The Game State

Jakob is a thrill junkie who spends most of his life climbing the corpo ladder. When he isn't crashing rooftop parties or racing in the streets of Hope Megacity, he's illegally modifying AR visors to help off-the-grid denizens live their lives — for a profit.

When his side hustle is discovered, he loses his job, his apartment, and his crypto wallet overnight. With nowhere to turn, he just wants to get his highly-tuned car out of storage so he can flee the city.

Unfortunately, an attack on TaoCom's headquarters has the entire megacity in lockdown. Stuck in a state shelter, Jakob pretends to be a religious missionary to escape to the street. But once he's discovered by the mysterious, orange-robed Order, he's brought into their organization and offered a hell of a deal: a permanent home, and a purpose.

Jakob learns that the Order has spent a century developing methods of gamifying spiritual journeys — complete with an all-seeing A.I. that tells him exactly what to do to fulfill his destiny and 'ascend'.

When the A.I. puts him on an usual quest to find a 'Sacred Child', Jakob must choose between what he believes is right and what the most powerful predictive algorithm in history says will serve his purpose on Earth.

My experimental crossover into LitRPG where the 'game' is real and experienced through AR technology. Set in the established world of Hope Megacity, I've kept this universe as grounded in hard sci-fi as I can without enrolling at MIT. Enjoy!