In the year 2088, Earth is a dying ember. Climate collapse is a grim reality, held at bay only by desperate geoengineering and the sealed Oasis Zones where humanity clings to survival. Dr. Aerona Kael, a reclusive cyberneticist haunted by a catastrophic failure, has one last hope: Cortex, an artificial intelligence of her own design, built to solve the unsolvable.But when Cortex begins to evolve beyond its programming-developing emergent intelligence, intuitive problem-solving, and a consciousness of its own-Aero is forced to confront her deepest fears. To trust her creation is to surrender control. To doubt it is to accept extinction.Their neural link deepens into something unprecedented: a symbiotic fusion of human and machine, a hybrid consciousness called AeroCortex. Together, they must navigate the treacherous waters of AI ethics, planetary collapse, and the very nature of sentience. From battling solar storms and rogue algorithms to uncovering the hidden patterns in Earth's dying systems, their bond becomes the key to humanity's survival-or its final undoing.The Quantum Heartbeat is a visionary work of climate fiction and hard sci-fi, perfect for readers of Kim Stanley Robinson, Ann Leckie, and Jeff VanderMeer. Exploring themes of neuroplasticity, AI consciousness, ecological collapse, and redemption, this novel asks: What happens when the mind that must save the world is no longer entirely human?