David Welsh

Genes, Dots, and Spies David Welsh

Five graduate students at a large Midwestern university share an old house, a thirst for success, and a zest for life. They are about to be drawn into a darker side of corporate life that will ultimately involve them all in the world of industrial espionage. Kate Summers thinks she has found a way to read the genetic code faster than any current method. Brian O'Leary is selected to participate in the fine-tuning of a new type of computer. Life is good, and the summer break promises them all opportunity and adventure. In Washington an ambitious White House aide and a crusty senator create a new task force to combat corporate spying in the computer age. James Dougherty of the FBI and Sean Harrington of CIA are tapped to spearhead the new agency called FISA. Obtaining little help from their own agencies, they fall under the tutelage of William Timmons, retired military and ex-NSA official. At CSU a seemingly upstanding Japanese businessman notes an a nomaly, and recruits an insider in the computer lab. The accidental discovery of a bug on their phone prods the students and their mentors into becoming part-timecounter-espionage agents. As they run into dead ends and realize help is needed, they turn to an unlikely set of players and the game is on in earnest.