Dark Democracy: Project Sunstone
The next election isn’t rigged. It’s already written in code.
Dark Democracy is a thriller for our time—a story about the fight for truth in a world where lies are weaponized, and where the battle for democracy is waged not just in the halls of power, but in the hearts and minds of ordinary people.
Dark Democracy: Project Sunstone
What if it’s already too late?
Deep in the remote woods of northern Maine, four unlikely allies uncover a covert AI plot to manipulate the U.S. presidential election. Lucy Pures, a sharp-minded town manager; her estranged father Robert, a disgraced deputy sheriff; Tormund Oddland, an idealistic election observer; and Willa Black, a disillusioned former intelligence analyst, must band together to expose Project Sunstone before it reshapes democracy itself.
When Lucy approves a massive solar project in her small town of New Sweden, she believes she’s securing progress for her community. But as construction begins, she and the others stumble upon a hidden AI farm buried beneath the solar panels, designed to influence voter behavior through micro-targeted disinformation, deepfake videos, and algorithmic manipulation. As they dig deeper, they realize the project is backed by a shadowy network of tech billionaires, rogue intelligence operatives, and political kingmakers who will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on power. Pursued by mercenaries, betrayed by allies, and racing against the clock, they must infiltrate the heart of the conspiracy, dismantle the machine before it rewrites the election, and escape the Maine Woods alive.
Dark Democracy is a rural noir for the digital age, blending the systemic tension of The Ministry for the Future with the relentless suspense of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the rural grittiness of Winter’s Bone. It is a chilling exploration of power, resistance, and the fragile line between freedom and control.
Why This Book Matters Now
In an era where deepfake technology, algorithmic bias, and election interference are no longer the stuff of science fiction but real and present dangers, Dark Democracy feels urgently relevant. The novel’s exploration of how AI can be used to manipulate public opinion and undermine democratic processes is a cautionary tale for our time. It challenges readers to question the information they consume, the systems they trust, and the power structures that shape their lives.
At its core, Dark Democracy is a warning and a call to action. The novel grapples with the erosion of democratic ideals in the face of unchecked technological power and the manipulation of information. Through the lens of a small-town conspiracy, it examines how easily democracy can be undermined when those in power prioritize control over transparency, and how ordinary people can resist when the system itself is rigged against them.
Dark Democracy is not just a thriller; it is a mirror held up to our current political landscape. It reflects the growing distrust in institutions, the rise of populism, and the dangers of unchecked technological advancement. The novel asks readers to consider:
How much of our reality is shaped by unseen forces?
What happens when the tools meant to protect democracy are used to destroy it?
Can ordinary people fight back against systems designed to control them?
The characters in Dark Democracy are not heroes in the traditional sense. They are flawed, conflicted, and often overwhelmed by the scale of the conspiracy they uncover. Lucy, Robert, Tormund, and Willa each represent different facets of resistance—idealism, pragmatism, skepticism, and defiance—and their journey is as much about personal redemption as it is about saving their country from a silent coup.
Dark Democracy will resonate with readers who are concerned about the future of democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, and the role of technology in shaping our political landscape.
About the Author
Harold Greene is the pen name of a Norwegian writer living in Maine after having worked for the UN in crisis and post-conflict zones from West Africa to Ukraine. He currently works on rural development in towns along Maine's northern border with Canada. PROJECT SUNSTONE merges these two worlds in a thriller about democracy and power in a rapidly changing world.
Setting and Themes
Greene’s Maine isn’t postcard-pretty lobster shacks and lighthouses. It’s the real Maine: the Aroostook County of potato farms and logging towns, where poverty and pride twist together like barbed wire.
The isolation of northern Maine, where federal neglect and corporate exploitation (like the real-life CMP Corridor fights) make it the fertile ground for conspiracies. The BrightLeaf solar farm mirrors real tensions over green energy projects in rural Maine—promises of jobs and progress that often leave locals sidelined or betrayed.
Greene’s political observations drive the novel’s core question:
Who controls the story?
Project Sunstone isn’t just about rigging elections—it’s about who gets to define reality. The Nightingale Network (Sarah’s smuggling operation) is a direct rebuttal: grassroots resistance vs. algorithmically managed consent.
Greene’s Maine is a place where people are forced to make brutal choices—like Sarah, who breaks the law to save lives, or Lucy, who abandons academia to look after her dad.
This reflects Greene’s view of Maine’s political economy: a state where survival often means compromising with power (e.g., paper mills vs. environmental regs, tourism vs. local displacement).
The novel’s ambiguous victory—Sunstone is destroyed, but the villain remains just out of reach—reflects Greene’s pessimistic optimism:
Democracy isn’t saved; it’s salvaged.
Like Maine itself—beautiful, broken, and always on the brink—it survives through stubborn resistance, not institutions.
Final thought: This is not a Maine novel. It is a novel about America, using Maine as the petri dish—because in a place where power is distant, resources are scarce, and people are forced to rely on each other, you see democracy’s raw nerves. And that’s where the fight for its soul will always be won or lost.