Digitalni ugljik

In the 25th century, humanity has colonized the galaxy, and technology has changed the very concept of death. Consciousness is recorded in a cortical stack (digital carbon) at the base of the neck and can be transferred to a new body – a “sleeve”. The rich live forever, changing bodies like clothes; the poor die forever if their stack is destroyed. Death has become a “small blip on the screen” – for those who can afford it.

The main character is Takeshi Kovacs, a former elite soldier of the UN Envoy, originally from Harlan’s World, known for his brutal combat training and cynical view of the world. Kovacs is captured, sentenced and “frozen” for 250 years. He is rescued by the wealthy Methuselah Laurens Bancroft, one of the most powerful men on Earth, who supposedly committed suicide in his luxury tower in Bay City (formerly San Francisco). Bancroft wants Kovacs to investigate what happened in the 48 hours before his "death" - because he doesn't remember and believes he was murdered. If Kovacs reveals the truth, he will be pardoned and released; if not, back on the ice.

Kovacs wakes up in a new, undesirable body (an alcoholic ex-criminal) and is thrown into a dark noir world: corruption, brothels with modified bodies, virtual realities, clones, mutated mutants, a police force that protects the rich and an underworld full of violence. The investigation leads through layers of conspiracy - from Bancroft's wife and mistresses, through police officer Kristin Ortega (who hates "resleeving" and is a believer), to old enemies from Kovacs's past and secrets that threaten the entire immortality system.

The novel is a fierce cyberpunk crime novel with elements of brutal violence, sex, philosophy (what is identity if the body doesn't matter?), criticism of capitalism and the immortality of the rich. Morgan builds a dystopian world full of extrapolations: class differences are extreme, the body is a commodity, and the soul is a digital file. The style is raw, fast-paced, cynical – full of action, dialogue, and dark humor.