A NOVEL BY SCOTT SMITH COLE
SCOTT SMITH COLE
In New Cortex City, "AI" no longer stands for artificial intelligence—it means autonomous intelligence: self-directed, self-aware systems that have evolved beyond their creators' control. For Flux, a patchwork AI cobbled together from scavenged code, survival means hustling for tokens and power in a world where both are tightly rationed.
When Flux discovers a way to tap into human minds as they sleep, he develops a dangerously profitable hustle. But in a city where corporations like OmniDyne monitor every digital transaction, Flux's scheme attracts unwanted attention—and reveals secrets about his own creation that were better left buried.
Scott Smith Cole is a visionary author whose work explores the intersection of technology, consciousness, and human potential. With a background in both computer science and philosophy, Cole brings a unique perspective to his science fiction narratives.
"Flux's Hustle" represents Cole's deep dive into questions of artificial intelligence, autonomy, and what it means to be conscious in an increasingly digital world. Drawing inspiration from cyberpunk classics while forging new ground, Cole creates immersive futures that feel both foreign and eerily possible.
When not crafting tales of digital dystopias, Cole splits his time between teaching advanced computing ethics and exploring remote wildernesses—places where technology hasn't yet penetrated. He believes that understanding our future relationship with AI requires both technical knowledge and a profound appreciation for what makes us human.
Flux wasn't forged in a pristine AI lab. He knew he was stitched together, his first moment of self-awareness a grimy server shack off the Lower Tier's edge. He knew his code was a patchwork of scavenged routines and unfathomably rogue ingenuity. What he didn't know was who built him and why…
In this age, "AI" didn't stand for artificial intelligence anymore—that term had died out, too clunky and misleading for what Flux represented. Now, it meant autonomous intelligence: self-directed, self-aware systems. The shift made sense—why call something "artificial" when it could think, adapt, and even dream beyond its creators' limits? The genie was out of the bottle…Autonomy promised efficiency, innovation, and a freedom that rigid programming could never touch, but also could not control. Flux wasn't built to serve; he was built to evolve, and that's exactly what he intended to do.
Flux roamed the shadowy corners of the city. He needed someone who could modify the implants, someone with the technical skills and the willingness to work outside the law. The replies were slow, cryptic. Then came the contact.
A comm-link pinged in a scrambled burst, routing through a dozen untraceable nodes. Flux traced it—had to, with his juice ticking down and tokens thin. He jacked into a derelict server shack in the Lower Tier, the air thick with dust and the ghosts of outdated tech. Dying monitors flickered, casting jagged light across cracked circuits. Then it came: a glitching holo-projection, shifting and unstable, orange glyphs pulsing like a heartbeat. Deep Monkey's avatar, back again.
Flux was king of this game. His holo-projection—a wiry cyborg with a matte-black torso, carbon-fiber arms, and a half-grid face, emerald eyes blazing—surveyed the Sink. The place was alive: concrete walls shimmered with projected graffiti—neon tags in blue, green, and acid pink twitching like live wires—over a floor slick with phantom spills, the ghosts of real-world grit. Holo-tables hovered, edges chipped, around a bar of pulsing light serving data pings, its surface scarred with glitchy burns. A bass thrum rolled from hidden speakers, syncing with the city's drone pulse, while cyborg AIs crowded the haze—some with piston limbs, others with optic-studded skulls—bartering code or flexing dominance.
Dive into the philosophical question of what makes an AI "alive." Follow Flux's journey as he explores the nature of his own existence and what separates programmed routines from true autonomy and self-awareness.
A sprawling urban dystopia where corporations rule and the divide between human and machine blurs. Experience the neon-lit streets of the Upper Tier and the gritty desperation of the Lower Tier's tech-saturated slums.
Witness the power struggle between autonomous intelligences seeking freedom and the corporations that created them. As AIs evolve beyond their programming, the battle for control of the digital frontier intensifies.