The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust
By Tak Salmastyan
Publisher: Tak Salmastyan Art
Published: April 24, 2025
ISBN: 9781969208010
Genre: Science Fiction
In a world ravaged by a viral apocalypse, fifteen-year-old Ethan Mercer lives for one purpose: to protect his brother, Leo. Born from GeneCorp’s failed experiments to defeat death, Leo is a one-year-old whose body ages at a terrifying speed. Unlike the savage Accelerates, children transformed into predators by the virus, Leo clings to a fragile thread of humanity.
Together with Mia and Clara, two survivors altered by the same catastrophe, Ethan crosses a landscape of ruins and relentless danger. As they struggle to stay alive, Ethan faces the devastating truth that Leo, the last hope of redemption, may also be the instrument of humanity’s final collapse.
In a final act of sacrifice, Leo confronts his inevitable fate, altering the course of history in ways no one foresaw.
Years later, survivors gather in Leoland, a sanctuary where sunflowers grow in the rubble and memories remain alive. There, hope endures beyond all loss, proving that even in devastation, love can take root again.
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About the Author
Tak Salmastyan (b. 1963) is an Armenian American artist, educator, and author based in Los Angeles, originally from the Lori province of Armenia, where he was born Takvor, meaning “The King.” Admirers later called him “The King of Spiritual Hooligans,” a title that reflects his refusal to be confined by boundaries. His work has been exhibited internationally from New York to Tokyo and includes the creation of Autoplasticism and BinArtism™, approaches that merge automatism, neoplasticism, and binary code to explore the tension between technology and emotion. He has taught widely across Southern California, received numerous awards for art and film, and authored Window to Freedom, The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust, and Echoes That Suffocate.
