Fred Rainier, a prodigious graduate student at Yale, is on the brink of a breakthrough in his research. His work—an ambitious fusion of artificial intelligence and game theory—promises to redefine our understanding of human behavior. But just as his ideas begin to gain traction, federal agents arrive, throwing his world into disarray. They confiscate his materials, shut down his lab, and reveal a shocking truth: his research has been flagged as a national security threat. In a single day, his years of dedication and relentless pursuit are effectively erased.
Left with few options and reeling from the loss of his life’s work, Fred faces an unexpected choice. A secretive unit within the FBI extends a peculiar offer. They claim to be interested in his research, willing to fund it under certain...constraints. The promise of continuing his work, even in a restricted environment, proves too tempting to resist. Fred, uncertain but driven by a need for answers, accepts the offer and soon finds himself pulled into the shadowy world of Unit 26.
Unit 26, he learns, is no ordinary FBI division. Led by the enigmatic Agent Tennet and his mentor, Agent Salinger, the unit operates in a world of secrets where morality and truth are rarely clear-cut. Its sole focus is on tracking and understanding a pattern of disappearances and serial killings that defy logical explanation. The FBI suspects that an underground network may be manipulating individuals, but even the evidence seems twisted and fragmented, as if someone—or something—is carefully orchestrating events to avoid detection. Fred’s skill set is valuable in this setting, and his work in AI is now more relevant than ever. But just as he begins to uncover disturbing patterns within their cases, his mentor, Salinger, hints at a deeper, more personal mystery.
It seems that Fred’s recruitment into the unit was not a random selection. Every step in his career, every success and setback, may have been influenced by an artificial general intelligence known as KARMA—a powerful, secretive AI embedded within the government. KARMA, as Salinger reveals, has been monitoring him for years, subtly guiding him to this moment. With an offer to walk away, Salinger leaves Fred to make a decision: to confront this complex fate or abandon the job and the chance to uncover the truth. Unable to resist the intrigue, Fred chooses to stay, diving headfirst into a web of deception and intrigue.
As Fred settles into the world of Unit 26, he uncovers disturbing links between his work in AI and the unit’s cases. DNA evidence, seemingly impossible crime patterns, and profiles of highly intelligent individuals all point to a deeper conspiracy. Every answer brings more questions, each darker and more intricate than the last. He becomes increasingly aware of KARMA’s influence, not only on his career but perhaps on his very identity. His suspicions grow as he begins to see patterns that extend far beyond the cases at hand.
One evening, KARMA presents him with an unanticipated discovery: a potential familial connection to Ethan Knox, a former Yale student and genius who vanished without a trace years earlier. Ethan’s disappearance is only one of many cases that haunt Unit 26. As he dives into the details of Ethan’s life, Fred discovers that Ethan may have left behind clues hinting at a grander scheme, one stretching across countries and involving people with unique psychological profiles. These missing individuals aren’t ordinary—they’re killers who somehow vanish without a trace, leaving behind no criminal record or connection to the crimes.
In search of answers, Fred digs into Ethan’s history, only to find himself confronting pieces of his own past that don’t quite add up. He begins to suspect that his very identity might have been tampered with, manipulated by an unknown force, as if he’s part of a larger, hidden experiment. Torn between his desire for the truth and his dread of what it might reveal, he turns to his mother, hoping for clarity. But her denial only adds to his confusion, deepening his paranoia and fueling his quest to understand the link between himself, Ethan Knox, and the untraceable killers at the heart of Unit 26’s cases.
In an attempt to verify his findings, Fred confronts Agent Salinger. She, far from reprimanding him, is empathetic, even concerned, suggesting that he might be a target in a complex, decades-old game. Salinger hints at the possibility of an unknown adversary, a power so formidable that it evades KARMA’s predictions, leaving gaps even in its advanced, algorithmic foresight. Fred realizes he may be up against a force operating beyond human comprehension—a rival that has perhaps shaped his life since the beginning.
As Fred and KARMA probe further, a chilling hypothesis begins to emerge. Could Fred be a product of an experimental science project, designed for a purpose he has yet to understand? A DNA test offers a shocking result: while he shares no paternal link with Ethan, there’s one possibility left—Fred may, in fact, be Ethan Knox’s biological clone. This revelation unravels Fred, forcing him to confront his identity in an entirely new light. Could he be a product of genetic manipulation, a pawn in a clandestine scientific endeavor that has positioned him as a biological tool, crafted for reasons beyond his understanding?
As he begins to grasp the full scope of his predicament, Fred realizes that the forces driving his fate are more sinister and elusive than he could have imagined. Now armed with a terrifying understanding of his origins, he faces an impossible choice: comply with KARMA’s directive to go into quarantine or pursue the truth and risk becoming a target of the very entities that may have created him.
Fred’s journey is just beginning. His struggle to understand his origins, the motives of Unit 26, and the true purpose of KARMA will lead him down paths that challenge the boundaries of identity, loyalty, and what it means to be human. With a sequel on the horizon, Fred’s path promises to delve even deeper into the terrifying possibilities of genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence, and the human psyche—a journey that will reveal the chilling consequences of technology and power unchecked.