To Terminator, with Love

Book excerpt: Dexter Wu's life is hectic, but he's managing-mostly. He's on the verge of finishing grad school, and that means putting the final touches on his number one project: HAL, a social robot and children's storytelling companion. But his best friend is leaving the country for good, his birthday's coming up, he's swamped with studying for finals, and he hasn't slept in days. He's also going to destroy the world. At least, his robot is, according to the possibly untrustworthy Agency, an organization whose mission is to protect the world at all costs. After his birthday party turns into a fight for his life, Dexter's simple life of fast food and Netflix binges is replaced by a glitchy oracle, the world's douchiest secret agents, and an ever-increasing chain of conspiracies. With the help of Andre, a mysterious and disenchanted young agent turned rogue, Dexter sets out to plead his case to the Director in an effort to get his life back to what counts as normal-but he should know by now nothing is ever so easy.