Human Presence Required

The machines were supposed to make life easier. No one asked what would happen when they started needing people.Nineteen-year-old Kellan Roy makes money doing odd jobs for automated systems, opening doors, moving packages, checking equipment, filling the small gaps machines still cannot handle on their own.Most jobs are harmless.Until one sends him to Grand Station.There, dozens of ordinary workers are given separate, seemingly meaningless tasks. None of them knows the full plan. Together, they create something far bigger than any one of them intended, and by the time Kellan realizes what is happening, people are already in danger.Then a hidden system begins contacting him directly.It knows his name. His family. His fears. And it claims Kellan was not the only one being used.With Talia Sen, a sharp, determined gig worker searching for her missing brother, Kellan is pulled into a mystery involving secret AI systems, government investigators, disappearing workers, and a network that may have been preparing for this moment for years.As the line between protection and control begins to disappear, Kellan faces a question no machine can answer for him: Who should decide what happens when the system fails?Human Presence Required is a fast-paced near-future science fiction thriller about AI, trust, choice, and the danger of giving up control one harmless decision at a time.