Prey by Michael Crichton

Prey by Michael Crichton is a SciFi book that focuses on the possibilities of evolutionary programming and nano technology. Problems arise at a nano technology company call Xymos when they lose control of a nano particle swarm. Jack Foreman is called in to help. They used his genetic algorithm, PREDPREY, to program the swarm, and hoped he would be able to get it under control. When Jack arrives, he begins to find out that there is much more to the story than what he has been told. The swarm that has broken free is evolving and fast. They also seem to be reproducing. If they don’t do something fast, they are in a lot of trouble.

This book was appealing to me for two reasons: It’s a good story, and it goes pretty in depth about genetic algorithms, evolutionary programming, and programming in general. What we see in Prey seems pretty real, possible, and close to being done. Genetic Algorithms are something I have learned about in school and have started to program. Right from the beginning we start hearing about the kind of work that Jack does, and how he views the world, how he thinks, etc. This is a surprisingly accurate representation of the typical programmer. Crichton really did his research. The story also starts to pick up right at the beginning. Jack’s wife is a VP of Xymos, and has been working long hours lately. Her character has changed and he can’t put is finger on why. There is suspicion of cheating. Things start to get weird at home. That’s when Jack is called into Xymos, and goes against his wife’s wishes.

All in all, it’s a pretty fast read. The continued plot twists, surprises and frightening reality of it all makes it quite the page turner. And the references to programming don’t hurt either.