took place on Da Vinci Four. He disobeyed orders. He murdered corporate workers. And yet he insists that his actions are those of a good soldier! Somehow Deacon’s relationship with the sole survivor, 19-year-old human outcast Jeff Linnell, is behind it all and Dr. Maven will stop at nothing to learn the whole truth. Deacon is clearly protecting something, but what chance does he have in fighting an adversary who can control his every move? With scenes of tense action and surprisingly tender romance, Artifice is a thoughtful and provocative science-fiction story that both women and men will enjoy.