| Virtually Maria is a romantic thriller about the quest of one man to regain the love of his lost wife. Theodore Gilkrensky, billionaire computer genius, has invented the ultimate computer - Minerva 3,000 - but in doing so has alienated his beloved Maria, a beautiful rebellious woman with a mind of her own. On the very day that Minerva comes to life, a personal vendetta catches up with Theo and Maria is killed in front of his eyes. Theo is devastated, and retreats into exile, much to the exasperation of Jessica Wright - architect of Theo's business empire and former lover, who may have wished to see Maria dead. Then, near Christmas of that same year, a freak accident with one of Theo's inventions causes an airliner to crash in the desert near Cairo. Jessica hauls Theo out of exile to investigate, and the adventure begins - facing Theo with kidnap, murder, and the incredible possibility that it might even now be possible to combine hyper-high technology and ancient arcane forces to save Maria's life, by warping the very fabric of space and time. |
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From the Back Cover Theo Gilkrensky, billionaire genius, mourns his beautiful rebellious wife Maria and dreams of somehow bringing her back to life . . . Jessica Wright, architect of the Gilkrensky empire, has always loved Theo and dreams of winning him for herself . . . Leroy Manning, helicopter pilot and hard-bitten Vietnam veteran dreams of finding his perfect woman . . . Yukiko Funakoshi, deadly female assassin and martial arts expert, dreams of the perfect revenge . . . And dreams can be deadly . . . A GRIPPING, ACTION PACKED, TAUTLY PLOTTED THRILLER BY AND OUTSTANDING STORYTELLER. VIRTUALLY MARIA IS GUARANTEED TO SEDUCE.
The author, John Joyce (john.joyce@marine.ie) www.cockle.com , 29 October, 1998 In writing "Virtually Maria" I wanted to take the reader on a high-tech romantic quest to save Maria, the beautiful, rebellious wife of Theo Gilkrensky, billionaire computer genius and head of a multi-national corporation. Following her death, Theo goes into self-imposed exile until an incident involving one of his computer controlled aircraft forces him to Egypt, where he discovers that the vast technological resources at his disposal might be harnessed to solve the mystery of the Great Pyramid itself, warping time and space to save Maria from death. On his quest, he will encounter kidnap, assassination and seduction, as well as a very personal vendetta by ruthless female assassin Yukiko Funakoshi, who blames him for the death of her parents. As a companion, he will take with him the amazing Minerva 3,000 computer - a machine that is so far beyond state-of-the-art that it has a mind of its own - that of his beloved wife, Maria. Excerpted from Virtually Maria by John Joyce. Betrayal is an ugly word. It lurked in the dark corners of Maria Gilkrensky's mind like a spider, tugging at its web of suspicion so that she could not sleep. Theo had changed, ever since that bitch Jessica Wright had got him tangled up with the Japanese. Where his mind had once been open to her, where they had once been friends and lovers, he was now closed - obsessed. Everything was about "control" and "keeping ahead". Conversation was dominated by "strategy meetings", "risk minimisation" and of course, by that bloody Wrightwoman. Maria's arm stretched out across the empty space in the big double bed, where Theo should have been, but wasn't. How long had it been since they'd last made love? A week? A fortnight? A month? It seemed the only time they talked was when they argued. And they did that every day. Now there was nothing left, nothing except a cold, hard anger, like ice against her heart. Maria lay alone in the darkness, listening to the ebb and flow of her own breathing. Then, when she could stand the silence no longer, she sat upright, pulled the duvet around her like a cape and walked to the window. Dawn was coming - a new day? Or would it be just like all the others they'd lived together recently? The Theo she had loved had died the nightbefore, when he'd stormed out of the dining room after her ultimatum. Maria looked across the courtyard and up to his workroom. The light was still on. That bloody computer . . . ! Didn't he believe she'd meant what she'd said. Maria Gilkrensky felt the anger rise in her throat and let the duvet fall from her shoulders, so that it puddled around her feet. Then she stripped off her night-dress and pulled on her clothes. She had made a decision. She was leaving. She looked around the bedroom for something to write him a note on, but there was nothing. Nothing except the black slab of his old laptop computer on the low table next to the bed. She pressed the catch on the lid and opened it, manoeuvring the tracker ball to take the cursor through "Exchange", "Compose", and "Video", until the red "Recording" light shone above the machine's internal camera. Then she tried to compose herself, pushed a strand of coppery hair out of her eyes and started to speak. "Theo. You knew what I'd do if you went back to that bloody machine of yours last night. So I'm recording you a message on the only thing you ever listen to. I'm going, Theo. I'm leaving you! I can't take this any more . . . this being alone." Her face turned away from the screen and her hand reached for the keyboard to end the recording. Then it stopped. "Theo! I hate this! Why can't we just talk like we used to? I know we're so different, you and I. But I love you, Theo . . . I really do!" The door of her old yellow Mini creaked as she opened it, threw her rucksack into the back and pulled herself into the familiar seat. There was a laboured heave of the tired engine and . . . nothing! She tried again, and again. After all these years and all the miles it had done, for it to let her down now! All at once, Maria Gilkrensky felt totally alone, as if the little car had somehow conspired to fail her, just as Theo had done. This time the tears burst through, taking her by surprise. For a moment, she fought them back, gripping the steering wheel tightly - as if it was the only solid thing left in her universe. Then a great wave washed over her, and she collapsed, locked in the misery of her loss. What could shedo? Where could she go? Theo must not find her like this! In the rucksack was one of the electronic keys to his sleek BMW. Maria hauled out the bag from the back seat, slammed the little car's door with all the strength she could muster and ran across the courtyard. In the stillness, the only sounds in the room were the regular rasp of breathing, and the low purr of the computer working tirelessly on the desk where Theodore Gilkrensky was slumped asleep. Then, another sound - a strident electronic "beep". The computer screen cleared, displaying a narrow white band with the words "Incoming Message". Gilkrensky snorted and jerked upright, rubbing his fingers over therough stubble on his chin. Christ! Was that the time? Maria would kill him! She'd threatened to leave if he ever did this again . . . Then the memory of what he had finally accomplished during the night burst upon him like the rising sun. Minerva worked! After all the false starts and dead ends. After all the problems with the biochip, the neural net and the months of stumbling around in the dark with the software - Minerva worked! "What is it?" A crude caricature of a female face, barely more than a cartoon, flashed onto the screen. A disembodied electronic voice said, "A video message." "Who's it from?" "Your wife. Maria." "Play it for me please." Gilkrensky watched in disbelief as Maria's message told him she was actually leaving. But that was impossible! Didn't she realise how important this project was? The sound of her car engine turning over and the slam of its door echoed up from the courtyard, bringing with it the sudden realisation of what life would be like if she was gone. Without waiting for the end of the message Gilkrensky rushed to the window, just in time to see her getting into the BMW.. The last thing he saw, before the explosion tore the car into a million flaming fragments, was her tearful face . . . looking up at him.
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