Access Universe - E-book - ePub

On the eve of a catastrophic system crash that erases all of her subject data, Silver Rainwater, a promising but unmotivated graduate student, receives an invitation to join the players at Access Universe. With her graduate school funding hanging by a thread, her boyfriend's chronic cheating, a complicated Native American heritage and a relentless past all stressing her out, Silver takes a chance on the game.
She quickly earns thousands of dollars completing simple online challenges. Soon her friends, wise Uncle Neto, her mother's escalating addiction and her integrity take a back seat to Neiman Marcus, Jimmy Choo, a chauffeured limousine and an exotic vacation to Hawaii. As the quirky central computer at Access Universe encourages her to play and seems more human every day, Silver slips deeper into the game.
When she is ambushed in Hawaii by a player with "untouchable" status, she begins to regret the choices she is making. Ironically, Silver finds herself in the unique position to teach the central computer, a rogue artificial intelligence (SNIS aka, Sneeze), the difference between right and wrong and how to make ethical choices. When that same "untouchable" threatens her life and a good friend ends up dead, Silver and Sneeze must work together to redefine what it means to be human in a fast-paced, technology driven world.