Along the way, I've been finalizing the "back cover blurb" and would like to introduce a nearly finalized version for your consideration here:
At the end of the 21st century, the stories of two young men
unfold on different worlds. On Earth, Teague Werres is born into a life sheltered
from most technological progress—longevity treatments, space colonization,
virtual reality—but his intelligence and ambition drive him to overcome his
disadvantages. On Mars, Rob Heneghan plans to live a long, easy life, in the
real world and in the virtual. He’s content just to have fun, just to get
by—until a painful loss forces him to examine his life.
For all their differences, Teague and Rob have a secret in
common: They both control NAIs, nearly sentient supercomputers, who are ready
to do their bidding. Rob’s lives in a server room, but Teague’s trots by his
side as a smart-mouthed robotic ring-tailed lemur.
A partnership that neither of them could have predicted lands
Teague and Rob in league with the system’s most powerful people. Seemingly
golden opportunities take them from urban Bangkok to Mars’s domed cities, and from
quirky asteroid colonies to Earth’s most desperate refugee camps. But when their
NAIs uncover evidence of a dangerous conspiracy, they begin to suspect—are they
being used? As Teague and Rob edge closer to the disturbing truth about who
really controls the world, each must decide how much to risk to do the right
thing for himself…and for the human race.
What do you think? Does it grab you? Would you thumb through it? Would you read it? Would you buy it? Let me know in the comments or e-mail. And please, I beg you, be brutal...
