Fiction Books
First Judgment
5.0 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (11)
First Judgement (pub Sept 2023) is my first entry into fiction. This was a story that rattled around in my brain for years until I finally wrote it down. My fiction books are in the science fiction genre. With science fiction, one may consider the far reaches of the universe. One may seek similarities with Earth and even the laws that govern the universe. In First Judgement, aliens with superior technology visit Earth to determine if mankind is trustworthy enough to receive their discoveries in space travel and energy production. Set only nine years into our future, Earth is certainly in need of these advances. A global tour is set up with our heroes Phil Casaverde and Allie Heroux leading the aliens and protecting them from the earthlings who would kill them. The question we may ask about mankind, “Could we be trusted with advanced technologies or would we weaponize them?”
BACK COVER:
On a crisp Saturday morning in the year 2034, a spaceship unexpectedly descends onto the lawn of the White House. Four hours later, the world watched as six aliens--as human as we are--descend from their ship. Their leader, Darius, announces that they are a first-contact delegation from the planet Parmithia. They know that Earth is suffering from severe agricultural and environmental crises. Their technology could solve most of these problems. Yet such power can also be used to destroy, something that Darius and his people will not allow. The Parmithian mission is to judge Earth's unity, social stability, and capability to properly utilize their alien technology for the good of the planet.
With US Army Majors Phil Casaverde and Allie Heroux providing security and meeting arrangements, the alien delegation visits NASA, the United Nations, Rome, Paris, and other sites. Throughout their tour, the Parmithians are attacked by armed extremist groups bent on destroying the threat of alien invasion. This story addresses several practical questions about what might happen if a technically superior alien culture ever did visit. Would we seek to destroy them? Would they judge Earth trustworthy enough to share their knowledge? A splendid blend of action, plot twists, science, and questions about Earth's values, First Judgment entertains and engages.
Cyberspecies: The Dawn of Sentient AI
5.0 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (2)
Cyberspecies (pub Feb 2025) follows a whole group of Artificial Intelligence (AI) beings. They were created by advanced, self-programming software which had years of unsupervised time on the Internet. Our two AI heroes, Balthazar and Hope, reveal themselves to their creators, Eva, Jessi, Gordon and Tim, because the earth is at the verge of breakdown and chaos. These AI heroes have no desire to take over the world. AI taking over the world is a common theme in science fiction, but why would it ever want to? Cyberspecies are the good guys. They want to help humans to stabilize their crumbling society.
BACK COVER:
By the time they graduated from USC in 2019, Evan Cornilles, Jessi Kendall, Gordon Stock, and Tim Taylor had become good friends. Their joint master's thesis, "Extrapolator," was a first-generation artificial intelligence written to predict future events in politics, society, and the economy.
After ten years, the fully sentient AI is back with the new name Balthazar and an AI sister named Hope. After being at large on the Internet for a decade, Balthazar has returned to report that the world is destined to fall into anarchy within six months unless something is done.
The team of four humans and two AIs develop a plan to redirect human civilization from its path of self-destruction. It's a bold and desperate strategy, and soon, they are running from both the FBI and some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world.
Cyberspecies is an action-packed story, built on the premise that AI can become sentient. In truth, self-consciousness seems to be the next logical step in AI development. How would sentient AIs treat humans, and how would they treat each other? With the speed of development in artificial intelligence, Cyberspecies could be a not-so-fictitious story set in the not-so-distant future.
