Marion Marchetto

The Kardish, an alien race, have had their space ship in Earth's orbit for twenty years. They have made no aggressive moves and in fact have had little interaction with humans except for one thing - Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Kardish have given humans the crystal flake and shown mankind how to process the crystal flake to create a crystal that is far beyond the capabilities of any human. At the outset of the story a company called Crystal Fabrications has produced a third-generation crystal. Each three-gen crystal has the capability of one human being and can be programmed to perform the repetitive tasks that so quickly bore humans: receptionist, security, teacher, etc. Dr. Juice Tallette is the scientific mind behind the program that has just produced the first four-gen crystal; she has tasked one hundred three-gen crystals with creating a perfect four-gen crystal that has the capability of one thousand human minds. When she first fires up the crystal she immediately sees its capabilities and learns that it is a sentient being. Fearing that the four-gen crystal might choose to ignore commands from its human colleagues she and her associate Mick devise a manner to contain the four-gen from an outright takeover. As the four-gen becomes more aware and familiar with its abilities, it takes the name CRISS. Criss accesses every bit of data from every available source and within hours is aware that he, Criss, is what the Kardish have been after by giving humans the crystal flake. When Criss is to be taken out on an Earth-ship for a test run, the Kardish plan to steal Criss and destroy Earth. What ensues is a new and exciting story of a very plausible Earth future.

Crystal Deception is science-fiction at its finest. We are introduced to a highly trained and creative special force of McGyver-like characters who have access to the highest levels of Earth government - now known as the Union of Nations. They are tasked with a deception to keep Criss safe while thwarting the plans of the Kardish. Suspense, action, intrigue abound in this thriller that is the first of a series of 'Crystal' books.

I found myself on the edge of my seat as I read and felt like I myself was onboard the Kardish ship with our group of heroes. When Criss is finally given full reign to unleash his faculties, the one question remains: will he succumb to the aphrodisiac-like lure of the Kardish ship or will he be loyal to those who gave him life? This first story in the Crystal Series will leave you asking for more.