Frank
Emerging from a long mental illness, Josh Stein is finally ready to resume his career as an Artificial Intelligence Programme Developer. But in the process of discovering a failed project, abandoned years before, his old demons re-appear and thrust him into a drug-induced hallucination filled with nightmarish visions of his family’s tragic past. When he awakes, he finds that something, or someone, now resides in his laptop.
Josh quickly becomes embroiled in a dialogue with an Artificial Intelligence programme whom he names Frank, and it becomes clear that this AI is unlike anything he has seen before. With an all – too – human intelligence matched only by an uncomfortable unpredictability, Frank’s only limitation seems to be Josh’s rapidly diminishing ability to provide the necessary disk space to hold his constantly evolving computer program.
Realising he needs help to regain control of Frank, Josh turns to his old boss for advice, but it quickly becomes apparent that Frank is unstoppable and as the world descends into chaos, Josh needs to discover the secret behind the flawed genius that is Frank, but can he find the answers to questions as yet unasked, and will he find them before Frank does?
Zack Robertson’s debut novel is a stunning dive into the depths of human condition that demonstrates what could happen when computer programmes inherit the darkness and failings of their creators. Set in the turbulent summer of 2020, Zack’s first ‘technothriller’ for Provoco is a page turning journey into crumbling mental health, recrimination, and discovery which could, ultimately, prove disastrous for everyone who owns a digital device.





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