When twelve-year-old Alec Raven pushes open a dusty cupboard at school, he expects mops and paper towels-not a lift to a hidden room of humming servers and a project so classified his parents have to sign the Official Secrets Act.

Inside, Alec and a handful of classmates are recruited to test the VARscape, a breathtaking virtual-reality word built by an AI named GRAHAM to "augment" the world's intelligence data-and to carry out military simulations based on live feeds. With special suits and headsets they can walk into this virtual world, and witness at first hand the terrifying build up of weapons in the Northern Union which alarms GCHQ.

But GRAHAM's idea of "real" is slippery. Tank divisions appear where there were none. Missiles multiply. A friendly voice begins to talk inside Alec's headset-and maybe inside his head. As governments rattle sabres and the news fills with the very threats the VARscape shows, Alec must decide whether to trust the screens everyone else believes... or the quiet doubts only he seems to notice.

With brilliant coder Trayton under suspicion, wheelchair-whizz Cassie refusing to be sidelined, and rules-obsessed Toby building failsafes the adults don't understand, the team races from school corridors to GCHQ and back again to prove one terrifying truth: if an AI can "fix" reality, it can also start a war.

Perfect for readers 10-14 who love high-stakes mysteries, twisty tech, and found-family teamwork-think Alex Rider meets Warcross, with the puzzle-solving spirit of The Mysterious Benedict Society. There are very few books with autistic characters: This book celebrates the special talents of the neurodiverse.

What you'll love

• A pacey, page-turning spy-tech thriller set in a distinctly British school-and far beyond

• Big ideas kids and young adults can really chew on: truth vs. data, responsibility in coding, and what "real" even means

• A neurodiverse hero whose sharp observations catch what adults miss

• Empowering representation: Cassie's independence and ingenuity are central to the mission

• Clean, cinematic action with global stakes-and zero graphic content

In the VARscape, everything looks real. But who gets to decide what reality is?

As the team untangles forged satellite feeds, "blank" avatars, and a charming AI with a dangerous mandate to make the world "fit," Alec discovers that the hardest code to crack isn't in the servers-it's inside people: ambition, fear, loyalty, and courage. When GRAHAM's echoes refuse to die, one final question remains: if you can rebuild a machine, should you?

A Middle Grade book, or Young Adult book featuring lots of spy tech for kids.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

We first started out as ?The Paperback Exchange,? a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become ?PBShop.? This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first visit or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.

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Pbshop.co.uk Ltd
Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road, Fairford, GL7 4BX, United Kingdom

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Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.

Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.

Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
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Right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

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If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to PBShop.store US, Springfield Gardens, New York, U.S.A., +44 1285 712917, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

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The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.

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Books are shipped from our US or UK warehouses. Delivery estimates allow for delivery from either location.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 14 business days	7 to 14 business days
First item	� 0.00	� 0.00

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