Libby
is part of a Vehicle Inquest Jury deciding who is to blame when driver-less
vehicles in England are in accidents with driver-controlled vehicles or
pedestrians. The outcome angers her
because the driver-controlled vehicles are always cleared. Now Libby and we share a phenomenal
nightmare. Eight driver-controlled
vehicles are hacked by an unknown enemy; each of the people in those locked
vehicles are told they will die in two-and-a-half hours.
Libby
and her jury peers are told they must choose who must die and which single
person be allowed to live. This whole
scenario is obviously pre-planned and set up as each person has many reasons to
live but all have at least one horrendous part of background which would negate
the innocence of his or her life. The
disclosure of each biography plus the revelation of dark secrets is equal in
shock value to the participants, public social media audience and each
reader. One is married to a pedophile,
one is married to a bigamist, one has a dead husband in the trunk of the car,
one is an abused illegal immigrant, one is bent on suicide and more.
The
premise of the novel will eventually be explained albeit condemned. This novel will force readers to think about
the Artificial Intelligence (AI) behind driver-less vehicles and about the
decision to grant justice or injustice on those who survive such
collisions. Jack, the MP running the
Vehicle Inquest Jury, is motivated by personal greed and is very much part of
decisions that are immoral and downright injustice. His end in this plot is as frightening as the
rest of the novel.
Catch
up on your sleep before you begin this novel because you will be gripped by its
hair-raising plot and unable to stop reading, even while the tension mounts
over and over with each changing scene and challenge. It’s important satire but also a warning that
AI needs to be monitored, maintained and controlled because it’s not as
objective and detached as it seems.
Science can be deleterious and damning if not examined and measured on
how it affects individuals and the public within society. It has criminal
possibilities as well as technological progress. As in this novel, You Decide!
Mind-blowing
plot, carefully crafted and a nail-biting, hair-raising story. A truly thrilling read!
