According to the world’s leading astrologers, in 2025, mankind will make a paradigm shift that took 12,000 years to arrive, a “literal metamorphosis for us as humanity.” From the vantage point of utter chaos where we find ourselves sitting these days, it’s inconceivable that such a shift could even be possible. Yet, planetary activity suggests otherwise, with some predicting that “our 24th chromosome is coming back online,” which “will open up our multidimensionality in a way we’ve never known it before.”
I’m sure we can all agree that we in the U.S. are in one of the most turbulent and disagreeable times in our collective history, not from a survival standpoint — most of us have everything we need and then some — but from a well-being perspective. We have lost our sense of community, preferring an us vs. them mentality, and as a result, can agree on next to nothing. Some want a return to the old patriarchal system where a man is the head of the household, and his wife and children are the support staff. As a modern woman who enjoys a challenging career and a nourishing and fulfilling family life, I had hoped this line of thinking would wither and die on the vine; instead, it has returned with greater force and urgency than ever before. Certain factions of society are dug in, demanding a return to a normal lifestyle by leaving the gains made in civil and women’s rights, and environmental protections achieved over the last half a century in the rearview mirror. That our mothers had more bodily autonomy than our daughters is the stuff of fiction.
For centuries, mankind has used the earth’s resources to its advantage, usually with good intentions. We needed those resources to survive. Today, we reach way beyond survival, taking more than we could individually or collectively use, taxing the earth’s ability — especially its water — to recharge itself as we stand on the precipice of a 6th mass extinction, with as many as 150 species a day vanishing at an alarming rate. Despite the denials of the current administration, climate change is well underway, leaving people vulnerable to the vagaries of extreme weather and putting humanity on a collision course with its own destruction. Parts of the earth will soon be uninhabitable due to fires, floods, droughts, excessive heat and/or cold, inability to grow food, poisoned air and water, the list goes on if you have the stomach for it.
So what do we as a society do to unravel the mess we’ve made? Enter AI, the key, as some see it, to mankind’s salvation. For decades, scientists have realized computers would one day surpass us technologically. Still, the fear is that if we don’t partner with computers, they will one day control us, similar to the way we try to control everything in our natural world. Translation: we messed up; the planet is dying; this is the only way we survive — by aligning ourselves with computers, pairing them with humans like you would pair a fine wine with a good meal. Sounds great if you can control it, but that’s the unknown known. Yet, scientists are actively looking for ways to partner with computers rather than risk losing control. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right? We’ll worry about the rest later.
So our big brains got to work, programmed computers that could think faster and more brilliantly than humans, and developed a new species: artificial intelligence. This extraordinary piece of hardware and software that processes crazy amounts of information in nanoseconds just happened to be made by man. How did it come to be that man created something poised to be more innovative, more creative, and more adaptive than man himself? It’s a rhetorical question we should take time to debate, right?
Nah. That would get in the way of hurling epithets at each other. Let’s plow ahead, see what happens, and pray we don’t unleash the next round of Frankensteins on the world.
But when is she getting to the book review?!
Right now. So, without further philosophizing, let’s talk about the latest novel by Fred Burton entitled Man Made.
In 2020, Burton heard Joe Rogan interview Elon Musk about his Neuralink project. Neuralink Corp. is an American technology company that makes implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Musk founded the company in 2016 with a group of scientists and engineers with the premise that someday computers would outwit us, so we had to adapt and do the next best thing — cohabitate with them. Since its inception, Neuralink has been working on a prototype for inserting a piece of artificial intelligence into the human brain. As of January 2025, three people have been implanted with Neuralink. Fred Burton has taken the concept of a society steeped in Neuralink adherents and turned it on its head. For those who have no interest in going gentle into the dying light, this book is for you.
In Man Made, the Neuroblast system, developed at the highest levels of government, attempts to connect humans to computer technology via a chip insert to allow for sharing of the computer’s data sets. As the first human test subject, Milo is already more intelligent, faster, more potent, and more prescient than regular humans. Think The $6 Million Man, a popular TV show from the 1970s, on steroids. Now, imagine he also has ESP. Touted by the government as a way to save mankind, this guy will be the GOAT! If only they can keep Milo alive.
Sadly, the engineers responsible for this product’s design, implementation, and testing are on an entirely different mission than the government operatives responsible for oversight. While the engineers work tirelessly to create a hybrid human that may one day be more gifted than DaVinci, stronger than the Hulk, and wiser than Confucius, the government operatives assigned to the project would prefer Ghengis Kahn, the Terminator, and Rocky all mashed into one.
And so, the trouble begins. Milo, the leader of his recently disbanded Punk rock band, Death Scepter, has become disillusioned and discontented with his life. His food service job is a dead end, and the last member of the original Death Scepter has left the group to settle down and do grown-up things. When the government approaches Milo to partake in a Neuroblast experiment, he accepts the offer, feeling he has nothing to lose. Milo makes impressive progress on many fronts after only a few treatments, but when the President of the U.S. decides things are moving too slowly, the operatives change the protocol. To the disgruntlement of the engineers working on the Neuroblast project, the government is no longer interested in testing the limits of this new man/computer merger but rather in making Milo a weapon of war. When Sheila, the chief engineer, resists her new orders due to the moral and ethical issues they raise, and her fear for Milo, to whom she has become fiercely loyal, she is fired. And that is just the beginning.
Fred Burton has written a post-apocalyptic, mind-bending thriller that scours the depths of morality, ethics, and consciousness in a race to control the very essence of humanity. Using well-drawn characters and references to today’s biggest problems, Burton explores what once was while trying to make sense of what will be and the cost of getting us there. This thoughtful, provocative page-turner explores themes not easily debated in the 2025 political landscape and asks questions we may not want the answers to as we hurtle toward a future that seemingly has already arrived. The question is, are we ready?
So where are we, people? Are we more interested in self-aggrandizement, hoarding resources, and conquering the free will of man than in finding a way to live peaceably with all creatures on a once-thriving-and-could-be-again planet? Read Man Made by Fred Burton and find out who will win the struggle to control mankind’s destiny.
Want to read more about Fred’s work? Go here: https://www.fredfburton.com/
or to Fred’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063636905178
As always, thanks for reading.
pam lazos 3.16.25
Green Life Blue Water 
Pingback: Review Of Man Made by Pam Lazos – Fred F. Burton
Sounds like an intriguing premise! A little like Philip K. Dick. 🙂
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Well you e just introduced me to an author I did not know, Jean. 🙏😘
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Hi Jean,
He is a writer I’ve wanted to check out for a long time. Now that you made this comparison I’m sure I will.
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A.I. I’m afraid we’ll have to apply the adage “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” I can’t imagine what lies ahead for our children and grandchildren.
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It’s a little terrifying, especially given the moral compass upon which our country spins these days. 🤷♀️😳
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Country’s about to fall off its axis with its stocks.
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Taking the world with it! 😳
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Hi Holistic wayfarer,
I’m sorry I missed this post when you wrote it. It’s interesting you reference that adage. You might want to read this excerpt from an interview by Joe Rogan of Elon Musk in 2020, which was the inspiration for Man Made. It is also the preface for the book. By the way, parts of the book are difficult to read, but overall it provides reasons for hope ans a possible way for us to move forward. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Joe Rogan interviewing Elon Musk about Neuralink in 2020
JR: Once you become a god it seems very unlikely you’ll want to go back to being stupid again . . . I mean you literally could fundamentally change the way humans interface with each other.
EM: Yes.
JR: Yes!?
EM: You wouldn’t need to talk.
JR: Ha, ha, ha . . . I’m so scared of that but so excited about it at the same time. Is that weird?
EM: . . . Like, AI is getting better and better . . . Even in a benign scenario we are left behind . . . We’re not along for the ride. We’re just too dumb. So how do you go along for the ride? Umm, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
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Sounds like a very interesting book and timely. This year has been a wild ride and somehow, I can sense the changes that are coming. I’ve never been one for wild rides, so I better put on my seatbelt because I think this is going to be one like no other.
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I’m with you, Michele.🤞
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Hi Michelle,,
It has been a wild ride. But it also feels like bubbles we see periodically that stoke the capitalist engine. AI is impressive, but compared to human consciousness it is a puny thing, a puny thing that requires a morbid amount of energy. I’m expecting the bubble to burst sooner rather than later.
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Such a timely review of a fascinating perspective, Pam. It sounds like the balance to a manuscript I’ve been editing which contrasts different cultures to address crucial questions. Which ones do a better job of producing “humans who are human (humane)” and how do they do so? I look forward to reading Fred Burton’s book!
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Thanks, Carol. Sounds like you also have a fascinating editing project. 😘
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Hi Carol. There are a lot of similarities between your work and Man Made. One of the things I focus on is what happens if we lose our sense of agency to AI, if we think AI can make better decisions about how to lead our lives than we can. When that happens we become less than human. The irony is the AI is a puny thing compared to what humans are capable of conceiving. Its methods of learning couldn’t be more different from the way we learn and filter information. But those differences are irrelevant if people choose to exalt the limited experience AI offers.
I’m very happy you want to read my book and hope you find value in it! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in a review or email, if you care to share them. My email address is FBurton40@gmail.com.
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My lovely Pam, you are absolutely right! In primitive life, humans had to learn to survive on this planet by utilising nature for their needs. However, as you mentioned, they are going too far in seeking as many benefits as possible. In my opinion, humans lost the plot from the very beginning! I believe the process of human nature should have evolved inwardly rather than outwardly. Something has gone wrong, I suppose!🙄
Another interesting topic is your question about why the human AI product is better than humans themselves. I must think of the Roswell incident in 1947. Since then, technical life has suddenly taken an enormous leap forward!🤔🤓
I always enjoy your insightful articles; sending love.💖🤗😘
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Thank you, Aladin. The moral and ethical considerations require erring on the side of caution but here we are again, plowing ahead with no regard for the ramifications. 🤦♀️
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Hi Aladin,
I mentioned in another post that what motivated me most to write Man Made was the question of why we want to hack our essential nature. So, I agree with much of what you say. But I think the main problem is we have gone to deeply, in a narrow way, inside ourselves. We have become alienated from the world, and elevated out own standing in some perverse way. My writing employs magical realism, and other techniques, in an attempt to reconnect us, and see the world as our real source of power.
Thanks for writing this post!
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You have done an excellent job, and I appreciate your response. Yet, the crux of the matter is that we do not recognise that we are guests of nature on this planet. We should remember when our ancestors descended from trees and lost their sharp teeth and claws. From then on, we need nature as our protector for survival. Thank you and I wish you a pleasant time and much success.
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It’s funny how we as a species forget about nature ALL THE TIME yet we can’t do a single thing without her. 🤷♀️😘
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Exactly! 🤙😘
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Hi Aladin. I think we are aligned in every important way, and the difference I addressed previously was a matter of semantics. Thank you for showing an interest in my work, and also for your good work and spirit.
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Thank you as well, and you are most welcome. 🙏
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You said it: While the engineers work tirelessly to create a hybrid human that may one day be more gifted than DaVinci, stronger than the Hulk, and wiser than Confucius, the government operatives assigned to the project would prefer Ghengis Kahn, the Terminator, and Rocky all mashed into one.
And this is what worries me the most. Where the heck is AI taking us? I sense nowhere good. It’s exhausting to think about, impossible to stop?
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It’s like the way we create a product and don’t worry about the waste stream until it becomes a problem, Ally. It’s a backwards way to deal with life and especially new products and inventions. 🤷♀️
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Thanks so much, Ally. This gets to my primary motivation for writing the book: Why are we willing to hack our essential nature? In the interview Pam alluded to, Musk said, “With Nauralink we won’t have to talk to communicate.” My jaw hit the floor. Unfortunately it sounds a lot less outlandish now than it did in 2020. At the same time I was reading great books that included Braiding Sweetgrass and The Overstory. Even before the Musk interview ended I knew I needed to write something about people and technology, and people and the natural world. I think both have the potential to hold the mythic power of the coming age and I used all the tools at my disposal to present the different realities they represent.
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Lady Pam another excellent post. A refreshing one too.
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Thank you, my friend. 🥰
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Great review too
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And thank you again, Lady Shey. ❤️
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Pam, thanks for your review of Fred Burton’s sci-fi novel. Milo of “Man Made” sounds like an upgrade of the Jason Bourne character. We humans know not what we do 😦
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It even goes beyond that, Rose. It’s fascinating and scary. 😱
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Hi Rose,
Hi Rose,
Yes, thoughts of Jason Bourne, and Neo from the Matrix, entered my thoughts as I developed Milo’s character. But what really intrigued me was how his extraordinary talents clarified the power that resides within each of us. The plot twists and turns as the implications of what this means unfolds.
Thanks very much for commenting on my book!
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My pleasure, Fred. I look forward to reading your novel.
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😘
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I’m very happy you want to read my book and hope you find value in it! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in a review or email, if you care to share them. My email address is FBurton40@gmail.com.
By the way, there is another writer named Fred Burton, whose work is very different from mine.
Thanks again.
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Hi, Pam. Here’s my current view about things:
Trump, and anyone who thinks even remotely like Trump, is no friend of mine. They are truly unenlightened. It’s incredible to me that there are enormous numbers of such folks. They are a bad dream.
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Couldn’t agree more, Neil, although I feel like some are having buyers’ remorse now! 🤪
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you took the words right out of my mouth…
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