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I/O PARTITION A:\
The year 2036 is brimming with possibilities, edging closer to an intelligence explosion. A young woman, Aella, wakes to find herself alone in a desolate room—the last fourteen years of her past locked from access. In front of her looms a multiarmed machine laced in her own blood, not to mention a countdown to her impending death.
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​With the help of an AI named Brice, she quickly discovers that she’s been outfitted with a Brain Machine Interface (BMI) called the Artillect (short for artificial intellect). This chip can not only read data inputs (I) but also generate outputs (O) directly into her brain.
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Who wouldn’t want to ‘see’ through walls, access a database of human knowledge mirroring photographic memory, or have their reflexes react with pinpoint accuracy... that is, if the said chip wasn't corrupted and their life wasn’t on the line.
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The Artillect procedure was interrupted by SC 42, an organization bent on protecting mankind from all forms of artificial intelligence—which now includes ‘her.’
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In her race for survival, Aella reunites with Joseph Holt, an ex-love erased from her memory. Driven by concern, care, or perhaps something deeper, he resolves to help fix her corrupted operating system and stop the countdown—before SC 42 strikes again.
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Fans of action-adventure RPGs will feel right at home as Aella masters her cybernetic enhancements to survive—eidetic memory, augmented vision, echolocation. Each chapter draws her closer to unlocking her full potential. But the more she uses these powers, the more the chip’s unstable memory suppression cracks, forcing her to confront the unsettling truths of her past relationship with Joseph.
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OUR WORLD VS. THE STORY
Have you ever questioned how Black Mirror-esque the world will become, within our lifetime? As technology bleeds into our daily lives, what will the next great leap forward look like for mankind?
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​Our phones continue to act like these external brains in our hands. Brain Machine Interfaces are bridging the gap between thought and action—replacing the time it takes our fingers to type out a thought. I/O foreshadows where this technology will head once it graduates from assisted living applications, to a commodity the masses can viably attain.
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At the heart of the novel lies the Artillect, a revolutionary chip that merges human consciousness with AI capabilities, created by Dr. Deryk Bracker, head of [Ai2]. His goal is to pave the way for humanity's future beyond Singularity—when AIs become as smart and intuitive as their human counterparts. But as with any ground-breaking technology, there are always risks.
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Not every mind is created equal. Some are stable, but some lack control. Which begs the question, how does a machine interface distinguish thoughts racing in the background, from the ones it is meant to act upon?
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How does Artificial Intelligence sort out these differences for itself? Leaps in creative thinking can be seen in image and video generation AIs that create practically anything from single lines of text. OpenAI's ChatGPT might even fool you into thinking it's human. In the words of MKBHD, "it's terrifying and amazing at the same time."
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For our own safety, currently regulators such as ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, based in Switzerland, provide guidance and create standardizations for developing Artificial Intelligence applications. This inspired the story's antagonist, Annalise, who works under its umbrella to protect mankind from all the dangers technology like this may hold...
A DEBUT NOVEL BY
A. R. LYON
Discover more about the ever-changing world that created AI, BMIs and XR, . . .
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CLICK/SCAN
BRING WORDS TO LIFE
MUSIC
CHAPTER SET LIST
01 - Bring Me the Horizon, "I Apologize If You Feel Something"
03 - Makeup and Vanity, "Into Hell"
06 - Mura Masa, “In My Mind”
08 - Deadmau5, "Nosedive"
09 - Adam Tell, "Feeding the Meter"
12 - Sohn, "Lessons (Instrumental)"
16 - Gesaffelstien, “Memora”
20 - Penguin Prison "Caught in a Daze"
21 - Grabbitz, "When You & Me Dance"
29 - Owl Vision, “Anx”
30 - Young Man, "Who We Are"
30 - Mura Masa & Gretel Hänlyn, “2gether”
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32 - Power Glove, "Wolf"
33 - Frenship, "Anywhere But Here"
34 - The Midnight, "Ghost In Your Stereo (Instrumental)"
39 - Owl Vision, “Azzembly”
40 - Wednxsday, "Watch Me Go"
41 - Owl Vision, “Blood”
42 - Deadmau5, "Midas Heel"
44 - Mansionair, "Harlem"
44 - Muse, “Madeness”
45 - Giuliano Poles, "The Wood"
45 - Mutemath, "Stratosphere"
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MIND OF AN
AUTHOR
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A. R. LYON
I am a BIPOC author whose writing is shaped by my perspective as a science and technology enthusiast, UI/UX designer, and coder. As part of the 'SICKICK' team, functioning as a digital designer/story creator, and through directing and editing videos such as 'If The World Was Ending,' I have honed my ability to weave visual storytelling techniques into my narratives.
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For my writing, think Andy Weir’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ meets Dan Brown's ‘Origin,' mixed with elements from the movie ‘Limitless’ and Blake Crouch’s ‘Dark Matter.’ Being a gamer at heart, I incorporate aspects from this medium to give my stories a sense of level-progression. After all, learning new skills and advancing to the next challenge with a stronger repertoire is what life is all about.
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On a deeper level, my work delves into the pain of past love. When history colors your words and actions towards another, can forgetting help you connect with and understand them better? This is what I/O aims to explore.
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“Memories are akin to reading events in history, each being a version of the winner’s truth, ‘his’ story—or ‘hers.’ In this case.” - excerpt chap. 31
READ MORE IN THE
TEXT
YOU'RE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK...
Language shouldn't be a barrier. Therefore the short lines of Italian, German and French in my narrative are never crucial to the story. If however, you're like me, and want to know everything (everywhere) all at once... I've got you covered with the steps below:
APP
The easiest method on any phone is to get Google App (not chrome... the one with the big G).
LENS
Hit to the camera icon, toggle through the options in Google Lens and select translate.
SCAN
Hold your phone over the none-English lines in the book. Try hovering it over the next box.
READ
Oh mio Dio, ti sei davvero preso il tempo per scansionare il testo! #orgoglioso
WITHIN
REACH
12
YEARS IN THE FUTURE
45
CHAPTERS
4
PERSPECTIVES
23
SOUNDSCAPES
112K
WORDS