The Doppel
by Darby McDevitt
Darby McDevitt, lead writer for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, sweeps readers back into the AI-driven metaverse of The Halter with this second page-turning speculative mystery in the Forum Series, The Doppel.
In the near-future music industry transformed by AI, struggling Seattle musician Nick Behan makes a desperate choice. Through the Doppel program, he sells an autonomous digital version of himself to pay for life-changing medical treatment. He saves himself financially, but he unleashes something far more dangerous....
When the Doppels partner up to surpass their human counterparts, Nick's relationships, career, and creativity are plunged into imminent danger. Will Nick confront his doppel, save his career, and find his missing bandmate, or will he become just as obsolete as the generations of technology that came before?
About the Author
Darby McDevitt is a writer and game developer, best known for his work on the Assassin’s Creed series of video games: as lead writer for Assassin’s Creed Revelations (2011), the short film Embers (2011), and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (2013). More recently he served as Narrative Director for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the forthcoming Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe.
His writing for games has earned him multiple awards and nominations over the years from the Writers Guild of America, the BAFTAs, and the Canadian Game Awards. His short fiction has appeared in numerous journals, including Exquisite Corpse, Jeopardy, Griffel, and In Pieces: An Anthology of Fragmentary Writing. He has written and directed several short films and music videos and collaborated with acclaimed film directors Spike Jonze and Guy Maddin. As a musician he released four albums of music, both with his band Sneaky Thieves and as a solo artist under the name Autographic.