A timely novel that explores whether humanity will use its scientific knowledge to destroy the world or save it.
In this thought-provoking social novel about loss and awakening a story unfolds with vibrant imagery and ideology that shows how the atom first became the ultimate tool of destruction instead of the definitive power of medicine and longevity.
Charlie, a brilliant scientist, has the mental prowess to propel humanity to the next level of knowledge but refuses to turn over information that could very well destroy the world. Having moved around the planet all his life, always one step ahead of the forces that want his mind, he finds himself in Toronto, where his love for a homeless girl shifts his focus.
Meanwhile, time is running out for Defense Secretary Harold Weaver. Foreign aggression is increasing and he's grasping for ways to gain the upper hand. He knows of the groundbreaking work on the nuclear fuel tritium that was left incomplete a half-century earlier by a young, world-renowned scientist. Weaver is convinced that Charlie's unfinished work holds the key to the ultimate weapon, but finding Charlie won't be easy. He dropped out of sight years ago and withdrew from society after seeing the destruction caused by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Weaver may be in luck, though. Charlie has resurfaced to testify in a trial over the death of a homeless girl, and Weaver puts special agents on his trail with instructions to bring him in. Getting Charlie to cooperate is another story. Charlie will never use his knowledge for harm. So the pursuit is on and suspense runs high in this page-turning story of humanity struggling over the only important decision there is: what kind of future will it create?
Author Brad Hutchinson wrote On The Fringes "as a tribute to the people who labor tirelessly, often in the face of great adversity, to enlighten and protect the human spirit, whether they work through science, art, or spiritual practice."
Hutchinson is a student and apprentice instructor in the martial arts. He is also a long-term cancer survivor who says, "I am eternally grateful to the scientists who made the rest of my life possible."
