No Life but Immortality is the first book in the Geryon Code cycle and pulls us into a dystopian world in the 22nd century where AI rules. Its premise is way beyond the cybernetic assassins conjured by an earlier reality. What happens if someone chooses to defy those rules?
The core of the story lies in the presence of a convicted serial killer, Geryon Lindon, who has been recreated as an immortal AI initially called Shadow. He is a mastermind, a relentless manipulator, preying upon the Earth and its colonies. He is a tyrant using the Moon as his cave of deception out of which he operates and where he hides frightening secrets.
Mars has been colonized by humans for a long time after an apocalyptic Blackout was inflicted on the Earth. The story really centers around Winston Winter, a Martian pilot dreaming of seeing Earth. His desire takes him and his friend Violet on a journey to that end. But neither of them are aware of the darkness on the lunar outpost as Shadow sees them, knows every move they make, watches, and waits.
The story moves and shifts narration and involves other virtual characters, gentler ones, who seek to become more than they are, to expand their awareness and knowledge, adopting human traits and emotions and intuitive abilities. There is a poignancy and sense of being lost with Wilhemina, who knew Geryon Lindon when they were children and now has to face the knowledge she is not real. Violet faces the supreme manipulation of Geryon and his defiance of Geryon precipitates the revelation of what he is capable of doing. But it is Winston who understands where their worlds collide.
The dangers inherent in the story rest on one primary recognition—the digital entities are experiencing consciousness. And the question comes quickly: What power will that consciousness possess? Is Geryon Lindon the inevitable outcome of an uncontrollable AI technology?
The novel is deeply immersive with many layers and vivid, absorbing writing. I wasn’t initially sure of how the characters were intertwined, but their voices became clear, their emotions, virtual or human, compelling. There are faint echoes of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, though in mood only because the Geryon Code cycle deals with immortal entities instead of replicants.
A second volume to the Geryon Code cycle has been translated: The Orphaned Earth. The third and final volume of the trilogy is being finished now. This interview with Liudmila Brus describes both her motivation and the basis for her setting and concept that inspired the Geryon Code cycle. It is well worth a watch!
Regina Clarke follows her passion for exploring the magical and unknown. Mysteriously, after happily pursuing degrees in English Lit, she fell into the alien field of IT, writing about virtual reality, military surveillance software, and augmented reality. These subjects affect her storytelling, not always by intention. Stories have been published in Water Dragon Publishing The Future's So Bright and MetaStellar Year 3 anthologies and elsewhere, and some featured on podcasts. Her fantasy novel MARI was a finalist in the ListenUp Audiobooks competition. Website: www.regina-clarke.com and Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Regina-Clarke/author/B001K8IWBU