"In a world that can only be described as organized chaos, there is peace."
A famous quote by the original UWG president, when the war between humanity and extraterrestrials supposedly ended. A quote that brought relief to the world, a sentence that let millions of families finally breathe.
Once the war so-called "ended", it proved to be the very beginning. A bomb of unknown type was dropped on islands in the Pacific Ocean, leaving thousands dead, and the world in sudden havoc. Didn't the president of the United World Group say the war was over, just weeks before?
As the attacks got more elaborate and closer to dangerous places, such as nuclear plants, the governments of the world stepped up, setting the goal to collect the best military in the world.
Half a century later, the war is still raging, except it has been kept at bay in space, keeping earth from being a battlefield. Unorthodox battle strategies have been developed, and technology has advanced faster than anyone could have ever dreamed.
Soldiers have practically been bred to fight in the war. There is one actual rarity in this society. Intelligence. Not a physical strength, but a mental strength.
Intelligence is one thing Darcy has. It has definitely gotten to his head, knowing that most people can't keep up a conversation with him.
It offends him greatly when he meets someone that not only can keep up a conversation with him, but argue and have actual points that make him actually rethink his point.
Ender is a failing author, she's never been able to finish a single work, her passion for the particular story falters. She finds herself lacking in brains, where it is in confidence she truly lacks. When the rare moment someone riles her up enough occurs, she defends her point, and she realizes that she started an argument with the wrong person.
Two people who are opposites, turn into the best of friends. Two people who are childish and rude, just may save the world we all know and love.
A secret program in the United States seeks to replace human militaries with artificial intelligence-driven machines, but the machines aren't so willing to play along.
***
Picture a world where humans no longer fight wars. No more families missing loved ones. No more veterans with lifelong mental and physical scars. No more conscription. For the super-secret End of War Project inside the United States government, such a reality is already here. The project models out how artificial intelligence can overcome dangerous and morally sensitive war scenarios with algorithms and automation. The centerpieces are "autonomous combat machines," or ACMs, that look like humans but function like supercomputers. After a string of brilliant successes in the field of combat, the End of War Project is preparing to reveal itself to the public, but something unusual stands in the way. Against their programming, the ACMs start exhibiting all-too-human signs of apprehension, guilt and compassion as they're pushed to perform ever more extreme tasks. The human leaders of the End of War Project race to find who "hacked" the ACMs, but what they find is even more startling--and revealing--than they could ever imagine.
***2019 Watty Award Winner - Science Fiction***