Author: R.C. Woodbridge

The author presents slides and discusses the background behind his recently released techno-thriller novel, "Three Black Swans," before being joined in conversation by Edward Tenner.

About the Book (from the publisher): 

Hunt Goodwill, a reclusive biotech tycoon, lived an opulent life in New Jersey’s Sourland Mountains until a dormant brain tumor turned malignant from exposure to a human-engineered virus. Desperate, he seeks help from Hillary, his AI supercomputer, that reconnects him with Dr. Jackie Cunningham, a high school flame and celebrity therapist. Hillary’s state-of-the-art brain works overtime to find a cure for Hunt’s terminal cancer. Meanwhile, Jackie suggests he have Peter Carver, his lawyer, revise his will. During their conversation, Hunt says he wants to ‘make a difference’ before he dies.

Attorney Carver has deep-state connections and introduces him to Dr. Alan Sanderson, Deputy Director of Homeland Security. Dr. Sanderson informs Hunt about Operation Three Black Swans, a last-ditch plan developed by the Russians. With President Vlad’s support, Three Black Swans is to dominate the world by flooding it with an enhanced virus, attacking financial centers, and destroying energy hubs. Homeland Security has lost several agents in its efforts to prevent a global catastrophe. Feeling that he has nothing to lose, Hunt volunteers for a suicide mission to find and kill Dimitri, the mastermind, and Wagner Group member. When they meet in London, Hunt learns they have both been played.

 Who is behind Three Black Swans? The solution: set a trap to expose the real villains. The explosive ending offers a glimpse of what future warfare might look like and how one man, using AI, might prevent our extinction. This techno-thriller explores a brave new world of human-engineered viral weapons, sentient AI supercomputers, intelligent drones, amorous robots, intense human passion, and clandestine cloak and dagger intrigue.

About the Author: 

Patent attorney R.C. Woodbridge was attracted to advanced technology at an early age. He passed his first amateur radio exam in elementary school and went on to build his own ham radio equipment. After earning a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton, he worked as a U.S. Patent Examiner and earned his J.D. at night. His passion is mentoring and investing in cutting-edge startups. A life Member of the I.E.E.E., Member Emeritus of the Explorers Club, and former local mayor, he now divides his time between Naples, FL, and Princeton, NJ, with his wife, Karen.

About the Moderator:

Edward Tenner, Princeton '65, is a Distinguished Scholar of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago and has been a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. A former executive editor for physical science and history at Princeton University Press, he has been a visiting lecturer in the Humanities Council and a visitor in the Princeton departments and programs of geosciences, English, sociology (FRS 151, “Understanding Disasters”), and information technology policy, as well as in the Institute for Advanced Study and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He is author of “Why Things Bite Back,” “The Efficiency Paradox,” and, most recently, “Why the Hindenburg Had a Smoking Lounge.” He is a frequent academic and corporate speaker and has given two mainstage TED Talks. He is on the board of directors of the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

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