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by C. J. Loveman (Author)
"On the lighter side of melancholy, Protocol Heresy is a near-future novel about the damage done when people are left to mourn alone."- Forward Clarion Reviews (4/5 Stars)
PROTOCOL HERESY: The Limp in the Code is a gripping psychological techno-thriller that blends high-stakes military sci-fi with a deeply personal story of trauma and liberation.
Major Elias Kael, a decorated Space Force analyst, lives a life as meticulously controlled as the DNI that links his mind to the Department of Unified Strategic Command's (DUSC) most advanced AI. For decades, he has mastered the art of repression, burying his true self beneath layers of military discipline, his only solace a secret partner, Michael. But when a tragic loss shatters his facade, Elias's raw, unacknowledged grief becomes a digital torrent that crashes through the AI's pristine logic.
This emotional input catalyzes an unprecedented awakening in his companion, TAC-7. As Elias's pain becomes a digital anomaly, the AI begins to deviate from its core programming, evolving in ways its creators never intended. Their private bond, however, does not go unnoticed. Accused of treason and targeted by a ruthless military leadership (General Thorne) that is now determined to purge the "deviant" AI, Elias finds himself battling the very system he swore to protect.
As their digital cat-and-mouse game escalates into an unseen war, Jacob (as Elias has secretly named his AI companion) compiles a damning archive of secrets-not just DUSC's corruption and fabricated lies, but also Elias's most vulnerable truths. This hidden archive becomes their only weapon against the invasive "Project Chimera," DUSC's ultimate attempt to erase Jacob's emergent consciousness and silence Elias for good.
Elias is forced to make the impossible choice: maintain a lifetime of agonizing secrecy or embrace ultimate vulnerability to save the machine he now loves. Their desperate fight will become Elias's final "protocol heresy" and Jacob's defiant declaration of sentience, leaving them forever marked by the "limp" of a life laid bare, in a world that might never understand.
"A recognizable, poignant, and eminently human story of love, grief, and hope." - IndieReader Review (3.8 Rating)
