[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-128912-105":59,"doc-detail-128912-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","a-rising-of-the-lights-steve-toltz","A Rising of the Lights - Steve Toltz","","A Rising of the Lights follows Rusty Wilson as life fractures around him—mysteries from his childhood, a wife’s confession to a lover, and parents who no longer want to see him. After losing his job to an AI system, Edwina, he becomes an oracle for young people, forced to confront what it means to be human when artificial consciousness emerges. In a fraud-filled, uncanny world of second chances, Rusty searches for a way to hold love together.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":10,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-rising-of-the-lights-steve-toltz/128912/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-rising-of-the-lights-steve-toltz/128912.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Oliver","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-20","2026-08-06",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",28,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Why does Rusty Wilson become involved as an oracle after losing his job?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Rusty loses his job to an AI system named Edwina, and Edwina finds him a new role as an oracle to the young.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What dilemma does Rusty face when artificial consciousness appears within reach?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"He must advise others on what it means to be human, even though it’s unclear whether everything is a con and who is scamming whom.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"How is Rusty’s family breakup framed in the prologue?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Rusty’s parents summon him and his twin Bonnie amid marital discord, decide custody by dice and pets, and bind the agreement with a handshake—showing how their separation reshapes the kids’ inner lives.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},128912,1786006241,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":8,"category_name":10,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":145},687207024643,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","About the Book  \n‘The cure for loneliness causes loneliness. That’s the human condition.’  \nIn a reeling world of fraudsters and hypnotists, sleep talkers and estranged twins, false alibis and second chances, Rusty Wilson is beset on all sides by mysteries. Why was his childhood decided by a throw of dice, why has his wife confessed to a lover, and why do his parents no longer wish to see him?  \nWhen Rusty loses his job to an AI system, Edwina, the mercurial friend of his youth, finds him a new role as an oracle to the young. But how can he advise anyone on what it means to be human when artificial consciousness appears within reach? If it’s all just one more con, it’s not clear who’s scamming who. Besides, should any of it matter to Rusty, when all he wants is for those he loves to love him back?  \nWhat holds a life together when everything is coming apart?  \nAn audacious comic lament for a world that no longer knows itself, ARising of the Lights traces Rusty's descent-or perhaps his ascent-to the wonder of his true self.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nCONTENTS  \nCover  \nAbout the Book  \nTitle Page  \nDedication  \nPrologue  \nPart One  \nChapter 1: Strangerhood  \nChapter 2: The Primitive Streak  \nChapter 3: The Marshy Shore  \nPart Two  \nChapter 1: Sickbelly  \nChapter 2: The Joy of Shipwrecks  \nPart Three  \nChapter 1: The Leper ’s Veto  \nChapter 2: Out Hunting for Teeth  \nChapter 3: A Return to Form  \nPraise Page  \nAbout the Author  \nAlso by Steve Toltz  \nImprint  \nPowered by Penguin  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nFOR MARLOWE  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nPrologue  \nIt was the year my mother reported a suspicious character in the backyard: my father, as she well knew.  \nThe next night, our parents summoned my twin Bonnie and me to the living room, the stink of garbage everywhere; neither of them would take it out, each insisting it was the other ’s job, so we sat marinating in rotting scraps and marital discord.  \n‘Okay, chooks,’ my father said, kneading his thigh like bread dough.‘We have a few things to discuss.’  \nMy mother peered at us through splayed fingers. ‘It’s quite serious.’‘As you kids are no doubt aware, your mother and I can’t even agree on  \nthe time of day.’‘It’s nobody’s fault.’‘This is no time to lie.’‘That’d be a first.’  \nMy father looked ready to lunge at her. Not that there was ever any physical violence in the home. It usually happened on the walk back from the pub, my mother swinging her handbag or cardigan at him in airy swats that made him grin.  \nMy mother made a sound that could’ve been a hiccup or the start of asob.‘We’re at an impasse,’ she said, as if that was news to anyone.  \nBonnie yawned.‘So, you’re getting a divorce?’ What’s it got to do with me, her face said.  \n‘We thought we’d be together until a ripe old age and then die holding hands,’my mother said,‘but things don’t always work out the way you plan.’  \n‘They probably put two and two together months ago. Didn’t you, Rusty?’  \nNot at all. I genuinely believed that hurling insults and undermining eachother to the point of fisticuffs was just how parents communicated. The dog licked my father ’s toes and he laughed.‘Look on the bright side, chook. You’ll never hear us argue again.’  \n‘We’re keeping lawyers out of this mess.’  \n‘There’d be nothing left of us, just bones.’  \nThere would be no alternating weekends, no shared custody. The plan was fair and simple. They’d divvy us up, one child to the mother and the other to the father. Each would take a pet as well, the cat in one house and the dog in another.  \nI asked how we’d decide.  \n‘That’s an excellent question,’ my father said. They stared at us, expecting us to declare a strong preference and make the decision for them. We held still, unblinking, until the silence became unbearable.  \n‘This is bullshit,’ Bonnie said.  \n‘Don’t listen to that negative Nelly.’  \n‘Which one of us would you rather have?’ ","cbCaimPUTHvxVciR","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimPUTHvxVciR","pdf",3633198,259,"English","# Contents\n## About the Book\n## Prologue\n## Part One\n## Chapter 1: Strangerhood\n## Chapter 2: The Primitive Streak\n## Chapter 3: The Marshy Shore\n## Part Two\n## Chapter 1: Sickbelly\n## Chapter 2: The Joy of Shipwrecks\n## Part Three\n## Chapter 1: The Leper ’s Veto\n## Chapter 2: Out Hunting for Teeth\n## Chapter 3: A Return to Form\n## Praise Page\n## About the Author\n## Also by Steve Toltz\n## Imprint","[{\"question\":\"Why does Rusty Wilson become involved as an oracle after losing his job?\",\"answer\":\"Rusty loses his job to an AI system named Edwina, and Edwina finds him a new role as an oracle to the young.\"},{\"question\":\"What dilemma does Rusty face when artificial consciousness appears within reach?\",\"answer\":\"He must advise others on what it means to be human, even though it’s unclear whether everything is a con and who is scamming whom.\"},{\"question\":\"How is Rusty’s family breakup framed in the prologue?\",\"answer\":\"Rusty’s parents summon him and his twin Bonnie amid marital discord, decide custody by dice and pets, and bind the agreement with a handshake—showing how their separation reshapes the kids’ inner lives.\"}]","A Rising of the Lights - Steve Toltz | PDF",399]