Greg Van Arsdale’s Books And Blog
Science Fiction
The Genesis Project
The Stranger
“The Stranger” is about a man with no name, hunted by a small army. His memory wiped, the man somehow feels he is on an important mission. Vague visions convince him many lives depend on his success and not knowing haunts him. Whatever it takes, he has to know who and what he really is. Shot and bleeding, he finds refuge at the Lazlow house, where Doc and his daughter Mary help him uncover his truth. Through the building tension and suspense of the encroaching manhunt, he finally recalls answers that will challenge your view of reality and source of life.
Only Jack Logan, the governor and leader of the private army, knows the real purpose of the stranger’s presence. The man can not just destroy his criminal empire but save millions of people in the virtual world in which they live. He knows a colossal computer called the Genesis Machine that has been infected with a Doomsday virus runs the virtual world. The stranger has just 40 days to make connection with that machine to get the people out before the world explodes. However, if Logan can kill him before then, the virus will stop and Logan will inherit the virtual world—and all the people in it.
New Beginnings
The stranger’s name is John Neumann. As his consciousness pushes through the ethereal light barrier that separates the virtual world from the real world, he regains his memory. John recalls the beginning of the Genesis Project. From the start, the vice president of his company, Jack Lokitus, and Judith Neumann, John’s wife, are against the project. The two lovers plot to discredit John so Lokitus can takeover John’s empire. He wants the Genesis Machine for his own nefarious reasons. However, the coup fails. John fires Lokitus and leaves his wife. That is when the killings start–with John framed for their murders. Still, he is determined to build the colossal Genesis Machine and create the virtual world. By inserting the conscious spirit of the sick and dying, he gives millions hope at a new beginning. At the peak of his success, someone hacks the Genesis Machine with a Doomsday virus. It is Lokitus, and he holds millions of people hostage, demanding John relinquish control of his business empire.
For ten years, John and his team thwart Lokitus, the virus, and even the Law. But even someone as rich and powerful as John Neumann cannot dodge the police forever. At last, new proof of his “guilt” prompts a police detective to come arrest him. John makes a play to insert himself into the infected virtual world. It has been his plan all along. Even though he knows his mind will be wiped, submitting his spirit is the only way to get the people out.
End Game
Back in the virtual world, John Neumann awakens in desperate trouble. Having made connection with the Genesis Machine from Doc Lazlow’s lab, the house is now surrounded by Logan’s army. For his plan to work, he must evade them the five days it takes for the Genesis Machine to assimilate his ethereal and DNA data. If he dies, then Logan can still inherit the virtual world while Lokitus gains control of Neumann’s vast business empire. Fortunately, people maintain constant vigilance in the real world’s Genesis lab. They help John escape, but how long can he truly hope to remain alive when so many are trying to kill him?
The Final Day
Ten years have passed since the end of Part Three of the Genesis Project saga (“End Game”) where Jack Lokitus’ spirit was given to Logan’s soul in the virtual world. David, Neumann’s son, is now a young man. With a real soul and spirit in the virtual world giving him a special bond with the Genesis Machine, he has unique insights and powers…
Part Four ends the saga. It tells how the world is going to end from both a virtual world and real world perspective. In the real world, Jack Lokitus’ sister, Lucia, tries to free her brother from his confinement in the virtual world. To do so, she wants to capture and kill Neumann—and steal his soul for Jack to use when he comes out of the Genesis world. In the virtual world, Jack Logan is released from prison. His obsession with killing David sets in motion a chain of events that bring about supernatural disaster. As the planet rapidly decays, David does his best to save the last remnants of real people remaining in the virtual world.
Meanwhile, John Neumann watches from above, waiting for the right moment to act.