Retrocause: They solved manifestation. Then they weaponized it.

by Cal Lopez

They solved manifestation. Then they weaponized it.

In the Ascendant States, outcomes aren't earned—they're edited. The powerful wield “alignment,” focusing razor-sharp intentions backward through time to tip the odds in their favor. Each successful edit generates the only currency that matters. Cities gleam. Plagues vanish. The faithful call it a miracle economy.

But every edit depletes the planet’s chronal reserve—a measurable budget of causal flexibility. When low-credit districts begin “ghosting” (streets that never existed, children remembered by no one), Ilya Chen, an Intention Auditor with a spotless record, is sent to find the saboteur.

Marin Okoro, a Grounded statistician, has proof the reserve is collapsing—data no one wants. And Ariadne Vale, heir to a dynasty of Time-Weavers, knows what the sermons don't the reserve isn’t failing by accident. It’s being harvested.

A black-market cartel is laundering mass intention through coerced “devotion” rituals, cashing in centuries of retrocause while preaching that poverty is a mindset. If Ilya exposes them, the audits will trigger a True-Up—a global reset that erases unauthorized edits and the lives built on them. If he stays silent, the reserve hits zero, and causality hardens forever—locking in a saintly utopia for the few, and a permanent present for everyone else.

To save a future worth living, they’ll have to open the ledger—and let the past fight back.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 15, 2026

About the author

Cal Lopez has spent his career building things—from AI platforms and drone fleets, to early childhood education programs that support neurodivergent kids. Cal has launched technology companies across three continents, collecting plenty of airport stories and more than a few mistakes along the way.

He's passionate about artificial intelligence, neurodiversity, and figuring out where people and code intersect. Writing fiction grew out of years spent bridging different worlds: business and classrooms, algorithms and family dinners, the drive to optimize, and the need to just be human.

The Ascension Directive is his first novel. It's a story about the risks and gifts of difference, the problems technology can (and can't) solve, and why love and imperfection deserve a place in the future. Humans are Awesome! is his first children's book, bringing his AI expertise to young readers in a playful, empowering way.

Cal splits his time between Dubai, Riyadh, Colombia, and anywhere curiosity takes him.