Prey

Prey is a techno novel first published in November 2002. Like Jurassic Park, the novel serves as a cautionary tale about developments in science and technology; in this case, nanotechnology.

The book features relatively new advances in the computing/scientific community, such as artificial life, emergence (and by extension, complexity), genetic algorithms, and agent-based computing.

Characters

 * Jack Forman – A programmer who is an expert in the field of agent-based artificial intelligence software. He also has a background in biology, and becomes a stay-at-home dad while Julia works out in the Xymos Fab Plant.
 * Julia Forman + [Presumably]– Jack's wife, and vice president of Xymos.
 * Ricky Morse + [Presumably]– The team leader at Xymos.
 * Mae Chang - A field biologist at Xymos.
 * Charley Davenport + - A worker at Xymos who specializes in genetic algorithms.
 * David Brooks +- An engineer on the team who wears a Ghost-in-the-Shell T-shirt frequently.
 * Rosie Castro +- A specialist in natural language processing.
 * Bobby Lembeck + [presumably] - A programming supervisor.
 * Vince Reynolds + [Presumably] - the maintenance operator of the Xymos lab.
 * Amanda Forman - Jack and Julia's baby daughter.
 * Nicole Forman - Jack and Julia's preteen daughter.
 * Eric Forman - Jack and Julia's son.

Minor characters

 * Ellen - Jack's active-minded psychiatrist sister from out of town. She takes care of his kids while he is in Nevada and believes Julia is on stimulants, suggested amphetamines.
 * Don Gross - Jack's former boss, who fired Jack.
 * Gary - Jack's lawyer.
 * Maria - Jack and Julia's cleaning lady.
 * Annie - Jack's headhunter.
 * Carol - Julia's assistant.
 * Mary - Ricky's wife.
 * Tim Berman - The man that took over Jack's job.