âThe Death of David Pickettâ by G.A. Matiasz is an action-packed speculative cyberpunk mystery set in the San Francisco of 2023. Part-time archivist and full-time scenester Jesse Steinfeld pays little attention to the ever-widening gap between the gated rich and homeless poor in his city. But Jesse is intrigued by the enigmatic death of charismatic local activist David Pickett and obsessively investigates Pickettâs suspicious demise as urban tensions mount. Incidents of high tech surveillance hooliganism, youthful black clad anti-cop rioting, vengeful premeditated murder, and deadly police assaults on local gang members escalate. A popular protest demonstration occupies San Franciscoâs Mission District in the name of a revolutionary âMission Commune,â bringing the city to the brink of social insurrection. As Jesse also contends with an alcoholic ex-girlfriend, sketchy friends with dubious motives, a befuddled gray hat hacker, and a police detective intent on charging Jesse with homicide, he quickly realizes nothing is as it seems in Pickettâs cryptic life and mysterious death. The full-throttle street politics of today collide with tomorrowâs slow-motion apocalypse in this explosive tale of identity, mortality, technology, and reality in the city by the bay. âThe Death of David Pickettâ is a prequel to the near-future science fiction thriller â1% Freeâ set in 2042, also by G.A. Matiasz.