Spontania - Paolino, Carl

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Résumé :
What had once been a major manufacturing hub just north of New York City has suffered a major blow to its commerce-local factories have shut down, townspeople are out of work, desperation is on the rise. Almost overnight, several tech companies have rolled into town with the promise of revitalization. Granted easy access and toxic contracts, these firms break their promises to create new jobs and improve infrastructure. In short, Tranquility has become a techno-dystopia. To complicate matters, frequent and unexplained electronic disturbances have hindered digital surveillance of all kinds, and law enforcement from doing their job. The unusual sightings of strange monsters, both mechanical and organic, have appeared to roam the streets at night, to the point where the average citizen fears for their safety. Amid the turmoil, an uneasy alliance has formed between two gifted High School seniors and two renegade techies. The teens are Elkie, a talented gymnast with the unusual ability to rapidly read anyone's emotions directly from their facial expressions, and her best friend, Marsha, a genius-level chess nerd. Along with Sherman, a chemical engineer, and his partner, Melvin, a digital micro-fibers expert, who work for two of the many tech companies who are responsible for the chaos, they form Spontania, a street-level masked hero, who appears when needed most! Elkie dons the digitally printed Spontania costume made of a miracle fabric, created by Sherman and Melvin, that is both bullet-proof and shock resistant (originally created to prevent fatal car accidents). Marsha utilizes her critical thinking skills to navigate the complexities of keeping their identities safe and strategizes a battle plan to uncover the hidden agenda of the tech companies that are responsible for the strange goings-on. These include the theft of high-tech devices, and a lab-created Lycanthrope who is on the loose, to name a few. This is a modern tale of science gone mad. The tech companies are billionaire-funded and experiment without safety nets or oversight in pursuit of the Almighty Dollar for their investors. They believe that science does, because science can, and sadly they take no responsibility for their actions. Team Spontania has one goal: to bring the responsible members of the high tech companies to justice and restore peace to Tranquility....