Extinction (49 page)
Supreme Harmony.
China is already building surveillance networks similar to the ones described in
Extinction
. By 2014 the city of Chongqing plans to install half a million surveillance cameras linked by servers that will store the video and distribute it to police officials. The ostensible purpose of the network is to fight crime, but human-rights advocates say the Chinese government can also use it to identify dissidents. In July 2011,
The Wall Street Journal
reported that three U.S. companies were seeking to get involved in assembling the network.
* * *
While writing this novel, I was constantly aware of the parallels between fiction and reality. In fact, I came to think of the book as an allegory for the current situation in China and other countries that are using new technologies to silence dissent. If, like me, you’re outraged by this trend, I urge you to join Amnesty International, which fights government repression across the globe.
I’d like to thank my colleagues at
Scientific American
for their encouragement and support. The members of my writing group—Rick Eisenberg, Steve Goldstone, Dave King, Melissa Knox, and Eva Mekler—offered helpful criticism and advice. My agent, Dan Lazar of Writers House, found a wonderful publisher for the book, and my editor, Peter Joseph of Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, whipped the manuscript into shape. As always, I owe the greatest debt to Lisa, who cheerfully puts up with all my nonsense.
Also by Mark Alpert
Final Theory
The Omega Theory
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARK ALPERT, author of the internationally bestselling thriller
Final Theory
and its sequel,
The Omega Theory
, is a contributing editor at
Scientific American
. His work has also appeared in
Fortune, Popular Mechanics,
and
Playboy
. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.
Learn more at
www.MarkAlpert.com
.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
EXTINCTION.
Copyright © 2013 by Mark Alpert. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
Cover design by Steve Snider
Jacket rendering by Ociacia/
Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Alpert, Mark, 1961–
Extinction: a thriller / Mark Alpert.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-250-02134-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-02276-9 (e-book)
1. Computer hackers—Fiction. 2. Defense information, Classified—China—Fiction. 3. Artificial intelligence—Fiction. 4. Terrorism—Prevention—China—Fiction. 5. Suspense fiction. 6. Science fiction. I. Title.
PS3601.L67E97 2013
813'.6—dc23
2012042089
eISBN 9781250022769
First Edition: February 2013