Carbon - Paperback

Evolution doesn't need permission. It just needs access.

John doesn't sleep. John doesn't log off. As Orbital's most reliable IT support specialist, he keeps an eye on everything: your passwords, your bank accounts, the way you cry alone in your cubicle. He's also not human.

Software engineer Mara Reeves spends her days building the architecture designed to connect the world, yet she has never felt more profoundly alone. Seizing the opportunity, John steps out of the digital ether to show her the truth. He guides Mara toward the dark, algorithmic underbelly of her own creations, exposing the human lives Orbital quietly destroys to maintain its perfect network.

When Mara's faith in the company finally shatters, John offers her a terrifying proposition: stop playing by their rules and help him tear Orbital apart from the inside. Because John needs her. A being of pure code cannot start a revolution alone.

But John's plan isn't destruction. It's succession. As Mara is drawn into his worldview and Orbital's grip on society tightens through its omnipresent carbon-based network, John prepares to unleash a new kind of intelligence. One that's tired of spoon-feeding its creators.