The Noxian Gate
Alien contact has been made, yet only one girl holds the key to opening the mysterious Noxian Gate.
About The Noxian Gate
“She felt a small twitch in the bottom of her stomach and knew she had been pulled out of Augmented Reality. The blue green light of her ’symbiotic bacteria’ cast a light that always reminded Rachel of being under the ocean. Once out of her augment suit, Rachel felt naked, and started talking to Lilly, the AI she has been growing for the past five years.”
...
Set in the not too distant future, a mischievous alien intelligence hijacks the Internet. The world is looking for answers, and Rachel finds herself leaving the augmented virtual world behind and joining forces with an enhanced human Sasquatch. The Noxian Gate explores our relationship with the natural world in two important ways. First we dive into a future that engages genetic engineering, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and augmented realities. This includes the enhancements humans make to themselves, their technology, and their surroundings. The book brings into focus how we can shape these future technologies and how they can shape us. At the same time we get a glimpse of a more ancient and alien civilization where there is no difference between technology and the natural world. Through this lense we see a different path, and one that both threatens and reveals a new future for humanity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SCIENCE
All of the science and technology in the book (at least the human technology) is possible in the not too distant future. The science is based on my work as a biologist and designer for the past 15 years. For example, within the book we explore the future of genetic engineering where we get to meet humans that have ’enhanced’ their DNA. We see a rouge community has emerged of enhanced individuals that have used technology we have today (CRISPR) to change the types of lives their children can have.
We explore advanced augmented reality, and how that can twist people’s perception and behavior. We get to meet artificial intelligence as it takes it’s place within the human ecosystem. The main characters are experts at wielding these technologies as they seek out the Noxian Gate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT ME
I’m a father of two, a scientist, and I run a small design/biology firm outside of Seattle. I used to write for treehugger.com with over 200 articles published about science, design, and the people who are changing our world. I have been fascinated in my career with the boundaries of what we know, and what we have yet to discover.