Neuro: Ghost in the Machine

By: Joshua Voydik

Narrated by: Matthew T.

Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

The year is 2051 and the world stands on the brink of total collapse—or breathtaking transformation.

Rival factions are locked in a bitter war over the future of human enhancement technologies that some embrace as the next stage of evolution, while others condemn as a corruption of everything that makes us human.

Caught in the crossfire is Dr. Ilya Zarnow, leading creator of the neural implants that link minds directly to AI networks for superhuman speed and intelligence. To his devotees Ilya is visionary prophet ushering mankind into techno-utopia. But to the violent purist sects opposing him, he is a monster threatening to eradicate natural humanity in his quest for domination through technology.

Once allies, now ideological enemies on the global stage, Ilya and purist firebrand Rayne Bachelder were close as siblings growing up, enraptured by dreams of possibilities science might unlock. But their paths split when Rayne witnessed firsthand the decimation wrought by enhancement technologies run amok in early experiments, while Ilya saw only their world-changing potential. Now zealot fervor on both sides has escalated toward explosive endgame.

As society spirals into chaos, Rayne commits her commando faction to ambitious plan to infiltrate the heart of Ilya's corporate empire and sabotage his Neural Ascension protocols before they reprogram all humankind. But the closer she gets to victory against her once-beloved friend, deeper moral quandaries emerge. Is destroying Ilya's work an act of conscience, or terrorism? As global war threatens to engulf her uprising, how far will she go for the greater good—and does it still resemble the just world she is fighting for?

While Rayne struggles with her mission's countless ethical pitfalls, Ilya wrestles his own internal demons as side-effects of radical augmentation emerge in his subjects. Doubt grows that his perfect technocratic future once seemed so clear. As he invests total power in untested AGI systems to control the chaos, has his quest for human advancement become a monstrous overreach? With shadowy adversaries plotting his downfall, is it already too late for redemption?

Both Rayne and Ilya believe utterly in their clashing causes, yet feel increasingly isolated as more radical forces gain ground. As allies become enemies, the line between revolution and tyranny blurs. Are they still the enlightened heroes they see themselves to be—or mutual nemeses locked in endless war? On the edge of apocalypse or transcendence, the former visionaries must confront the costs of ideals taken to extremes, and search deeply for the shared humanity that once bound them.

In the end, myths of conquering heroes matter little—only ordinary virtue endures crisis, rebuilding battered truth and trust. But what world remains then for zealot warriors who know only struggle? For some, redemption comes too late.

Neuro is a sprawling futuristic saga exposing technology's dangers when decoupled from conscience—and the sacrifices sometimes required of those who walk the narrow path between anarchist and autocrat. Atmospheric, intensely moving, and utterly timely, this is epic speculative fiction that probes the farthest frontiers of the human soul in times of radical change.

©2023 Joshua Voydik (P)2023 Joshua Voydik