Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2006 and Lyme disease in 2010, Rockwall resident Clint Townsend did not let the diagnoses stop him from pursuing a career as an author. Townsend’s faith-based sci-fi thriller novel was typed the entirety of novel with his via Eyegaze technology on a digital keyboard. It was a labor of love that took the majority of two years to finish. According to their website, Eyegaze is a special eye tracking camera mounted below a screen that observes one of the user’s eyes. Image processing software analyzes the camera’s images 60 times each second and determines where the user is looking on the screen.
Townsend’s faith in God has empowered him to push through the many obstacles and challenges he faces on a day-to-day basis. His faith-based, sci-fi thriller was typed entirely with his eyes via Eyegaze technology on a digital keyboard. It was a labor of love that took the majority of two years to finish.
“It’s the only way we can communicate once our hands and voices fail,” Townsend said.
The story follows Dr. Cain Wyczthack III, President and CEO of the Engenechem Corporation, and his trusted partner, Dr. Alan White as they navigate through a world of clones and the high tech world around them in the sci-fi thriller.
Reading the story, you almost instantly become immersed in a world where there is no promise of safety ahead. The fact of the matter is, this realm may not be far from the one we live in today. Townsend’s words almost jump off the page; they are so beautifully crafted.
The story is a complex one and will appeal to anyone who has even the slightest leaning toward the sci-fi genre. Even if you’re not, there is a bit of romance and action that will keep the pages turning. Put into movie format, there is no doubt this would be a blockbuster. All in all, ‘X to the Nth’ will keep you on the edge of your seat
Former New Orleans Saints safety, Steve Gleason also uses the technology after his own diagnosis with ALS in 2011. A portion of the profits generated by the sales of the book have been pledged to Steve Gleason’s ALS charity, Team Gleason. More information about the charity can be found at www.teamgleason.org.
‘Xⁿ’ [X to The Nth] will be released February 12th through Elm Hill Books (HarperCollins Christian Publishing) and is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Zondervan, in both paperback and Kindle versions.
Synopsis
‘Xⁿ’ [X to The Nth] is the story of Dr. Cain Wyczthack III (WICH-thak), President and CEO of the Engenechem Corporation, and his trusted partner, Dr. Alan White. Together, the two have worked for decades and spent billions of dollars to engineer and create a perfect, highly intelligent, genetically pure slave-labor force that’s sustainable, easily replaceable… and untraceable. Evan Armada Nine and Chloe Rover Seven are only two of thousands of clones who work diligently behind the scenes to advance Cain’s agenda and complete his top-secret projects. Although extreme measures are taken to ensure the female clones are kept isolated from their male counterparts, Dr. Wyczthack insists on tracking their every move with motion and sound sensitive video cameras and RFID chips embedded in their shoulders. However, destiny will intercede and see to it that Chloe and Armada’s paths intersect. What is the mysterious entity that suddenly appears and leads Armada to Chloe? Why does the powerful presence want to help the couple break away from their masters? If they can manage to elude Engenechem’s surveillance and tracking systems, where will the pair flee to? After a hurried and daring escape attempt, the runaways discover Cain’s plans for the destruction of Earth and annihilation of its inhabitants, including the army of clones. To ensure that only the strong and genetically pure will survive a thermonuclear ‘New Genesis’, Engenechem, with the aid and contribution of the largest corporations and governments of the world, builds orbital stations, subterranean bunkers and storage warehouses, a space elevator, satellite hunters, and positional, space-based missile silos. The duo comes to the sad realization that they and the rest of the clones were created for the sole purpose of constructing the artificial environments that will house Dr. Wyczthack’s hand-selected survivors of his global, atomic genocide. Will the love-struck clones successfully stop the launch of hundreds of nuclear missiles? Can Armada and Chloe avoid detection long enough to make a clean getaway from Engenechem’s military fortress?
