Technically Human

by Christian Mann

Charlie, an employee at NOVA, the world's biggest manufacturer of robots, is given the most important project of his to live with humanity's first sentient android, Julia.. Charlie is an American engineer working at the Berlin headquarters for NOVA, a giant Japanese firm that just a few years ago created the first ever robot capable of performing limited blue-collar jobs. When he finds himself in his home before a top secret company prototype of the first machine using sentient artificial intelligence in history, Julia, he is forced by his employer to supervise and take her in as a roommate for a month-long trial. Within days, Charlie and Lenka, his best friend and coworker, notice that Julia not only looks human but also possesses a human personality, intelligence, and vague memories that differ significantly from the firm's account of her creation—an account that downplayed the technological leap needed to create her. This prompts Charlie to try and uncover the truth without raising suspicions from his company.When frictions between Charlie and Julia's increasing resistance to his authority arise, they find themselves in a catastrophe that puts Julia's secret identity and the firm itself in jeopardy. With his career on the line and facing possible criminal prosecution, Charlie is forced to comply with the ever more suspicious NOVA and its terms to accompany Julia and Lenka in a covert extraction to Japan. Here, they must uncover the truth about their company's real history, Julia's fate, and the looming future of mankind amid the apparent sentience of artificially intelligent robots roaming the world.

226 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2024

About the author

Christian is a Costarican-born and raised Software Engineer living in Berlin, Germany. When he is not busy with his full-time job, he likes to spend his free time playing video games, learning Japanese and listening to 80’s music. Technically Human is his first novel.

Reviews

[Ronald R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Distracting grammatical usage

The story line was cute and interesting, but the author's awkward use of grammar was distracting. For instance a fair skinned woman was described as "fairly skinned". The whole story was riddled with awkward usage and syntax.

[Frank Bertino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining Read

An engineer in Germany is selected to test a new model from his parent Japanese company. Why? Amazing things happen during the test. Questions also arise. He finds himself and new companion in danger from several directions. I like the intrigue, humor, emotions and love. I could feel the emotions of the main characters.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, read with Alexa using the audio application. DNF (chapter six), scanned to end ... Far fetched, mission not logical... Book is topical and therefore likely to be purchased. Disappointing ending.

[Kevin Drapela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good until the end

The book started slow but built interest. There characters were fairly well developed. The ending seemed rushed and I feel it did not tie things up cleanly.