In his debut novel Virtual Justice, John Simon fuses decades of scientific curiosity, real-life family history, and a deep fascination with human consciousness into a thought-provoking story that challenges both the imagination and the conscience. The book introduces readers to Stan, a young man inspired by Simon’s own experiences as a graduate student in neuroscience, who develops a revolutionary technology known as the Empathitor — a device that allows the thoughts of murder victims to be transferred into the minds of their perpetrators.
The Spark of an Idea
Simon traces the roots of his concept back more than 30 years, to both his academic research and an unforgettable cinematic moment. Watching the 1995 film Powder, he was struck by a scene in which an empath helps a hunter feel the suffering of a deer he has wounded. The experience transforms the hunter, making him incapable of ever killing again.
This theme of radical empathy also resonated with Simon’s family history. He recalls the story of his uncle, Charles Long, who was gravely injured during the Battle of Kasserine Pass in World War II. As Long crawled for safety, he vividly identified with a wounded rabbit he had once hunted — a profound moment of shared consciousness that reinforced Simon’s conviction that empathy might transcend ordinary boundaries of time, space, and even species.
Today’s Science, Tomorrow’s Fiction
While the Empathitor is fictional, Simon grounds its concept in technologies that already exist. Elon Musk’s Neuralink and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence inspired much of the science in Virtual Justice. In fact, AI takes on a vivid presence in the story through Gerry, a digital assistant with shades of Amazon’s Alexa, who not only manages the Empathitor but also navigates complex moral territory alongside the human characters.
Simon emphasizes that his novel is not only about futuristic devices but also about the ethical landscapes they create. “Ethical prototyping,” as he calls it, challenges readers to imagine themselves confronting scenarios that might one day be real — like entering another person’s consciousness or facing uncomfortable truths about what empathy reveals.
Building Worlds from Characters
Unlike some science fiction writers who begin with elaborate world-building, Simon started with Stan, the protagonist modeled after himself. Once Stan’s character was firmly rooted, the thematic “worlds” of the novel grew organically: justice versus injustice, mercy versus justice, and explorations of technologies like RFID and EEG as plausible building blocks for the Empathitor.
Throughout, Simon wrestled with the delicate balance between scientific plausibility and storytelling freedom. He sought to make the Empathitor believable while keeping technical explanations engaging. “If the science becomes too complicated, the reader will get bored and walk away,” he notes. Instead, he ties each innovation directly to character struggles, making abstract concepts emotionally accessible.
Influences and Inspirations
Simon’s imagination has been shaped by a wide spectrum of influences. In literature, he cites John Grisham, Ken Follett, David Baldacci, Frank Peretti, Stephen King, and Tom Clancy as inspirations. Spiritually and morally, he draws from the biblical writings of King David, King Solomon, and the Apostle John.
On screen, films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Phenomenon, Star Wars, and Powder expanded his sense of what storytelling could achieve. Even comedies like The Coneheads and Austin Powers reminded him of the value of playfulness in creativity.
Surprises in the Writing Process
For Simon, writing Virtual Justice was not only a scientific and philosophical exercise but also a deeply emotional one. Some scenes proved difficult as he delved into pain, suffering, and the ethical dilemmas of his characters. At the same time, moments of discovery — such as exploring how different thought processes might be categorized or how colors evoke distinct mental impressions — provided some of his most rewarding creative breakthroughs.
One memorable scene involves Gerry, the AI, reassuring Stan and Gloria that she would not record their private moments. Later, however, Gerry insists that those moments are still “part of their memories” and therefore data worth cataloging — a provocative illustration of the blurred lines between privacy, memory, and machine ethics.
What Readers Will Carry Away
Ultimately, Simon hopes that Virtual Justice compels readers to think deeply about consciousness, empathy, and the moral frontiers of technology. By placing them in ethically challenging scenarios, he seeks to expand their comfort zones. “I want readers to wonder,” he says, “to be amazed, and to be challenged by realities they may not have thought about before.”
With its unique blend of neuroscience, family history, ethical inquiry, and speculative technology, Virtual Justice is more than just a science fiction story. It is an exploration of what it truly means to walk in another’s shoes — and how empathy, whether human or machine-enabled, might one day reshape justice itself.
