Mandarin Pith

By R.C. Ducantlin

A bunch of dead security thugs is just another day in the life. Aydin doesn't want to go back to his life as a counter-insurgent, humping a pack in the desert with his forward fire team. But, he often thinks, life was simpler when you knew everyone was probably the enemy.Allison screwed up everything, and she's not saying why. The Service gave her the secondary mission to deal with the Chinese. Pops hinted at the deals withing deals. Phil keeps everyone talking to everyone else. Aydin spends too much time head-down on his computer, looking for clues to connect the dots.Aydin's dark mind tried to sugarcoat the week. Handing over the traitor: A good thing. Not getting killed by the Chinese middle-man: A good thing. Real-world successful test of the automated ranging and fire control: A good thing. Collecting two-fiddy very large and keeping the core code: A good thing.With so many good things, Allison and Phil wondered by Aydin's mood darkened. Already introspective, he got worse.Aydin and Phil's core code can turn mediocre facial recognition AI into a foolproof tool. With his algorithm, every face posted to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere in the Cloud, is guaranteed identification. Sitting at a traffic light, did you ever wonder what the cameras were doing with your image?The Russians want the code. They send one of Aydin and Phil's regrets to get it. Sending the Russian Fighting Potter was more to intimate Aydin than it was to demand the advanced code.Can Aydin, with his friends, Phil, and Pops, solve the maze and find a way out before everyone is dead? Or worse, someone combines advanced facial recognition with foolproof automated fire control?If you are a fan of contemporary crime fiction: Think The Circle meets The Maltese Falcon, with a touch of The Blade Runner, and pick up a copy of Mandarin Pith.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1949211428
• ISBN13: 9781949211429
• Release Date: August 2020
• Publisher: R C Ducantlin
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.5" x 8.5"