A fast-paced technothriller set in the near future, written by a
technology expert
Ralf is a software prodigy. He works in the US government office that
updates the software in the population's boosts--networked
supercomputers contained in a chip implanted within the brains of 99
percent of the world's population. Invented by Chinese researchers in
2032, the boost is credited with leading humanity to its most
significant cognitive leap since the discovery of fire.
Days before a national upgrade, Ralf notices that the update includes an
open surveillance gate--meaning that Americans, who had negotiated high
levels of privacy with the Chinese manufacturers, will now be subjected
to the invasive Chinese standard. Ralf attempts to hack the boost, but
is caught by agents working for Washington's preeminent lobbyist. His
boost is ripped from his head, and Ralf barely escapes with his life.
Pursued by the lobbyist's mercenary cadre, Ralf flees to the US-Mexico
border, where there are others like him--"wild" humans on the fringes of
society, unenhanced by technology. It's a frightening and backward world
controlled by powerful drug lords. Ralf's only hope is to somehow work
with these wild bosses of the analog world--in hopes of winning back
freedom in the digital one.
