The Last Firewall

I was determined not to become a guinea pig. Leon understood and never pressured me to go to the Institute.

But we were driven to find a way to help people and AI coexist. Adam wanted to free the machines from persecution from humans. Humanity was going through its own transition from adolescence to adulthood, and needed to decide what to do with itself now that we’d been elevated above the minutia of basic survival needs.

The world would change faster now. We were the first hybrids, but we wouldn’t be the last. Nanotech would accelerate the transformation.

We didn’t know the answers, but we decided that this would be our mission.

We made it to Portland several days later with ease. Between control over the net and implants, gaining transportation and evading watchers had become child’s play. I continued the trick of filtering us from people’s vision.

Leon and I walked down my block and stopped in front of the door to my house, returning to a home I’d known only as a child.

I turned off the vision filter, allowing others to see us, and knocked quickly before the courage left me. After a moment Maggie answered, grabbing me in her arms and nearly squeezing the life out of me. Then she held me at arm’s length. “You’ve changed.”

Standing there in the doorway, monitoring the global Internet with a fraction of my consciousness, dressed in black combat gear with a gun strapped to my waist, I laughed. “I’m still the same, Maggie. We can’t stay, as much as I want to. I came for Einstein.”

We went into the living room, where Tom and Sarah were glued to the screen of the old-fashioned television. It was playing news reports about the dismantling of the People’s Party and the events in Tucson. My photo flashed by at short intervals.

Sarah and Tom turned to look at me, their mouths hanging open at my surprise reappearance.

I shrugged and whistled to Einstein. She bounded over to me and I buried my face in her fur.

Author’s Note

Thanks so much for reading The Last Firewall. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

Since publishing my first novel, Avogadro Corp, I have received a tremendous amount of help from readers who tell their friends, post reviews, or mention my books on social media. As an independent author, I don’t have a marketing department. So if you enjoyed The Last Firewall, won’t you please help support it, and the other books I plan to write, by spreading the word?

If you haven’t read them, I have two other Singularity Novels. Avogadro Corp tells the story of the world’s first artificial intelligence emergence. A.I. Apocalypse is about an evolutionary computer virus that spawns a civilization of AI. You’ll find them at most online retailers and will find more information on my website.

You can also subscribe to my mailing list to get updates on future novels at http://www.williamhertling.com or follow me on twitter at @hertling.

Thank you!

William Hertling

July 13, 2013

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to readers who provided feedback on the manuscript, including Mat Ellis, Brad Feld, Erin Gately, Pete Hwang, Ben Huh, Gene Kim, Dan Marshall, Matthew J. Price, Harper Reed, Nathan Rutman, Garen Thatcher, Jeff Weiss, and Mike Whitmarsh.

Special thanks to my critique group, Boni Wolff and Shana Kusin.

For professional editing and proofreading assistance, I am indebted to Benee Knauer, Merridawn Duckler, and Deborah Wessell. Thanks to their efforts, this book is immensely better.

The cover and interior design is thanks to the talented efforts of Maureen Gately. Electronic formats are thanks to Rick Fisher. Credit for the title idea The Last Firewall goes to Valentina Gately.

Thanks to Gonzalo Flores, acupuncturist and karate and meditation teacher, for his training and expert advice. Thanks also to Shana Kusin, M.D., because it’s good to know the effects of heat stroke and how long it takes to cut someone’s head off with a knife.

I greatly appreciate writing and publishing advice I received from Hugh Howey, Annie Bellet, Erik Wecks, many members of the Codex writers group, and the Northwest Independent Writers Association.

Of course, all errors that remain are my own.

Also, a huge thank you to my wife, Erin Gately, for support during the roller coaster ride of this novel. I don’t think either of us could have guessed how long this book would take. And of course, thanks to my kids, who sacrifice Saturday mornings with their dad and pancakes so that I can write.

Finally, many thanks to the readers who have supported my books, written reviews, told others about them and, most of all, encouraged me with their feedback.