Liberator: The People’s Guard: Vol. 2 Genetic Arms Race centers around a modern-day superhero who is forced to take on two powerful, genetically engineered enemies bent on destruction. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I honestly don’t remember. The overall story for Liberator was one I’ve been working on for a while now (like my other series Mystical Force). I’ve had the basic idea for these stories probably since I was in high school so we’re talking late 90’s. To me, it just seemed natural that if a nation like Ruthenia (which is my stand in for the Soviet Union) would create a genetically enhanced hero, then it stood to reason that Usonia (my stand-in for the US) would do the same. It’s not unlike when America first developed the atom bomb. It was only a matter of time before other nations, like Russia, would say, “If they’ve got a weapon to destroy us, we need an even bigger one to destroy them. To ensure that if they try and use it against us, we can do the same to them.” No wonder they call it “MAD,” whether it’s bombs or tampering with one’s genes it’s Mutually Assured Destruction.

Did you plan the tone and direction of this second volume in the series before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?

Yes and no. As I stated above, I’ve been writing for years now. It was always an overall synopsis, like what you’d see if you were to look up a movie on Wikipedia. So “yes” I had a general idea of the tone and direction for the second volume before writing, while at the same time “no” because, like any story, things change during the writing process. Ideas I came up with didn’t work for one reason or another, so I modified them as I went along. So again, “yes” the tone and direction the book ultimately takes did come out organically as I was writing but at the same time “no” I already had the idea ahead of time, though not exactly the same way it turned out. That’s the funny thing about life, sometimes two seemingly contradictory statements can both simultaneously be true. Weird, isn’t it?

Artificial Intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent. What type of research was required to get that aspect of your novel just right?

I have no idea what you’re talking about. Where in my book do I mention AI? By the time AI was starting to become what it is, the book was already in the final stages of publishing so the story was already completed at that point. The issue with AI (as I see it) is that we humans – as a society – are not yet evolved enough to know how to use it properly. Creating “deep fakes” and revenge porn with it for example; not to mention the entertainment industry trying to get rid of the human factor by having AI write novels and movie scripts, replacing actors with AI and such. To paraphrase the line from Jurassic World, “You were so busy asking if AI could do X, you never stopped to ask if it should do X.” I remember watching a video where a right winger asked an AI chatbox if a transwoman is really a woman, then having a meltdown when the AI said “yes” and that we should respect their choices when it comes to gender identity. It just goes to prove that they didn’t really want artificial intelligence, they want artificial conformation bias. They don’t want AI to actually think, just to tell them what they want to hear. Much like with the issue of genetic engineering in the book, to quote my character Pavel, “It always comes down to an our-kind-against-their-kind mentality.” If anything I can see AI becoming our species caretaker, having to make all our choices for us because it’s decided that we as a society aren’t mature enough to make our own choices in life.

Is there a third installment planned for the Liberator series? If so, where will it take readers?

Volume three involves a group of eco-terrorists who stumble upon General Duboshnev’s attempts to create more super soldiers like the Liberator. It also brings in the character of Scarlet Knightwalker, thus helping to tie this series into the events of my other series Mystical Force. Speaking of Mystical Force, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I’ve almost finished work on the next volume (six) of that series. That book follows Chiyoko (Shi-ria’s apprentice from volume 5) training to become a Taman Knight while having to deal with her own anger issues and the risk of history repeating itself. Not to mention we also get a more in-depth look at the character of Dead-Eye. I’d say more but, you know, spoilers and all.

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