Interview Bill McCormick (2)

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This week we are joined by to tell us about his novile SPLICE: HIT BIT TECHNOLOGY

What was the most surprising thing you found out while researching/writing your latest book?

How easy it is to find written primers on how to commit illegal acts. Between some YouTube videos and books I checked out of the library I was able to learn how to hack an ATM – GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! Most use a bare bones version of Windows 7, pick pockets, create new identities, hide drug money effectively, and much more. I also did a deep dive into the psychology of terrorism and created a terrorist who my military advisers all noted they hoped would never inspire anyone. He’s pretty effective.

Why did you choose this setting?

Well, there are multiple settings. I start off in Omaha Nebraska because I couldn’t think of a worse pace for a ten-year-old black kid to be abandoned. At first, since he’s young, his choices are reactive. He skips out of Omaha when the police are getting wise to his pick pocket routines. He leaves Chicago when he’s caught hacking ATMs. It’s in New York where his life turns. He accidentally steals from a mafia don and ends up becoming part of the family. His fist pro-active choice is to join the Marines so he can hack NCIS servers. That leads to him ending up in the Middle east where the real action begins.

What’s unique about your world?

There are no heroes.

How real do you think the science is in your book?

It’s as real as I could make it. Some of the stuff is bleeding edge by current standards, there is no infrastructure anywhere in the world to support it, but all the theoretical tech has been considered by real scientists.

What is the tech?

I would have to say the televisions. They’re interesting plot devices everyone takes for granted. They can literally translate electronic signals in the air into sights and sounds which can serve numerous purposes raging from education to entertainment and all points in between.

What did you include that you wish was real today?

The neuro implant that can return peak physical capabilities to damaged limbs or muscles.

What technology or science do you think will most affect the world of tomorrow?

I think the cybernetic implants that can allow people to heal faster, function at levels normally reserved for elite athletes, and so on will be the game changers. Science is already working on limited prototypes.

Anything else you would like to share?

It was fun digging into the psychological profiles of what would drive a person to consciously commit to doing evil. Make them up their evil game at every opportunity. Since SPLICE: HIT BIT TECHNOLOGY was just named the Readers’ Choice for Best Sci-Fi Novel of 2020 on Critters.org, I think I nailed it.