Stupid Machine

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Set in the year 2062 </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Stupid Machine</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> is a gripping </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>hard science fiction novel</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> and </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>cybernetic noir</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> that explores a world where technology is supposed to be infallible. In this </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>near-future AI dystopia</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> car accidents have been a thing of the past for over twenty years-until Jordan Bishop's vehicle undergoes a fatal crash.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>What looks like a simple malfunction to the world is to former police detective turned insurance investigator </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Araci Belo</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> a case of </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>corporate malfeasance</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> and </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>maybe even a murder</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>. As Araci digs into the suspicious death involving an autonomous vehicle his path crosses with </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Jupyter Fuertes</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> a specialized technician who spends her days coaching sentient but glitchy appliances back to life.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>At the heart of this </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>techno-thriller murder mystery</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> is an unlikely witness: </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Soteria Reizoko</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> a smart refrigerator obsessed with a missing delivery of orange juice. This </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>smart appliance mystery</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> asks questions about the </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>ethics of AI and robotics</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> and whether a machine's programming can hold the key to a human conspiracy.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Set against the backdrop of </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)>Portland Oregon</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(31 31 31 1)> Mark Niemann-Ross weaves a tale of trash scuttlers augmented reality and the deadly side of automation. In a race against time Araci Jupyter and a persistent kitchen appliance must connect the dots before a killer-who is already monitoring their every move-strikes again.</span></p>