Project Unity

About the Book

"Project Unity" is set in America in the year 2050. In 2050, personal telephones, pagers, computers and even Global Positioning Systems have been replaced by a device called a “Link” unit, which incorporates all the functions of these obsolete devices. Also, one of the prevalent entertainment mediums is a phenomenon called “performance writing.” This real time composition is accomplished by projecting the words of a writer onto a screen almost as they are being keyed. What makes this so entertaining is that the best of these artists have huge audiences in numerous theaters simultaneously. The performance halls are equipped with acute sensors that track minute changes in humidity, temperature and sound. Through a processed signal that is emulated for the writer, he or she can tell immediately if the story is having an effect on the listeners. It gives the audience a sense of participating in the creation as their input obviously steers the sequence of events in many instances. The most famous of these performance writers, and who really invented the concept, is Simon Peter.

In the year 2050, the United States is under what has been described as societal martial law, and has been for twenty nine years. The first decades of the twenty first century saw an appalling escalation of the racial turmoil that everyone hoped had peaked at the dawn of the millennium. One of the main components of the program called “Project Unity” is the carefully stated prohibition that no activity shall be tolerated which is likely to produce a racially distinct child. The government has decided, with the grudging acquiescence of sociologists and demographic actuaries, that the problem of racial strife and inequality can best be addressed by eliminating race itself, at least to a statistically significant degree, within the span of one generation. These “racially integrated” individuals will assume positions of power and leadership and demonstrate, by their obvious impartiality, that the problem of racial prejudice in no longer relevant. But Simon Peter, and his alleged fiancée Andrea Johanson, do not agree this is a proper way to proceed. They are flagrantly similar in skin pigmentation levels, and it is feared by the authorities that Simon may include a call to revolution against Project Unity in one of his weekly serial broadcasts. The federal government of the United States, represented by the Project Unity Executive Committee which is headed by Vice President Patricia Alexander; and less directly by an interim head of the National Security Council; the FBI; and an international terrorist group with ties to the Executive Committee, come together and attempt, both covertly and overtly, to stop the most famous performer in the world from spreading a message of dissent which could change history in ways none of them dare to imagine.

About the Author

James Stanton lives and writes in the Houston, Texas area, and shares his life with his wife Diane, and daughters Jessica and Allison. His is currently at work on his second novel which involves the true nature of religion seen through the eyes of a boy that some people insist is a prophet.