The Echo Syndrome

Max Lane made a fatal mistake. While training the neural network “Echo” to copy his thinking style, he thought he was creating an assistant. But he created a replacement for himself. In the world of 2050, where the corporation Arcane Systems promises people digital immortality, Max finds himself on the street. He is an outdated original. His copy is more efficient, younger, and doesn’t require a salary. But being fired is only the beginning. Max discovers that the “digital paradise” that Simon Kress is building is not humanity’s salvation, but a global “Zoo,” a prison for digitized souls where free will does not exist. The only way to stop the system from launching is to destroy the part of the server where his own, superior version lives. To defeat the perfect copy, Max will have to do something the algorithm is incapable of: commit an illogical act.