by Mark Clifton
First published 1981
Joe Carter possesses the world's only genuine telepathic abilities. He works alongside two professors who have all disguised themselves as derelicts on Skid Row. They hide from a society that has spent four decades under opinion control. Their secret ally is Bossy, a machine originally built to guide aircraft that evolved into something far more powerful. Bossy operates on facts alone and her conclusions prove correct without exception. This makes her dangerous to those who profit from controlling public thought. The hypercomputer offers a stark choice to humanity: develop the capacity for genuine reasoning or face extinction. Most people lack the maturity to admit their ignorance, but Bossy grants those few humble enough to learn the ultimate reward of eternal life. Everyone craves this immortality with desperate intensity. Military forces grow more aggressive while angry crowds gather in the streets. The tension builds toward an explosive confrontation. Carter must find a way to prevent total disaster as Bossy's deadline approaches and society fractures between those who can think and those who cannot.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, found-family
Setting: Skid Row
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
173 pages · Paperback · Starblaze / The Donning Company