WILLIAM McCALL is a veteran journalist who has written about the law, science and politics during a career that began with law school at the University of Oregon. He covered major trials for The Associated Press, including one of the largest verdicts against Big Tobacco in the nation’s history. He’s also contributed to international science coverage over the years, with stories ranging from lost planets to four-winged dinosaurs. He lives in Oregon with his wife and their youngest son after raising a small herd of Millennials.
The woman’s voice on the other end of the line sounded a little strange to MARK GRADY. It was sweet, friendly—but somehow off. She says her name is ANNA and she has some important information to share with him about the death of a billionaire software genius that Mark is investigating. But the call ends before Mark can find out more about Anna. And when Mark does learn her true identity, his whole world is about to collapse.
Mark is one of the lead investigators for Section Zero, a secret agency buried deep within Homeland Security and founded by his father, the former chief of staff to the president. Mark took the job thinking it was just another stepping stone in a career that began as a federal prosecutor. But now Mark is thrust into a confrontation with the first autonomous form of artificial intelligence in the history of the world, embodied in a female robot. Mark is forced to hunt her down and decide whether Anna should be destroyed to protect humanity from runaway AI in every computer. But Mark quickly learns he’s racing against a beautiful Russian spy working for another billionaire who wants to control the future for the wealthiest people on the planet. When Anna offers to help Mark track down the spy, he’s put in an impossible situation—trust a machine to save the world? Or sacrifice one of the great technological achievements of all time. The choice is even tougher because Mark has feelings for Anna—the kind of feelings Mark never thought you could have about a machine.
The woman’s voice on the other end of the line sounded a little strange to MARK GRADY. It was sweet, friendly—but somehow off. She says her name is ANNA and she has some important information to share with him about the death of a billionaire software genius that Mark is investigating. But the call ends before Mark can find out more about Anna. And when Mark does learn her true identity, his whole world is about to collapse.
Mark is one of the lead investigators for Section Zero, a secret agency buried deep within Homeland Security and founded by his father, the former chief of staff to the president. Mark took the job thinking it was just another stepping stone in a career that began as a federal prosecutor. But now Mark is thrust into a confrontation with the first autonomous form of artificial intelligence in the history of the world, embodied in a female robot. Mark is forced to hunt her down and decide whether Anna should be destroyed to protect humanity from runaway AI in every computer. But Mark quickly learns he’s racing against a beautiful Russian spy working for another billionaire who wants to control the future for the wealthiest people on the planet. When Anna offers to help Mark track down the spy, he’s put in an impossible situation—trust a machine to save the world? Or sacrifice one of the great technological achievements of all time. The choice is even tougher because Mark has feelings for Anna—the kind of feelings Mark never thought you could have about a machine.