Solid State Rhyme: (A Mandate Series Prequel Novella)

Daniel Grant is a quiet teenager with a penchant for mad science--computer science and robotics, that is. His "A-Life" project, based on a genetic algorithm he designed, wins first place in his secondary school technology competition. He keeps working on the project, obsessed with his "Bots." One night, the bots begin to multiply and evolve, and they discover the Internet.

At first, a new software virus is reported, hitting networks around the world. They invade government and corporate computers indiscriminately. But the "virus" behaves strangely--rather than causing harm, the bots improve computers, replacing error-prone human code with their own. In a dangerous world, the bots must learn to adapt in order to survive.