A visionary debut collection of eleven loosely interconnected short stories explores the rise of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, revealing their profound impacts on human existence. This is not your typical sci-fi - it's an intricate puzzle. Can you solve the mystery that is Peter Byrell?From a small rural American town subjected to horrors brought by an elaborate deep-fake hoax, to fables about technology dependency, age extension, and psychological invasions, Artificial Artifacts invites readers on a journey where the boundaries between human and machine blur, and the consequences of our creations become chillingly profound. The stories include a number of fascinating new technological concepts, including a fitness watch that predicts your death, nanotech that can read your thoughts, AI avatars that mimic your personality and handle small talk for you on dating websites, immersive VR/AR domes where you can do yoga in the cosmos, and movies that adapt in real-time based on your mood and subconscious thoughts. As enigmatic tech mogul Peter Byrell's story unfolds, so does the tapestry of our digital age, leaving us to in a world where truth is malleable and consciousness is encoded, what does it truly mean to be human?
