eric borgerson

Winner in Science Fiction, 2018 Independent Press Award

First Book in Science Fiction, 2018 Pinnacle Book Awards

First Runner-Up in General Fiction, 2018 Los Angeles Book Festival

When the Eye Sees Itself weaves a dazzlingly complex web of interconnection – institutional, psychological, political, cultural, economic, conscious, even subatomic - and shows how tugging on a thread within it can pull everyone down, or up.

The story takes place in a country that classifies people by temperamental balance, segregating Vulnerables and Aggressives from the ranks of Citizens who are deemed to possess a functional balance.

A legal challenge becomes the catalyst for a surge of unrest among the excluded classes, with Vulnerable and Aggressive activists squaring off against the conservative Citizen’s Action League over the rules for entry into the powered class.

Under the surface of this political conflict lurks a new technology – Quantum Field Resonance Imaging– which allows people to interpenetrate quantum neural fields and touch minds. The technology is in use for illicit and noble purposes, on small scales and large, officially and in the shadows.

Nothing is as it seems, and as the mind-linking technology peels back the veneer of ordinary perception, layer upon layer of deception and collusion are exposed, revealing abuses of power so profound they threaten to annihilate the country in civil war. Yet, an even more fundamental shift can be heard rumbling from beneath, as still deeper strata of illusion are blasted away and the struggle for control becomes more and more subtle.

Dealing with themes of quantum entanglement, mass surveillance, mass incarceration, political struggle, descent into darkness and addiction, state sponsored terror and torture, and spiritual awaking amidst the ashes of shattered conventions. When the Eye Sees Itself is epic, inspiring, disturbing and fun. It is a compelling tale about power, the kind that imprisons and the kind that sets us free, all of it borne of our interpenetrated minds.