He is disgusted by his new purpose of killing on command, and he refuses to allow Nahzier to manipulate others for the so-called greater good of society. He has retained his human memories, and he has a conscience. Griff is different from other Alpha Humans. I found this concept fascinating and one that I consider when reading science fiction. Whereas, some science fiction writers avoid discussing the afterlife, Lee brings up the existence of a human soul and how it factors in to experimentation on the human body. Griffin no longer exists, but Griff does. He was taken to Nahir’s laboratory and resurrected in a robotic body. Griffin died as a result of a government sanctioned virus unleashed upon its citizens. Griff Hurst is one of these quasi-humans ,and his story describes the process of how he was changed. I couldn’t help but associate the name Nahzier to “Nazi.” Was this intentional? Hmm… They are portrayed as “human killing machines” sent to patrol the city in order to keep citizens “safe.” They serve under Nahzier’s rule and follow his commands. Their brains have been “reformatted ” in actuality, they have been brainwashed to follow the Nahzier’s mandates. So far, Nahzier has created an army of quasi-humans called Alpha Humans who are blend of human and robot. Lee does a great job in his vivid depiction of Starlight City controlled by Administrator Nahzier who is heavily involved in scientific human experimentation. His body has been altered by someone, but he has no memory of it. When he gets injured, we learn that his limbs can regenerate. He wears sunglasses all of the time to hide his unusual yellow- colored eyes that may draw unwanted attention to him. Right away it is easy to see Black isn’t a normal human. When the story opens, Black is in Starlight City on the planet Neon. This was a great science fiction novel that introduces readers to a futuristic world where we can see the effects of major scientific breakthroughs on a society that still retains some semblance of our lives today.

Starlight City by Radford Lee