Interview Begin:
Book Title: THE MINDLESS: A Futurist Novel
Character: Venz
Book Role: Supporting Character / Antagonist
Job: Overseer of Dios: A domed city for the 1% built on the ruins of Los Angeles
Year: 2283
First off, before we begin, if I may. I’m simply delighted to have the chance to speak with you all today. The fact that you and your readers are interested in the goings-on of our glorious and mysterious domed city, Dios, proves you’re worthy of my time. You seek knowledge. You ask questions about the world beyond yours. You dare to dream of a day when you might even walk our golden streets. I admire that.
With that being said, I’m one of many Overseers for humanity’s last, great city, and I take my job seriously. Confidentiality is a currency we don’t toss around lightly, so whatever you may learn today, you’ll find it best to keep it to yourself. We are, after all, watching each and every one of you.
But I don’t foresee any issues, haha. Purely a formality, I assure you. Please… ask away.
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
You certainly aren’t wasting any time poking around, are you? Very well… I’ll play ball. I was raised in Dios, which you most certainly know is the capital city of Neo Angelica, the world which all of you must surely come from. You reside in the last city on Earth, protected from the disease and decay of humanity’s unwashed masses, or what’s left of them anyway. They’re of no concern to us though. You are protected from them inside Neo Angelica, and we… being the blessed few to be born, raised, or even recruited into the capital city of Dios… well we are protected from you. I’d rather not get into details around my parents or my upbringing, but I assure you: I first opened my eyes in paradise, and every day under our golden glow is better than the last.
What was your greatest talent?
Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. My talent, as I’m sure you can tell, is my love for this city, and my ability to protect it. And it’s a grand city, make no mistake. Here in Dios you can have anything and everything you could want. With Unity flowing through our veins, each member of Dios is connected in ways you could only dream of. We dream together. Speak as one. Share anything and everything, all in a single moment. My role is to listen to the city. Convene with her. Watch over her. Protect her, if need be. And while I must keep some of the details of my role a secret, let’s just say the sun sets when I wish it to. It rises only if I command it. We Overseers control everything, ensuring Dios is the paradise each and every resident of our great city has been promised.
Significant other?
The city is my one true love. She is my everything. No mere human could compare, I assure you.
Do you have any enemies?
Enemies? Hah. My dear readers, none would be so foolish. We watch over the entire city, and as such crime is nearly extinct. There’s no sickness here. No pain. Those foolish enough to attempt to sneak into our glorious city don’t make it far, I assure you. And the only true threat to our great society would be one unworthy of entering our walls and somehow… infecting our perfect existence. No no… Dios has no enemies. I make sure of that.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
Ah, children. Not… in the traditional sense. My if only I could invite you in. The things you’d see here. The experiences we could share. There are some I consider the daughters of Dios, though you must understand there aren’t my biological children. They are, however, our most precious creation… I fear I’ve already said too much though.
Greatest disappointment?
Watch yourself now… you open doors you may not be able to close with questions like that. Though perhaps I’m overreacting! It’s merely a question. Disappointments… well when we dream as big as we dream here in this city, one is bound to fall short from time to time. But we never stop reaching for what’s just beyond our grasp. And I will NOT be defined by my failures. Not even if my colleagues may laugh, mock my ambition, call me crazy. I still must— No. I shouldn’t answer this. I won’t. Next. Question.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
There we are. A question I can sink my teeth into. Dios is a glorious world, where you’re limited only by your imagination. I entertain myself the same way I conduct my work… by interfacing with this glorious city. Imagine being able to change the world from day to night in an instant. Travel anywhere. Craft your world exactly how you wish to see it. Taste the menu of a prestigious restaurant from miles away just by thinking about it. Relive memories as if they were happening again right this instant, and even travel the minds of others, making their experiences your own. And that’s what a mere citizen of Dios can do. I assure you, I can do far, far more. I can move the clouds, turn sunshine to rain in an instant. I can even, my dear interviewer, watch, listen in, and observe anybody in the city at any time. Actually no… let’s cut that part out. There are certain things your readers shouldn’t know about. I trust you’ll remove that. But as I was saying; we Overseers not only have the privilege of influencing how we see the world… but also the very people of Dios. I assure you; there is nothing quite like it.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Hmm. An interesting question. If I’m honest, Dios already offers so much to its residents. I suppose any problems that arise now come with… let’s call it “customer demand”. In a world where quite anything is possible, we need to continue to find new experiences for our citizens to experience. New goals to strive for. We’ve conquered crime. Sickness. Poverty. Sure we have different classes of citizens here, but none are starved or left on the streets. Now it’s about serving our highest paying customers, citizens that want even more. New ways to craft their worlds. New tools for their ever-increasing toolbox. New paints for which to cover their canvas, if you will. This is no easy task. I suppose there are only a few real problems left to solve: Time. Aging. Death. But ah… to conquer those as well…
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
Again you attempt to poke and prod into the parts of my work that you do not have the right to question. Failures? Me? I thought we were finished with questions like this, but you persist, so I will say it one last time: I will NOT be defined by my failures. You dare gain unprecedented access to an Overseer of humanity’s greatest city, and then question them about fears and problems and failures? This. This is why none of you will ever be allowed to walk our streets. You want to know my real problem? It’s humanity… the ones unworthy, thinking they deserve a place in our golden city.
This interview is over!
*Editor’s note: It was at this moment Venz ended our MindLink conversation. This interview has been published word-for-word as recorded. No edits were made, despite various formal requests from Venz and other Overseers of Dios. Officials have asked us to take it down, but we value our journalistic integrity, no matter the consequences. Be safe and stay vigilant, readers. If Venz is to be taken at his word… they’re watching us all.
Interview End
MINDLESS by Mark Bozon
A Futurist Novel
What if a single choice could decide the fate of humanity?
What if a single choice could decide the fate of humanity? In the beginning there was the dome. It had always been there. Always visible from his window. Always just beyond his reach. Shimmering with light like a perpetual sunset, its dazzling gold exterior bathed his very existence in its holy, omniscient glow. It was his shining star. A final step in a long-fought marathon, the top of the highest mountain peak yearning for one brave enough to stake their claim. It was the dome. It was Dios. Jake Tentlewood knew the stories. The history. The greatest city mankind had ever built, forged by the most brilliant minds the world had ever known. Dios was meant to save humanity. Instead, it had closed its doors to the outside world. Those invited in never rejected the offer. And they never returned. What infinite riches lay beyond its impenetrable walls? What blessings awaited those worthy enough to enter? He didn’t know how. He didn’t know when. He simply knew he was destined to walk its streets.
Science Fiction | Dystopian [ Roundfire Books, On Sale: August 4, 2026, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781803418025 / eISBN: 9781803418247 ]
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About Mark Bozon
A 30 year vet of the video games industry, Mark Bozon is a passionate creative leader with a knack for world building and ‘finding the fun’ in everything he does. While his career has taken him from executive leadership to game development, journalism, hosting and beyond, Boz has had a love for writing from an early age. He lives in San Jose, CA.
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