Intelligent Design: Archangel Project. Convergence II

by C. Gockel, Tom Edwards (Illustrator)

The sequel to Beasts in the Garden

John is alive. Barely.

Worse, Hana is lying to him.

Hana’s Hail Mary attempt to save John’s life worked. But they’ve ended up further in time than intended, light-years from their destination—on Dawkins, a colony world they know nothing about.

...A colony that has cloned Hana and other prominent scientists—and seems to have created the near-perfect city of Twilight.

But they’re about to discover that Twilight is built on lies. Lies that could tear them apart—and condemn Hana to a fate worse than death.

This is not a standalone novel. Reading Beasts in the Garden first is strongly recommended.

Genres: Science Fiction

451 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2026

About the author

C. Gockel got her start writing fanfiction, and she is not ashamed! Much. She received emails, messages and reviews from her fans telling her she should 'do this professionally'. She didn't; because she is a coward and life as a digital designer, copywriter and coder is more dependable. But in the end, her husband's nagging wore her down: "You could be the next '50 Shades of Gray' and I could retire!" Unfortunately, the author isn't much for writing smut. She is sad about this; she'd love for her husband to be able to retire and just work for her so she could nag him.

At the moment, Ms. Gockel is working on the next installment of her Archangel Project series.

Ms. Gockel loves to hear from readers. She can be reached by email at: cgockel.publishing at gmail.com

Her Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/CGockelWrites

Reviews

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second book in the trilogy, Hana and John end up in their own future in a society built upon genetic manipulation and cloning. While the city of Twilight seems okay at first with advanced medical care that saves John, they quickly find out there is a dark side and end up trying to figure out a mystery while learning to exist in an authoritarian system where citizens are spied on and people’s roles are predetermined. This book continues the themes of the first regarding how a person’s skills affect how they fit into a society, the need for interaction with others, and the roles family and parenting play in a society. This is a nice follow-up to the first book in the series, juxtaposing a civilization in the midst of evolutionary change with a world where everyone is designed by human decisions. Once again, I wasn’t a fan of the framing device and some misunderstandings between the main characters still seemed unlikely, but the story is entertaining and moves along quickly - and the wolf cub is a nice addition.

This is the second book in a trilogy and part of the larger Archangel series. You do not have to have read earlier books in the series to enjoy this, but you do have to have read the first book in this trilogy.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent Design picks up where Beasts in the Garden left off. What came next should be a warning to those who think a superior race is the answer. This was my second time reading this story and the first time I read it I thought of our own history with Nazi’s and those who continue to think there is a superior race. Reading it again it’s even more impactful given the path certain people would like to see the USA continue on full force. This way of thinking didn’t work on the past and it won’t work now. The parallels with what we’re living and the attacks on basic human rights is frightening. I enjoyed this just as much the second time as the first (albeit with more hairs being raised on the back of my neck because fiction is trying to become reality). Now I am anxiously awaiting Noble Savages… the conclusion to this trilogy. I’m sure there will be much more food for thought thanks to this talented author (who knows to surround herself with a great support system).

[Vidar · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as the first book

I loved the first book for its vision of our past and well-researched depiction of two people advanced well beyond our current time finding themselves stranded there. I didn’t expect to like this one as much, but I did. Both are stories of resilience, survival and personal growth that I found inspiring well beyond the excellent storytelling. Am eagerly awaiting the third book.

[Jan Niblock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, is the best description I have for this installment of Hana and John’s story. They took their pod out of the past and ended up in the future in a city called Twilight on the Dawkins Planet.

This city was full of clones of the original scientists and there was a male version of Hana. They had a hard time coming to terms with John and Hana being primaries but they got close to other cloned scientists. Twilight was basically ruled by men and women were happy to just be mothers. The worse part was the rats, they were everywhere. It was a very authoritarian type of government running Twilight.

They end up figuring out that there was something very wrong in Twilight and were able to escape to the North Pole community. But the Noth Polars built their world on a religious foundation, very strict religious foundation. There were totally against AI, they used computers and machines, as long as they did not have human speech. They escaped being imprisoned in Twilight but will they be able to survive with the North Polars, that is the question?

[Shirley Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another new world.

I loved the first book in this series and this is even better. Hana has become a leader in her research despite the male heirarchy of where they've landed. While John is just a lowly worker. But they stay together and work for the betterment of the people while they can. The wolf pup is lovable. Five stars.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

continuing excellence

This is a very engaging series with a complex(but not too convoluted) storyline. The characters are three dimensional and interesting as well as the way the author explores different cultures and their interactions.