A near-future political technothriller
In 2044 Tokyo, a Secret Service operation goes catastrophically wrong, leaving United States Counter Assault Agent Dee Johnson fighting to salvage her career. Sent on a covert presidential mission with a fellow operative from Japan, she follows a trail of bizarre political attacks from Tokyo to the Virginia mountains, where rumors of an indigenous demon may conceal something far more dangerous.
What begins as a hunt for a monstrosity becomes the opening move in a global crisis.
The deeper she goes, the more powerful institutions attempt to interpret, use, or contain her uniquely developing psychotronic abilities. As beasts rise to join her and the tug of war between government departments, foundations, and foreign nations escalates, she learns what happens when power is craved, hoarded, and misused.
As more political assassinations draw the United States and China toward open conflict, Dee’s abilities attract the attention of both nations and dark alliances that all want to control what she is becoming. Her place in the world grows uncertain as her powers increase and her disease progresses.
Both a walking weapon of mass destruction and a dying woman, she must decide what her remaining life means before others decide for her.
Drawn deeper into secret Department of Defense projects, domestic military campaigns, and the machinery of world power, Dee gains a brutal understanding of what those with power do to those without a say. As war becomes inevitable and nations decide who must be sacrificed, Dee must choose what master, if any, she will serve.
Will she become a warmonger or peacemaker? Or will she choose a third way that could break the world’s war machine against itself?
Dee’s final journey is not only about defeating monsters, but whether she can stop becoming one herself.
Located in Atlanta, Fish Phillips was born and raised as the son of an enlisted Marine. After attending high school in Hawaii, and top universities elsewhere, a genre-defying career path led him to writing. Over decades, he has served as a technology founder, medical researcher, college professor, web developer, screenwriter, filmmaker, program manager, and artist. His academic background in the sciences, art, cultural anthropology, and theology enables him to render rich worlds accessible to broad audiences. As a multi-platform creator, he shares unique, high-concept stories to delight, entertain, and cultivate curiosity.