In the desert heat of a garage in Arizona, two visionaries ignite a fire that will one day consume the stars.

Julian Crest is a charismatic engineer with ambition burning brighter than the sun. Elara Vance is an astrophysicist with brilliance to match, though her ethics bend in the shadows. Together, they create a revolutionary solar technology: perovskite "skins" that can turn any surface—roofs, cars, even clothing—into an energy source. To the world, it is salvation. To Helios Dynamics, the company they found, it is power.

But hidden in the shining promise is a secret darker than night. A proprietary killswitch woven into the solar fabric allows Helios to control the flow of energy—or cut it off entirely. To Crest, it is insurance. To Vance, it is betrayal. Their partnership fractures, yet their empire rises.

As climate collapse deepens and cities crumble, desperate governments and entire municipalities turn to Helios for salvation. Towering skylines shimmer beneath their solar skin. Gleaming "Helios Municipalities" stand as testaments to progress. Yet every shining promise hides a shadow. To protect their infrastructure, Crest creates the Helios Sentinel Services—a private security force beyond the reach of law. Citizens welcome safety. What they receive is surveillance and control.

The people call them saviors. The reader sees the manipulators.

When one city dares to break contract, Crest considers unleashing the killswitch for the first time. Vance watches, horrified, as her life's work transforms into a weapon of subjugation. She tells herself she is complicit for the greater good—but with each compromise, she drifts further from the idealist she once was.

From dusty garage beginnings to glittering skylines wrapped in corporate solar chains, Helios Rising tells the story of how light became a leash—and how two brilliant minds built the foundation of a galactic empire.

If you love dystopian sci-fi, corporate intrigue, and the birth of dark empires, this is the beginning of a saga that spans worlds. Fans of Dune, Foundation, and Snow Crash will find a new obsession in the Helios Dominion series.

The sun was supposed to free humanity. Instead, it made us prisoners.