On this episode of Everything is Canon, Steve talks with S.B. Divya all about her latest book, the sci-fi thriller, Machinehood.
The book is being described as “Zero Dark Thirty meets The Social Network in this science fiction thriller about artificial intelligence, sentience, and labor rights in a near future dominated by the gig economy. A thrilling and thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?”
Here’s the summary…
Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-special forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It’s 2095 and people don’t usually die from violence.
Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive, but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process.
All that changes when Welga’s client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week.
Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight.
Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood and what do they really want?
A thrilling and thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?
Dressed up in a high-stakes thrill ride, Machinehood looks to answer just that with a thought provoking narrative designed to question whose right is it to exist, and can that right be taken away.
Steve and Divya talk about all sorts of things related to those exact issues, the book of course, and what technological pitfalls we as a species may or may not be facing in the coming decades.
You can check out Steve’s full review HERE!
Head on over to SBDivya.com to find out all the latest and click HERE to order Machinehood today. Also, to find out more information on the premier science fiction podcast magazine which Divya is a part of, check out EscapePod.org for more information on that!
