The eighth book in the GhostWalker series, 2010

For Mary Scriven,

a woman who brings joy into my life each time I see her.

Always keep your childlike joy of living.

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As with any book, many people helped to get it right. First and foremost, I have to thank Master Sergeant Retired Lloyd Stottsberry, a man who has dedicated his life to the service of his country. He would probably shoot me for calling him heroic, so I won’t, but you get the picture. His help was invaluable. Any mistakes are entirely mine.

Many thanks to Brian Feehan, who has that mathematical and fiendish mind and always answers the call for murder-and-mayhem discussions. Domini, you know I’d never get a book out without you, and of course Kathi Firzlaff, who catches all the little things for me. Mason, thank you for the tips on skateboarding.

And of course the book would not be complete without a special thanks to Dr. Christopher Tong, coeditor of the “state of the art” series Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Design (volumes I, II, and III). He is currently developing The World Meeting Place, a Web 3.0 AI-based site aimed at enabling the world’s people to collaborate on solving the world’s problems. He has been a manager, consultant, teacher, and researcher at many well-known institutions including Rutgers, MIT, the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, and Siemens Research. He lent me his assistance in learning how artificial intelligence works, and also spent many hours figuring out an AI encryption program. His help on this book was absolutely invaluable to me.