The Ethan Hamilton Cyberthrillers Series

He had a theory that the “accidental” electrocutions killing people online weren’t accidents at all…but the work of a high tech serial killer. He called the FBI with his theory, but they blew him off. Until someone they cared about was “accidentally” electrocuted. Now the government wants Ethan Hamilton—a regular family guy and virtual reality programmer struggling with his belief—to go after a murderer who kills on principle. But Ethan’s addiction to online gaming threatens to destroy his family and his faith long before he can track down the assassin. Virtually Eliminated is a near-future technothriller in the tradition of In the Line of Fire and Snowcrash. A maniac bent on killing in the name of patriotism, a civilian expert with the only chance of stopping him, and the mind-stretching cat and mouse chase that takes them to the depths of the sea, to the craters of the moon, and to the very edge of the online universe. Virtually Eliminated is book 1 in the Ethan Hamilton series of near future cyberthrillers. * Virtually Eliminated * Terminal Logic * Fatal Defect ** These novels were originally published in 1996–8. ** Excerpt from Virtually Eliminated Once he decided to kill himself, the rest was easy. He took a last look at the candle burning on the bedside table, then willed the interface open. The world he saw through the goggles was dark, as it always was at the beginning. But with a nudge of thought, a portal of light opened and he flew through, leaving his body far behind. Back there, his name was Louis Parks. Here, he was Sentinel. In a few moments, he would be neither. This local net no longer satisfied him. He knew every node, every subdirectory—even every user—all too well. He hurried to the GlobeNet interface. There was the usual long queue. Sentinel wrinkled his forehead, and a collection of small three-dimensional objects appeared in the “air” before him. A computer-generated hand reached out from his invisible body to grasp something out of his inventory. It looked like a bullhorn. He activated it. Sheep, he thought, moving through the now-unpopulated net. He closed his bullhorn subroutine and sped invisibly through the interface. He had existed as Sentinel for two years, now: watching, listening, piecing things together. The inescapable conclusion grieved him, turned to stone what was left of his heart. It became clear that the time for sentinels—always so passive, quiet, and immobile—was past. The turning point had been Senator Griffith’s rebuttal. The lesser officials to whom Sentinel had divulged his findings had turned him away, but that had neither surprised nor discouraged him. But if a full Senator would turn a blind eye to the indisputable facts, however, America was in worse trouble than Sentinel had first imagined. That was when Sentinel had left the beaten path. If the United States government was not going to combat America’s invaders, then he was going to have to defend her himself. Sentinel breathed more easily once inside GlobeNet proper. He lived for the freedoms offered here. Freedom of expression, of presence, of information. Freedom from all restraint too: physical, monetary, legal, racial. Moral.

A killer with no address. A killer with no physical presence at all. And yet this killer reacts, strategizes, adapts. Thinks. Last time, the FBI relied upon Ethan Hamilton to catch a killer with an almost superhuman ability in the online world of GlobeNet. This time, they call upon Ethan to go up against a killer that can't be found, can't be reasoned with... ...and has just gained access to a ring of killer satellites. Terminal Logic is book 2 in the Ethan Hamilton series of near future cyberthrillers. * Virtually Eliminated * Terminal Logic * Fatal Defect ** These novels were originally published in 1996–8. ** EXCERPT FROM TERMINAL LOGIC Ethan pushed Play. Speakers hidden in the walls began to hiss with static. Then a man's voice, Middle Eastern to judge by the accent, emerged. He sounded angry. "Jerry Wright?" Another voice, much clearer and with aircraft prop noise in the background, answered. "Who is this?" "Are you Jerry Wright?" "Who is this?" Ethan strained to listen. It was difficult to separate the voices from the engine noise. "Ben-Deker," the first voice said, "you are the murderer of my relative, Azel of Beth-Haran. I am Magdeil, kinsman-redeemer." Ethan mouthed kinsman redeemer? to Gillette. The special agent touched his ear. Jerry Wright's voice came from beyond the grave. "Meecham Tower, I'm getting communications from an unknown source here. Nobody there's playing with the flight radio, are they? Over." "Ah, that's a negative, Bravo Adam. We're all behaving at the moment. Gillette leaned over. "This is where it gets real interesting." "Hey, Magdeil," Jerry Wright's voice said, "are you a robot from Sword of the Patriarchs?" The bot's voice said: "I claim the right of the kinsman-redeemer." "You do that," said the deceased. Ethan heard the point at which Jerry Wright's plane began to dive. He shut his eyes, listening to the man's final screams. The hiss faded from the speakers. The disc spun to a halt in the player. Ethan opened his eyes and found Gillette watching him. "So," Gillette asked, "what do you think?" Ethan rubbed his face. "I think it's a horrible way to die."

Middle-Eastern terrorists with bio-weapons. It's a far cry from the über hackers and malicious logic Ethan Hamilton has gone after before. But when these terrorists hired a cybertech team to hide their actions from the U.S. government, it became Ethan's problem. After his phenomenal successes, the United States president put Ethan in charge of a multi-agency anti-cyberterrorism organization. Which would be great, if they didn't all hate each other and resent being led by Ethan, the president's golden boy. Now turf wars and infighting may cause something a lot worse than political back-stabbing. It may directly enable the biggest bioterror attack in history. To stop these terrorists, Ethan won't be able to stay in his power fortress at home. He'll have to go into the field and get his hands dirty. In a deserted Pacific atoll. With Navy SEALs coming to stop the terrorists--and Ethan too, if he's not careful. In the middle of a category 5 typhoon. Fatal Defect is book 3 in the Ethan Hamilton series of near future Christian cyberthrillers. 1.    Virtually Eliminated 2.    Terminal Logic 3.    Fatal Defect ** These novels were originally published in 1996–8. ** Excerpt from Fatal Defect John Hawkwood had turned the audible alarms off. He didn't want the traitor to know he'd been discovered. When the subtle probing came this time, Hawkwood was ready. "Security breach!" His men ran to him, both in virtual reality and in the entertainment room. "Where?" "What's the location?" "What's happening?" "Should we shut it down?" "Mr. Hawkwood, we need coordinates!"  Hawkwood cursed. He had been lured out of position. He ripped the VR helmet and gloves off and fumbled to access his security control panel on his computer screen. "Five! Server five. Somebody's gained access. Gneisenau, take it off-line!" He rushed to where his men were unhooking cables. Gneisenau, a red-faced teen with tight-curled brown hair, dropped the cables. "There. It's done." When he again sat in his chair, Hawkwood saw he had a new e-mail message waiting for him. He called it up, thinking to find the first report about the incident from his men. Why did you bring us here? Some of us don't work for you anymore. At the time of our choosing, we will dispose of you. Who is loyal to you and who is not? The game begins.