The Six

by Mark Alpert

Book Overview

Exchanging their bodies for machines, these teens will defy expectations, brave danger, and defend civilization. They are The Six. Adam's muscular dystrophy has stolen his mobility, his friends, and in less than a year it will take his life. Virtual reality games are Adam's only escape from his wheelchair. In his alternate world, he can defeat anyone. Running, jumping, scoring touchdowns: Adam is always the hero. Then an artificial intelligence program hacks into Adam's game. Created by Adam's computer-genius father, Sigma has gone rogue, threatening to kill Adam--and the entire human race. Their one chance to stop Sigma is using the technology Adam's dad developed to digitally preserve the mind of his dying son. Along with a select group of other terminally ill teens, Adam becomes one of the Six who have forfeited their failing bodies to inhabit weaponized robots. But with time running short, the Six must learn to manipulate their new mechanical forms and work together to train for epic combat...before Sigma destroys humanity. "Adam is an unusual hero--and he faces a frightening question: Computers can't kill-CAN they? I'm still shaken by the answer. Will the near-future really be this terrifying?"-R.L. Stine, bestselling author of the Fear Street series. Visit Mark at markalpert.com.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1492615293
• ISBN13: 9781492615293
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.6" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

A superb SciFi novel.

Mark Alpert has written a superb SciFi novel with a most unusual storyline. The essence of the plot involves a scientist involved in nanotechnology research has developed nanoparticles which, when injected into the brain, can capture all the memories, intellect, deductive reasoning, self-consciousness, in short, that which makes someone human. These nanoparticles can then be transferred into robots equipped with neuromorphic electronics, and the result is a human robot. Six young, highly intelligent teenagers with crippled bodies and less than six months to live are chosen/volunteer for this transfer which, unfortunately, will kill the human body they had been occupying. One of the teenagers’ father had created an artificial intelligence computer program designed to compete with other AI programs eliminating weaker programs but learning the best from them in the process. It is known as Sigma. It became very powerful, escaped it’s computer and infected the internet, and decided that the human race was another competitor that needed to be eliminated. Thus the stage is set for the greatest cyber war imaginable. As Alpert states in his closing notes, “For years computer experts have predicted that machines will eventually become self-aware and self-improving, which will trigger a tremendous leap in their abilities. The experts have even coined a term for this pivotal moment: the Singularity. And some researchers have warned that we need to prepare for this leap by programming ‘friendliness’ into artificial-intelligence systems. When powerful AIs start making decisions for themselves, we won’t be able to stop them from pursuing their goals, so we need to make sure that the well-being of the human race is one of their priorities. If we don’t, we may face a ruthless AI like Sigma, who sees humans only as competitors.” (p. 362). The story ends on an ominous note, however. And I will leave it at that. (less)

I devoured this book.

This book was very intriguing and I could barely put it down. It’s very well thought out and very interesting. 10/10. Currently waiting for the second book to arrive. •u•