Author Description

Robert Jackson, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is the visionary director of NASA’s Venus Space Station. Here, streams of dark matter coalesce periodically, revealing this enigmatic force’s secrets and power. Leila Hosseini, a wealthy entrepreneur and founder of a leading quantum software company, joins Jackson in this daring venture. She is accompanied by her sentient AI, Maryam, named after her dead twin sister, who has seemingly developed a “mind of her own.” They buy their way onto the Venus Project to escape those who would misuse her profound gifts. Jackson and his scientists have combined dark matter with atomic nuclei to form a powerful new energy source, the Catalyst, 10,000 times more potent than previously believed possible. As a fuel source, it could propel humanity to the stars, but its misuse by their military sponsors could usher in a new nuclear arms race. Led by Maryam’s insights, these scientists make a fateful decision to withhold control of this powerful Catalyst. Their mutiny will have grave consequences for them, but the possibility remains that their sacrifice might one day be rewarded, with future generations of humans thriving beneath a distant sun. Driven by action, complex characters, high-stakes peril, and cutting-edge science, The Venus Directive explores the choices that may shape our near future.