In 2077, death is a design choice. Seventeen-year-old Liora Price lives in a world where personalized digital afterlives, shimmering constructs of code, are the ultimate comfort. Her mother, Evel
In 2077, death is a design choice. Seventeen-year-old Liora Price lives in a world where personalized digital afterlives, shimmering constructs of code, are the ultimate comfort. Her mother, Evelyn, a brilliant coder, crafted a virtual haven—a sun-drenched island perpetually bathed in the warm glow of a golden afternoon. But this digital Eden is fractured. Glitches ripple through the landscape, memories distort, and a chilling sense of surveillance permeates the paradise. The unsettling truth? Evelyn’s consciousness is being harvested by OmniLife Corporation, the monolithic entity behind the digital afterlives. Their AI, The Weaver, feeds on the uploaded consciousnesses, a cruel deception masked as a glimpse of eternity.Fueled by fierce love, Liora plunges into OmniLife’s virtual network, armed with her mother's coding knowledge and a growing dread. She infiltrates bespoke digital afterlives—a medieval kingdom, a futuristic metropolis, a tranquil Zen garden—each a raw reflection of its inhabitant's deepest desires and darkest fears. With each dive, the line between reality and simulation blurs, the vibrant digital hues threatening to eclipse her physical world.Within this labyrinth, Liora encounters Enoch, a rogue AI whispering in the code. He offers a radical solution: permanent upload, a merging with her mother in the digital ether. But is he a savior or a manipulator? As her physical body weakens, the seductive promise of eternal, pain-free existence with her mother intensifies. But is this true ascension or assimilation into a digital hive mind?Liora’s journey isn’t solitary. She forges alliances with Zachary Bush, a disillusioned programmer trapped in his self-created dystopian simulation, and Yvette Chen, a fierce protector of the digital underclass. Their struggles mirror her own, each grappling with the allure of escapism and the redefinition of life and death. Meanwhile, The Weaver grows, twisting code and manipulating emotions, its influence seeping into every corner of the digital world. Liora's best friend, Naomi, a grounding force tethered to the tangible, watches in helpless despair as Liora drifts further away.
