The Machine Cannot Be Stopped

Chapter Ten of the Boomtown chronicles finds a world changed far from the dream of Nickolas Boom, a grand city where once only a small village stood, a world of bright lights and dizzying heights, where distraction is the main attraction and the people are divided by the passage of time.

The mighty Bang Hai Corporation has cemented its grip on all aspects of society and commerce in the wake of the failed uprising of Chapter 8 and the people are being divided and conquered by the invasive hyper-connected charm of new technology, distracting them with an endless barrage of manufactured dreams.

The only challenge to this digital autocracy comes from an unknown Hacker cell that breached security systems to data mine the dirt on Bang Hai operatives and their murky investments. But in a world of distraction and fake news, even the truth it seems can easily be denied, and its purveyors dismissed as criminals and enemies.

In the wake of this so-called threat, BHI has developed a new security system that will track and process the movements, wants and desires of every citizen almost before they know themselves. Advanced Machine Intelligence (A.M.I.) promises to protect the interests of everyone and once activated cannot be stopped, the beauty of this system, of course, is that the people volunteer this information freely, through their subscription to social media platforms, free offers, purchase histories and search algorithms.

The CEO of BHI sat as a king atop the Bang Hai Towers watching as this digital empire spread like a virus across the population, knowing that with all the resources within his control no one could challenge the corporation’s supremacy.

Until his head of security spotted an old face stumbling through the crowds, a ghost in the machine, a nemesis thought long banished and forgotten.

The final battle approaches as the future of the city and its people hang in the balance, both outcomes offer freedom and liberty, just of slightly different kinds! The freedom to be – vs. – the freedom to buy. Who will be the winners or losers in the next era of our history? Who will rise and who shall fall, as those before them have come and gone? Only you can decide, to change the future and turn the tide.