Synopsis: When computer records are trusted more than our own memories, more than our own senses, whoever controls the computers controls reality. The Heretic is a new kind of story, blending high-speed action with the fantasy elements of virtual reality. In the shadows of the net, a battle rages among powerful programmers whom novices see as no less than wizards. The prize: control of the very fabric of reality. The Heretic is a former FBI agent who helped build the bureau's computer crimes division. He has erased every trace of his former existence, including the records of his own birth. He lives on an isolated ranch in Montana, creating whomever and whatever he needs to live by manipulating the computer records of banks, government agencies, and private businesses. The Guild began as little more than a professional organization for the spell casters of the computer world, the programmers. Now, it has become an icon as powerful as the AMA. Its certification has come to be viewed as a license to operate. Even the Federal government has begun awarding contracts to the Guild, in spite of the organization's condition of anonymity for its members. A mysterious hacker stalks the Heretic across the net, dragging him into an investigation that takes him back into the real world. Soon, he discovers that whoever is behind a bizarre string of computer sabotage cases wants him dead. Hunted by both the police and the criminals, the Heretic finds himself alone, battling for control of a not-so-virtual reality.