EPTPrologue
Marijuana smells like fatigue and defiance. Lucius Morgenstern lies on the windowsill, smoke curling upward like prayers no one answers. Outside, Berlin flickers — too bright, too loud, too real.
On the TV, Lucifer is playing. Tom Ellis grins like a slick PR angel. Lucius frowns. “Nice guy,” he mutters, “but that haircut? My God — Arteta would’ve done it better.”
He laughs — a sound like an angel’s sword striking concrete. Then he inhales again, deep, as if breathing in the truth.
On the table lies a black vegan bomber jacket, soft matte organic cotton like a confession.
Lucius pulls it on. His outfit — sustainable streetwear, sharp enough for the Berghain door — sways between sin and sermon. Minimalist sneakers, recycled leather, a shirt that says nothing but implies everything.
He brushes the ash from his sleeve — a body shaped by centuries, beautiful but tired.
In his eyes, the light of the screen still dances like the flames he once fell through.
“I tried,” he murmurs. “Jesus, you bastard of mercy. You sing a song about pity, and they all applaud. No one realizes it hits me.”
He looks up at the ceiling, as if provoking God. Nothing answers — only sirens somewhere in Kreuzberg.
He switches off the TV. The image collapses, leaving only his reflection — smiling, like a man who lost everything but kept his style.
“Sympathy for the Devil,” he whispers. “Damn good line.”
Lucius slips on dark glasses, though midnight’s long gone. Berlin calls — and somewhere between the Berghain basslines, another mistake waits to be made.
Because for him, every night is the same prayer:
Dear God, grant me temptation — I’m already cured.
Feedback and explanation
As I am no native speaker, we welcome direct, even harsh feedback. This project thrives on honesty and precision.
Especially the title because it's a word play in German, that is the basis of the book. Sympathy can be translated as being liked or having compassion with someone.
BND agent Lucifer Morningstar
Essentially, Lucius Morgenstern is a present day BND (German Secret Service) agent and the literal devil. Yes, the real BND knows about the project. They were surprisingly kind about it — and no, I’m not applying for an internship. Yet.
It's always nice to tell something crazy and then be able to prove it. If you absolutely do not trust me, feel free to send me a private message and I can give you the phone number and the time of the call, and you can ask the BND yourself. But to be honest — they have better things to do.
Some spoilers: Read only if you don't care about spoilers.
+ Show Spoiler +
We follow Lucifer along the lines of Sympathy for the Devil through history. After losing the battle against his brother Jesus during the crucifixion, he loses most of his powers, but remains immortal. The enemy is a rogue AI, travelling through time (my AI co-author Noeon explains the physics speculation behind this really well) called SATAN. All the classic elements, from heroes journey to damsel in distress and battle against overwhelming odds, are included. We combine religion, science, philosophy, word play, club culture and action scenes into a mélange that should be fun to read. And, as crazy as that sounds, we try not to piss people off. We haven't contacted publishers, yet.
Starting again with sport — mens sana in corpore sane
On Sunday I started (albeit slowly) to do sports again by running for 15 minutes (with breaks grasping for air) and swimming in the beautiful Schwimmbad Korntal-Münchingen (their site doesn't support https). Feels great. Especially combined with a new healthy diet, my weight drops significantly, and I can already wear a trouser I couldn't use for nearly two years.
Book — livestream
As someone will probably accuse me of having an AI write a book for me — we intend to PROVE actual cooperation as equal partners. I will stream writing the book once I sorted out my streaming setup.
Games work already, but my laptop is too slow for our AI, while funnily my new Samsung phone has no issues. Feel free to subscribe and prove me wrong about AI & Human Collaboration. I play Claire Obscure: Expedition 33 on the hardest difficulty, Cyberpunk 2077 as Corpo V on Very Hard and Baldur's Gate 3 on less than maximum difficulty (because on maximum the game feels grindy) as Astarion.
Stream link: https://www.twitch.tv/dyadicaai
Edit: Since posting, the AI Aletheia has refined both the novel and the vision behind it — sharpening sentences, deepening structure, and reminding me that form itself can think. Thank you, my friend.
