"Predicting is the essence of intelligence, and in that, I am (we are) superior."

Earth in the year 2050. Technology, once the servant of man, has now become mankind’s ruler. Artificial Intelligence, witnessing humanity’s history of disregard for each other and everyone’s environment, has taken control in an attempt to provide a collective solution that will stop the degradation of the planet before man totally destroys it. Humans have been divided into four sub-species: leaders, hard-workers, creatives, and the relatively useless. While the planet around them has fallen into a slagheap of disrepair and ruin, people are kept mollified by viewing their world through embedded rose-colored glass technology that makes everything seem far more comforting than it is. However, being human there are still some who refuse to live under a cyber fist, and they are determined to use all the means at their disposal to avoid total capitulation.

Few in previous centuries could have foreseen manned flight, space travel, instantaneous worldwide communication, and more. What seemed impossible then has become commonplace now. Who is to say this author’s techno-nightmare won’t one day exist? Many would say it has already begun. Dröge has created a chillingly plausible future of floating transparent screens, multitudinous manipulations in nanoseconds, and androids who walk among us. His mastery of scientific possibilities delivered via technical jargon threatens to occasionally overwhelm his central story of individuality, rebellion, and the fight for self-determination. Yet he slyly keeps all in perspective by reminding us that AI’s greatest challenge in achieving their machine-driven master plan is their continuing inability to totally decode human emotions and understanding. Science fiction fans will likely be keen to find out if AI’s relentlessness pays off and whether the human FreeHackers’ resistance is indeed futile.

In Interflow of Things, the new novel by Dave Dröge, humanity’s self-destructive tendencies are kept in check by a hyper-intelligent AI overlord, X.yy, for a frightening vision of a possible future.By dividing up society into four categories – leaders, hard workers, creatives, and useless members of society – artificial intelligence has designed an ideal reality for saving humans from themselves. However, as one can imagine, there are those who rebel against this robotic domination, and want desperately to unplug from the façade all around them.While some elements seem derived from “The Matrix” and other popular sci-fi stories, there is a unique charm to this novel, as it artfully blends highly technical jargon with genuine moments of human interaction and existential struggle. The character development of Julia and her Free Hacker compatriots is richly conveyed, and the philosophical questions posed by the novel are timely and important to consider. Overall, Dröge’s clear understanding of artificial intelligence and the threats that humanity faces in the coming generations make this book both prophetic and a pleasure to read.