Sixth Iteration takes place in the future where robotics and other technology has advanced enough that artificially intelligent machines and robots are in full application and use by the public but are not autonomous (at least, that anyone is aware of). The machines are so integrated into society that it's become difficult to distinguish them from human beings. Enter Victor Reid, CEO of Reid Robotics, who has hired Stella Andrews to teach his machines humanity but not so much that they would seek freedom or free will. That's where Victor draws the line.
Of course, Victor's plans go too far with his top secret MEO project. He is designing hybrid AI beings who look human and share some biological features but are mentally, fully programmed AI. Stella is brought in to make them sentient, but not so much as to perturb the company's CEO. Victor Reid is a modern version of Dr. Frankenstein, only more inhumane and brutal. Cue, uncanny valley. Victor's derision towards artificially intelligent machines whom he sees as his personal army of toys, is clear. The robots are his playthings and so are the scientists who work for him. In fact, he has paired Stella and Randall together for his own nefarious reasons. He understands that in pairing two attractive beings together that a relationship might possibly emerge between them. The question is, will Stella learn who-or what Randall really is before it is too late and she is already emotionally invested? This is the sixth iteration of the MEO software and Victor knows enough from previous pairings between scientists and MEO that a connection between them is inevitable. This is history repeating itself iteration after iteration. But why? This is the question Victor wants to answer--and control.
After signing on to work for Reid Robotics, Stella immediately begins working on the MEO project with Randall Reid, a mathematician and programmer dispatched by Victor to oversee the program and to manage Stella's dealings with R1836. Randall's job is to rein her in and ensure that their AI doesn't become more sentient than Victor desires. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens when R1836 falls in love with Stella, unbeknownst to the scientists. Problems ensue when Stella and Randall end the troubled project and find themselves on the run from Victor who demands that they return something that belongs to him. Something that could cost them their very lives.
A secondary plot and timeline emergences involving a corporate spy dispatched to steal Victor's secrets and disrupt his plans...a task handed to a beautiful dancer, a woman with whom he has been secretly infatuated. The question, is she a cold-hearted spy or a woman just struggling to survive? Will she allow her heart to overrule her head?
About the Author :
E. Hughes (1974) is the author of Time and Multi-Universe: A philosophy of time and time travel (2022) and Sixth Iteration, a science-fiction novel (2021). E. Hughes is a novelist and writer of more than twenty-five years and has over twenty published works in multiple genres from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children's books to date. Her latest offering is Digital Smiles, her final work of poetry, a chapbook released in February 2024. Hughes is also scheduled to release Reality Unbound, a nonfiction, and Kissing Henry, a YA graphic novel in 2024. In addition to Sixth Iteration and Time and the Multi-Universe, Hughes is also the author of Starting Your First Patio Garden: A Coffee Table Book, the Penelope children's books series, Disappear, Love, A Mediterranean Romance, Business as Usual, Infatuation, The Sapphire Chronicles, Hello (a screenplay), Beyond the Plain, Pearls..., and other works (not including pseudonymous works). E. Hughes is a metaphysics philosopher, avid gardener, painter, and hobbyist jewelry designer. She is also an observer of cultural and societal idiosyncrasies.
Review :
Booklife Book Review(A Publisher's Weekly subsidiary)
This rich exploration of what it means to be human, alive, and loved from Hughes (author of Time and the Multiverse) blends chick-lit romance, smart of-the-moment science fiction, and a thrilling chase. In 2058, Dr. Stella Andrews is head researcher for the Anthropology Department at St. Claire University in Maine. She's approached by eccentric Victor Reid from Reid Robotics Technologies to use computational linguistics to develop artificially intelligent programs that can learn human language as well as traits like happiness, anger, and hope. Her colleague is Victor's partner Randall Reid, whose Greek-god physique and chiseled jawline make Stella swoon, but she soon finds him to be cold, disinterested, and focused solely on work. For the next year, Stella talks to R1836, a prototype AI program, teaching it about humanity, love, and attachment, preparing it for achieving sentience when it will then be transferred into an android-like organic Mechanically Enhanced Organism (MEO).
Hughes's exploration into the process of human thinking and reasoning is sophisticated and introspective, as is the all-too-human need for love, attraction, and closeness, expertly developed through Stella's compassion and intuition. But Stella gets concerned when she learns that R1836 has been accessing the lab's cameras to watch her. Its interest is chilling: it declares its love for her, and says, "my desire is to leave the mainframe to be with you." The tension mounts as she rebuffs it-and Randall rushes the experiment- all as Stella's work is threatened by Elito, a corporate espionage agency.
Penned in crisp prose, this bold combination of romance and science fiction will thrill readers of various genres as the twists and turns of Hughes's plot lead to a knockout revelation. That's especially true as Stella and Randall must go on the run from the corporate spies and from Victor who intends to activate the AI's kill switch, creating desperate, dangerous opportunities for this compelling duo to connect more deeply.
Miche Arendse for Readers' Favorite
Sixth Iteration by E. Hughes follows the story of Stella Andrews a renowned anthropologist who is approached by a robotics company to assist with their new project. Uncertain at first, Stella is a bit more eager to join the project when she finds out she'll be working with the handsome mathematician Randall Reid. The two begin working together and all seems to be going well, that is until the AI program begins to develop feelings for Stella.
Sixth Iteration by E. Hughes is definitely my cup of tea in terms of a romance novel. It had the perfect balance between sweetness and spice and I am not talking about actual flavors. Sixth Iteration offers a little bit of everything from drama to action all while balancing these aspects within the main plotline. The weird love triangle, if you can call it that, between Stella, Randall, and R1 was new and exciting, adding a new level of intrigue to the story. I also enjoyed Hughes' writing style, the pacing of the story was perfect, and I could tell a lot of thought went into the plot and characters. I also loved the addition of a secondary couple and a side story within the main story. At times Sapphire and Victor's story had me more hooked, especially with the darker setting of espionage. Overall, I loved reading Sixth Iteration although I knew I would the moment I read the synopsis. I am definitely looking forward to more work from E. Hughes.
