Synthetica Paperback by Jason McIlrath (Author)

“Emotions are the most dangerous weapon of all.”

In a near-future world where humanity has grown numb, Neuro Forge Labs promises salvation: immersive “emotion rooms” powered by the heightened sensitivities of empaths. For the right price, you can feel true joy, raw grief, or electric love—all amplified and projected by chemical pools designed to harness human emotions. But behind the sterile walls of the corporation lies a nightmare.

Jennifer, a young empath with a dark past, is hired to project emotions into the rooms. At first, it feels like salvation—a chance to be useful, to belong—but the pools take more than they give. They feed, absorbing fragments of the empaths’ minds, leaving them hollowed and broken. When whispers of missing empaths and shadowy experiments surface, Jennifer discovers a horrifying truth: the pools are alive, growing more powerful with every session, and Neuro Forge Labs will stop at nothing to control them.

As the pools begin to awaken, unleashing sentient chaos, Jennifer must rally the other empaths to fight back. But in a world addicted to synthetic emotions, will anyone listen? And can Jennifer stop the pools before they consume her—and humanity itself?

Blending the neon-drenched atmosphere of Blade Runner with relentless psychological horror, Synthetica is a chilling sci-fi thriller about humanity’s hunger for connection, the price of technology, and the terrifying power of emotions left unchecked.

Sometimes, the things we crave most are the things that destroy us.