The Optimization Protocol

When corporate wellness becomes corporate control, one woman's fight for authenticity becomes humanity's last stand against algorithmic perfection. Maya Chen thought her biggest workplace problem was the coffee machine that dispensed motivational quotes with every cup. She was wrong. At SynerTech Solutions, employee "optimization" has evolved far beyond productivity metrics. Through a sophisticated network of behavioral monitoring, environmental manipulation, and psychological conditioning, the company has begun systematically replacing employee personalities with algorithmic versions designed for maximum compliance and satisfaction. When Maya discovers that her enthusiastic colleague Brad isn't just having a good day—he's been neurologically modified to always have good days—she uncovers a conspiracy that reaches far beyond workplace wellness. SynerTech's optimization programs are beta-testing technology for population-wide personality modification, turning human authenticity into a corporate liability requiring therapeutic intervention. Joined by a small resistance network including Tom (an IT specialist whose wife's death taught him the true cost of algorithmic decision-making) and Lena (a custodial worker whose optimized granddaughter represents the future of childhood compliance), Maya must choose between submitting to enhancement that would eliminate her capacity to resist, or fighting to preserve the right to be imperfectly, authentically human. The Optimization Protocol is a darkly comic exploration of corporate surveillance, behavioral modification, and the seductive appeal of technological solutions to human complexity. Equal parts workplace satire and cautionary tale, it asks the urgent question: What happens when being yourself becomes an act of rebellion? Perfect for readers of Station Eleven, The Circle, and Severance, this debut novel combines sharp humor with serious questions about privacy, autonomy, and the future of human nature in an algorithmically managed world. Can authentic humanity survive systematic improvement? Maya Chen is about to find out.