Immersion by Joe Young

Nova Corp’s breakthrough technology promises to change entertainment forever, but as final testing begins, participants enter the Immersion experience… and everything goes terribly wrong.

Nova Corp. is about to change the world…

Their new Immersion technology promises an entertainment experience so advanced, it will revolutionize the industry. Final testing is underway, and a small group of participants have been selected.

Then everything goes wrong. Catastrophically wrong.

Immersion is a relentless techno-horror thriller where innovation breeds disaster, and the cost of progress is enormous. What was meant to be the future of entertainment becomes a global threat—and the world may not survive what Nova Corp. has unleashed.

If George A. Romero and Michael Crichton shared a nightmare, this would be it.

Noah is doing everything he can to support his girlfriend and their baby on the way. He spends his weekends volunteering for paid medical tests to stay afloat. When he’s offered an interview for the Immersion trial, it feels like a chance to get ahead. But once the testing begins, the real terror starts.

Immersion is a fast paced techno thriller that doesn’t let go. And what happens inside Nova Corp. doesn’t stay there.

Hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

Amazon

Excerpt from Immersion © Copyright 2025 Joe Young

1

Noah was asleep on his side. His head was nestled in a pillow, but he wasn’t in a bed. He had taken all three of the thick square blue cushions that had previously nestled in the backrest of the couch and aligned them on the floor. His girlfriend, Nicole, slept on the sofa’s much more comfortable seat cushions. She was on her side and faced in the same direction as Noah. She got the cozy sofa, not because Noah was a gentleman, but because Nicole was eight months pregnant.

Noah kept about a foot gap between his makeshift bed on the floor and the edge of the couch. It would likely be the same distance from each other if they were in a regular bed together. But the real reason was so that if Nicole needed to pee at any time in the night, she could get up and go without waking Noah.

Nicole’s belly poked out under the knit blanket she had wrapped herself with. This was normal. Being pregnant was like sleeping next to Noah. He ran hot like a furnace, and Nicole couldn’t spoon him for long periods of time. Nicole liked a cool room at night and preferred to be wrapped up in a cozy blanket. Noah enjoyed a blanket as well, but just partly over his legs and only up to his waist—not up to his neck like Nicole.

Noah had previously lived with his parents. Once they learned that Nicole was pregnant out of wedlock and there were no immediate plans to marry, they kicked him out. His parents claimed to be religious and were very involved with their church. However, their disappointment overshadowed their Christian values.

Noah’s very logical criticisms highlighted their hypocrisy like a spotlight. He spoke about forgiveness, and how loving God was, and how what they were doing was quite the opposite. His favorite remark was asking them WWJD, or What would Jesus do? Their responses were misaligned entirely with what any rational Christian would say and far removed from what Jesus would do.

There was no convincing them to let him stay. Noah had been saving for an apartment, but with his car, high insurance, and paying rent to his parents, he hadn’t saved much.

Nicole was two weeks from finishing her spring semester when Noah was kicked out. He stayed in her apartment, which her roommates didn’t like at all. Noah only spent the nights there. It wasn’t like he was a couch potato channel surfing all day. Noah hustled. He worked every day and took odd jobs on the weekends.

Nicole’s mom had offered them her living room. She had downsized to a one-bedroom apartment when Nicole had left for school. Nicole and Noah reluctantly accepted the offer and were trying to make it as temporary as possible. Nicole’s mom was difficult to be around and even more challenging to live with. She was stuffed full of opinions and constantly leaked passive-aggressive statements. She had also mastered the art of manipulation by making you believe that it was your idea to do exactly what she wanted.

For the past seven months, Nicole had been sleeping on her mother’s old blue living room couch, and Noah on its cushions on the floor.

It was dawn, and the compact living room glowed a dull yellow. It was Saturday, and Noah could sleep until eight instead of seven like on weekdays.