A Voice in the Mind

After technology robbed Randy Hutton of his livelihood, will it also claim his mind?

Isabella Hutton was the up-and-coming star at Breakthrough Systems, leading a project that would help artificially intelligent computer systems work with their human counterparts. All the smart machines needed, she reasoned, was a better understanding of the strengths and limitations of their human coworkers. And so, she loaded her software with the accumulated knowledge of the human mind.

Her husband, Randy, however, had fallen on hard times. He had lost his management job in customer service, "a victim of technology" as his manager had put it when he let him go. Randy, however, described it as being ousted by little more than a glorified answering machine.

After a time, a growing evil in Randy's head, a disembodied voice, made it clear that he need look no further for his revenge than his wife. Soon, violence erupted all around Isabella.

Nicole Veles, Isabella's new friend, began to suspect that Randy was behind these tragedies, but would it make any difference? Because by the time Nicole came to this belief, husband and wife were deep in the Colorado wilderness, and Randy had murder on his mind.