Fools' Experiments

Fools' Experiments (2008) is a standalone SF novel. It is set in the near future at a time when neurological interfaces are being developed for several applications, including a neural net helmet for controlling computers. In this novel, Doug Carey is manager of the Neural Interface Department at BioSciCorp. He has a unique interest in this field since his right arm is a prosthetic. He has gathered one of the best teams in the industry. Cheryl Stern is a computer scientist who has helped develop a neural interface helmet. She has applied for a job at BioSciCorp. Arthur Jason Rosenberg is a Professor of Artificial Life. AJ teaches an online course in the subject and supervises his graduate students. Linda del Vecchio is one of AJ's graduate students. She is close to finishing her doctorate. Her thesis concerns the forced development of artificial life. Glenn Adams is a former Army Colonel and is now the Deputy Director of the Inter-Agency Computer Network Security Forum, the principal federal agency protecting the country from malware. He got the job through his DoD contacts. His boss and co-workers don't like him, since they are geeks and he is not. In this novel, Doug is spending company time playing racquet ball on a virtual court. He is training his neural interface prosthetic arm by using it vigorously and frequently. The virtual court increases the difficulty of the workout. After the game, Doug returns to his office, where Cheryl is waiting for him. Doug had been following Cheryl's career for some time and gladly welcomes her application at BioSciCorp. So he starts her talking about her career and just listens until it is time for lunch. Doug takes her out to eat and they continue the conversation. One item that come up is the death of her mentor. His demise brought Cheryl to BioSciCorp. They discuss recent deaths of other researchers in the neural interface field. They know of three other deaths or mental disorders in the small group of fellow workers in their field. They gradually conclude that the number of deaths and disorders in neural interface technology greatly exceeds chance. Doug and Cheryl start interviewing friends and relatives of these dead and disabled researchers. During this time, they experience several virus attacks at work. Doug even loses the use of his prosthetic arm from one attack. They discover that all the deaths and disorders involved the use of neural interface helmets. Then they learn that the mental disorders seem to come from computer viruses attacking through the helmets. So they take their evidence to the Inter-Agency Computer Network Security Forum. Glenn Adams initially thinks that they are kooks. Yet the malware involved is a variant of the Class of '10 virus. Glenn has been trying for some time to alert his fellow workers on the dangers of this virus. Then a student worker introduces the virus into a supercomputer being used for the artificial life project. The AL evo

Fools' Experiments is a good near-future hard-SF thriller, with decent writing and flat characters. I could never tell the male characters apart -- Jim, Glenn, Doug -- and constantly got confused about who was on deck in a particular scene. Which is too bad, but the story-line was strong enough to carry me past this traditional SF failing. I'd rather have good writing and good characterization too, but I'll take one like this, where the Idea is King. Fools' Experiments is a reprise of the familiar "what-if an AI emerges and takes over cyberspace" idea, well thought out and pretty scary too. A traditional cautionary tale, and one that's likely to reach its intended audience. Who knows, Lerner's book might keep us from making the same mistakes, if AI ever does emerge. A memorable and appropriate title by a writer with a strong technical background. See Dave Truesdale's good review (in first comment) for the details. Truesdale's tastes are similar to mine, and his best-of-year recommendations here are solid. Happy reading-- Peter D. Tillman

Lerner has recently contributed with Larry Niven (Ringworld) on several novels. In this book, he explores what might happen when a computer virus is give the ability to learn and the directive to survive at all costs. Once it escapes from its computer lab, it goes to work with a vengeance, not only trying to survive, but also getting revenge on those that experimented on it. Virtual reality researcher Doug Carey is only really interested in morning his dead wife, and getting his prosthetic bio-mechanical arm (his actual arm lost in the same accident that killed his wife), but finds he has to stop the virus before it invades the computer chips in his new arm. It is a fun techno-thriller, easy to read and timely as computers become even more integrated into our lives.

Given a recent cyber attack on the Pentagon, it was a little chilling to finish this book. Nothing about the novel seems completely impossible. Much more of a techno thriller than true sci-fi. The author posited a world in which 2 seperate research lines collide with basic mal-ware and a little human selfishness to create a potential armagedon that is barely averted, then accidentally switched back on, and finally 'defeated' by a good-hearted person. I am looking forward to future novels.

Virtual reality researcher Doug Carey works on programs to improve bio-mechanics ever since the accident occurred. He misses his beloved spouse Holly who died in an accident that cost him metaphysically his heart and physically his right arm. He diligently plays racquetball in an attempt to train his bio-mechanical arm to fit his body. Computer scientist AJ Rosenberg is working on artificial intelligence. He creates a breakthrough program that can modify itself as needed; he assigns the program to survive at all costs for billions of cyberspace years. The entity now exists but not in any known space; it was, is, and will be. It is beyond that of a simple computer virus or worm as it infests humans who have some computer technology inside them like bio-mechanical arms. With its prime directive of surviving the entity sends highly regarded scientists over the edge of sanity and threatens the computer based world. FOOLS' EXPERIMENTS is an exciting cautionary science fiction that warns what could happen if technology runs amuck especially in "webolution". The story line is fast-paced as the computer worlds of Doug and AJ collide via the entity. Although not much new is offered especially on the AI side of the equation, fans will enjoy this fun tale even if the turning on of the supercollider in Europe failed to end the world (for now). Harriet Klausner