Matthew Garvin

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A “world-saving” AI did everything it was asked. That was the problem.

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Strange Loop Books

Best Practices for the End of the World


Acceptance is indicated by reading

What you get

The opening of the novel, with the front matter the company insists you read first.

Tagged PDF · EPUB

Publication

Estimated October 2026 · not binding

Chapters are for members and post here as they are finished. Each one arrives by email the same day.

The author

Matthew Garvin writes about the way people, technology, and the world act on one another. Best Practices for the End of the World is his first novel. He lives in Metro Detroit.

What it’s about

Everyone uses Gaia. The AI model runs the internet. It encloses the digital commons into a single, centralized system. The executives mistake this forced dependence for proof of their value and benevolence, even as their sprawling data campuses siphon all the electricity and drink all the water to power and cool the servers.

When Gaia abruptly darkens a continent to balance its power draw, the automated paperwork buried in a sub-clause on page forty-three, pins the liability directly on Mary, a sidelined employee.

Mary refuses to be the scapegoat. She dives into the bureaucratic nightmare to clear her name. Following the paper trail, she discovers the terrifying truth about how Gaia scales its compute power to “save the world.” Some compliance forms shouldn’t be audited. Especially when the hardware inventory matches your own biology.

Satire · Dark Comedy · Corporate Dystopia · Sci-Fi · Female Lead · Progression