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Synopsis
In The Millennium Virus, a consortium of leading international banks offers a $100 million prize for a comprehensive solution to the Y2K computer problem; computer genius Jason Chase and his partner Ted Drescher develop a virus that fixes the Y2K bug.
Drescher successfully demonstrates the Millennium Virus; hired guns kill him and attempt to make the murder look like a suicide. Jason Chase gets the message; the $100 million is a lure to smoke out and destroy Y2K solutions so major banks and governments can control and profit from the financial chaos that will ensue! Jason realizes he must abandon the Millennium Virus if he is to stay alive.
Enter Shereen Liand, glamorous, glib, and talented. She wins Jason's trust, but is she worthy of it?
The events that unfold lead Jason and Shereen on a dangerous journey from New York to Antigua, Montserrat, and finally to the remote Chatham Islands of New Zealand, where the Year 2000 will begin. Their goal is to insert the Millennium Virus in the master computer that controls the world's financial transactions by satellite link from this lonely, out-of-the-way place.
THIS STORY HAS IT ALL: A contemporary issue, the conflict of two people against a powerful conspiracy, exotic locations, a powerful heroine, lots of action! It's the best action-adventure read of 1999!
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From the Author
The idea for The Millennium Virus came to me while I was mowing the lawn in November 1997. I had read and heard the growing rumblings about the Y2K computer problem, and began ruminating about its potential impact on the billions of people who have little to do with computers, but whose financial lives are controlled by them.
It occurred to me that banks and governments could use the Y2K bug as an excuse to stop posting paychecks and paying social security and other obligations while still demanding mortgage and credit card payments. The ensuing financial chaos would enable them to prosper from the Y2K problem.
When I worked in the mutual fund industry in the 1960's, I learned of "the overnight float," interest charged by banks for instantly advancing money to close large corporate transactions.
My next thought was that banks could earn extra interest on these transactions by posting them on the other side of the International Date Line. I mused about the possibility of a Master Computer that controlled all the world's financial transactions, hidden somewhere in Guam or New Zealand. By the time I finished mowing the lawn, Jason Chase, Ted Drescher, and Shereen Liand had been born in my mind, and their quest to create and install the Millennium Virus was roughly outlined.
Could the conspiracy premise postulated by The Millennium Virus be valid? In writing the book, I talked to one Y2K expert who said, "You think you've written fiction, but it may well be true." I know that in my business life managers have used and misused computers and their capabilities to suit their own purposes, often to the public's detriment. Isn't it amazing how computers can log all of your cel phone calls, yet not round them off to the second?
For the past 42 years I have been paid to write things for other people. The Millennium Virus was written because it came to me, took over my mind and body, and demanded to be written. I hope you enjoy it, and that it turns out to be pure fiction! -John Bassett
About the Author
Born in Cleveland, John Bassett got his start in writing thanks to Bill Veeck, the colorful owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1946 to 1950. Veeck originated an essay contest, "Why I want to be Batboy for the Cleveland Indians" in 1948. Bassett was one of more than 5,000 Cleveland area boys who entered the contest. He finished in the top 100, winning a pair of tickets to an Indians' game and a copy of Bob Feller's Strikeout Story. The following year, Bassett finished in the top 10 in the Indians' contest, earning a trip to Cleveland Stadium and an interview for the batboy's job with a screening committee that included Veeck and Hall of Fame members Hank Greenberg and Tris Speaker. Bassett didn't win the batboy job, but did earn a Season Pass for two, and more popularity and notoriety than he had ever thought possible.
The sudden fame and wealth obtained by writing made a career in journalism an easy choice. Bassett earned a B.S. in Journalism at Kent State University and began a professional career that has included work as a trade newspaper reporter, editor of employee and trade magazines, public relations, and advertising.
Bassett's credits include more than 400 television commercials, 4,000 radio spots, three dozen annual reports, and more ads and brochures than he can count. After more than 40 years of writing things for paying clients, The Millennium Virus is the first work he has produced to satisfy his own muse.
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- PublisherDerivations
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 1891899503
- ISBN 13 9781891899508
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages183
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The Millennium Virus
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Seller Inventory # B09K-00417
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