Andrew Gillsmith

World leaders are on edge when reports start coming in of next generation androids having strange, apocalyptic visions of a lady in white. But when an Artilect belonging to the wealthiest man in Africa shows up at Our Lady of Nigeria basilica claiming to be possessed, the stakes are raised. The Vatican sends Father Gabriel Serafian, an exorcist who left behind a brilliant career as a neuroscientist, to Benin City to investigate...and to figure out who is behind what must surely be a hack. The timing couldn't be worse. Rome is on the verge of reconciliation with the Chinese Economic Interest Zone after a 50 year cold war, and the Chinese are particularly sensitive about the so-called Apparition. Serafian quickly finds himself caught up in a conspiracy of global--and possibly supernatural--dimensions. To discover the truth and save not only humanity but the artilects themselves, Serafian enlists the aid of a tough-as-nails Imperial Praetor named Namono Mbambu. Serafian and Mbambu are helped by a guilt-wracked Filipino Emperor, a taciturn Caliph, and a Uyghur Sufi named Ilham Tiliwadi as they race against time to stop a centuries-old plot that could end humanity as we know it. Our Lady of the Artilects is a mind-bending supernatural science fiction novel where "The Exorcist" meets "Westworld,” with a light dusting of Snow Crash!

"The universe requires sacrifice. It always has, and it always will. Because the universe is sacramental." ------ Broken and scattered, the survivors of the strange events in the Taklamakan Desert are trying to make sense of what happened while the rest of the world tries to store balance by scapegoating the artilects. The Process--an ancient, alchemical plan to transform human consciousness--goes far deeper than anyone thought, and only the artificial magnetosphere known as St. Michael’s Shield prevents its fulfillment. The Lucifer Particles may hold the answers, but the path to understanding them leads through the strange, sub-quantum world of the Holomovement, guarded by the secretive scientific cult known as the Divers. The price of knowledge may be too high. In Rome, the Princes of the Church converge to elect a new Pope, while Father Gabriel Serafian, an exorcist and former neuroscientist, is drawn even deeper into a conspiracy of global--and possibly supernatural--dimensions. Confusion reigns. New discoveries threaten the very foundations of both science and faith. A cloud of unknowing has descended upon the world. Meanwhile, visions of a young Chinese girl who died during the genocides may point to a way forward...