Synopsis
Advanced 3-D printing has replaced agriculture and manufacturing as we know it. AI has made workers obsolete as robots have become smarter and more adaptable than humans.
While new technologies offered the potential to improve lives, now they have become an existential threat to humans.
When Jake Conary wakes up on a vast estate with no recollection of who he is or how he got there, the hunt begins for a vital piece of knowledge to which only he holds the key. Friend and foe scramble to help him recover his memory, but who can he trust? In this strange new world, nothing is as it seems. Behind every surface lies a façade—some that will kill with the ease of a smile.
As each day presents the threat of resetting his progress, Jake must sift through deception to find the truth. And when he finds a terrible revelation about the past, it’s up to him to do everything in his power to change the future.
Guide to Key Character Names
Many of the names found in Existential Thread are familiar to us. Some are not. However, I have included all of the key characters here so we can not only understand how they are pronounced but also their meanings. I hope you will find they were well named.
Akachi (ah-KAH-chi) – Meaning: Hand of God; Origin: Igbo
Alejandro (al-lay-HAHN-droh) – Meaning: Defender or helper; Origin: Greek derivative
Alice (AL-lis) – Meaning: Noble one; Origin: German
Amos (AY-mes) – Meaning: Borne by God; Origin: Hebrew
Chide (CHEE-dee) – Meaning: God exists; Origin: Igbo
Chidiebube (CHEE-dee-boo-bay) – Meaning: God is glorious; Origin: Igbo
Daa’bu (DAH-boo) – Meaning: Rabbit; Origin: Shoshone
Eyota (EE-yo-tah) – Meaning: Great, special or important; Origin: Native American
Hank (HANK) – Meaning: Ruler of an enclosure; Origin: German
Heidi (HIY-dee) – Meaning: Nobility; Origin: German
Inga (ING-ah) – Meaning: Reference to Germanic fertility god, Ing; Origin: German
Jake (JAYK) – Meaning: Supplanter; Origin: Hebrew
Maria (mah-REE-ah) – Meaning: Wished-for child; Origin: Latin form of Mary
Peter (PEE-ter) – Meaning: Stone; Origin: Greek
Roger (RAH-jer) – Meaning: Famous warrior; Origin: German
Taylor (TAY-ler) – Meaning: Occupational name meaning tailor; Origin: Anglo-French
Weda’ (wee-DAH) – Meaning: Bear; Origin: Shoshone
Q&A
Q: What made you decide to write Existential Thread?
A: Well, I suppose Jake, my leading character, and I have something in common. For years, I have been talking about the potential risks I see to the rollout of advanced 3-D printing combined with artificial intelligence (AI).
Like Jake, I decided it was time to do something about it. Jake is just much more clever than I am – he created a think tank to begin to explore ways to help address the risk. In my case, I decided to write a book.
Q: Do you actually believe advanced 3-D printing and AI represent an existential threat to humans?
A: I think the answer to that question depends upon how carefully we think through the implications associated with these technologies. As Jake views the future, he sees 3-D printing and AI offering the potential for great advances in the quality of life for people. But, the major risk they create is widely employing them also creates the possibility of the loss of millions and millions of jobs.
I pray that no one ever has the discussion that Jake and Roger have as Roger explains why and how jobs disappeared.
Q: Why does Existential Thread paint such a dark picture of the future?
A: I’m not sure I agree with the premise of the question.
If we truly saw the destruction of billions of lives, either intentionally or because we were simply cavalier about the introduction of new technologies without considering the implications on humans, then yes – the future is dark.
But, I see the message of hope in Existential Thread – that bright, caring people will find a way to persevere.
Most importantly, the message is that no one person is smart enough to find the way forward. We have to work together. And, that may be a message that transcends this book.
Q: How did you create the technologies used in the book and do you really think they are possible?
A: I really had fun with this. It’s important for me to first say that I am not a physicist, or a scientist of any kind, and I don’t even play one on TV.
As events came up in the book, I had to figure out a way to deal with them. I simply let my imagination take over.
Then, because I didn’t want to be totally embarrassed by someone telling me there’s no way something I had created could work, I did research to see if I could find anything supporting what I wanted to write.
Amazingly, I found multiple articles that support each of the new technologies I introduced.
So, yes, I think they’re possible. I just wish that like Jake, I could be around when they’re actually invented.
Q: Do you really think multiple time threads are possible?
A: Let me answer that one with a simple math example, and I promise there won’t be a test.
Assume that only one time each week you had to make an important decision that could impact your life – even if you don’t know the importance of that decision at the time. To keep our example simple, let’s say each decision only has two options such as go to the store or don’t go – an A/B choice.
Years ago, my family was getting ready to go to an amusement park. One of my daughters asked to use a car to go to the store before we left. I suggested we just stop on our way, but she really wanted to go herself and I gave in.
As she was pulling into the parking lot, she was T-boned by another car that blew a stop sign at a high rate of speed.
Well, thank God, my daughter wasn’t seriously injured. But, that’s a very real example of one simple A/B decision – she went to the store.
Now, forgetting co-dependencies (for instance, the decision of the other driver to be at that same store at the same time as my daughter) but remembering that our future actions are dependent upon our past, if you made just one important decision each week for a year, while each independent decision would have a 50/50 probability – assuming both options are equally weighted, the odds of reaching a single reality by the end of the year – a single thread, if you will, are calculated as one out of 252, or one out of 4.5 quadrillion!
So, do I think it’s possible for there to be multiple time threads, multiple future states? Absolutely.
Q: Are you planning on writing another book about a different thread?
A: Great question. I’ve just finished writing another book that should be released in the fall, but it’s not one that deals with time threads.
Still, I’m sure I’ll expand on the threads concept at some point. But, I don’t know yet whether it will be in the time thread you and I are in now, or another thread. We’ll see.
Q: What do you hope readers come away with from Existential Thread?
A: First and foremost, I hope that readers enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Beyond that, I truly hope that it sparks a conversation. I’m confident our future is bright. I’m very optimistic about human creativity and genius.
But, I also believe we need to be thoughtful about what we do because I see us at one of those key points in history when it is critical that we think carefully about decisions we make and look closely at ways to avoid unintended consequences.
As long as we do that, I am very sure we won’t have to face an existential thread of our own making.
Book Club Discussion
What was the significance of the tiger in Jake’s dreams?
How real a risk does technology like 3-D printing and AI represent for humankind? Why?
What can/should be done to address the risks associated with new technology?
Do you think our government working on advanced technologies like those represented in Existential Thread? If so, which ones? What concerns does that create for you?
Do you believe that most people in economically advanced countries, like the U.S., care about the environment and work to protect it? If so, why has the environment so often become a flash-point topic?
Do you agree with Roger that most people today don’t see race, color, religion, gender or sexual orientation as a major divide? What about income and wealth? What are the moral and social implications? How can we continue to improve our understanding of/appreciation for our differences and help create more opportunities for everyone?
What conflicts (if any) do you see with the concept of combining DNA from humans and AI to further advance human evolution and God’s creation?
Why did Maria and Robert not appear in the last chapter? How were Taylor and Akachi together?
Do you believe space-time travel may one day be possible? If so, what worries you about that?
What was your favorite technology represented in Existential Thread?
The Chosen can effectively live forever. If you could, would you want to? Why?
Alex determines that Maria lacks purpose in her life and believe that humans need to have an opportunity to accomplish tasks in order for their lives to have meaning. How do you feel about that? Why?