Beta - Project Avatar : Diadema Press : 9780985418205 : 0985418206 : 01 Feb 2013 : When a powerful virtual agent makes its way out of the lab, the military will stop at nothing to get it back. Hays hacks into our greatest fears of technology while simultaneously tempting us with the phenomenal capabilities of twenty-first-century electronics. This smart, topical, furious-paced thriller thrusts world-class cryptographer Dee Lockwood against an array of rogue, sociopathic assassins intent on stealing a defunded military software application and igniting a Third Gulf War. Lockwood is on her way to a secret NSA conference when a vicious hijacking leaves her friend in a coma-but not before he has installed the last copy of BETA on her laptop and smartphone. When Lockwood overcomes her fear and provides the impetus for her fellow passengers to regain control of the aircraft, she imagines the terrifying ordeal is over. But it's only the beginning. BETA is actually "Project Avatar," a secret m