deepfake (Large Print)

A thriller about the power of technology to weaponize our darkest instincts.

A brilliant loner, Etta Baldwin, 17, has been surviving in the underground of Berlin since she fled from foster care four years ago, using her self-taught computer skills to support herself. She has a favorite café where she works, and she sleeps in abandoned buildings throughout the city.

When the charismatic Lulu walks into her life, Etta lets her guard down and goes with Lulu to meet her “family.” The V live in a derelict amusement park, where father-figure Milan provides all the guidance and care his followers need. Etta finds acceptance and love, and lends her hacking skills and deepfake manipulations to the group’s subversive activities.

But as violence and chaos spread because of the manufactured reality created by her videos, she starts to question Milan’s true intentions, and the allure of the V begins to wear off. 

With the world tumbling toward war, Etta tries to stop the juggernaut she has created . . . and finds herself in the crosshairs of the people she had come to think of as family.

Alex Schuler is a pseudonym for the writing team of William Roetzheim and Randy Becker.
William’s love of writing began at a young age, however he started his career as an early pioneer in the field of AI software development. His systems have been deployed on Navy ships, submarines, and NASA space shuttles, as well as by businesses and government agencies. After launching multiple software companies, William turned his attention to the arts and became an award-winning playwright, poet, and published author.
Randy is an Emmy-nominated producer who began his career as an actor starring in film, television, and on Broadway (including the Tony Award–winning play Love! Valour! Compassion!). After producing a film of his own, he made a dramatic career change and now expresses his creativity through writing and producing.
This is the fourth book William and Randy have co-authored as Alex Schuler. Their first, Code Word Access, shot to #1 on Amazon in the sci-fi category.