Project Sovereign
Max Hall's life is a collection of missing pieces. His parents, vanished. His girlfriend, gone without a word. His own future, a casualty of mediocrity and grief. He's not living; he's just waiting for the end credits.
The story changes on a day like any other. A glitch in his vision. A shimmering, holographic interface materializes, offering an absurd proposition: skills, talents, genius... for cash. It's the kind of thing you'd see in a bad video game, an insultingly simple solution to a life of complex pain.
On a desperate whim, he cashes in his last few dollars for a shot. A beginner's talent in financial analysis. Suddenly, the chaotic noise of the stock market becomes a symphony he can conduct. A few dollars become a fortune. A fortune becomes an empire. In a rush of stolen knowledge, he masters sciences, arts, and industries overnight.
The world sees a titan, a phantom prodigy rewriting the rules of success. But Max sees only a means to an end. The wealth isn't for a life of luxury. It's for an investigation on a scale no government could sanction, a private war against the silence that swallowed his life.
He's pulling at the threads of a simple missing persons case, but what begins to unravel is a conspiracy that defies logic. The clues lead him away from cold cases and towards impossible artifacts. They hint at forgotten histories and fringe sciences that shouldn't work, but do. He realizes he isn't just looking for a kidnapper. He's on a collision course with a truth that will not only explain what happened to his family, but will rewrite the rules of reality itself. And the System, his ticket out of mediocrity, might just be the most terrifying clue of all.