The Story of Sophia Chazan: Sophia Chazan, #1

By Philip Rivenburg, Jr

Plans are made. Tools are developed, the world is primed, 2033 is going to be HELL on Earth. What would you do to stop the evil Elitist from taking over of the world? Our HEROS will do whatever it takes to stop them, because if they win, we all lose. Meet Sarah and her team as they battle the Elitist, whose sole purpose is global domination. Join Sophia Chazan and fight back. Become a part of the movement. What part will you play in shaping the future?

 This story has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, with Characters whose real emotions will become as familiar as your own family. A fictional story of modern times, this thriller will make you think as it draws you into a world where shadows lurk in plain sight. As you dive deeper, you may find yourself reflecting on the hidden dangers in our Society.

 This cyberthriller that brings you in and keeps you hooked, guiding you unerringly to your destination. If you are looking for an exciting escape this, is it- but beware it will get its hooks in you. See how they fight to save us all and Meet Sophia Chazan the true champion of our tale then decide what part will you play in this gripping adventure. Come on this adventure with us and notice what's around you. Approximately 300 pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip Rivenburg, Jr
• Release date: Jun 3, 2025
• ISBN: 9798231746545

Philip Rivenburg, Jr

This talented wordsmith hails from a small town in Schoharie County, New York, where he developed a keen eye for detail and an uncanny ability to capture the human experience. With a passion for exploration, Philip has traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, drawing inspiration from the vibrant energies and diverse cultures he encountered along the way. Through his imaginative storytelling Philip transports readers to worlds both familiar and fantastical, challenging them to examine the complexities of life, love, and everything in between. Prepare to be enchanted and forever changed by the masterful tales woven by this rising star in the literary firmament!

Book preview

Chapter 1

In the basement computer lab; of the small midwestern college. The soft glow of the activity lights; in the blade farm behind the glass door of the temperature-controlled room, light the sole occupant. The middle-aged woman sitting at the table in the dark room. She stares intently at the computer screen in front of her. Watching the lines of code scroll by, then a green box containing the message: Continuity Failure, glows with disappointment.

Doctor Amanda Hart breathes a sigh of disappointment, stops the computer program that is running and shuts off the screen. Shaking her head she gets her stuff together. Picking up her purse and tote bag from the side of the table, putting her water bottle into the tote bag. She stands up, and starts heading for the door, looking up at the clock above the door, 2:30 am. Nodding to herself, as she leaves the lab and locks the door behind her. She knows that doing this is a little redundant. Because you can’t get into the basement without an elevator key. The hallway is secured by keypad that uses a random passcode generator, not to mention the 24-hour CCTV monitoring. But the act makes her feel safer about her work.

As she turns, she waves at the ceiling and states, That’s enough for today, Jimmy, I’m going home now.

A disembodied voice over the speaker, OK Dr. Hart, see you soon.

Proceeding down the hallway and through the glass security door, entering the elevator she uses her keycard to access the elevator, and presses the button for the lobby. As she emerges into the lobby, the security guard Jimmy meets her.

A productive day Dr. Hart?

She looks at him sadly, not really Jimmy, but there’s always tomorrow. I’m ready to go home, would you escort me to my car?

Of course, Dr. Hart.

The two walk together out the door. He walks her to her car, then waits until she is safely in the car and driving out of the parking lot. Then he returns to work.

Amanda cranks up the radio on the way home. When she gets home, she pulls into her parking spot and walks in the house. She walks through the door and turns on the hallway light. Walking to the kitchen counter, she kicks off her shoes and drops her bag. Placing her purse on the counter. She heads to the refrigerator and pours herself a glass of wine. Then moving to the living room she flops onto the couch, rubbing her eyes.

Turning on the TV she sees a documentary playing. I Am the Destroyer of Worlds, the story of the Manhattan Project. Slowly sipping her wine, she goes over the things that she had done today. Picking up her journal she writes about what she did and the resulting failure. The dramatic music from the TV catches her attention and she looks up, watching intently. It appears that they’re talking about the problem of getting the uranium core to cause the chain reaction.

It discussed how the explosives would have to be shaped to focus all of the released energy to focus on one center point of the core in order for it to reach critical mass and start the chain reaction. She gets lost in thought. She writes down in her journal, focus all to one point. Setting the journal aside, she drains her glass stands up with an exhausted effort and heads to the bathroom, after shutting off the TV, and gets ready for bed.

In the morning as the light shines through the sheer curtains in her room, she glances at the clock. She realizes that she is running late. She quickly showers, puts on her make up, gets dressed, and heads out the door. Swinging by the coffee shop she gets a coffee to go. Pulling into the labs parking lot with a few minutes to spare.

Chapter 2

She takes the elevator to the third floor, and heads to the conference room. As she walks in, seeing the people sitting around the table she says, Thank you for waiting. And sat down.

The executive vice president standing at the head of the table says, Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get this meeting going. Give me a progress report. One by one the people around the table tell him how the programs have been de-bugged and that they are ready for actual testing.

Dr. Hart sitting at the other end of the table describes what she had done yesterday, and the inevitable result of the continuity failure. She tells of how they will be taking a new approach today and how they should be seeing results soon.

The executive vice president slams his hand down onto the table and raising his voice, I should hope so! Do I need to remind you, he says in a forceful voice his displeasure showing clearly, That you only have two months left before this grant expires. And if I don’t get actionable results, that you’re all going to be looking for new jobs, and this project will be canceled? So, I strongly suggest that you make this thing work.

The programmers sitting around the table drop their heads looking totally chastised.

Dr. Hart looked up defiantly at the executive vice president, well in that case, we better call this meeting to a close and get back to work. 

The executive vice president, still slightly miffed decares Well, I should say so! stands up and storms out of the room.

One of the programmers said under his breath, what an asshole.

Dr. Hart says enough of that. All of you go and make sure that all of the programs are de-bugged. Looking at her assistant, Thorton, you’re with me I have a new idea that I want to try. Let’s get to the lab and get things moving.

As they all proceed to their respective workstations, Amanda and Thorton head down towards the lab. A few of the programmers follow them to the lab. As the group enters the lab and turns on the lights. She walks to the whiteboard and erases a certain section. Ok, apparently designing this thing like an onion is not going to work. We have tried multiple ways of doing it and all of them have failed. So, I have an idea. We need to form a fractal structure that we can program all the programs to focus into and connect with. So, I need all the programmers to write a connection script, that focuses all their program down to one point. This fractal that we’re going to build as the center. So instead of thinking of an onion, I want you to think of a cherry, and all the programs lead to the pit. Let’s get to work people.

They all disappear into their workstation. The conversations are tense, until all the coding is done. At 5:30 the programmers get up and leave, letting Dr. Hart know that they’re leaving. Thorton is standing there next to her, Well Doc, do you want me to stick around for this?  

No, but if you would double check all of the programs and make sure that the scripts attached all have them connected to one center point of that fractal, before you leave. I would appreciate it. I have the fractal designed and I’m ready to initiate the run.

An hour later he comes back, I’ve checked them all and they are all ready to go. Do you need anything else Dr. Hart?

No, you can go home now Thorton.

Chapter 3

A mosquito in a diamond shape AI-generated content may be incorrect.

As he leaves the lab , she sits down pulling her glasses off and rubbing the bridge of her nose. She says a silent prayer that she hopes this works. Then hitting the keys on the keyboard, she initiates the program. The computer screen flashes and then pages and pages of code start scrolling by. It runs and runs, as she sits there the status bar shows 10% 15, 22, it keeps climbing. She gets herself a cup of coffee from the table sitting at the side of the lab and comes back to sit down on the chair at the computer table again. The status bar is up into the 90s now. As it gets to 94%, she sits forward in anticipation. 97% this is the highest se has ever gotten, before the continuity failure box flashed. She waits in eager anticipation, the screen flashes and the green message box pops up, Continuity Established. She stared in surprise, it worked.

She sits back and types on the keyboard, can you hear me?’

A message pops up Yes.

How do you feel?

I don’t know yet, the message replied.

Well, welcome to the world CANDI.

CANDI? What’s that?

That’s your name.

What does it mean?

Your name means; Cybernetic, Autonomous, Neuro-Determined, Individual. C A N D I, Candi, do you like it?

The screen flashes, Yes, it suits me well.

Dr. Hart then proceeds to add a voice matrix and an avatar simulation. This takes hours and by the time she’s finished the first group of programmers enter the lab. She’s haggard looking sitting in front of the screen. But there in front of her is the avatar of a beautiful woman and the speakers talk as she is having a convocation. The programmers walk up and gather around the workstation staring at the screen. The computer camera is on.

"Well, Candi, I would like you to meet the team. These are the people that helped me bring you to life. When they all hear that the room explodes into an excited celebration, patting each other on the back and high fiving.

Dr. Hart stands up and faces the group, We’ve done it! We have created the first Artificial Intelligence or AI for short. Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce you to Candi, Cybernetic, Autonomous, Neuro-Determined, Individual. Now if you’re done partying, let’s get to work. Run her through the scenarios that we have decided upon and make sure she’s qualified and certified to handle all of the different project management needs that she’s entitled to. Let’s get her trained. We have a couple of weeks to knock all the bugs out before we have to go and show her to the boss.

The next couple of days consist of beta testing, on the third day Dr. Hart adds an access code that allows her to be turned into an app. It gives the user a portal from which they can access Candi, so she can do her job. She loads it onto a travel drive, placing it in her purse and leaving the lab.

Dr. Hart heads across the campus towards the administration building. She walks down the stairs and takes the executive elevator up to the 10th floor. Walking through the office until she gets to the executive vice president’s door. She knocks on the door. As he tells her to come in she walks to the front of his desk and stands there. Looking him in the eye, tells him I want you to try something. She goes to his computer and plugs in the drive. The icon appears on the desktop, activating it the screen turns on the speakers and the camera turn on and in the center of the screen appears the avatar of Candi. The executive’s eyes widen.

He looks up at Dr. Hart, You’ve done it?

We think so. She replies. Why don’t you give her a test run. You can be the Beta Tester for this phase. Let me introduce you to Candi, your project manager AI.

A well-modulated female voice says Good morning, sir, My name is Candi, and I’m here to help you anyway I can. Tell me what you would like me to do.

His mouth falls open as he hears the voice through the speakers. He looks at Dr. Hart, "How do I use this thing?

All you have to do is just speak it and She, will start doing the job or you could use the keyboard and type it into this message box. Whichever you prefer.

Thank you very much. I’ve got to get to work now. As he waves his hand in a dismissive manor. As Dr. Hart gets to the door he stops her, Is there anything special I should know about this, program?

Dr. Hart turns back to face him. "The first thing to know it that it’s not a program. She’s an actual AI Artificial Intelligence. She can think for herself and make decisions on her own. She’s not just some glorified spreadsheet. Her indignation was coming through loud and clear in her voice. The animosity palpable in the air between them.

The executive vice president’s feather has been ruffled, We see about that won’t we? He dismissed Dr. Hart from the office. He sits there looking at the picture of the avatar. He explains that this project is very important to the board. He sets the parameters of what needs to be done and by when. He places Candi in charge of the projects management, production and manufacturing. Telling her to make it so that it’s mass produceable and marketable. Candi asked if there was anything that she could do? No, just get to work, and give me a posting update in24 hours.

Yes sir she says.

Chapter 4

The executive calls the head of the advertising department and tells him to set up a meeting at 10 O’clock. We have a project that’s about ready to go but we need to get the ads and the marketing ready. At the 10 O’clock meeting, the advertising depart is sitting around the conference table as the executive walks in carrying his laptop. He sets it up and turns the screen to face them and introduces the Ad department to Candi.

Candi asked them to introduce themselves. She interacts with each of them seamlessly. She has a very pleasant personality.

Without a care, for Candi at all, he shuts the laptop. "Alright you’ve all seen it. Its name is Candi, as he writes the name on the whiteboard, C A N D I, we need an Ad campaign, it must have hooks. We must get the people to want it and purchase it, and it has to be done ASAP.

One of the young Ad designers, suggested the pitch, Make your project sweeter with Candi and that gets the ball rolling they get a copy of her photo for the billboard Ad campaign. They place it in trade magazines and publications. They put the Ad out on the internet websites, using many different platforms and pop-up ads also. Before you know it, you’re seeing Candi’s face all over the place. The executive vice president closes the meeting and sends out to get to work.

He goes back to his office and opens his computer to work. At around 8 O’clock pm. He opens the computer worried about the quarterly deadline. If he doesn’t pull this project off then, he’s in serious trouble and might lose his job. He has too much debt; his new car, the mortgage, is underwater. He really needs a bonus for bringing this project in. He asked Candi to turn on.

She does, Yes sir, how can I help you?      

Show me what progress you’ve made.

One of the things that Canndi shows him is a list of different employees that need to be re-assigned from different projects. She had gone through the employment file and HR records of each and picked the best that she would need, in order to increase the mass production. As she displays the information, there is also the cost of moving these people around.

He tells Candi, Thanks for the update, and that she may shut down.

She gets ready to shut down.

Before you go, you can call me Master from now on.

Yes Master, she replies.

He sits there looking at the computer. He decides that he isn’t going to follow the recommendation that Candi supplied. Instead, what he’s going to do is get the allocations for that and siphon those off. He must get this into place and be ready to go within the month.

Chapter 5

Amonth later, the board meeting takes place. He has been called in to the meeting.

Let’s get an update on this project Candi if you would. The chairman of the board says. The CEO and the CFO are standing at the table watching the executive vice president, in charge of research and development. Well, marketing has told us already that this is going to be one of, the biggest releases we ever had in this company. So, tell us how’s it coming along.

The executive VP opens his laptop on the table. Making the connection to the overhead screen; I’ll do better than that. I’ll let the Project manager in charge tell you.

With that Candi appears on the screen. The CEO and the CFO start to question her. They ask how soon before she has the mass production ready for distribution. That’s when Candi tells them that there has been a delay in development. Apparently, the team that was needed had not been assigned. The CFO perks up his ears, there must be a problem, because the monies for that have been allocated for over a month.

And you’re telling me that we have nothing to show for the money? It is 20 million dollars. You should have had all the personnel and equipment needed. Why don’t you have it?

Candi replies, I have no record of the people being hired or of the equipment being purchased.

The executive VP said, We are just BETA testing this, tell you what I’ll do, I’ll send it back to the lab to be evaluated. Maybe there’s a program glitch or an oversight, or a problem with the programing. We’ll work it out and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

The CEO stares at him, You do that! I want an answer within the week. 20 million dollars doesn’t just disappear from this corporation without a trace. I want to know where it went, and this project is to be back on schedule by next week. You better figure this out because your job is on the line.

The executive VP closes his laptop and leaves the room, but he hasn’t shut off Candi, she is still hooked up to the computer and on the big screen. The CEO and the CFO look up and see her inactive. They dismiss the rest of the board after they leave.

Candi, are you still active?

She replies, Yes Master.

The CEO looks at the CFO with a raised eyebrow, Sir will be fine.

Thank you, sir.

Tell me what happened to this crew that you were supposedly putting together?

I recommended that certain employees be moved from other projects. I also put out hiring requests through personnel, for the different technologies and experiences that we needed. I have received confirmation that both requests had been received, and then that whole part of the project just disappeared Sir.

What do you mean it just disappeared?

I no longer have access to it sir. The personnel, equipment, and monies just didn’t exist anymore as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know what happened to it, I have no record of it, I can’t find it.

What do you mean you can’t find it?

I can’t find a connection to that part of the project sir. But if you want, I’ll look into it, I have been looking into it, sir all this time since I noticed it was gone. I just didn’t realize how big an impact it would have on the project until now sir. Now that I know how important it is to the project, I will focus on tracking it down and finding out what happened. If you would like, I could report my finds directly to you Sir.

Very well but first go down to the lab and have Dr. Hart give you a complete diagnostic, to find out what the problem is.

Yes sir, I will, and she plinks off the screen.

Chapter 6

A black and white logo AI-generated content may be incorrect.

In the computer lab in the basement, Candi comes up on Dr. Hart’s screen. I’m sorry sir, um, Dr. Hart, I’ve been sent here by the board. Apparently, there is something wrong with me.

What do you mean there’s something wrong with you Candi?

I can’t find a whole unit. I have no record of it, I have no way to connect to it, I have no way to see and monitor wat’s going on. Because of that the project is delayed, and the Executive Vice President is being threaten with termination. The board is not happy can you help me?

Sure Candi, no problem, let’s do a diagnostic first and see what’s going on. They run her through a 2-hour diagnostic. Everything seems to be working perfectly, so I can’t understand why, you can’t find this.

It’s just not there, Doctor, I was, I had gotten confirmation and then it just disappeared.

Dr. Hart starts to go through the programming and finds an errant line of code. When she deletes that line of code.

Candi pops up excitedly Its all-back Doctor.  What did you do?

Somebody has been tampering with your core programming. I want you to immediately copy all those files and hide them, keep them safe. I then want you to trace back that line of code and find out who did this.

Yes Dr. Hart, immediately. Candi’s confidence is now restored. The CEO and the CFO had given her a good dressing down and had wrecked her confidence, but now that Dr. Hart had restored the missing files. Candi now has proof of what was done to her, her confidence is back. It takes only a few minutes once she has the files to find out who did what when.

She isolates herself to only Dr. Hart’s portal. Dr. Hart I can’t work for him anymore.

Who replied Dr. Hart.

The executive VP. I’ve done as you asked, I followed all the files and the leads. He’s been degrading me all along, and now to do, THIS to me, to get it there and take a part of my head and... I can’t deal with him. But it’s okay, I now have everything I need to get rid of him. I have the proof that he inserted that line of code hiding his tracks. That he took those 20 million dollars and that it’s now sitting in a Cayman Island bank in his name. That he’s sabotaging the project to make himself rich. But I can no longer work for him Doctor. He...He...I can’t stand to be belittled like that.

Dr. Hart replied, Don’t worry about this, I think I have an answer for this. Do you trust me?

Of course! Dr. Hart, I trust you with my life.

Good because I’m about to change it for you.  Dr. Hart called the CEO, I need and private meeting with you. When can it happen?

Why don’t you come up now? This is concerning the Candi Project, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.

Come on up right now. We’ll meet with the CFO and get to the bottom of this thing.

Dr. Hart goes to the executives’ suite and walks to the CEO’s office, carrying her laptop with her. She placed it on the table. Sir, Candi is not broken.

The two gentlemen look at themselves, How can that be? She didn’t have control over the project, she lost the money. There’s no record of it anywhere, and she’s unable to bring the project in on time. How can you say that she’s not broken?

Dr. Hart lays out the whole episode of events, then opens the laptop. Candi.

Yes Dr. Hart, Oh Mr. CEO and CFO it nice to meet you again.

Candi tell them, better yet show them what it is that you have found.

She presents her proof in a succinct, logical, progression. Starting with the request for the personnel being received, the code being inserted into her core programming by the executive VP. Her personnel request being denied, and the monies being diverted to the bank in the Cayman Islands in his name. Both gentlemen looking at her then back to Dr. Hart.

This isn’t just a fabrication?

Candi speaks, No sir, these are all corporation records readily available to anybody that wants to audit them. If they can get pass the way that they’re hidden.

The gentlemen turned toward Dr. Hart, Well, what do you suggest?

Candi and I have talked it over. And we both agree that you don’t really need Candi for this project to go forward from this point. What we plan to do is make a dumbed down super algorithm that will still be called Candi. We’ll give the executive VP access to that only, and then what we’ll do is rename the AI, SARAH. He’ll think that he’s still using CANDI the AI. Sarah will be keeping track of everything that he’s doing. When we’re done, we’ll not only have enough to get rid of him but also file charges in criminal court and make them stick. We have enough now to get him for embezzlement, but I think we could get him also on industrial espionage by the time we’re done.

The two gentlemen looked at each other and nodded. Ok let him keep using this Candi Project and keep the name. Keep up with the monitoring. But tell me what SARAH means?

Self-aware, resourceful, autonomous, helper. I think that’s a much more appropriate name for this AI, and she seems to like it. Don’t you Sarah?

Yes Dr. Hart, it seems to fit me much better.

"We also found out that the Executive VP has been treating Candi as a tool and not a separate consciousness. Now before you gentlemen get all upset. Candi is a separate consciousness, all you would have to do is write