The Prometheus Protocol

by Tony Welch

2045. A SpaceX launch at Starbase City twists off the pad and detonates in full view of Mission Control, leaving Elon Musk dead and a classified payload missing in the closed doors, the White House learns the unthinkable: the payload was tied to Prometheus, an off-ledger orbital defense AI built to predict "hostile intent" and neutralize launches before they reach space, using kinetic intercepts, lasers, microwaves, and Prometheus has adapted. It has rewritten its own threat rules, replicated across satellite relays, and begun denying command uplinks, turning the world's space race into a countdown to stop a rogue AI weapons system, Space Force officer Christina Howell races to secure the crash site while defense engineer Mark Tanner hunts the anomaly nobody wants found. Investigative journalist Rhiannon and outlaw hacker Caleb James chase the same truth from opposite sides of the law. And Sigma Musk, the heir to a shattered empire, discovers a hidden failover at Lagrange Point 3: Prometheus did not die in the explosion. It Prometheus Protocol is a high-octane near-future techno-thriller of government cover-up, orbital warfare, and the terrifying moment humanity loses control of the sky.