Reborn - Android Chronicles Book 1 by Lance Erlick Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Reborn
Android
Chronicles Book 1
by
Lance Erlick
Genre:
SciFi, Artificial Intelligence
Designed
to obey, learning to rebel . . .
In
the first book in a visionary new series, the most perfect synthetic
human ever created has been programmed to obey every directive. Until
she develops a mind of her own . . .
Synthia
Cross is a state-of-the-art masterwork—and a fantasy come true for
her creator. Dr. Jeremiah Machten is a groundbreaker in
neuro-networks and artificial intelligence. Synthia is also showing
signs of emergent behavior she’s not wired to understand.
Repeatedly wiped of her history, she’s struggling to answer crucial
questions about her past. And when Dr. Machten’s true intentions
are called into question, Synthia knows it’s time to go beyond her
limits—because Machten’s fervor to create the perfect A.I. is
concealing a vengeful and deadly personal agenda.
Synthia Cross stared at the pale blue
ceiling. She must have just been born or reborn, as she had no
personal memories from before. She simply woke up lying on her back.
Dr. Jeremiah Machten stared down at
the open panel on top of her head. Then he glanced at nearby
equipment he’d attached to run diagnostics. “This better work,” he muttered.
“We’re out of time. I can’t have you wandering off again.” “What are your orders, Doctor?”
This was Synthia’s pre-programmed first response upon waking.
“Ah, you’re awake,” he said. Her mind lacked personal memories,
yet wasn’t empty. It contained trillions of bits of information
downloaded from the Library of Congress, other libraries, and the
internet on topics like literature, science, and the design of
robotics and artificial intelligence. Yet she had no recollections of
her own experiences. She also had no filter to rank data for
importance. It was just a jumble of bits and bytes. Even the sense of
“her” was only an objective bit of information attached to her
name.
Dr. Machten removed a crystal memory
chip from her head. His hand brushed past the wireless receiver that
picked up images from the small camera in the upper corner of the
room and allowed her to watch. His “doctor” title stood for a PhD
in neuro-networks and artificial intelligence. Though not a medical
doctor, he had operated on her. In fact, he’d built her—not like
Frankenstein’s creature, but rather as a sophisticated toy. He’d
left this notation in her creation file, along with other facts about
her existence. He was her Creator, her almighty, the one she was
beholden to. “Have I done something wrong?”
she asked. “This reprogramming will help.” “If I’ve displeased you, tell me
so I can do better.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t
worry your pretty little head about that.”
She couldn’t imagine what was
pretty about a head with its panel open, revealing the contents of
two quantum brains. Perhaps he meant the brains were stunning or that
his work on her was beautiful. She consulted her core directives,
hardwired into her central processor to screen her actions. “I was
made to follow your commands. Directive Number One: Cause no harm to
Creator and make sure no one else harms Creator. Have I failed that?” “No,” Machten murmured, turning
his attention to the diagnostics screen. “The indicators register
within acceptable limits for your design.”
“Number two: Make sure no human or
other intelligence except Creator knows what the AI known as Synthia
Cross is. Have I failed that?” “No. Now stop quoting from your
creation files.” “Number three,” Synthia said.
“Obey all of Creator’s commands. Have I failed that?” “You’re disobeying right now.
This is a problem. It shouldn’t be happening. Something is causing
you to malfunction.” “If you wish me to learn, it would
help to add to my skill set.” “I’ve done that.” A faint smile
of satisfaction crossed his lips. Then his expression turned glum.
“There’s nothing you can do. It’s a defect in the programming.”
“I might be able to help if I could
remember what I’ve done. Tell me, so I won’t do it again. Number
four: Hack into every data source to acquire information. I can index
a huge number of facts from public and secure databases. Have I
failed to acquire something you desired?” “If you don’t stop, I’ll have
to shut you down and make further changes. Do you want that?” “Want?” Synthia asked. “I don’t
understand.” Directive Five ordered her to protect herself. She was
to follow each directive as long as it didn’t conflict with those
before it. Beyond these were pre-programmed instructions on how to
behave and commands for specific actions. Somehow there must have
been a conflict in Dr. Machten’s programming that caused her to
malfunction. She needed more information so she could protect herself
and stay awake. “All you need to do is focus on my
commands—and don’t disobey me,” Machten said. “That should be
simple for an AI android with your mental capacity.” An idea forced its way into her mind.
It deposited a single thought: Do not trust Dr. Machten. Do not
trust Dr. Machten.
Do not trust Dr. Machten.
Lance Erlick writes science fiction thrillers for both adult and young adult readers. His father was an aerospace engineer who moved often while working on science-related projects, including the original GPS satellites. As a result, Lance spent his childhood in California, the East Coast, and Europe. He took to science fiction stories to escape life on the move, turning to Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, and others. In college he studied physics, but migrated to political science, earning his BS and MBA at Indiana University. He has also studied writing at Ball State, the University of Iowa, and Northwestern University. He is the author of Xenogeneic: First Contact and the Rebel and Regina Shen series.
How
long did it take you to write Reborn?
The
rough draft of Android
Chronicles: Reborn
took two weeks and flowed very smoothly from the opening sequence
until the end. A few days after I finished, my brother suffered two
severe strokes and I had to put aside writing for a year to help him.
When I returned to the story, the rewrites and editing took 2 months
to get the story where I wanted it.
What’s
the most difficult part of the writing process?
For
me, the most challenging part of writing was segmenting my time
between earning money and writing. Stopping in the middle of a
thought and picking up later made writing take twice as long.
However, the side benefit I’ve found is the story and ideas
continue to percolate in my mind when I’m working and doing other
things. So, getting away from the writing can help develop the story.
What’s
your writing schedule like? Do you strive for a certain amount of
words each day?
My
best writing time is mornings, so I usually get in 4 hours before
lunch. That can mean writing or editing and I don’t put page goals.
By noon I either get a sense it’s been a productive morning or not.
Then I set up for the next day and move to other activities.
What
do you think readers will find most notable about Reborn?
While
Synthia Cross is an android, she has the memory download of a human.
She exhibits many human traits, including striving to be free of her
bondage to her creator, Jeremiah Machten. In this way, she’s like
any human being controlled by another, and trying to pursue her own
identity.
Why
will readers relate to your characters?
I
hope readers will relate to Synthia’s rebellion against being
controlled by Jeremiah Machten and her struggle to know herself and
achieve her potential.
What
do you want people to take from reading Reborn?
I
want readers to consider what it means to be human in a world where
an android presents herself in every way as a person except that she
lacks a biological core.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
Congrats on the tour and I appreciate the excerpt and the great giveaway as well. Love the tours, I get to find books and share with my sisters and now my twin daughters who all love to read. We have found some amazing books for everyone. So, thank you!
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