Our site will be undergoing maintenance from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 20. During this time, Bookshop, checkout, and other features will be unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Cookies must be enabled to use this website.
Book Image Not Available Book Image Not Available

See inside

Book details
  • Genre:FICTION
  • SubGenre:Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
  • Language:English
  • Series title:Zombies of Things
  • Series Number:1
  • Pages:320
  • eBook ISBN:9798350963656
  • Paperback ISBN:9798350963649

The Zombie in The Machine

by Marco Metz

View author's profile page

Book Image Not Available Book Image Not Available

See inside

Overview

In 2044, society is governed by The Machine—a powerful merger of Artificial Intelligence, Government, and Corporations, designed to maintain stability and sustainability. But when a mysterious virus emerges, widow Lucy Driscoll and her two daughters are forced to navigate the Metaverse, a vast collection of virtual worlds, to uncover the truth behind the looming Great Pandemic. As The Machine's heavy-handed response threatens to be more dangerous than the virus itself, the family must unite to separate reality from illusion in a world where survival depends on knowing the difference.

Description

It's the Great Pandemic of 2044. How would you know if it's real?
Special glasses, worn over the eyes, immerse people into a parallel reality known as the Metaverse—an addictive, dreamlike state that merges real-world images with digitally created ones. In a reimagined 2040s South Florida, widow Lucy Driscoll and her two daughters live orderly, post-suburban lives, split between the physical world and the artificial one their lenses present. But when a novel virus emerges to shatter that existence, they face a modern dilemma: how to distinguish reality from rumor.
As they travel together through the Metaverse, they discover that The Machine—a merger of Artificial Intelligence, Government, and Corporations, designed to keep society stable and sustainable—may pose a greater threat than the virus itself. Before a global pandemic lockdown takes hold, they must set aside family squabbles and craft a secret, clever plan to overcome forces seemingly beyond their control—all while under the mind-bending assault of deepfakes and misinformation.
In the future of humanity, separating fact from fiction will be a matter of life and death.

About the author
Born on Miami Beach in the late 60's and raised in a mixed Cuban-American household, Marco Metz has keenly observed technology's mixed blessings transform multiple generations. After getting his first desktop computer in the 70's and later an engineering degree at M.I.T. in the 80's, Marco was an early adopter of the Internet in the mid-90's, becoming a pioneering website publisher along with his wife. Three decades ago, many stubbornly refused to see the radical changes coming. Through the lens of fiction, Marco wants to peer over the horizon once again with a conversation-starting, deep dive into how the total transformation of media, biology, economics, cities, and families will define the world his children will inherit. He hopes people will listen this time. He currently resides in Southeast Florida with his wife, two daughters, and no shortage of computers.

Book Reviews

to submit a book review