Publisher : 47North (April 27, 2021)
Publication date : April 27, 2021
Language : English
File size : 4424 KB
“(R)EVOLUTION builds momentum to a rollicking chase through hope and terror, fast-looming biotech, and a tasty-paranoid look at who ‘actually runs’ the USA.” —DAVID BRIN, Author of The Postman and The Transparent Society
“Manney’s intricate worldbuilding includes... a nation reconstituted from fragments of the former U.S. This near-future science fiction thriller should have broad appeal.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY on (ID)ENTITY
“PJ Manney has written the techno-thriller for the 21st century. Trading in robots for nanobots, (R)EVOLUTION deftly evokes a believable future in which nanotech gives the hero his best and only chance against enemies foreign and domestic. It’s a pulse-pounding thriller too, with a marvelously satisfying battle between those who would enslave the U.S. and those who would liberate it.” —MICHAEL CHOROST, Author of Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human and World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet
“Futurist lecturer Manney’s intriguing and fast-paced debut takes a close look at possible consequences of sophisticated bioengineering. [...] With poignancy and sensitivity, Manney constructs an intricate and adventurous plot. The characterization is rich, with an uncommon and welcome depth found in the protagonist... Fans of gosh-wow SF will devour this novel all the way to the startling ending.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY on (R)EVOLUTION
PJ Manney concludes her visionary Philip K. Dick Award–nominated series of a world at war, a virtual search for identity, and the future of humanity.
Five years ago, bioengineer Peter Bernhardt spearheaded an innovation in nanotechnology that changed the course of evolution. Until everything was taken from him—his research, the people he loved, and finally his life. Uploaded as an artificial intelligence, Peter is alive again thanks to a critical reactivation by fellow AI Carter Potsdam.
But a third sentient computer program, Major Tom, is tearing the United States apart, destroying its leaders and its cities. Major Tom’s mission: rebuild a new America from the ruins and reign as uncontested monarch. Carter knows that only a revolutionary like Peter can reverse the damage to a country set on fire.
Caught in a virtual world between an alleged ally and an enemy, pieces of Peter’s former self remain: the need for vengeance, empathy for the subjugated people of a derelict world, and doubt in everything he’s been led to believe. To rescue what’s left, he’ll need to once again advance the notion of evolution and to expand the meaning of being human—by saving humanity.
Scientist Peter Bernhardt has dedicated his life to nanotechnology, the science of manipulating matter on the atomic scale. As the founder of Biogineers, he is on the cusp of revolutionizing brain therapies with microscopic nanorobots that will make certain degenerative diseases become a thing of the past. But after his research is stolen by an unknown enemy, seventy thousand people die in Las Vegas in one abominable moment. No one is more horrified than Peter, as this catastrophe sets in motion events that will forever change not only his life but also the course of human evolution.
Peter’s company is torn from his grasp as the public clamors for his blood. Desperate, he turns to an old friend, who introduces him to the Phoenix Club, a cabal of the most powerful people in the world. To make himself more valuable to his new colleagues, Peter infuses his brain with experimental technology, exponentially upgrading his mental prowess and transforming him irrevocably.
As he’s exposed to unimaginable wealth and influence, Peter’s sense of reality begins to unravel. Do the club members want to help him, or do they just want to claim his technology? What will they do to him once they have their prize? And while he’s already evolved beyond mere humanity, is he advanced enough to take on such formidable enemies and win?
In the midst of the chaos, pirates attack a seastead in the Pacific Ocean, capturing one of Major Tom’s allies. A mysterious and powerful group wages a secret war. To rescue his ally, Major Tom must first regain his own humanity and somehow save a species he no longer identifies with, and which seems determined to destroy itself.
PJ Manney is the author of the bestselling and Philip K. Dick Award nominated science fiction technothriller, (R)EVOLUTION (2015), published by 47North in the Phoenix Horizon trilogy with, (ID)ENTITY (2017), and (CON)SCIENCE, (2021). Set as alternate, future American histories, the novels chart the influence of world-changing technologies on power and nations.
A former chairperson of Humanity Plus, she helped rebrand the organization, launch H+ Magazine and organize the first multi-org conference on futurist topics, Convergence ’08. She authored "Yucky Gets Yummy: How Speculative Fiction Creates Society" and "Empathy in the Time of Technology: How Storytelling is the Key to Empathy," foundational works on the neuropsychology of empathy and media.
Manney presented her ideas to National Geographic, the Producers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America, NASA-JPL, M.I.T., Huffington Post, The H+ Summit, and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, is a frequent guest on podcasts/webshows including StarTalk, The World Transformed, Singularity 1on1 and Amazing Mind, and has published in BoingBoing, Live Science and Tor.com. She is also the first person to create and transfer a digital autograph for a novel verified by the blockchain. Manney consults for varied organizations about the future of humanity and technology, including artificial intelligence, robotics, cyborgs, nanotechnology, biotechnology, brain-computer interfaces, space, blockchains and cryptocurrencies.
Manney graduated from Wesleyan University double majoring in Film and American Studies. She worked for over 25 years in film/TV: motion picture PR at Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures; story development for independent film production companies; and writing as Patricia Manney for the critically acclaimed hit TV shows Hercules — The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. She also co-founded Uncharted Entertainment, writing and/or creating many pilot scripts for television networks, including CBS, Fox, UPN, Discovery, ABC Family and Comedy Central.
Manney lives with her husband in Southern California and is a dual citizen of the US and New Zealand. She is a member of the WGA, SFWA, ITW and PEN America.
(CON)SCIENCE
BY PJ MANNEY EXCERPT – CHAPTER EIGHT
The stiffness of the new robot as it dressed
and shuffled through
the hallways surprised Peter. He had expected to learn its functionality more quickly. But that was probably
ego talking. Fong and another
engineer, Kang, a painfully tall, thin, bending
reed of a man, helped
steady him as he moved through the halls. Kang readjusted the angle of the shoulders, Fong the waist and hips,
and steadily, Peter’s posture became more balanced and upright. He had no idea where they were or why an all- Chinese robotics
team was working
on him. Even after running
tests with Ruth, Carter, and
the team, the sound of servos, his staggering
gait, and strange perceptions from mechanical senses were awkward. For every mistake and correction he made, there were hundreds
of others to fix. He would soon adapt, but he still
felt absurd.
Peter had little
experience with his electronic sensations, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like they were underwater, as Carter had said. The architecture appeared too roomy and rectilinear, a waste of precious space, air, pressurization. Perhaps
he was making assumptions about underwater environments, but he
couldn’t shake the notion that he was underground instead. Would Carter
lie to him? And if so, why?
They stopped at a door.
“This is Dr. Chaikin’s
room,” Fong said. “Try knocking.”
Lifting his hand and bringing it down,
Peter made a loud bang, and the door
popped open. He took an unbalanced step back in surprise. Fong and Kang grabbed his back and shoulders to stop him from falling.
“A shlimazel falt oyfen ruken un tseklapt
zikh di noz.”
Peter stood stiffly in the doorway
and cocked his head. “Ruth, these Yiddish idioms.
It’s hard to decipher your meaning.”
Ruth sighed. “You used to be able. To translate automatically.” “When?”
Twitching her eyes,
she swiveled away in her ergonomic chair to face a table covered
in scientific papers. How did she get these delivered
underwater?
“N-n-never mind. ‘A
fool falls on his back. And bruises his nose!’
Get your tuchus in here.”
Peter turned to Fong. “Do you think
I can manage this alone?”
Kang turned to Fong and tried not to laugh.
Fong kept a straight face.
“Dr. Chaikin, you’ll call us if there is a problem?”
“Not a problem. I c-c-can’t handle.”
“Okay,” said Peter.
“Thanks, guys.” He shuffled through the door,
and Kang pulled
it shut.
In the
windowless studio apartment, which he increasingly doubted was on any
seafloor, Ruth’s room contained everything she needed. A personal MR pod, a twin-sized bed and love seat, a two-top dining table covered
in papers, with two matching
chairs, a kitchenette in the corner,
and a personal bathroom. She never had to leave,
as long as Carter’s employees brought her fresh food and supplies.
Peter shuffled to an
empty dining chair and sat carefully. The silicone joints in his knees needed
tightening, and he added it to the punch list of repairs
for the roboticists. “How do you like my new get-up?”
Ruth hummed monotonically.
“What can I do for you, Ruthie?”
With her back still to him, she said, “I’m lonely. Sit quietly. I’m not finished.”
As she worked, he spied what little he could of her computer
setup. She operated
two screens, each displaying code that was similar, but not identical. He didn’t recognize the language. It appeared partitioned, as though she were creating two slightly different programs for
the same function in the same computer.
He wasn’t sure how—perhaps in a cloud with split
virtual environments and machines, with a data clone? Programming had never been his expertise, and he was impressed with how much she had learned in the years since
he’d been alive and her colleague.
With a simple click, she set the screen on an
automatic relay. Her cameras documented her facing her screen,
typing on a document, while in their shared reality, she turned to face
him. He decided not to share her deceit with anyone just yet. There was no one he trusted more than Ruth. She must have a reason to create two realities: one that could be monitored
and one that was designed
for privacy.
Leaning forward
as closely as she’d allow
herself, she spoke
softly. “Listen. D-d-don’t
speak. This must be done quickly. I’ve cut off your feed. And mine to the main. All cameras and programs. Are on a subtle loop. But it won’t last long. I’ve f-f-forked this version of you. I’m sending
you away. To people who will take care of you. There’s a war on. You must find T-T-Tom
Paine. He is not your enemy. He is Carter’s
enemy. B-b-big d-difference. The only
way to stop this. Is to bring you t-t-together. Bring
us all. Together.”
Peter couldn’t help himself. Hands resting on his thighs,
he lifted the
pinkie of his right hand from his thigh, as though to raise his hand to
speak.
She noticed and sighed. “Be quick.”
“Stop what?”
he asked in barely a whisper. “The war?” “Yes,”
said Ruth. “And C-C-Carter’s insanity.”
“Is Tom behind
enemy lines?”
“There are no lines.
It’s make-believe. There is a war, but there is no enemy except our make-believe.” For a moment, Ruth looked haunted, guilty. Peter had no memories of her ever expressing either emotion before. “Horrible. Horrible make-believe. Ver filt zikh, der meynt zikh.”
“Meaning?”
“Who
f-feels guilty. F-feels responsible. I believed something. Was make-believe. But it was real. And all
that I thought was real. Was make-believe.”
“Like what?” asked
Peter. “Did Tom kill Amanda?” Ruth’s expression shifted to sadness,
but she said nothing.
“Please,
Ruthie. I’m confused,”
said Peter. Having
never confronted
Ruth’s deep emotions before, it unsettled
him. “What don’t I know?”
“Everything,” she
said. “Those you thought are f-friends. Are enemies. And vice versa.”
Asking Ruth to be
verbose was a foolhardy endeavor. Her thought
processes were highly complex, logical, analytical, and empathetic in her way, but that did not spill over into lengthy verbal communication.
She had always spoken
like an emotional machine gun, ratta-tat-tat with her Yiddish-English
analyses. That’s why he loved her. But this was frustrating.
“Will you tell
me?” he asked.
“Neyn. N-n-no time. T-T-Tom Paine will.”
Peter found that hard
to believe, and his robotic eyebrows shot up
unevenly.
Ruth shook her head and peered
closely at Peter’s
face. “Kang can’t
even. Get that right. Oh! And tell T-Tom Paine. Talia has disappeared. She may be heading.
His way.”
That made no sense.
Talia was some stalker in DC and Palo Alto. “How do I get there?”
Ruth stood, pulled a dining chair close to Peter, and sat beside
him. Her hand rose and juddered, as though she didn’t
know if she could touch
him or not. Finally, her shaking palm cradled his silicone face.
She gasped, her eyes twitched
and watered, and her shoulders
danced.
“I am s-s-so s-s-sorry. I am sending your AHI away.
To find Tom Paine. And I m-must reboot this robot. T-to before this conversation. Just know.
How bad I feel. And how much I c-c-care.” She paused, and a single
tear threatened to fall from her shuddering left eyelid. “N-n-no. L-l-love you. Now save us.” Her hand reached
around to the back of his neck and flipped a switch he hadn’t noticed
before.
Copyright
© 2021 by PJ Manney
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