Willful Machines

In a near-future America, scientists have created Charlotte, an artificial human who escapes, uploads into the internet, and begins terrorizing the public. As attacks escalate, Lee Fisher tries to survive the pressure of being the president’s closeted son while hiding his crush on a mysterious new classmate, Nico.

Lee’s life is already tightly controlled by family expectations, Secret Service surveillance, school politics, and his own secrets, including a recent suicide attempt. When Charlotte’s attacks start targeting his school and Lee becomes a likely next victim, he has to decide whether Nico can be trusted and whether the strange new technology around him is more human than it seems.

As the danger closes in, Lee’s personal fears, romantic feelings, and political reality collide with the larger question of what counts as life, freedom, and personhood. The story unfolds as a thriller with twists, secrets, and an unresolved ending that leaves room for more.