Distortion Day

Ten years ago, the Great Distortion corrupted all the world's technology and ended the information age in a single day. Digital "Grave-Robber" Mason Mowbray works to uncover humanity's past while protecting it form the mysterious force known only as the Omnipath. Like most people, Mason has adapted to a would without internet, phones, and computers, but when his lifelong friend, Kiersten Frey, is taken by a group of Omnipath cultists, he'll need to track her down before her mind is rewritten.

Mason’s first “stepping stone” takes him inside the mind of one of his attackers, Keith Contrad. On the morning of the Great Distortion, Conrad is caught on the open highway outside Las Vegas right as the information age comes to a crashing end—literally. Conrad must fight his way back to his family amidst malfunctioning technology, autonomous vehicles, murderous drones, and an apocalyptic slew of misinformation. And despite the horrors he sees on the road, nothing can prepare him for what is waiting inside his own home.

Clues from Conrad's memories point Mason toward the next stepping stone, a gamer named Trevor Sakuda. Trevor is a teenager living as a half-beast avatar inside the fantasy game, Sojourn. He and his band of fellow adventurers embark on a quest to find the heart of creation, but not everyone is who they claim to be. In the end, a betrayal will have devastating consequences both inside and outside the game.

With Trevor's help, Mason tracks down the next memory inside the mind of a convicted mass murderer. Lyra Shin was a skilled neurosurgeon until an automated surgical drone put her out of a job. She finds work testing a new sensory experience that allows her to walk in the shoes of a young Shakespearean stage actress. In this younger woman's body, Lyra experiences love with a fellow cast member. It is a dream come true,. but things take a terrible turn when Lyra learns that acting to be someone you're not has a devastating cost.

Mason's next stepping stone is a military helicopter pilot. As the Great Distortion begins, Danica Casper is stranded behind enemy lines in the freezing Alaskan mountains. Deadly, malfunctioning drones soar overhead while something much more horrifying stalks her and the remaining survivors.

Mason finds the final memory buried inside a preacher's tomb. Scott Singer is dead, but his digital likeness has been captured inside the Omnipath's simulation. With time running out and the Omnipath's drones closing in, Mason is forced to relive the final days of a false prophet who uses a malicious digital assistant and an army of internet bots to manipulate his own congregation.