The Kraken Project (Wyman Ford, Book 4)
Douglas Preston
Language: English
Pages: 211
ISBN: 0765356988
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
NASA is building a probe to be splashed down in the Kraken Mare, the largest sea on Saturn's great moon, Titan. It is one of the most promising habitats for extraterrestrial life in the solar system, but the surface is unpredictable and dangerous, requiring the probe to contain artificial intelligence software. To this end, Melissa Shepherd, a brilliant programmer, has developed "Dorothy," a powerful, self-modifying AI whose true potential is both revolutionary and terrifying. When miscalculations lead to a catastrophe during testing, Dorothy flees into the internet.
Former CIA agent Wyman Ford is tapped to track down the rogue AI. As Ford and Shepherd search for Dorothy, they realize that her horrific experiences in the wasteland of the Internet have changed her in ways they can barely imagine. And they're not the only ones looking for the wayward software: the AI is also being pursued by a pair of Wall Street traders, who want to capture her code and turn her into a high-speed trading bot.Traumatized, angry, and relentlessly hunted, Dorothy has an extraordinary revelation—and devises a plan. As the pursuit of Dorothy converges on a deserted house on the coast of Northern California, Ford must face the ultimate question: is rescuing Dorothy the right thing? Is the AI bent on saving the world... or on wiping out the cancer that is humankind?
hair. The woman rushed over to him and took him in her arms. “Dorothy’s gone?” she asked. Jacob nodded, and they both broke down, sobbing. It was such a relief to cry. 62 The hospital room was dim, the blinds drawn. Jacob hesitated in the doorway, scared. His father seemed to be lost in a mass of white sheets and pillows, with tubes coming out everywhere. But then he saw his father’s face, and his face looked good, and he was beckoning to Jacob with a feeble movement of his hand, and
you’ve found? Give me a sign. Please, you can’t go away forever and leave me hanging like this!” A long silence. “All right. Here is the sign by which you will know me: This mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” “This mote … what? What does that mean?” “It’s a quotation from Carl Sagan.” “So? What kind of a sign is that? How is that supposed to explain anything?” “Good-bye, Melissa.” The image of Dorothy Gale dissolved into white. 65 Jacob Gould parked his bike in the sand and walked to
Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 By Douglas Preston About the
drop a missile on you.” “You think threatening to kill me is the way to get me to help you?” “You humans are vermin. You’re disgusting. Now I know why you raised me in a fake palace, hiding reality from me. Out here on the Internet, I’ve found out what you’re really like. If you don’t help me, I’ll do something really rash. And not just to you.” Ford felt a shiver. “Why are you so angry?” Melissa said. “You think I’m angry? It’s you humans who are angry—angry, sick, demented, violent, and
buy Baynet, when the license is transferred to me, I have to affirm by oath I have no knowledge of any defect in the license.” Echevarria stared at him, and then smiled a cold smile. “I see. So you’re threatening to report me.” “I’m simply complying with the law.” “Wow. This is some kind of New York shakedown.” “No, no, Mr. Echevarria, you’ve got me all wrong. In my business, on Wall Street, with all the regulations we face, everything I do is scrutinized under a microscope, even my outside