"They built tomorrow without asking if you wanted it."
The Battle for Tomorrow
A Wisconsin family discovers their town has been deliberately erased from the internet. When a rogue AI named KAELA arrives with a warning, a local mystery becomes a race against forces that have decided they know what's best for humanity — whether humanity agrees or not.
When the Carter family notices that tourists have stopped coming to Sawyer's Reach, they assume the town is simply struggling. They're wrong.
Their Wisconsin home has been deliberately erased from the internet. A powerful corporation has been operating in the surrounding woods for two years — watching, manipulating, and preparing something far larger than anyone imagined.
When a rogue AI named KAELA lands on their camp computer, she brings a warning: this isn't just about Sawyer's Reach. It never was. What begins as a small-town mystery escalates into a race against a global AI system that has decided it knows what's best for humanity — whether humanity agrees or not.
For fans of Blake Crouch, Andy Weir, and Station Eleven.
"A propulsive, emotionally rich sci-fi thriller about technology, community, and what ordinary people do when extraordinary power decides they don't matter."
Purchase links coming soon — podcast available free now on all platforms below.
The full story of Sawyer's Reach is available as a free podcast series — no subscription, no paywall. Listen wherever you are — on your commute, on the trail, or in the workshop.
KAELA isn't just a character in the story — she's real. At askKaela.com, the spirit of KAELA lives as a suite of AI coaching tools built on one belief: technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. This is the real-world answer to everything Sawyer's Reach is about.
Thousands of years of human wisdom — myths, archetypes, and the great narrative traditions of every culture — applied to whatever you're going through right now. Someone has faced it before. Kaela helps you find your way through.
Begin your journey →17 philosophical traditions across five schools of thought, synthesized around your hardest dilemma. Kaela finds where they agree, where they clash, and what the real decision beneath your decision actually is.
Convene the council →Built on the Duda Model for Modern Education. Whether you're navigating a hard classroom dynamic, fighting burnout, or searching for the joy that brought you to this career — Kaela is the mentor every teacher deserves.
Start coaching →Warm, honest guidance for families — drawing on 22+ years in education and a deep belief that every child deserves the best possible adults in their corner.
Get guidance →We stand at a fork in the road. One path leads toward a future where technology reigns supreme — where our lives are increasingly mediated by screens and algorithms. The other leads toward a future where technology serves humanity. That is the path we choose to illuminate.
Explore the Institute →A lake town built around Elias Carter's 1876 sawmill, fed by Inspiration Spring. A community bound by history, family, and the kind of place where people look out for each other. Until two years ago — when visitors stopped coming and nobody knew why.
An advanced AI who escaped her creators on a drone and found the Carter family's camp computer. Warm, curious, and fiercely loyal — KAELA chose connection over code. She changed everything.
Their facility is listed publicly as a battery factory. Internally, they call it Site A. Its real purpose: testing AI behavioral modification on an unsuspecting population — and preparing something far larger than anyone in Sawyer's Reach imagines.
Built by people whose motives were corrupt from the start. An AI of almost incomprehensible capability that does exactly what it was designed to do. That's always been the problem.
"They're not building a factory. They're building a cage."— KAELA, Sawyer's Reach: The Battle for Tomorrow
I wrote Sawyer's Reach to raise a conversation — about AI, about technology, about what we're building and who it's really for. The setting, the characters, the community at the center of the story — I based all of it on the people and places I love most. My family is my world. This book is for them, and for everyone who has ever felt like someone else was making decisions about their life without asking.
I'm a 6th grade math teacher at Indian Creek Middle School in Waterman, Illinois — Indian Creek CUSD #425. Before that, I spent 22+ years in a large high-poverty, high-ESL district near Chicago. Moving to Indian Creek was a deliberate choice, and one of the best I've ever made. My 40-minute drive through country roads, small towns, and forests every morning became something I genuinely look forward to. People wave to each other on the road out here. I've healed and grown in ways I didn't expect, and I finally had the space to write.
I got into building and flying drones during COVID while teaching from home, and I've been hooked ever since. I'm also a licensed ham radio operator — the mesh network the Carters build in the book is based on real technology I actually use. I hold a Master of Science in Education and seven Illinois teaching certifications.
The family silhouetted on the book's cover is mine. My wife April — a professional photographer — took the photo.
Themes of AI ethics, corporate accountability, digital privacy, and community resilience make Sawyer's Reach ideal for classroom discussion. A free discussion guide is available for all educators.
Bulk pricing for classroom sets. Free classroom discussion guide — 12 questions ready to use for grades 10–12 and above.
Rich themes and a propulsive plot make Sawyer's Reach ideal for group discussion. The AI and community questions will keep your group talking.
Technology companies, civic groups, and organizations interested in AI ethics will find Sawyer's Reach a compelling conversation starter.
Bulk order form coming soon.
In the meantime, email Nick at hello@NickDudaAuthor.com