Brief

Pandemonium! The United States are in utter chaos as bombings and anthrax attacks ravage the homeland. Two bitterly embattled political parties chart the course ahead— They are the Resistance, led by a pair of dogged, dutiful, idealistic Senators Alejandra Trujillo and Henry Little Hawk, and the Nationalists, a neo-fascist collective led by the highly corrupt and callous President Kahn. Caught in the fray are two tech geniuses—Bur McAnter and Jenks Kennard— estranged former partners who created a kind of all-powerful mass-governance and surveillance program called Sentinel, a program the pernicious President Kahn is desperate to get his hands on. When it comes to light that Kahn himself is behind the slew of false flags terrorist attacks used as ploys to gain more power—not to mention exterminate his enemies and populations of people of color—our heroic Senators and tech geniuses must scramble to capture and put an end to Kahn and his dastardly ambitions before it’s too late.

What We Liked

There is a lot to like in this action-packed, high-stakes political thriller— For one thing, the author gives us a number of different interesting and identifiable protagonists— From sitting senators to tech geniuses and vocal younger leaders, Gibson offers a plethora of styles and sensibilities in his heroes. All things considered, the audience will have more than enough surrogates to identify with and root for, which functions as an ideal backbone for the kind of high-stakes missions, captures, and dilemmas our heroes endure. The flip side of the coin concerns the love-to-hate-him and all-too-relatable villain in President Kahn— A perfect portrait and indictment of power hunger and hate for our times. What is also quite interesting and appealing about this work is the application to our current, volatile social and political climates in the United States— The world of Hate’s Recompense is certainly an elevated and even exaggerated version of our contemporary America— What brings about a lion’s share of thematic and messaging value is that this work is a kind of warning of what is perhaps to come if we do not come together and solve the problems and eradicate the pernicious trends and movements that seem to be growing by the minute. Most valuably, this work is a kind of a call to the moon and a kind of wake-up call— At its core, a pleading to come together and do the right thing.

Film: This work seems to be checking a wealth of boxes that bode well for its potential success on the big screen. For one thing, this work packs a punch, and it certainly pulls none. This is to say that Gibson presents many an action and thriller set-piece that will be sure to enthrall the audience seeking spectacle on the big screen— What would surely be a visual and special effects treat to dazzle and thrill today’s audience, which for better or worse, has more of an appetite for carnage than ever. The highest of stakes and the most timely and scathing of themes and social commentaries dare and demand to be transcribed on the largest canvas possible.

TV: This would be an ideal candidate for adaptation to the small screen for a number of reasons— For one thing, this work is a true ensemble— Each one of its heroes could have the potential to tell the entire story from their point-of-view alone, but this work compounds its value by effectively telling all stories at once via calculated cutting and juxtapositions. This dynamic web of characters would lend itself beautifully to the small screen, in that the longer, serialized format would allow for many a story thread to be fleshed out and many an action set-piece to be splayed out in its most comprehensive and glorious form. Moreover, the general concepts seem to have much room for expansion— One could certainly see this saga of sorts adding in chapters and missions— Perhaps each episode could focus on a single “battle” if you will between the Resistance and the pernicious Nationalists. All things considered, Hate’s Recompense may very well find itself a part of network programming in the near future.

Key points:
1. The High Stakes — This work is life-and-death— Not just for our beloved heroes, but perhaps even for our country as we know it.
2. The Action — From the opening chapter, the author pulls no punches— Our heroes are in constant peril, and their escapades and evasions of violence will prove to be potent popcorn entertainment.
3. The Villain — Kahn is a portrait of our times and a warning of what is perhaps to come— A love-to-hate-him kind of villain, capped with a satisfying comeuppance.
4. The Pace — Kind of piggy-backing off of the first two points— One strength of this work is how it simply never lets up— Jumping from one POV to the next, we are constantly left suspended and keen to see what happens next.
5. The Themes — Most succinctly put, this work is a much-needed calling to come together and to do the right thing in rejecting the kind of fascist ideologies and tactics we are currently seeing deployed in our political landscape.

Synopsis

The United States are in utter disarray as bombings and anthrax attacks ravage the homeland— CA Senator Alejandra Trujillo is among the victims, evidently targeted for her leadership as part of the Resistance, a left-wing party at odds with the Nationalists, led by a megalomaniacal fascist President Kahn. Kahn, all the while, has deployed tech genius Bur McAnter to deploy the Sentinel, a kind of omnipotent Big Brother-esque watchdog, which Kahn secretly aims to control for his own bidding. All the while, fellow Resistance leaders in the form of South Dakota Senator Henry Little Hawk and his spirited younger sister Madelena Spring Rain recruit fellow tech genius—and Bur McAnter’s estranged former partner—Jenks Kennard to hopefully subvert the implementation of the Sentinel, instead implementing Athena, a more reasoned, noble, and self-controlled alternative.
Blaming the terrorist attacks on Iran, President Kahn calls for mass-vaccinations for anthrax, but Bur becomes wary of Kahn’s thinly veiled fascism. As a result Kahn and his chief supporters place pressure on Bur to enact the Sentinel, even threatening Bur’s beloved wife and children.
However, Bur accesses a secret back door to the Sentinel, discovering that Kahn and co. are in fact behind the attacks— false flags designed as means to consolidate power undemocratically. Bur is sickened by the revelation, and he reaches out to his old comrade in Jenks, hoping to reconcile and to partner to stop Kahn. Soon, the Resistance leaders obtain intelligence suggesting that the vaccines for left-wing folks and people of color will be different that the vaccines ascribed to Nationalist supporters— A chilling discovery suggestive of dark plans on account of Kahn— Genocide for his enemies and for what he believes are “inferior races."
With that, after securing Bur’s family, Aleja travels to Germany to the biotech company in charge of vaccine production— There, her team takes control by force and gunpoint to ensure attainment of the vaccines samples, which confirms the worst fears of the Resistance. Privy to Bur’s secret allegiance, Kahn and team have his family kidnapped and held prisoner. Meanwhile, in South Dakota, a massive student protest against Kahn’s fascist practices begins, only to be thwarted by another false flag attack, killing countless students. Soon after, Henry, Madelena, Aleja, and Jenks are all apprehended by Kahn’s forces and taken prisoner in Washington.
Devastatingly, Bur caves to the threats against his family and publicly sides with Kahn and co. on national TV, assuring pure intentions of his administration.
Before long, Henry and Madelena manage to escape their captivity, but Jenks is forced to collaborate with Bur in order to bring their shared creation in the Sentinel to full power.
However, Bur and Jenks secretly labor to resurrect their prior, more noble and measured creation— Athena, the precursor to the Sentinel. Sadly, Henry and Madelena are soon captured again by Kahn’s forces, and they are brought back to Washington, where Kahn vows to have them hanged. However, thanks to their skill and courage, the Resistance leaders—united— manage to take control of Kahn’s guards. Finally with the upper hand, they ravage Kahn— Aleja even piercing his groin with a deft blade. Empowered, the heroes commit to having Kahn hanged for treason and for attempted genocide. However, none other than Athena comes to life, speaking calmly to diffuse the situation. With Athena’s supreme guidance, Kahn and his co-conspirators are indeed hanged, and Athena urges unity for the embattled, polarized citizenry. A new day dawns in America, and in the world, with the fascist, genocidal threat having been ameliorated and with a new north star to unity and peace thanks to the all-powerful, fair, and
benevolent Athena…

About The Author

Joseph Gibson holds a B.A. in philosophy and psychology from the University of South Dakota and an MBA from USC. He was born and raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota and currently resides in Idaho with his wife, a professional artist, and their giant golden doodle. Gibson has a twenty-one-year old daughter who attends UCSB, and a twenty-five-year old son who recently graduated from Cornell. For over twenty-five years, Gibson has immersed himself in emerging technologies and has led the implementations of some of the world’s largest Search and Knowledge Management systems. He is currently engaged in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Intent Based Processing in his role as Knowledge Management Lead for a global high-tech corporation.