Charon was the most ruthless—and brilliant—criminal of the twenty-first century, a practitioner of illegal robotics and android research. He is dead now, and General Thomas Wharington believes his team of experts has deleted all the electronic copies the megalomaniacal inventor created of himself. However, one major problem remains: Alpha,
the only android survivor of Charon's cybernetic empire. Outwardly indistinguishable from a human woman, Alpha has superhuman strength and speed, and perhaps even more deadly capabilities still unknown. Thomas's superiors want her dismantled and studied, but to Thomas it feels like murder. He stalls for time, a move that could prove disastrous. Alpha escapes from an escape-proof compound, kidnaps Thomas, and takes him to one of Charon's hidden installations. Charon might be dead, but Alpha continues to carry out her late master's orders, and she refuses to elaborate on what those orders entail. Her behavior is becoming more human—or so it seems. Is she developing emotions and a conscience, or is she just learning to counterfeit them as a means of carrying out her enigmatic orders? And do those orders include Thomas's death sentence?
Author(s): Catherine Asaro
Series: Sunrise Alley
Publisher: Baen
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 368
Table of Contents......Page 1
I: A Guest in Virginia......Page 2
II: A Word Too Many......Page 12
III: An Autumn Walk......Page 22
IV: Night Visitor......Page 30
V: A Guest in Bethesda......Page 38
VI: House Call......Page 45
VII: The Bungalow......Page 55
VIII: Quicksilver Killer......Page 65
IX: Weather......Page 83
X: Gemini Nightmare......Page 96
XI: A Reach Too Far......Page 109
XII: The Dark......Page 111
XIII: The Choice......Page 113
XIV: A Curtain of Rain......Page 120
XV: Home Fires......Page 130
XVI: The Spectral Code......Page 136
XVII: The Missed Exit......Page 151
XIX: Beyond the Lake......Page 156
Epilogue......Page 162
