The Tuesday Code: A Novel

A contested election results in the Great Gridlock, an escalating national crisis. A campaign headquarters is bombed. The nation’s capital is attacked. The power and light go dark nationwide.

You join a group of ordinary people who find refuge in an Upcountry automotive manufacturing plant.

Each of you controls the square foot you stand on to help hold the community together.

The election is the first Tuesday in November.
The Tuesday Code is what you do next.

"The writing style and pace of the story make me want to binge read." — Paul Holbrook, Retired Executive

Riley, the new CEO of Bensalem Motor Works, built his career on order and stability. He tries to maintain control from the top. He keeps his head down. Signs what needs signing. Tells himself it’s an emergency. For now.

"What happens when our worst fears materialize? Leaves you wondering: What if?" — Sharon Durgin, Engineering Specialist & Community Leader

The Bensalem plant becomes a refuge for people Riley doesn’t understand. Victoria is a master teacher who gives people liberty while holding them to high standards. Leo is a street-smart teenager who survives the collapse by taking what he needs and sharing what he has. A nurse opens a clinic to keep people healthy. A teacher builds a school to turn children's restless energy toward learning. Engineers repurpose the plant into a hydroturbine so Bensalem can share its light with others.

“Fascinating and urgently relevant. It’s a powerful reminder of the American values, unity, and leadership needed to guide the rising generation.” — Ed Roman, High School Educator

None of them is a hero with a plan to save the country. Elections, institutions, and the machinery of power only hold when ordinary people take responsibility, keep faith with neighbors, and step up to control the square foot they stand on.

“Fast-paced with an interesting philosophical undertone. Hang on to your seat and be prepared to think!” — John Blackburn, Ph.D., Engineer

The story provides hope, but it doesn’t end with a ribbon tied on a present with all the answers. These are still human beings. Some are heroic. Some remain greedy. Teenagers are still cynical.

"All too close to home. Captivating and concerning." — Chip Felkel, CEO & Political Strategist

WHY THIS BOOK, WHY NOW

The Tuesday Code arrives during the 250th anniversary of American independence and a consequential election season, describing a world you can imagine where ordinary people take charge when the system that was supposed to protect them becomes the threat.

For readers of Station Eleven, which showed what survives a collapse, and Severance, which showed the cost of going along, The Tuesday Code goes further, asking whether a free society can distribute its power faster than its enemies can consolidate theirs.

What can you build in the rubble when no one is coming to save you?

For decades, John Warner has written about the quiet choices ordinary people make in extraordinary moments that ultimately determine their futures. His previous non-fiction books, The Intelligence Tsunami, Sculpting Intuition, and Swamp Fox Insights, explore how the intersections of technology, power, and culture transform institutions and society. In The Tuesday Code, his debut novel, characters seek to sustain their freedom not through ideology, but in choices between security and conscience. John is the founder of InnoVenture, which brought together thousands of entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and industry leaders to accelerate new ideas and strengthen regional prosperity. He is a former senior manager at KPMG, co-founder of Capital Insights, Chairman of Earth Fare, Vice President of KEMET Corporation, and co-founder, executive, and board member in numerous entrepreneurial, academic, not-for-profit, and governmental organizations. He is a member of the initial class of the Liberty Fellowship and of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with his wife, two children, and four grandchildren. Readers can follow his daily visual storytelling in his "Photos By a Guy in a Hat" Facebook group and connect with him or learn more about the novel at TheTuesdayCode.com.