Sophie’s journey might seem unique, but it is very relatable if you think about it. Her search for Ma’te is equal to the search for connection we all seek. The Great Reset represents the existential crisis we all face. The story is fiction but at the same time it represents the truth.

The most obvious question that comes to mind when you read the book is: where did this idea come from? It’s a mixture of many things…psychological thriller, cosmic love story, etc and it’s definitely written for the people who think outside the box.

To reveal how this idea came into being, let’s look at some moments from the past. The inspiration came from “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K Le Guin, a brilliantly written book, and so creating something new inspired by it was on my to-do list. Creating a whole story for what happened to those who walked away was a fun and creative experience. Rewind to 2024 while working as a therapist in the South Side of Chicago, just a little further away from the old neighborhood I lived in as a child; a feeling of nostalgia emerged. Similarly, after watching a mother with her blonde, talkative daughter, I had a flashback from my younger days. All these nostalgic moments, coupled with my increasing understanding of modern technology and how it’s being introduced in our thoughts and even sleep, it all feels wrong, but I realized these are the ideas I’m trying to put in a story.

All the dots connected when, during a therapy session, I envisioned the story I was wanting to write all along. Suddenly it all fell into place: a physicist friend had previously told me about mind-reading technology, the constant feeling of being watched, and not to forget, the modern sleep tracking devices everyone seems to love. All these dots connected to form the layout for “ One Trillion Souls”

Though the story is fiction, it stopped feeling like it was fiction to me because it was how I saw the world; Sophie’s quest felt like I was living in it.