Joseph Carvalko

Death by Internet Joseph Carvalko

THE SPIRITUALITY OF NATURE CONFRONTS TECHNOLOGY TO DISCOVER THE ESSENCE OF MERCY AND CRUELTY

Carvalko takes the reader to the outer edge of technology and ethics in a speculative fiction that evokes the bizarre power of the Internet to reveal if the world is merciful.

Strapped down and dying in a prison cell, Sam Mariani tells how he had invited the public to respond to his blog, but rather than click the familiar "Like" button as on Facebook, they voted to either "Die" or "Live", depending on whether they agreed with his opinion, which in turn forced the protagonist to inhale, through a valve, minuscule doses of cyanide or its antidote.

In his quest for humanity, the site goes viral attracting millions, but has the unintended consequences of riling the masses, who take to the streets, some elevating him to the prominence of a messiah, causing the government, fearing a revolution, to attack him via cyber warfare.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

If you delight in fiction that engages the reader in an ethical dilemma, you'll love this contemporary allegory, which journeys from Wounded Knee to a macabre life and death experiment on the Internet.

-- Wendell Wallach author of A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology From Slipping Beyond Our Control.