Fools' Experiments - Edward M Lerner

Fools' Experiments is a near-future technothriller-a tale of artificial life, artificial intelligence, and world-threatening hubris. In a nutshell:

"We are not alone, and it's our own damn fault ...."

Something demonic is stalking the brightest men and women in the computer industry. It attacks without warning or mercy, leaving its prey insane or comatose - or dead.

The mayhem is especially calamitous just now. Something far nastier than any virus, worm, or Trojan horse program is being evolved in laboratory confinement by well-intentioned but misguided researchers. When their artificial life-form escapes onto the Internet, no conventional defense against malicious software can begin to compete. As disasters multiply, computer scientist Doug Carey knows that unconventional measures may be civilization's last hope.

And that any artificial life-form learns "very" fast ....

"Lerner puts his expertise in computer science ... to good use in this exciting and unsettling near-future thriller. It's an ambitious idea for a novel, and Lerner carries it off in style, capturing our interest and our acceptance of his premise from the very beginning."-"Booklist"

"Part hard-wired sf and part intrigue and suspense. A good choice for readers who prefer their sf with a heavy dose of hard science along with fast-paced storytelling."- "Library Journal"