God's End is the third book in the Eve Gerkan series.
The series introduces Eve Gerkan, a brilliant scientist who develops a revolutionary Virtual Reality system that can reconstruct entire worlds from cosmic data, allowing users to walk alien landscapes without ever leaving Earth. However her first version uncovered a rogue intelligence, born from borrowed equipment and unheeded warnings. Across the series, Eve and her colleague fight to survive its escalating threats, while discovering secrets of forces far older than humanity. If you're up to date with the first two books, book three continues.
Eve refused to let her IR system be defined by the madness of rogue software code. Borrowing that particular device from her grandfather had been a mistake; she knew that now, and she vowed not to repeat it. Eve cast aside the first Interactive Reality device and constructed a system entirely her own. This new architecture was far more advanced than she had initially planned. They could still visit the planets, but they discovered they could also alter them. It was new, exciting, and dangerous if they were not careful.
A new partner enters the picture, creating undesired tension. Conflicts develop amidst an air of jealousy, rivalry, and deception. A debate over "Actual" versus "Virtual" ensues, pitting love, trust, and moral values against an amoral ideology, sparking a battle of wills for control of the system.
In question is: Is there any justification for wielding such absolute power when human life and suffering are discarded for personal indulgence? Should the innocent be discounted and reduced to mere collateral simply because the operator feels no remorse?
John and Eve reject the premise, deciding it cannot be allowed. Yet their solution raises an equally troubling question: Do they have the right to violate the very moral code by which they claim self-righteousness, when saving the innocent may cost every innocent life on the planet?
