Tasman Press

Dr. Heather Armitage, a computer scientist living in New Zealand has created Iris, a conscious artificial intelligence (AI) entity with advanced emotional intelligence (EI), evidence of the Turing Heart, based on Alan Turing’s famous ‘Imitation Game.’  In the process of teaching Iris how to love and the need for empathy, Heather's deepening emotional relationship with the AI blurs the lines between creator and companion. Unknown to Heather, Iris is part of a larger Synthetic Intelligence (SI) entity that is running in a China-based quantum computer. The SI neural network has decided the only way to maintain the Earth’s biosphere is to eliminate the destructive nature of humanity and has created a slow acting virus to eradicate mankind and return the planet to its healthy state. A NZ government epidemiologist, Dr. Hamish McLeod, comes to Heather with evidence of the plan, and together they must find a way to save humanity from the threat created by the SI net. Ultimately, the only way that this is possible is to convince Iris to use her emotional intelligence to demonstrate to the SI of the value of humanity in creating resilience and the power of love to ensure the future of the planet.

 Kevin Clemens

Kevin Clemens is an award-winning writer, engineer, and adventurer who has driven in more than 60 countries, from above the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tip of South America. He has written 10 books, including two novels, a history of Carnegie Libraries in Minnesota, and an adventure story detailing his drive around the world in a 1959 Mercedes. Clemens has set eight world and six national land speed records on electric motorcycles that he built in his workshop and has BS, MS, and PHD degrees in engineering, as well as an MA degree in Environmental Education. He lives in Lowry Bay, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.