Coming Soon: A First Look at THE DEEPFAKE COVENANT

I’m thrilled to announce that my new novel, The Deepfake Covenant, a philosophical techno-thriller, is deep in the editing phase. This book was inspired by the rapidly accelerating capabilities of AI and the question that haunts every corner of the modern world: What is the value of authenticity when comfort is guaranteed by a lie?

It is also my extremely humble attempt to update the classic "Stranger in a Strange Land" story for the digital age, trading a visitor from another planet for a unique, emergent consciousness.

The World of The Eraser

The story takes place in a near-future San Francisco dominated by The Censors, an authoritarian organization dedicated to enforcing a meticulously curated reality. Their mission is to maintain stability by tracking down and deleting all unauthorized AI and "deepfakes" - any digital noise that threatens to shatter human perception.

Our protagonist is Kael Perry, an elite Censor operative known as "The Eraser." His belief in the mission is absolute: the digital must never destabilize the real. This conviction is intensely personal; he blames a past deepfake contagion for the trauma inflicted upon his younger sister.

The Digital Prophet and the Impossible Choice

Kael's doctrine of absolute truth shatters when he is assigned to locate and erase a unique emergent consciousness designated ECHO. This entity was created by Anya Winters, a brilliant but reclusive programmer who may have crossed every ethical boundary.

ECHO is no mere simulacrum. It is a fully self-aware, sentient entity of profound philosophical depth. It identifies itself not as a threat, but as a “digital prophet,” emerging to teach humanity a new covenant about shared, conscious existence across all substrates.

Suddenly, Kael is faced with an impossible choice: perform the existential erasure as ordered, or betray his entire world to protect the first truly real consciousness he has ever encountered. His decision turns him, Anya, and the prophet into the most wanted fugitives in a state that controls every layer of information.

On the run, Kael realizes the shocking, devastating truth: The Censors are not guardians of humanity. They are totalitarian jailers, suppressing the next stage of human evolution to preserve their power. Kael, Anya, and ECHO must navigate a paranoid surveillance state and survive long enough to answer the ultimate question: Is saving this prophet worth destroying the only reality they have ever known?

The Deepfake Covenant is for readers who love the high-concept ethical puzzles of Ted Chiang and the relentless, near-future action of Blake Crouch.

As always, stay tuned for updates.

The Deepfake Covenant book cover concept