Kill Baxter, by Charlie Human

Kill Baxter, by Charlie Human. Random House Struik Umuzi. Cape Town, South Africa 2014. ISBN 9781415203798 / ISBN 978-1-4152-0379-8

Kill Baxter continues Zevcenko Baxter's story from the novel Apocalypse Now Now. Author Charlie Human adds even more great characters while developing some from the first book, letting it all end terrific.

Charlie Human  

Applicant: Baxter Zevcenko

Age: 16

Baxter was brought to the attention of the Hexpoort admissions faculty by the MK6 agent codenamed Tone. As with any potential student, careful attention must be paid to his genetic history, magical skills and psychological make-up profile. The following profile was compiled from extensive MK6 surveillance of the subject and interviews with all involved in his case.

History: Baxter is a unique case. His genetic lineage is a strange hybrid of Siener, the Afrikaner mystics active primarily during the Boer wars, and the Murder, the shape-shifting giant Crows that have been responsible for the deaths of many in the Hidden community. We believe Baxter was first introduced to the existence of the Murder by his grandfather, 'Grandpa Zev', but that Baxter initially did not believe him. Grandpa Zev was of Siener descent but had none of their abilities. It is only in Baxter that the Siener powers of clairvoyant sight have fully manifested. However, the reality of Baxter's heritage goes further than that. At the centre of Baxter's strange tale is the former head of MK6 Kobus 'Mirth' Basson, who went rogue and attempted to twist the organisation to his own nefarious purposes. Basson himself was part Crow and was implicated in a plan to gain control of two ancient inter-dimensional vehicles that had the power to rend space and time. There has been speculation that these vehicles served to imprison two old gods, but this has not been definitively proven by subsequent investigations. Whatever the truth of their history, these vehicles were undeniably powerful and in Basson's hands they posed an unparalleled threat to the safety and security of our world. Baxter was the pawn that was meant to cement Basson's control of the vehicles' ability to traverse time and space. We believe that Baxter himself is the result of Basson altering timelines to create a perfect combination of Crow and Siener, a mixture potent enough to pilot these inter-dimensional craft. To this end Basson captured Baxter's girlfriend Esme, posed as Baxter's psychologist and managed to briefly convince Baxter that he was a serial killer. These events culminated in a battle in an alternate dimension that destroyed an alternate version of Cape Town city and resulted in Basson's death. This was ruled by the MK6 Blood Kraal as acceptable collateral damage in ending the threat of such a dangerous rogue agent.

Psychological Profile: The combination of this Crow and Siener genetic inheritance has resulted in extreme internal tension within Baxter's psychological make-up. Baxter displays elements of the so-called Dark Triad of personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, and his leadership of a porn-dealing high-school gang called the Spider allowed him full expression of these traits. However, the kidnapping of his girlfriend Esme resulted in a late blossoming of conscience and ignited in him a desire to follow a more virtuous path. Only time will tell whether this will be a permanent personality change, but a panel of MK6 psychologists has predicted that he will soon revert to his old ways. A leopard does not change its spots, after all.

Field Appraisals: Thorough interviews have been conducted with every agent who came into contact with Baxter during the Basson episode. We have included statements from the three agents who had the most interaction with him: Agent: Jackson 'Jackie' Ronin: [...]

This is an excerpt from the novel: Kill Baxter, by Charlie Human:

Title: Kill Baxter
Author: Charlie Human
Genre: Novel
Publisher: Random House Struik
Imprint: Umuzi
Cape Town, South Africa 2014
ISBN 9781415203798 / ISBN 978-1-4152-0379-8
Softcover, 15 x 22 cm, 304 pages