Emily Eternal

Before the sun explodes and destroys life on Earth, a socially and morally inclined computer program hopes to preserve humankind in this disjointed apocalyptic thriller set in the very near future. Wheaton’s debut follows the perspective of Emily, an AI who can appear to people wearing interface chips and read their thoughts and memories. After her creator, Dr. Nathan Wyman, is assassinated and her servers at MIT are destroyed by a mysterious organization, Emily survives only on the interface chip of her human crush, Jason Hatta, an engineering PhD student. While searching for a way to rescue humans from impending disaster, Emily and Jason develop an unconventional relationship. Wheaton tries to emphasize compassion and trust through Emily’s growing understanding of human nature, but technological revelations dictate the path of the story, creating an action-driven plot that feels mechanical. This trite exploration of what makes humans human and the ethics of AI will feel familiar to cyberpunk fans. Agent: Laura Dail, Laura Dail Literary. (Apr.)