THE FUTURE IS YOURS

The rise and fall of two best friends–turned–tech entrepreneurs, whose invention of a time machine promises to disrupt the internet, industry, and everyone’s lives.

Frey, a screenwriter and author of an audiobook, The Retreat (2019), imposes an important constraint on his protagonists, Adhvan “Adhi” Chaudry and Ben Boyce, creators of a company called The Future. The Future’s Prototype device can access the internet of exactly one year into the future, providing a glimpse into events yet to unfold. The catch is that whatever information the Prototype transmits is written in proverbial stone: Nothing can be done to change it. The novel strikes a particularly haunting note when Ben and Adhi first wrestle with the implications of their invention. When attempting to prevent a gruesome murder, the two of them wind up complicit in the crime. Later, a research associate learns about his own impending death, self-medicates to treat the fright, overdoses, and dies. But rather than explore the potentially terrifying results of a machine that can obliterate free will, Frey’s story quickly sinks into a drama of techno-capitalists fighting over how many billions to sell out for and when: The Future attracts venture capital, Google offers a buyout, Ben and Adhi suffer a falling-out. Unfortunately, the tight focus on the co-founders' friendship forfeits the unimaginable potential of such a technology.

A promising SF premise sputters into a story of Silicon Valley back-stabbing.