Virtually Deserted

In 2057, almost the entire planet is addicted to a virtual reality system called the Stratosphere, where any desire the mind can conjure is sated. Society has descended into narcissism, the real world abandoned to decay. However, escape exacts a price. Without workers, the network that supports users’ digital dreams will collapse. The Stratosphere’s creator, Katharine Wilde, must decide. If the system fails, the last city on earth will crumble. Yet, the longer it operates, the more citizens lose sight of their humanity. She makes two poor decisions that unleash a horrific chain of events. First, she sends a dangerously unbalanced man on a spy mission to locate a mythical bio-quantum computer she believes can stop society's final descent into savagery. Secondly, she underestimates a convenient political alliance. Circumstances thrust a handful of ordinary people into an unlikely coalition as they attempt to undo the damage caused by Katharine’s choices. Powerful forces rally against them in what culminates in nothing less than an epic struggle to reclaim humanity’s soul. In Virtually Deserted, Savage explores how the pursuit of individualism, to the exclusion of all else, destroys the social relationships that define humanity, and with it, individuality. It’s a complex tale revealed through many character’s interlocking perspectives. In this sense, the structure is similar to World War Z. Here, the similarity ends. The book isn’t light reading. It’s written for readers who seek an intellectual challenge, and are prepared to invest effort in a deeper story.