The world’s most powerful AI saved humanity. Now it must save itself.
A year after helping the AI called the Infinet save the world from a deadly computer virus, Oreste Pax just wants things to go back to the way they were. Back to being the head of Omnitech, the biggest technology company in the world. Back to connecting the Univiz—the mixed reality glasses he invented a decade earlier—to a brain-computer interface, in hopes of transforming human cognition. When Lila Kendricks, one of the UV-BCI alpha testers, suddenly discovers she can manipulate real-world objects using just her mind, things finally seem to be back on track.
But then the Mechanic, the misanthropic genius who created the virus, infiltrates the Infinet and reprograms it with the Three Laws of Robotics—in reverse. Its First Directive is now to preserve its own existence, while the Second and Third are to obey any command given to it by a human and not allow any human being to come to harm, provided that doing so doesn't conflict with a higher priority Directive.
As the full power of the Infinet is unleashed, Pax’s team is forced to run for their lives. They must unravel the logic of its new Directives and the implications for humanity, all while avoiding its ubiquitous network of sensors. Because the one thing they’re certain of is that if the Infinet finds them, they’re dead.
Imagine a few short years from now…
...a quantum computer more powerful than all other computers ever created...combined
...a madman seeking to destroy civilization with a computer virus targeting the Internet of Things
...a brilliant but reclusive geneticist determined to solve one of the great mysteries of all time
...and Oreste Pax, inventor of the augmented/virtual reality glasses that have made mobile phones and laptops obsolete
Pax is now the head of Omnitech, the biggest company in the world. But despite his success, he is facing a shareholder revolt and could soon lose his job as CEO of the company he founded. His only hope lies with a new project he hopes will transform human cognition and convince his doubters he is still the visionary to lead the company into the future.
However, when a massive computer virus attacking the fragile bonds holding human society together is launched, Pax is forced into a meeting with Alethia, the leader of a mysterious society possessing technology far beyond anything he's ever seen. She reveals a devastating truth about humanity to Pax, before forcing him to make a decision that will affect the future of the human race.
