Book excerpt: What readers are saying online: “Really grabs you and doesn't let go!” “Almost the perfect blend of mystery and science fiction.” “The story keeps pulling you forward.” “Easily on par with the best near-future sci-fi I’ve read.” In the decades after tomorrow, the intersection of emerging technologies like AI, gene editing, and 3D printing gives ordinary people unprecedented power to remake themselves and their environment, which they use for frivolous, dangerous, and even sinister ends. After a series of high-profile calamities, the U.S. Congress passes the controversial Science & Technology Control Act, which licenses and regulates the practice of science. While serious infractions are rare, the increasing number of extraordinary threats are investigated by the Science Control Agency's secretive Section 08: Crimes Division The Zero Signal After a stint in federal prison for trying to save the world, Nio is done with the spotlight. She spends her days in front of a computer, quietly helping others with problems no one else can solve. When a case turns unexpectedly deadly, she travels to rural America to stop a hi-tech psychopath who tortures his victims via their own devices. Arrested by mistake, she's given a choice: return to prison or assist the investigation into the unexplained death of a renowned physicist—who happens to be her brother. Shackled to a disgraced FBI agent assigned to protect her, Nio and her new partner soon discover her brother's strange obsession with the paranormal may have been a cypher for something darker still. Pursued by his shadowy enemies and dodging the twisted affections of her rival, Nio has just days to discover the truth. But in a world made plastic by technology, truth is never the same twice. “The imaginative worldbuilding, the complex characters and the sheer scope that’s both shown and at time hinted at, reveal a world that both breathtaking and scary.” -reader review “Given that a lot of cyberpunk tropes have long become reality, the question is where to go next. This provides a convincing answer.” -reader review “The dialogue between the characters is something special. Each conversation not only advances the plot but also opens a window into the characters themselves. The natural way characters interact with each other, even in the more fantastic scenes, is just very believable and it’s really easy to become attached to them.” -reader review