Synopsis "The Iron Heel: Volume 1"
Inspired by Jack London's 1908 novella of socialist revolution and the Gilded Age, it's Sunset Boulevard meets The Matrix in The Iron Heel. From the death of capitalism to the birth of full-sensory entertainment, from climate collapse to the flowering of the socialist project, The Iron Heel is a sophisticated, cautionary tale wrapped in a taut action-adventure.In this noir, science-fiction drama set 700 years in the future, Anthony Meredith--lovelorn, burnt-out, cynical--finds his life upended when rebel Malcontents steal an encoded document containing secrets that threaten to bring down the existing world order, a 400 year old socialist project--the Brotherhood of man--now decadent and rotten at the core.Meredith operates an esoteric machine that creates three-dimensional, full-sensory, interactive story constructs. While navigating these, Meredith's experience is captured in a report used as the starting point for making virtual-reality, movie-like experiences known as "verties". Verties keep the masses entertained and distracted from realities both past and present.Meredith is drawn into the rebellion when the Malcontents sink a barge at an election party packed with the elite and privileged. After a narrow escape, he's taken to an underground city where neo-capitalism reigns and where the rich and powerful live in luxury by exploiting the world's remaining resources. Things get worse when Meredith's mentor is taken hostage; but just when all seems lost, surprising allies give the rebels an upper hand. Meredith exposes the secrets contained in the document, and creates a shattering report sure to ignite worldwide revolution.Under a hail of bullets, Meredith and the rebels escape aboard a high-speed train bound for a workers' paradise and a broadcast center where the report can be transmitted to the world. With opposing forces both ahead and behind, The Iron Heel races toward an unforgettable and unsettling ending.
