Ethan Vale discovers the future is being rewritten from the inside.

In a world sold on wellness and productivity, a neuro-implant hides a darker truth: the Cortex Protocol, a system designed to override choice itself. As Ethan notices gaps in memory, foreign impulses, and cracks in the minds around him, he joins fired programmer Lena Ruiz to expose a corporate conspiracy built on surveillance, covert firmware, and government collusion. But Victor Sloan is moving fast, and engineered harmony has a terrifying price. Ethan must choose between protecting the truth and saving the people he loves—before the final rollout makes every mind programmable.