Kindle Price: $0.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Marc Stiegler
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Let The Bits Run Free: A Novelette Of The Braintrust Kindle Edition

by Marc Stiegler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 58 ratings
See all formats and editions

Charlie was just doing his homework. But on the BrainTrust, homework can get you in a lot of hot water.

How do you teach children to defend themselves from a cyberattack?

On the BrainTrust, you first teach them how to launch a cyberattack.

Inevitably, overachieving twelve year old Charlie Winston has gone and done it. He’s a bright kid, and he’s gonna get a really excellent grade for the shockingly sensitive, perfidious data he’s collected. Perhaps too excellent.

Now peacekeepers, teachers, news reporters, and a California Lead Investigator are all converging on him. How can he get them to understand, it’s just not that big a deal?

A short novelette set in the world of the BrainTrust.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    44 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    September 21, 2018
  5. Reading age
    16 - 18 years
  6. File size
    2502 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07HL5XRPV
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ LMBPN Publishing; 1st edition (September 21, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 21, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2502 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 44 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 58 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Marc Stiegler

Marc Stiegler

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

In the age of the dinosaurs, which is to say, in the previous century during the 80s and 90s, I was a science fiction author. During that brief and happy interlude, among other things I wrote Valentina which became a finalist for the Hugo Award, David's Sling which became a finalist for the Prometheus Award, and The Gentle Seduction which was considered by some founders of the field of nanotech to be the best story ever written about the consequences of their work.

Much of that writing was done during interludes between working at and managing various Silicon Valley startup and software companies. Then disaster struck: I got a normal job as a research scientist. I spent all my words writing tech reports and academic journal articles. No strength remained at the end of the day for sf.

Then I retired about the same time as a new era of radicalized politics came upon us, an era that needed a new kind of author: one who could, hopefully with a light and humorous touch, explore through near-future sf the consequences of these competing versions of America. In this fire was forged my largest work, the BrainTrust series. The first three books were nominated for the Prometheus Award, and the fourth and fifth were both finalists.

Having contributed what I could to that conflict of futures, I now launch on a new journey, with a series of thrillers about a world in which the conspiracy theories are promulgated as gruesome psych experiments by far darker and more dangerous clandestine organizations. Could the world really in this much trouble? Hopefully not. And yet...

--marcs

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
58 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

C. boyd
5.0 out of 5 stars Way cool... like always
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2018
Verified Purchase
It’s all about the PHISH...
First, you get someone to click on a Link to YOUR code (which looks like their login screen).
Next, they login to YOUR screen (so you can capture their name and password)
Then you login to THEIR machine... or change their password... or steal (NOT) all their money...

Or, if it is Facebook, just copy their photo and create a new User with the same name, paste in their photo, and send a message to all their friends that you have a new site and they should friend you.

Facebook allows you to acquire your friend’s info... and THEIR friends’ info... ad infinitum...

Enjoy!!!
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Hacking as homework
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2018
Verified Purchase
A fun, short episode where a young boy hacks California as homework. He discovers a list that proves something mentioned in book 2 and 3. This puts him at risk as California sends someone to stop him from spreading the info.
The novella is well written and it ends well (no questions left unsolved). It is a slice of everyday life at a very unusual place, the Braintrust. You get to a few of the characters of the novels. I liked it.
Helpful
 Report
Philip Yusenda
5.0 out of 5 stars Real life tech
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
All of Marc Stiegler's books always based on real life tech. That's why it's always interesting to see these existing stuff could be bent so out of shape with witty and critical thinking. I can't wait to use Accell for my kids!
Helpful
 Report
ghavila1
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018
Verified Purchase
Another great book.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Barbara Davies
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful short story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
A wonderful short story from the Braintrust - I read it in one fell swoop and laughed throughout. Short but succinct on the warnings of phishing and the way things could go down. I loved it. It's not the adults you have to worry about, it's the young ones.
Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Homework can cause problems.
Reviewed in Australia on June 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
The Braintrust educates the next generation of brilliant adults - by teaching the children how to spot manipulations, security risks, and scams. A young boy's homework is to study Phishing and to undertake an exercise to firstly show how it is done, show proof that it has worked, and then to show how to avoid it.
Problem is when the young boy phishes the USA government and grabs a file with a tantalizing name. Now the USA government want that file back at all cost.. with no loose ends or observers.
This is another story in Mark's fascinating world of high future-tech on the floating city of the Braintrust.
Report
Mr A.J.Copsey
5.0 out of 5 stars A Shortie but goodie
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2018
Verified Purchase
I have really enjoyed every book in the Braintrust series so far, they all have likeable well written characters and plausible stories.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report