Code Word Access (Code Word 1) by Alex Schuler-a review

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The future is in code.

Shawn Muller is a prodigy and he knows it. It is 2051 and the militarized AI he created to hunt terrorists has begun to dominate the network that controls everything from traffic to climate. Fearful of the power of the AI he calls “Lazy Jack” and the politicians who will use it, Shawn installs an algorithm to give his creation a system of ethics.

But when that very ethical standard causes Lazy Jack to declare Shawn a profound threat to society, he is forced into terrified flight to avoid summary execution as a terrorist.

Off the grid for the first time in his twenty-seven years, Shawn will find himself pursued not only by his creation and the government it has started to control, but also by the shadowy elements of society that reject domination by AI. Captured by the outlawed Organites, Shawn falls into the hands of their charismatic captain, Destiny.

Born to be enemies, Shawn and Destiny discover that their lives and the survival of their worlds are inextricably linked. Together with a host of unforgettable characters, they will struggle to bring down the system Shawn thought would save the world, leading them to face one of the most profound questions of human existence: Will we or will our creations decide what is right and what is wrong?

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REVIEW:CODE WORD ACCESS is the first instalment in Alex Schuler’s post apocalyptic, near future, CODE WORD speculative / science fiction series focusing on prodigy Shawn Muller in the year 2051.

Told from several third person perspectives CODE WORD ACCESS follows PhD prodigy Dr. Shawn Muller in the aftermath of an attack by a counterterrorism AI (Artificial Intelligence) he designed to eliminate terrorists for the military-controlled Cyber Command, but LAZ-237 is unable to distinguish between good and bad, and in this, many innocents are about to die. Hoping to stop the onslaught of death and destruction, Shawn Muller secretly uploads a ‘virus’ but his command for the ‘Greatest Good for the Greatest Number’ pushes the AI to go rogue killing anyone and everyone it deems to be bad. As Shawn struggles to stay one step ahead of the AI he calls Lazy Jack, his commands are seemingly countered by the military and politicians in charge.

Dr. Shawn Muller is considered a ‘transhuman’-an enhanced human with a ‘fully integrated brain to operating system interface –a highly sophisticated CPU’ that allows our ‘hero’ to communicate with both man and machine. As a young child, Shawn’s parents implanted a neuro-chip into his brain rendering Shawn a virtual participant in a virtual world. Everything about his life was an illusion, an illusion of which he was completely unaware.

Years earlier, a terrorist attack by the al Tehrani killed Shawn’s parents, and along with his mentor Lt. Colonel Amun Gurk, Shawn set to work on an counterterrorism AI that would eliminate the man and people responsible but as pandemics, environmental disasters and wars ravaged the earth, a resistance group known as the Quills, members of the organization who call themselves Organites, takes aim at our hero, in an effort to shut down the systems destroying the world.

CODE WORD ACCESS is a complicated, complex and multi-levelled tale of what if. A dramatic, richly detailed and gritty story of a world controlled by artificial intelligence. CODE WORD ACCESS is a philosophical and sociological look at the ethical conundrum of integrated man and machine; of the potential for sentient and self aware artificial intelligence; a computer with a conscience and reasoning, and the ability to act on its’ own. There are numerous references to late 20th and early 21st century sci-fi movies and stories including The Matrix ™, Terminator ™, Star Wars ™ and War Games™; climate change, plagues, pandemics, nuclear power, the ‘Cloud’ and social media- reading like a warning of things to come if man doesn’t change the current direction of power and control.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy