THE-PROCESSOR is a science fiction thriller about the dangers of not taking your scientific endeavors seriously. Dr. Avery Walters, a software expert, is attempting to create a new kind of search engine, Quest, which will respond to its users' questions as if it is a human being. In order to do this, he has to incorporate something that might not be particularly acceptable in his field. When the program starts doing things it shouldn't, nobody can figure out why, and everyone begins to wonder whether the engine should exist in the first place.