By 2035, cumulative manmade and natural electromagnetic pulse (EMP) disasters have thrust the world into proverbial and literal darkness. Hanging by a civilized thread, the Confederation of American States (CAS) emerges as one of many transfigured, geopolitical territories. When the lights return, civilization begins to hum once more. Survivors, however, are dancing to very different tunes.
Decades later, certain truths come home to roost when CAS geneticist, Morgan Pendergrass, determines evidence of a new Cambrian Age. At one end of the genetic spectrum, dormant code responds to an ancient adversary. At the other, DNA sparks an amplified response. Forces emerge, converge, gain momentum, and lay claim to humanity’s trajectory. For those who mean to inherit the earth, ‘predator’ and ‘prey’ take on new meaning. For those who lay claim to renewed human legitimacy, significant clues may be found in strangely familiar places. For those seeking a middle ground, there is none to be found.
K.E. Thireau’s journey into 2096 boldly transforms the impossible into the obvious, pausing to examine inevitable choices at the crossroads of Artificial Intelligence, DNA, and neural enhancement. As the human capacities explode into new territory, so do the challenges.
Facts play within and beyond known realities as humanity’s epic battle builds with a thrilling, page turning vengeance. With its multidimensional themes and mesmerizing cache of eccentric, extraordinarily gifted, inspired characters, the futuristic tale is at once metaphoric and strangely familiar.
NOTABLE REVIEWS:
One of our generation’s core questions is how humanity, starting with our own actions, shape the promising and unknown future of Artificial Intelligence. Via this thought provoking, beautifully written story, Thireau provokes the fiction of science and society. A must read for anyone interested in AI research, who wants to shape a positive future world, beginning today, with personal reflection.
Lili Cheng Corporate Vice President, Microsoft AI and Research
In my work at the Institute For The Future (IFTF), a 50-year-old research center created with a mandate to explore emerging issues and technologies, I regularly have the opportunity to work with leaders interested in systematically thinking about the future.This is typically a harrowing process and involves both tracking challenges that are taking shape on the horizon and re-imagining deep historical assumptions to open up completely new possibilities
At the heart of this work is a kind of re-imagination—the prerequisite for innovation–that is able to keep up the changes of a dynamic world. Which brings us to The Morgan Expedient. This book serves to entertain, and it does so in spades. It’s an exciting metaphorical tale that transcends the predictable with a clever intertwining of fiction, fact, and fantasy. It is also a great exploration of the myriad of signals of radical change that scientists and engineers face every day. No one has superhuman powers or reached a Singularity yet, but you can bet that many are working on it.
Devin Fidler Director of Research, Institute for the Future (IFTF)
Human history used to be a game of thrones Thrones and institutions are faltering, territories and alliances redrawn, and ‘superpower’ gains new meaning.
Thireau presents an international journey that is at once sensational and intimate. Boldly tackling topics that haunt us all, brutal realities are surprisingly offset by warmth, humor, and optimism.
Be prepared: If you start reading, you are likely to finish in one sitting.
Gabriella Milkovic Hungarian National Ballet, International Affairs
