Another in the endless mass shootings in USA - this time Denver

[Lauren Johnson]

Computer games are far more active than the cinema or TV. You are the protagonist. You make the choices as you creep along the wall or crawl through the sewer to your target.

I am not a gamer. But I know a couple of teens with 3 huge monitors giving full 180 degree 3d views with surround 5.1 sound. Talk about creepy.

Secondly, how would I hijack a mind? Assume an online game. Make sure that the target has ingested a drug cocktail that makes him more suggestible, loosens his grasp on reality. Insert an avatar in the game that meets Holmes' avatar. Holmes is hypnotized through the avatar. The game is his reality. Manipulate the game to create the necessary internal narrative. As long as he is The Joker (in the game), then he receives instructions to shoot up a theater.

BTW, I highly recommend Daniel Suarez' Daemon and Freedom. Synopsis: Gaming genius Matthew Sobol, the 34-year-old head of CyberStorm Entertainment, has just died of brain cancer, but death doesn't stop him from initiating an all-out Internet war against humanity. When the authorities investigate Sobol's mansion in Thousand Oaks, Calif., they find themselves under attack from his empty house, aided by an unmanned Hummer that tears into the cops with staggering ferocity. Sobol's weapon is a daemon, a kind of computer process that not only has taken over many of the world's computer systems but also enlists the help of superintelligent human henchmen willing to carry out his diabolical plan. Complicated jargon abounds, but most complexities are reasonably explained. A final twist that runs counter to expectations will leave readers anxiously awaiting the promised sequel.