That’s exactly what appears to be happening with Anthony S. Policastro’s thriller, DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM, to be released in paperback the end of May.
The plot, which centers on a sentient chip that feeds off the Internet for its knowledge, has come true with the release this month (May 2009) of Stephen Wolfram’s Wolfram/Alpha search engine, dubbed the “Google Killer.”
Like the chip that Policastro imagined in his novel, the Wolfram/Alpha program “draws on the knowledge on the internet, as well as private databases,” according to a May 3 report in London’s The Independent online edition.
“Instead of searching the web for info, Alpha is built around a vast repository of curated data from public and licensed sources. Alpha then organizes and computes this knowledge with the help of sophisticated Natural Language Processing algorithms. Users can ask Alpha any kind of question, which can be constructed just like a Google search (think: ‘hurricane bob’ or ‘carbon steel strength’),”
“This is so freaky. I can’t believe what I imagined in my book two years ago is coming true today,” Policastro said from his home in Raleigh, NC.
Policastro explained in his novel that a very sophisticated chip runs spiders all over the Internet recording and logging the location of specific information. When you ask the chip a question or give it a command it locates the relevant information and uses algorithms to produce the most correct answer. Only his imaginary chip becomes sentient as it gains more knowledge and within two weeks of its launch has the IQ of a teenager.
The Independent reported, “Computer experts believe the new search engine will be an evolutionary leap in the development of the Internet. Nova Spivack, an Internet and computer expert, said that Wolfram Alpha could prove just as important as Google.”
“I just hope the rest of my novel doesn’t come true or we’re in big trouble,” Policastro said.
On April 3, Policastro said the Conficker Worm is just the tip of the iceberg and more catastrophic hacks are on the horizon based on his research into the hacker culture and the plot of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM, which fictionalizes a probable cyber threat scenario.
The plot in DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM involves an Internet worm that cannot be defeated by conventional security methods and which takes control of the US power grid and cell phone network using botnets.
The digital terrorists give the government an ultimatum - bomb the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan with nuclear weapons to put an end to Al-Quada or they will start downing commercial airliners. Only security expert Dan Riker can stop them, but they have kidnapped Dan's family. Will Dan save his family or will millions die?
The eBook version of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM is available on Amazon’s Kindle or from Smashwords.com. The paperback version will be released the end of May 2009.
Link to the Publication:
Additional information about the author’s other work can be obtained from the author’s media site at http://home.earthlink.net/~
Sources for this press release
The Independent online edition - http://www.independent.co.uk/
ReadWriteWeb - http://www.readwriteweb.com/
Author’s Web Presence
Website: http://home.earthlink.net/~
Personal Blog: http://aspnovelist.blogspot.com
The Writer’s Edge blog: http://writersedgeinfo.blogspot.com
The Dog is Chasing Ghosts blog: http://ghost-
Twitter: aspolicastro
