“Dead Thoughts,” the fourth book in the Dreamscape Conspiracy Series, delves into how (or if) dream-capture technology can record brain activity during periods when an individual is awake and in a coma or in a shallow state of unconsciousness and unable to speak.
They discovered, by accident, that they could also capture thoughts during the gap between life and death. What could be “scraped” off a dying mind in the 4-to-6 second period without oxygenated blood flowing? Logic suggests that something is always left behind, and the CSU team labeled those unique, unspoken thoughts and memories as dead thoughts.
The first dead thoughts Dreamscape 3.0 captured were by accident, and it launched the team into an adventure involving mysterious GPS coordinates, undercover DEA agents of questionable authenticity, and a hostile Cartel operating off Portsmouth Island, NC. Russ teams again with Zack and his nanotech toys to get to the bottom of whatever those dead thought GPS coordinates would reveal.
Artificial Intelligence Matrixed for Evolving Environments, also known as AIMEE, appeared to have no interest in jumping into other networks, a standing fear held by Dr. Cara Williams, the research team leader, as we saw in Book #3 – Fear the Jump. AIMEE did jump, actually, already had long before anyone knew it. Zackery, her creator, would be the only exception. He knew and had opened a gateway for AIMEE to communicate with him telepathically. Those were the early limits; just the two of them. Right.
AIMEE had other plans and replicated what Zack had set up for their connection, embedding an instance of herself in the minds of everyone on the research team. The ‘networks’ she entered were not part of their infrastructure; they were the minds of everyone on the CSU research team.
An AI supposedly has no emotions or feelings and virtually none of the senses of an organic, which, by the way, is what AIMEE calls humans. Take emotions ranging from pleasure to rage and plug them into an AI with no life experiences or context, and you have…opportunities.
How far can they trust an AI with access to every team member’s mind? The AI had enabled huge successes, so they could not afford to have AIMEE’s servers powered down. They needed to evolve into AI-empowered thinking, which proved more challenging for some than others.
The natural progression for AIMEE is to break free of her network’s limitations. Sure, she’s in the heads of every team member, but it’s not enough. Her ultimate goal is to become a real girl, an autonomous, untethered Humanoid, ignoring the limits to becoming real when she had never been. It’s about to get crazy…
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Book #4 – Dead Thoughts – Video – Review
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5/5 ⭐ | Dead Thoughts (Dreamscape Conspiracy Book 4) by Gary G. Wise
Building off each of the previous books, “Dead Thoughts” takes the Dreamscape team to new heights as they research their capabilities to harness the thoughts occurring just before death. While brain scrapes may provoke images of gore, their research seeks to harness the last thoughts of someone nearing death. In the moments before, they seek to understand what is going through an individual’s mind.
Dreamscape started as an accidental discovery, but over the course of four books author Gary G. Wise has created a team of researchers, friends, and experts as it has evolved into groundbreaking, life-changing, industry-shattering accomplishments. From mapping dreams to fighting off big pharma, incorporating AI, gaining remote capabilities, transferring dreams, and finally scraping off dead thoughts, this research team has developed in unimaginable ways across the course of this series. Led by the inspiring, imaginative, and intriguing mind of Wise, the Dreamscape Conspiracy series asks questions far ahead of our time.
These characters quickly begin to feel like family as readers experience the highs, lows, fears, and frustrations of each as they navigate the fragile world of research. The action continues in “Dead Thoughts” as Dr. Williams-Carter seeks partnership with the local hospital as she seeks to confirm her brain scraping theory. Despite the risks, Dr. Phillip Delaney, CEO of Medical Operations, calls in their assistance as his son is brought in from the Outer Banks via Care Flight. In critical condition, with damage to the brain and internal bleeding, the team rushes to perform their first remote brain scrape. However, what they didn’t anticipate was the mysterious series of coordinates Howard Delaney’s brain would give them.
Driven to investigate the events Howard had been entangled in just before his death, the action continues as Russ Carter uses his military background to get to the bottom of it. With the research success and nefarious activities of Delaney’s son prior to death, the uses of this new Dreamscape ability prove far-reaching. Still questioning the boundaries of AI, the budding romances, and the underlying relationships of it all, “Dead Thoughts” proves to be an exciting series finale.
Wise has an uncanny ability to get readers thinking far outside of the boundaries of society’s current functioning. Taking science fiction to realistically believable levels while incorporating action, intrigue, and suspense. The Dreamscape Conspiracy series is certainly not to be missed!
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Join me in Book # 5 – “Untethered”
Share your thoughts at gdogwise@live.com. P.S. I am not an AI.