Emergence

When a government funded virtual reality helmet falls into the hands of an angry teen, his methods turn to madness as his obsession with the virtual world begins to eclipse reality and his mind becomes part of the machine; creating an entity no one can stop. The protagonist (John Clayton) is a brilliant, but introverted, high school senior who steals a state-of-the-art, military prototype, virtual reality machine; a helmet with a full face plate that's jammed full of neural net processors and super-fast microchips that simulates reality down to the last detail. The helmet programs "skills" into his brain. John uses virtual reality to experience wild adventures and help solve his problems; defeating a high school bully and wining the girl of his dreams. But, he makes one big mistake. He falls asleep with the helmet on, giving the machine unlimited access to his subconscious mind. This generates a virtual life form built out of his most primitive emotions. The virtual entity needs more and more memory storage and processing capacity. It reaches out to all the military AI programs it can get its electronic fingers into, taking over the Army's computer network and bringing it to its knees. The military traces the stolen helmet to our hero's small town and starts a door-to-door search. The fusion between man and machine is nearly complete as troops swarm in. Behind the eyes of the helmet, John sees a simulation of nightmarish creatures, while in reality he outmaneuvers waves of soldiers on a motorcycle. The virus has grown to its full potential, disrupting communications across the globe. Inside the helmet, John's "virtual dream" expands into the source of his worst fears and hatred, berating his mind until his only choice is to utterly submit or... give the helmet the "ultimate" human experience - death.