Strand Prophecy

8/8/2019 Strand Prophecy

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J.B.B. Winner

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THe STrAnD PrOPHeCY

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Missile Rider PublishingCalifornia, USA


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Published by Missile Rider PublishingTe Strand Prophecy Characters, names, related indicia,

art, and illustrations Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008All rights reserved, published by Missile Rider Publications.

No part o this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any orm or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without writtenpermission o the publisher. For in ormation regarding permission,

visit Missile Rider Publications at www.missilerider.comor www.strandprophecy.com

All characters are fctional. Any similarities between those containedherein and actual persons are purely coincidental.

Strand Prophecy andStrand Logo are registered

rademark MIssile Rider Publishing

Educators and Librarians or a variety o teaching tools, visit us at www.StrandTeBook.com

Illustrations, chapter, and sequential artby Daniel Gerardo Apango Goiz

Cover Art by Rob Prior

Book Design and Layout by Gwyn Kennedy Snider

Printed in Canada

ISBN-13: 978-0-9790548-5-3ISBN-10: 0-9790548-5-0

Distributed by Blu Sky Media Groupwww.bluskymediagroup.com

Missile Rider Publishing515 W. Commonwealth, Suite 207

Fullerton, Cali ornia 92835

Visit us on the web www.StrandTeBook.com


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Dedicated to

our momand to my wife

for unconditionallove and support .


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Acknowledgements

Special Tanks toKevin Padilla and Susanne Klein

for countless hours of workand

Daniel Gerardo Apango Goiz for his brilliant art.

Special thanks to Stephen King, for teaching us the magic of writing.

In loving memoryof Raphael Weiner and Cheryl Weiner.


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COnTenTSCHAPTer 1:The Reluctant Harbinger.........................................................................

CHAPTer 2:The Brazilian Jungle...............................................................................

CHAPTer 3:Gaia .......................................................................................................

CHAPTer 4:Missile Rider.........................................................................................

CHAPTer 5:Evolutionary Free-For-All......................................................................6

CHAPTer 6:The Destruction ofGaia ..........................................................................

CHAPTer 7:The Death of Jack Cutter.......................................................................9

CHAPTer 8:Europe...................................................................................................

CHAPTer 9:Welcome to Wonderland..........................................................................

CHAPTer 10:COTAR or Cognitive Transfer and Autonomous Rebirth...........126

CHAPTer 11:Conversation at 30,000 Feet..............................................................14

CHAPTer 12:The Phantom Missile Rider..................................................................14


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CHAPTer 13:The Password.........................................................................................

CHAPTer 14:Amani....................................................................................................

CHAPTer 15:Kronos...................................................................................................

CHAPTer 16:Robo-Beethoven.....................................................................................

CHAPTer 17:The Soul of the Machines.....................................................................2

CHAPTer 18:Evidence................................................................................................

CHAPTer 19:The Mariner...........................................................................................

CHAPTer 20:Hoods....................................................................................................

CHAPTer 21:The Death of Steve Cutter.................................................................. 26

CHAPTer 22:T-Rex Crocodiles....................................................................................

CHAPTer 23:A Lie Revealed.......................................................................................

THE STRAND PROPHECY ART GALLERY...................................................................... 3


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Th r lucta t Ha b g


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The hooded f i gure stood motionless

on Pennsylvania Avenue facing the White HousHis dark cloak billowed in the evening wind as he wSoon they will be here, he thought.

And then it will start.All I have wanted to keep secret will be exposed.

CHAPTER 1:Th r lucta t Ha b

Athrong o summer tourists streamed past the dark gurestanding at the gates o the White House. Suddenly a large man

in a Hawaiian shirt, his ace buried in a map, collided with thecloaked gure. Te map ew in the air as the man lost his balanceand landed in the lap o an elderly woman resting on a nearby bench.

Excuse me! called out the tourist. But the cloaked gure didnot respond. Indeed, he appeared una ected, with any reactioncovered by the shadow o the cloth. Just then a gust o windexposed the gures ace as the old woman glanced upward intothe bright glow o his electric blue luminous eyes. She held up herhands, looked away, and cried out, El Diablo, El Diablo! be ore

ainting and crumpling slowly to the ground.

Inside a White House security building, dozens o surveillancecameras were now trained on the cloaked gure. A supervisorwith a headset barked orders to Secret Service agents on thescene, then sank back into his chair and turned to the monitor asseveral agents approached to assess the situation.


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What the White House security cameras couldnt see was theman behind the hood, black chrome exoskeleton and luminouseyes. Tey could not know the pain, guilt, and torment o a manconsumed by his work at the expense o all else. Nor could they realize that the man was per orming an act o utter sel essness.Perhaps seeking repentance, or perhaps to prove to himsel thathis work has meaning and that the death o his brother, Jack, hadnot been in vain.

But soon the entire world would know Strand.

A host o Secret Service agents and White House security guards approached, wearing beige trench coats, wired earpieces,and dark sunglasses. Tey stopped a ew eet behind Strand.

Sir, you must move along, please, the lead agent, Carlisle,said.

Strand remained motionless.Sir, can you hear me? Do you speak English? Sir, you have to

move along. Hello! Can you hear me? He was shouting now.Quickly, the agents began evacuating tourists rom the scene

be ore setting up a perimeter around Strand.Sir, you must move along, Carlisle repeated, obviously

ollowing the strict protocol or handling uncooperative tourists.

Without looking back at them, Strand suddenly spoke. Ihave a message or the president.Carlisle nodded to his colleagues. As innocuous as Strands

sentence was, it constituted a threat. Te men lunged at Strandand tried to orcibly move him. Tey struggled valiantly but wereunable to move Strand rom his position. Soon, others ran into collectively try to tackle Strand to the ground. But no matter

how many joined the struggle, pushing and shoving with all theirmight, Strand remained motionless.Te situation had escalated, and Strand was now considered

a hostile threat. A horde o agents surrounded him.Teres metal under the cloak! someone called out. It must


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be some kind o armor!Carlisle held his hand to his earpiece. Yes, sir. I understand,

he replied.He drew his pistol and pointed it at Strand. Other Secret

Service men and White House guards ollowed suit, slowly backing away to avoid being caught in the cross re.

Carlisle shouted, Get on the ground and put your handsbehind your head. DO I NOW!

Strand remained motionless. I have a message or thepresident, he repeated in a low monotone.

Several police vehicles skidded into position, o cers jumpingout and taking cover behind the open doors. Showing cracks inhis by-the-book demeanor, Carlisle shouted, HIS IS YOURLAS CHANCE. GE ON HE GROUND AND PU YOURHANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE.

A blast o wind unexpectedly blew Strands cloak to the side,momentarily exposing his black chrome exoskeleton. Bright bluelight ashed brie y rom the articulated joints.

Carlisle had seen enough. Tis was something more than justa man. Fire at will. It was a magni cent hailstorm o bullets, butwith no e ect on Strand. O cers exchanged nervous glances asthey reloaded their weapons. Others dropped their guns to their

sides and just stared at the spectacle.News o a threat to the White House had traveled ast.

On the roofop o a nearby building on Jackson Place, newsphotographers witnessed it all. Within minutes, a CNN newscrawl read: Shootout at Te White House. Te major networksinterrupted programming to broadcast the erce clash.

HOLD YOUR FIRE! Carlisle yelled. Te air was hot withsmoke as the last cartridge dropped to the asphalt littered withshells.

Strand remained motionless, his back turned away rom the


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o cers. He knew that the press had picked up the story sincehe could intercept satellite eeds through his helmet. Tings hadgone ar enough. It was time to break the silence.

Strand turned around slowly, giving the photographers onthe nearby roofop plenty o time to capture his movement.Most ocused on the glowing blue eyes under his hood. Ten hespoke.

I am a riend and I mean no harm. I have an importantmessage or the president.

Strand now activated equipment on his exoskeleton thatbroadcast his message to the media stationed nearby. Astonishedtelevision crews quickly broadcast the image o the hooded gurestanding in ront o the White House with a hundred o cerspointing their weapons at him.

Te president, sitting in his o ce on Air Force One ve milesabove Kansas, looked up as a young aide burst into the room.

Mr. President, I think you should see this. She turned on amonitor hanging in the corner.

A CNN news anchor announced, You are watching livecoverage o the shootout at the White House... .

Strand knew it was time. Te media was listening, the worldwas watching and he could deliver his message directly to thepresident. Events had un olded just as he had calculated.

My name is Strand. I am a reluctant harbinger, chosenbecause o an accident and a debt to which I am orever bound.Mr. President, the in ormation I am about to tell you will beavailable on the World Wide Web within twenty- our hours.

Everything that we know is about to change. Te human race andevery other living creature on this planet is about to enter into anaccelerated evolutionary cycle.

Strand stopped or a moment and pulled back his hood,exposing his helmet, visor, and aceplate. races o blue energy


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welve hours later in the Oval O ce, the president wasmeeting with his cabinet and experts with the highest levels o security clearance.

Gentlemen, can anyone o er me an explanation as to howa man survives a thousand rounds o ammunition point blank,then hops rom Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House roo inone e ortless leap?

Te president knew his question was rhetorical, yet he lookedaround at the assembled team o experts to make his point. Tewhole world had just witnessed something that up to that pointwas never thought humanly possible. Te silence o the room wassti ing.

Dr. Ned Vitimani, a veteran intelligence o cer with tufs o white hair spilling rom his balding head, spoke slowly, withoutlooking directly at anyone. Mr. President? He cleared his throatuncom ortably. Tis man was using an exoskeleton. Tat muchwe can ascertain rom the surveillance. And this exoskeletonmust have been designed to propel him a great distance, and alsoabsorb the impact o landing.

Yet while we think we have identi ed the technology wesaw so graphically demonstrated today, our military currently does not possess anything even remotely similar. Te closest we

have are conceptual exoskeleton designs to assist oot soldiers incarrying heavy backpacks and equipment. But even these are still very much in the conceptual stage o development.

Vitimani let out a heavy sigh. Visibly shaken, ace red andhands clenched, he slowly looked up at the president. Vitimaniwas an honored and respected scientist, but at that moment, hewas just as con used as everyone else in the room. Te only thing

making him eel worse than letting the president down was hisown ego. He was utterly disappointed in himsel .Doctor, the president asked, i I had asked you yesterday i

it was possible or a man to jump rom Pennsylvania Avenue tothe White House in one leap, what would you have said?


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Vitimani squirmed in his seat. I would have said it wasimpossible, he replied. He already knew what the next questionwas going to be.

Doctor, is it possible that we are entering into an acceleratedevolutionary cycle?

Vitimani was trying to avoid answering directly. Ill needsome time to analyze the data. It could take a while be orewe .

Doctor, is it possible? the president interrupted. He waslosing his patience.

For a moment, there was silence, a silence that spoke volumes.

I dont know. I cannot prove it one way or the other rightnow, which means that that it is possible.

Tank you, Doctor. I am glad you came to that conclusion,because the rest o the planet already believes its possible.And when someone demonstrates the impossible on nationaltelevision, it tends to add a great deal o credibility to the claim. Itis imperative that we, that you, nd out.

Te president paused to gather his thoughts. Vitimani shifeduneasily in his chair.

Doctor, I need you to calculate the probability o its reality

in the immediate uture. For now, I have to proceed with theperception that its already real.He then stood up, signaling to Secret Service agents stationed

at the door o the Oval O ce that he was ready to leave or theWhite House brie ng room.

Te president was greeted with ashes, clicks, and a urry o

questions rom media as he walked into the brie ng room. Hewould be care ul in the words he chose, knowing ull well thatAmerica, and the world, depended on it.

Te White House spokesman walked to the podium. Tepresident has a statement to make. Please be seated.


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Te loud murmur o reporters quickly subsided. Anyone stillwandering around sat down or ound a place to stand and listen.

oday we have witnessed an incredible eat o technology and heard an incredible claim. While we can be sure o what wesaw, we cannot be sure o what we were told. Our top experts areevaluating the in ormation as we speak. However, let me be clear,this review process will continue until the scienti c community has come to a reasonable conclusion. Any conjecture be ore thattime is simply irresponsible.

We have all heard those who pro ess to know when the end o the world is coming, doomsayers orever predicting the imminentdemise o the human race. While these types o claims may not havebeen delivered in such a dramatic ashion be ore, that does not meanthe claim is credible or true. Te president paused or a moment.

Let me assure the American people, we will determine thetruth o this, and nd out the identity o this man who re ers tohimsel as Strand.

Strand sat back in his giant desk chair in the dimly lit den andicked o the television. He olded his hands in his lap and stared

at the blank screen silently.A voice behind him snapped him out o his reverie. Uncle

Steve, what are you doing? It was Anna, standing in the doorway looking con used.Anna was sixteen years old; a beauti ul young woman with

dark brown hair. She was the only child o his dead brother, Jack.Te man who Anna knew only as her uncle, Steve Cutter, was

an anthropologist be ore he became a technologist. He studiedDarwin and evolution o species be ore moving on to explore the

evolution o the human brain, rom the emergence o cognitivethinking to the beginning o sel -awareness.In his youth and or years into adulthood, until Jacks death,

Steve Cutter was a man consumed with his own objectives, hisown agenda.


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o Steve, nothing was more important than his research. Heasked or nothing rom anyone, and expected nothing in return.He rationalized that expecting nothing absolved him rom any obligation. Only afer the tragic accident did it become clearthat no action is in and o itsel an action and this knowledgechanged his li e orever.

How ironic, Steve thought. I couldnt love her any more i shewere my own daughter. And i it wasnt or her, I may never haveeven understood love or elt responsibility or another letalone the entire human race.

You didnt pick me up, Uncle Steve. I had to get a ride homewith Carol.

I know, princess. Im sorry very sorry.Hello? You know youre not the only one in this house who

has things to do and places to be.Anna turned and started to leave the room. As she was leaving

she said, I bet you didnt even know some terrorist got into theWhite House and threatened the president today.

A terrorist? I really dont think it was a terrorist, Anna. Stevestood up, adjusted his baseball cap, and brushed by Anna on theway out o the den. Anna sighed and walked down the hall.

wo hours outside o Los Angeles in the Northern MojaveDesert, Steves house was nothing special, a single- oor ranchbuilt in the late 1940s. It had clapboard siding and a adedwooden shingle roo . It wasnt in particularly good shape, but itwas by no means dilapidated. It looked pretty much as it should,an unassuming older Southern Cali ornia home, the same thatmight be ound in just about any suburban neighborhood in the

United States.Steve liked living there. It gave him enough isolation towork in anonymity, and enough civilization or Anna to have

riends and things to do. Although i you asked Anna, she wouldwholeheartedly disagree.


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Be ore her athers death, Anna lived in Pasadena, Cali ornia.Teir home was just around the corner rom the Jet PropulsionLaboratory, where Steve ofen consulted on projects. For the

rst ten years o her li e, Steve only saw Anna at the occasionalamily unction, with no idea that he would one day become her

guardian.Family wasnt important to Steve then: his obsession was with

the human brain, and why so much o it was lef unused. He wasascinated by the idea that nature had wired together living tissue

in such a manner as to create sel -awareness, but never allowed itto reach its ullest potential.

In his research, Steve postulated that the human brain couldbe rewired. He studied savants who have incredible mentalcapabilities, rom powers o recollection to powers o computation.Tese people demonstrated how the brain is capable o ar morethan its commonly used or over a li etime.

Steve discovered that many o these savants had su ered asevere trauma to the head. Resulting X-rays proved that, as theirbrains healed, certain parts were connecting to di erent areas thanwhere they were normally connected. In healing itsel , the brainrewired itsel , in a manner o speaking. Small pieces o brain tissuethat grew to connect one part o the brain with another were now

delivering electrical signals between living tissue. Tis resulted inan increase in capabilities regarding math and science. In his scienti c quest, Steve developed materials that were

stronger than any that existed be ore, yet were still as thin as astrand o human hair. He built a delivery system or insertingthese ber strands through the skull. Te strands would act like

extension cords between parts o the brain.Steves testing reached a point where he had to take it tothe next level. He had ound a way to pierce a human skullwith minimum trauma, but he couldnt complete the tests withcadavers. He needed to try it on living tissue i he was ever going


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to observe and improve the process.I he was right, the strands would interconnect parts o the

brain, in turn increasing cognitive ability exponentially.Te primary obstacle was that in order to test cognitive ability,

there must be a modicum o cognitive ability already existing, atleast enough at the beginning to judge the e ects o the strandsafer their insertion.

Steve walked to the sliding door and stood staring out overthe desert, illuminated only by moonlight. He escaped into histhoughts and obsessions, at least or a little while. Tere weresome tough days ahead, but Steve knew there was no other way to proceed.

Tousands o miles east, Vitimani too stared out his window,an o ce window overlooking the Washington Monument,searching or something to inspire him or provide just a glimpseo insight. He prayed or divine intervention even though he wasa man o science, but nothing o the sort appeared. He ound nocom ort in the moonlight or the birds in the trees. All Vitimanicould eel was the urgency that a use had been lit.

Vitimanis o ce was reminiscent o a high school lab class,a desk at one end, lab instruments burning and spinning anddripping on long desks at the other end. All was as per ect ascould be, everything neat, organized, labeled and cataloged, eachresult meticulously recorded.

Vitimani watched the ames under the experiments ickerand the liquids boil. Everything in his world was cause and e ect,

empirical data supporting scienti c conclusions, not conjectureand assumptions o truth rom the court o public opinion.Te moonlight cast shadows across the diplomas and photos

hanging on the wall behind Vitimanis desk. He rubbed hisunshaven chin, reminding himsel why the president had chosen


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him to nd the truth in these outlandish claims.Te doctor didnt know what bothered him more, the

in ormation itsel , the way it was delivered, his embarrassment inthe Oval O ce, or the act that i it was true, he hadnt discoveredit rst.

Vitimanis ego made him want to re ute the claims, even i thetheory o increased levels o radiation were true and their e ectson DNA were veri able. But the scientist in him was excited and

ull o optimism at the possibilities.Possibility. Te president was right in thinking that the

possibility o a catastrophic event as oretold by this man calledStrand created doubt in the public, and the manner in whichit was delivered created credibility. Even i every claim Strandmade was re uted, it would have to be re uted on a solid scienti cbasis.

Vitimani had been staring out the window since the lastsliver o sun disappeared over the horizon hours earlier. His timewas almost up, and soon the in ormation Strand spoke o wouldbe released to the entire world over the Internet.

Te phone rang. He walked over to the desk, stopped or amoment, and then picked up the receiver.

Yes, Mr. President, this is Dr. Vitimani.


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The Braz l an Jungle


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CHAPTER 2:The Braz l an Jungle

Steve sat at home in ront o his computer and watched ornews updates as Anna sur ed on a laptop just a ew eetaway. A seemingly passive observer, he had in act calculatedthe time it would take or the in ormation to circle the globe.Billions o people would have access to his research be ore thehour was up.

Anna closed her laptop and looked over. Uncle Steve, whatdo you think will happen? All my IM riends are scared. Tey say the end o the world is coming.

Do they have an exact date when the re and brimstone isexpected? He was trying to lighten the mood, but Anna wasntbiting. She just stared at Steve with a concerned look on her ace.

Listen, princess, thats not whats happening. Tings are goingto change, thats all. Everything and everyone evolves right now.From in ant to old age, were constantly changing. Its the naturalorder o things. We cant be a raid o what well become, no morethan we can be a raid o what we wish to be when were growingup. Does that make sense to you?

Anna paused and thought or a minute, I never thought o

The Internet was ablaze with Strands evidence,

which he had posted to news groups around the worThe documents spread across the planet

in a matter of minutes.


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it that way, but I see your point. She laughed. Maybe those oldsci- movies were right and monster lizards will attack okyo.She paused. What do you think we will become?

Maybe well just become more o what we are, maybesomething wonder ul. I dont know, Anna. He looked over hertroubled ace. Its impossible to know the exact outcome. WhatI do know is that I will always protect you. And Ill alwaysbe there or you whenever you need me. Now, go get ready orbed. Something tells me were both going to need a good nightssleep.

Anna hugged her uncle and headed o to bed.Steve sat back and closed his eyes.

Tere was so much Steve didnt know about the reaction o the planet to his discoveries. Could humanity overcome its own vanity and understand what the implications were?

Everything would be a ected, rom humans and animalsto plants and insects. He wondered aloud, Have we lost ourunderstanding o how ragile our ecosystem is? Even the loss o a microbe could be catastrophic.

Humans, especially the last two decades o the couch sur ergeneration, had all but lost their animal instincts or acing danger

and conquering ear, whether through ghting or hunting.Have we become a culture o words with a alse perception o sa ety? Do we have what it takes to protect ourselves rom new

orms o predators?Humans are by ar the largest population o animal on the

planet, thought Steve. And they may well serve as an abundantsource o ood or some newly evolved species. He ound that

thought most disturbing o all. His deepest ear was that theinnocent would become the victims. He vowed to devote every waking minute to protecting the innocent be ore it was too late.

I something happened to Anna .Steve shuddered at the thought.


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He needed proo , undeniable proo that the coming changewas real. In order to get that proo , he would rst need to nd thelocation on earth that had the highest concentration o sunlight.He would go there, measure the levels o radiation, and estimatethe time until the planet was completely bathed in it.

Te highest concentration o sunlight would be at the equator,but where exactly on the equator? Te only way to know or surewas to monitor satellite photos. I something odd occurred, anoticeable anomaly would be visible in them. Tat anomaly wouldbe the rst place to investigate, measure, observe, and perhapsrecord. Te smallest amount o hard evidence is all it would taketo validate the theory.

Vitimani slowly hung up the phone. Te o ce was dark except or the lights hanging over his lab tables. He exhaleddeeply, collapsed into his chair, and buried his head in his hands.He knew the only way to veri y any o the evidence Strand hadreleased was to witness it rsthand. Even i being there to see itmeant not living long enough to report the truth.

Tere was only one thing lef to do, thought Vitimani. He hadto determine where the highest concentration o radiation wason the earth, go there immediately, and nd out i anything was

happening out o the ordinary.He looked up once more at the diplomas on the wall and at thepictures o his amily. Vitimani knew that i such a place existed,he would nd it.

Te evidence Strand had given the president twenty- ourhours ago was everywhere. Legions o bloggers debated the

evidence. Most now re erred to the in ormation as the StrandProphecy. It was a technical paper, a scienti c paper and nothingmore. It did start with the words Chapter One, so one wouldnaturally assume there were more chapters to ollow.

In the Strand Prophecy, a short pre ace explained the premise


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o accelerated evolution by citing historical periods in which many species emerged in a short period o time. Some species thrived,such as man; some species merely survived, such as the reptiles;others became extinct, leaving only bones to bear witness to theirexistence. Evolution was not always a slow process. Sometimes itwas an explosion o li e and diversity, leaving the ensuing passageo time to cull all but the ttest rom the species. Te raw truth o survival and extinction is that there is no remorse or or judgmento who survives to see the next century.

Chapter One documented the solar radiation data Strand hadpersonally gathered over the last ve years and compared it too cial data compiled by NASA. Te data on solar radiation wasutilized in designing heat shields or the space shuttle, spacewalk suits, and protection or experimental payloads and satellites. Inaddition to space travelers, airplane pilots are exposed to highlevels o solar radiation. Te higher that pilots y planes into theatmosphere, the more solar radiation presents a potential healthrisk, and so it is constantly monitored and measured.

Te chapter mentioned a well-documented spike in solarradiation every eleven years. Scientists accept that this spikecorresponds to any increase in solar ares, the brie and suddeneruption o high-energy hydrogen gas shooting rom the sur ace

o the sun. Strand concluded that speci c solar cycles mustexist that, when active, emit a signi cantly higher level o solarradiation, and that such a cycle has started. Tis solar radiation isso strong that it puts the DNA o all living things into an activestatus. Tis active DNA changes and reorganizes itsel , trying tocreate physical solutions to environmental actors and geneticpredispositions. A billion years o suppressed genetic evolution

released all at once, bursting with endless combinations o li e,a ecting every last organism on the planet.How long would the radiation last: a day, a week, a year, 500

years, 5,000 years? Even 50,000 years is a blink o an eye in galactictime. Strand gave no estimate or how long the phenomenon


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might last. He only mentioned the act that radiation levels hadbeen slowly elevating or the past ve years.

Strand concluded that it wouldnt be long be ore the worldwould see physical mani estations that would prove his theories.And he warned that humans are the most abundant source o nutrition or any new predator at the top o the ood chain.

Steve was staring out a window in his o ce at Cutterechnologies. Stretching be ore his eyes was an endless desert

landscape, the sunrise just peeking over the horizon.It had been a di cult choice to release the documents. He

knew the public had the right to know, but he wondered i itwould cause widespread panic, or i irrational people would useit as a justi cation or violence.

Ultimately, Anna became his guiding light. Children, afer all,were the ultimate innocents, easy prey or any emerging predator,and every parents job is to protect his or her young. Steve couldnot justi y any set o circumstances that would put innocence indanger. He could not and would not have the blood o childrenon his hands.

Te Strand Prophecy was now the top story online and ontelevision. Reporters and talk-show hosts voraciously interviewed

every expert, almost-expert, and those who seemed to be nothingmore than riends o experts. Tey even started to interviewthemselves. Steve watched the cable news channels tell and retellthe same stories, hoping the ensuing hysteria would put pressureon politicians or an o cial congressional inquiry. Tat couldtake months, but at least it would keep the press busy.

Te real evidence would present itsel without any question

o authenticity.I they thought the jump rom Pennsylvania Avenue to theWhite House was a trick, wait until they see a sur er grow gills ora politician venomous angs, he thought.

Did his abilities make him think he had some obligation


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to bring this in ormation to the world? Was he looking orredemption rom the deep guilt he elt over his brothers death?He was ull o doubt.

Am I seeing only what I want to see, or what I ear?What i Im wrong? Steve said quietly to himsel .Just then, the door to his o ce swung open. Hal Berstrom, a

longtime employee, barged in, almost tripping over his own eet.M-M-M Mr. Cutter! Mr. Cutter! Berstrom was out o

breath. Um somethings happening in the Amazon.Steve didnt say a word. He simply waited or Berstrom to get

hold o himsel . Te pale, chubby scientist un olded a printoutand slapped it down on Steves desk.

Look. Here in northern Brazil. Teres a twenty- ve-acre hole in the middle o the orest that was de nitely not thereyesterday. And be ore you ask, its not tree harvesting, theres noequipment, and theres no civilization anywhere near this place.Its not a re, no evidence o smoke in the satellite pictures. Its very strange. I mean, the hole is literally in the middle o nowhere.

Steve looked care ully at the satellite photos. Tere was adiscrepancy in the time stamps on the photos.

Hal, this time stamp is twelve hours old. When did this photocome in?

What? Oh, um just now. Not more than ve minutes ago,Mr. Cutter.Steve ound this troubling. Generally, satellite images are

available within minutes. Only someone inside the governmentcould delay the release o these pictures.

As he sped home, Steves mind raced.

A hole in the middle o the orest? What could it possibly be?A mudslide? A giant sinkhole? Probably more like a wildgoose chase. He didnt know what the hole was, but he knew thephotos were delayed in being released. Tat was enough. Teremust be more to this anomaly than some random act o God.


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An act o God? Tat could have a whole new meaning soon.Steve jumped out o the car and bolted into the house.

As Steve ran quickly to his room, Anna was already ollowingclose on his heels.

Im coming with you.What? Steve tried to play dumb.I know you too well, Uncle Steve. You only run like that

when something big is happening. I want to go, too.No, Anna, absolutely not. You are not coming with me. Tis

is boring scienti c stu . You wont like it. He walked down thehallway to the entrance o his bedroom.

Anna stood de ant. I like boring scienti c stu . Rememberwhen we went ossil hunting? Or when we explored theunderwater caves? What about the pyramids in Cambodia? I cando this. Please let me go with you. Besides, my spring break startstomorrow, so i Im not going with you where am I staying?

Steve paused and considered. Anna had proved quite capableon their many travels together and he loved being with her, but thiscould be a very di erent trip. Its going to be hot and miserable,theres gonna be really nasty bugs maybe even snakes.

Anna tried not to smile. She knew she had already talked him

into it.You must stay right next to me at all times, do you hear?You cannot stray rom my side. You will not wander aroundwithout me. I dont care how interested or excited you are. Doyou understand? Steve paused.

Tis is a blood pact you got it?Anna was trying to sti e a laugh and maintain a serious look,

so she just nodded orce ully that she understood her uncle.Steve walked back down the hallway to where Anna wasstanding and they both held out their palms. Tey drew imaginary knives rom their belts and pretended to cut the palms o theirright hands to draw blood.


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Steve started. Blood .Pact, Anna nished, and they shook on it.

Cutter echnologies had its own helicopter, a retired Army Black Hawk. It had undergone dramatic renovations andmodi cations. It was ar more capable than anyone outsideCutter echnologies knew. From the exterior, it looked as closeto a ying piece o junk as it could get. Te exterior paint was asun- aded greenish yellow. Te word ARMY was painted overbut still could be glimpsed in the right light.

Te company property itsel didnt seem like much to thecasual observer, just a couple o converted airplane hangars and arunway near Mojave Airport.

Te remote location gave Steve anonymity, and his businessas a sofware licensor had given him enormous wealth.

When Steve and Anna pulled up to the runway, the Black Hawk was ready to go. Te pilot was in his seat and the bladeswere spinning. Tey climbed into the rear cabin, closed the doorand took o or the Amazon.

At 10,000 eet, two small jet engines emerged rom the top

o the helicopter just under the rotors. A pair o canard wings

protruded rom either side o the aircrafs nose, and a doubleset o delta wings slid out on each side. A small ramjet loweredinto position under the Black Hawk. Te jet engines red and theramjet whined.

Tey would be in the Amazon soon. Anna could barely contain her excitement.

What do you think were going to nd, Uncle Steve?

I think well nd a lot o people got there ahead o us. Stevepaused. I bet it will be a three-ring circus by the time we get there.We might not nd anything but a bunch o scientists and bureaucrats.

ry to get some rest. Ill wake you just be ore we get there.Steve watched the radar and sensors closely as they approached


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Brazil. Tere was an aw ul lot o air tra c, mostly helicopters.Steve instructed the pilot to resume normal operations when they were within 250 miles o their destination, and to maintain a lowaltitude to avoid radar detection.

Steve stared at the screen, but none o the helicopters appearedto be landing. Tey would circle, hover, then leave.

Te Black Hawk slowed and completed its trans ormation.Steve waited until they were closer be ore he woke his niece.

As they approached the site, there were at least ten helicoptershovering directly inside the opening in the orest. Tere wereeven more in the surrounding area. eams o scientists rom every corner o the planet were descending on ropes with gear andsupplies. Tere were helicopters rom Germany, France, Russia,Britain, Australia, and the United States military. Tere werealso a number o unmarked helicopters, most likely intelligenceoperatives rom China, South Korea, or the CIA. Tere was also amilitary attachment armed with ri es.

Strands media stunt at the White House and the release o the research had done the trick. Te whole world was listening tohim, even i they didnt know who he really was, and they werehere in the middle o the Brazilian jungle to see i he was right.

Anna, wake up, were almost there.

Anna woke up with a startled look on her ace.Were not going to land the Black Hawk. Put a backpack together. Were going to descend on ropes.

As Steve looked down rom the Black Hawk, he could seepeople bouncing and sinking into the thick debris that used tobe trees. Something had completely shredded the trees, leavingnothing but a thick mulch o bark and wood behind.

Steve turned to Anna. Teres no solid ground. Tats why thehelicopters cant land. Teres nothing to support their weight.He looked at the pilot and pointed out the windshield. Stop

over there and well descend on ropes. Ten I want you to ndsomewhere to land and stay out o sight. Dont y any more than


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two hours away, in case something comes up. Te pilot noddedand Steve slid open the door to the Black Hawk. He checkedAnnas rigging and smiled at her skills.

Per ect, Anna, very impressive. Lets go.Steve and Anna hooked their rigging to the outside o the

Black Hawk, dropped their ropes and slid quickly down to theoor o the orest.

Steve text-messaged the pilot.I will check in every two hours. I you dont hear rom me or

any length o time past that, start heading back in this direction.No more than two hours away, just in case. Got it?

Yes, sir, I understand. No problem. Call me when you needme.

With acres o shredded trees against a dense orest backdrop,the environment was surreal, and the sound was almost dea ening.In addition to the dozens o helicopter blades whirring, there wasthe eerie howling o monkeys. Steve and Anna stood in the sofmulch and looked around in awe, trying to take it all in.

Steve, Steve, Steve. I knew you were going to be here. Steveturned to see Vitimani approaching with a big smile on his ace.

Vitimani and Steve had done business with each other over the

years. One o Vitimanis responsibilities was giving nal approvalto new technologies. Once he signed o on something, it couldbe used by any o ce or branch o the government.

Vit, how are you doing? You remember Anna, dont you?O course. I saw the both o you coming down the ropes rom

that old beater o a helicopter. Is that thing really sa e?It ies great as long as we dont turn the engine o , Steve

joked. Vitimani tried to respond, but it was a orced laugh.Vit, Steve said, o the record, have you ound anything yet?And who is here exactly?

Tis is how it seems to be slicing up, Steve. Te Koreans arecon erring with the French, and we have the Brits and the Aussies.


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What made the whip particularly e ective was the speed atwhich Anna could deploy it. She could awlessly wield it withincredible accuracy and drop anyone to the oor with it inseconds. She had only used it on two occasions. In both cases,her would-be assailants were immobilized be ore they ever knewwhat hit them.

Anna pushed the tip deep into the shredded bark, trying togauge its depth.

Tis has to be at least our and a hal eet deep. I can pushthe entire thing into the bark without touching solid ground. Shelooked up at Steve and pulled the whip out.

Tis hole in the orest is getting stranger by the second, Stevethought. He was getting a sinking eeling in the pit o his stomach.He wasnt sure what gave him such anxiety, but something was very wrong.

Te remaining helicopters nished delivering their personneland gear. Tey departed quickly into the distance, leaving only thesounds o howling monkeys and the occasional singing o birds.

Dusk was drawing near and the temperature was cooling asthey walked and bounced on the mulch close behind Vitimani.

Scientists rom the U.S. and European contingents werehuddled around something just ahead. Vitimani excused himsel

and pushed his way to the ront o the gathering. Just as the peopleparted to allow him through, Steve caught a glimpse o what thecommotion was about.

It was a toad. Except this toad was the size o a 100-pounddog. It sat on the ground with the tip o its nose about two eetin the air. Te enormous toad also had an extra nostril on top o its head just above its eyes. Te nostril opened orward and was

per ectly round.It was not intimidated by the large group o humans staring atit. Quite the contrary, the toad seemed to be staring at the humans.In act, Steve wasnt really sure who was sizing up whom.

Did you see that? Steve whispered to Anna. Anna looked at


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itll take him about thirty minutes to get back to us.Steve knew his objective or the next hal hour was to

stay alive.Te purple objects stopped descending at about twenty eet

and hovered. Tey created a uorescent purple canopy thatilluminated the mulch where the scientists were standing. Teresulting glow was as bright as day, but a day in some other world.Certainly nothing like this had ever been seen be ore.

A ew o the scientists rom the European and Americanteams stepped closer to the black water pond or samples and acloser look.

A military attachment assigned to protect the group rom Chinastarted shooting a number o the oating creatures. Te soldierspopped the creatures with bullets, and their li eless jelly bodies ell tothe orest oor. Scientists gathered them in a pile or observation.

oward the edge o the jungle, Anna jumped. Something justmoved under my eet, Uncle Steve.

Steve looked down and could vaguely see illumination throughthe shredded bark. He grabbed Anna by the hand and ran towarda rock outcropping next to where the monkey was standing.

Te monkey looked at Steve as i to say, I told you so. It hadbeen trying to protect them, but they hadnt understood the real

danger until now as they ran or the rocks to escape whatevermight be hiding under the mulch on the jungle oor.Hundreds o toads began to emerge rom the surrounding

jungle into the purple light, jumping thirty to orty eet in the air.Tey were heading toward the soldiers and the scientists at thepond. A great horn emerged rom the head o each toad. Whatthe scientists had thought was a nostril was actually the sheathing

or the toads deadly weapon.Te toads jumped one last time and dove toward a group o armed soldiers with horns extended. Random shots were red atthe last minute to repel the attack, but the soldiers were impaledwhere they stood. errible shrieks o death lled the air. Te battle


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had begun.Steve and Anna reached the adjoining rock near where the

monkey was standing and turned to watch. Te jungle oorerupted with a purple glow rom below the mulch.

Anna was rantic. Uncle Steve, what about Dr. Vitimani?Steve could hear choppers in the distance. Across the clearing,

the remaining soldiers circled the scientists and started shootingthe toads as they jumped into range.

More toads were emerging into the clearing and rom thepond. Tey were now jumping high into the air, using their hornsto stab the hovering purple prey, devouring them be ore they even returned to earth. Te soldiers and scientists scattered toavoid becoming collateral damage. Most didnt make it out alive.

Steve and Anna watched with horror as the nal cries o thescientists who had not escaped the toads aded away. Below themsmall purple animals emerged rom the bark and started to oatupward.

Dont touch the tendrils, Steve warned Anna. Tis is a giantnest o some kind.

As the creatures oated past them, he saw that their bellieswere ull o a uorescent purple gas.

Steve looked at the monkey. Te animal was kneeling downto pick up the necklace on the rock and ailed to see a large toadwith its horn extended jumping up rom the orest oor.

An instant later, Anna leaped rom the rock in the directiono the toad. Te monkey looked up just as Annas whip struck the giant toad. Te amphibians body couldnt absorb the 100,000 volts o electricity and exploded in a great gory mess, most o

which landed on the monkey.Steve grabbed Annas hand and pulled her back onto therock.

Te monkey slowly stood up, drenched in toad, and walkedover to what was lef o its head. He reached in, ripped out the


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horn, and peeled o what remained o the muscle to reveal anoblong hole in the base o the horn.

Te monkey turned around, picked up the necklace rom therock, untwisted the vine it was made o , and threaded the hornonto it. He twisted the necklace closed and held it over his head.Te orest exploded again with the song o howler monkeys, only this time the wild beasts sang a song o imminent mayhem.

Anna shuddered. Uncle Steve, something else is movingunder the bark.

Steve looked down. Something big under the bark was movingin the direction o the dead scientists.

More and more o the small purple creatures rose through theorest oor and ascended to the sky. Te toads were in a eedingrenzy, continuing to attack and devour the oating creatures.

Tey would jump into the glowing ceiling, disappear or amoment, and then re-emerge as they returned to the orest oor.

Te Black Hawk is almost here, Anna whispered.Anna and Steve now watched with disbelie as hundreds o

glowing eyes emerged rom the mulch. Snakes, with sharp, jaggedteeth. Tey opened their humongous jaws directly below thetoads and consumed the amphibians in one swallow. Te huntershad become the hunted, as dozens o snakes exploded through

the mulch and devoured toads all across the clearing.Steves jaw dropped with amazement. It was a trap or thetoads set by the snakes. Tey were eeding on them. No, they wereharvesting them.

Te monkey lowered the necklace over its head, raised itsspear and howled. Around the entire perimeter o the clearing,howler monkeys jumped onto rocks armed with spears. Tey

stood studying the mayhem playing out in ront o them.Te monkey looked at Steve and Anna, then over its shoulder ata path directly behind them, leading away rom the clearing. Terewas a small break in the trees a ew hundred yards in the distance.

Te howler monkeys jumped onto the orest oor into the


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purple illumination and joined the battle.Anna, Steve shouted, this way! Te Black Hawk can pick us

up at that clearing. Steve grabbed Annas hand and they ran asast as possible down the pathway, through the trees, and toward

the clearing.As Steve was running, he looked back and saw the ashing

lights o a helicopter through the purple light. Tere were loudthuds as the helicopter ell sideways and exploded.

Steve stopped. Was that their Black Hawk?Gas spewing rom the helicopter exploded, setting the mulch

on the orest oor on re. Soon all o it would be ablaze.Nothing could survive that heat, Steve thought.I it was his Black Hawk, the pilot was dead.Uncle Steve, is that our Howler?Running rom the blaze toward Steve and Anna was the

monkey. Chasing him closely were a dozen enormous glowingsnakes, their mouths open and jagged teeth protruding. Tereptiles were a hundred eet long and ve eet thick. And they were catching up quickly.

Teyre chasing him, Anna! Run! Run as ast as you can!Tey turned and bolted, but the monkey was aster. It was

catching up to Steve and Anna, and the snakes were right behind.

As they ran under the canopy o the trees, they could hearmovement in the branches above them. Something was up therewatching them as they ran by.

Te glow o the blaze rom the helicopter crash grew larger asmore and more o the mulch caught re, casting long shadows onthe ground. Steve looked down and saw the shadow o the monkey running behind him. He could also see the snakes beginning to

overtake them both.Teres the Black Hawk, Anna yelled. Run, Uncle Steve!Hovering over the clearing up ahead was their helicopter.

Steve was relieved to see it, but they still had to get there in time.At least Anna would have to get there in time.


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Without his exoskeleton, Steve was just a man, nothing more.But they nally made it to the opening. Steve saw the rope ladderdrop or Anna rom above. He slowed his pace. He had to con rontthe snakes to give Anna a ew extra moments to escape, even i itmeant that he would be killed.

Steve looked down at the shadow o the monkey overtakinghim. Te shadows o the snakes suddenly merged with his as themonkey passed him by. Steve jumped into the air as he reachedinto the side pockets o his backpack. He grabbed his revolversand spun around in mid-air, prepared to shoot the snakes. Hewas expecting to see the glowing snakes, but instead saw a raino howler monkeys riding their spears rom high in the treetops.Teir spears had pegs near the tips, which they held with their

eet as they rode down. Tey skewered the snakes like iciclesalling rom the sky.

By the time Steve hit the ground and stopped sliding on hisback with his guns drawn, all o the snakes were dead and thetroops o howlers were reclaiming their spears.

Steves jaw dropped in disbelie . Te monkeys were in the treesthe whole time and had laid a trap or the glowing snakes.

Okay, Steve thought. Im impressed. Tese monkeys aresmarter than a lot o humans.

Anna was standing below the rope ladder dangling rom thehelicopter trying to process what just happened. Uncle Steve, areyou all right?

Steve stood up, put his revolvers away, and dusted o his shirt.Tese monkeys saved our lives twice tonight.Te Black Hawk hovered above with its oodlights shining

down.

Steve joined Anna at the rope ladder and turned back to takeone more look be ore leaving. Te monkeys gathered at the edgeo the clearing holding their dripping spears.

Teir Howler was right behind them, standing erect. He mettheir eyes with a piercing stare. It was a proud moment, even


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though he was still stained with the remnants o the toad Annahad killed with her whip. He took the necklace o and held ithigh above his head or the other monkeys to see and walked overto Anna.

Anna looked over at Steve.Hes not going to hurt you, Anna. Hes giving you the necklace

as a gif. You saved his li e, Anna.Anna bowed down and their Howler gently lowered the

necklace over her head and onto her shoulders. He dropped toone knee as the entire troop o monkeys began howling a song o victory. It was also a song o riendship and a song o thanks.

Anna bowed again to the howling troop and climbed up therope ladder to the Black Hawk with Steve right behind her. Heclosed the door, gave Anna a hug, and signaled the pilot to getmoving. Te helicopter rose quickly and disappeared into thenight.

Steve vowed that he would never be caught in that situationagain. I he had his exoskeleton on, i he was Strand, Anna wouldnever have been in danger. He had kept his identity a secret romher long enough. Te days o Steve Cutter were coming to an endand the days o the Strand were just beginning.

Steve put on his headphones. Anna, can you hear me?Yes, Uncle Steve.Anna, Im proud o you. Your mom and dad would be very

proud o you. He sighed deeply. Teres something I need to tellyou, though.

Tank you, Uncle Steve, and please dont take this the wrongway, but we just survived monsters, res, snakes, and giant toads.

Can we just give it a rest or a ew hours? Im really, really tired.And hungry, very hungry. She reached into her backpack.Steve laughed. He was smiling ear to ear. Whatever you have

to eat, I get hal . Im older and need more energy than you.Ha! Get your own. Tis is mine. She started wol ng down


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the granola bar, but relented at the last minute and gave her unclethe last bite o it. She yawned and leaned against his shoulder.

Steve let Anna all asleep on him as the Black Hawk ewthrough the night. He was wondering i he would ever be able tosleep again.

Can one man make a di erence?Soon the world would know that Strand was right, that the

planet had entered into a period o rapid evolution. He lookeddown at his hands and slowly exed his ngers. How long couldhe keep his identity a secret? He stared out the window o theBlack Hawk, lost in his thoughts.

Te pilot spoke over the headphones and broke hisconcentration. We will be at Gaia in about ten minutes.

Steve had been awake or hours watching video monitors o surveillance cameras back at Cutter echnologies in the Mojave.

Anna had been sleeping since they lef Brazil. She was no longera little girl, he thought. She was skilled and she was ormidable.She had come so ar since her parents had died. He elt a pain deepinside. Would Jack be alive i he had acted di erently be ore theaccident? Would he have experimented on himsel i she hadntbeen hurt?

Steve wondered about his riend Vitimani and ipped a switchon the console. He dialed a number using the keypad next to it.Sarah? Hi, this is Steve Cutter. Is Vit okay?Steve, an older woman said, o course hes ne. Did you two

have a nice lunch? I am making dinner now and expect him homesoon. You may want to see i he has lef the o ce yet.

Sarah, Ned and I didnt have lunch.

ry the o ce. Bye now. She hung up.Sarah was Vitimanis wi e o thirty years. She was a warm andwonder ul woman, and he couldnt imagine what she was talkingabout, let alone nishing a phone call without asking how youwere doing. Vitimani hadnt been home in at least feen hours.


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CHAPTER 3: GAiA

The Empire State Building could t com ortably in her hull, butat the altitude they were ying, Gaia looked like nothing more

than a dot on the horizon.It had taken a mere twelve months to convert her rom

a rusting, retired hull to a oating city, complete with parks,streams, and a small lake or two.

She was completely sel -contained like an aircraf carrier, and

could stay at sea almost inde nitely. Tis was a good thing, since very ew harbors could accommodate her massive size.Tere were large elevator plat orms to transport the Black

Hawks rom the hangar to the ight deck. Tere were researchacilities, testing acilities, employee housing, restaurants, a movie

theater and, o course, great shing. Below deck were submarinedocks.

Each side o Gaia

had dry docks or three support vessels,each o them 150 eet long. When the ship was near a port, thiseet o six boats would be used to shuttle people, ood, materials,

and supplies back and orth.An aircraf carrier o this size has a population o about 6,000,

The ship Gaia was their home away from home.

Steve looked out the window of the Black Hawat the magnif icent vessel.She was a converted supertanker over 1,100 feet

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but Gaia had a skeleton crew o about 600. Gaia was a work inprogress. While she had been converted in a short period o time,she was not complete. In act, she might never be complete. Partso the ship were an unimproved shell where speci c projectswere developed. When completed, that part o the ship would bedemolished to make way or something new.

It was a per ect environment or Steve to accelerate his researchwhile maintaining his autonomy. Steve invented all o the newtechnology. A support sta o scientists, lab technicians, writers,secretaries, and others provided test results and documentationto make the technology saleable.

Tere were parts o the ship that Steve alone had access to,parts that afer Gaia launched no one would see. Tese werelocked behind large steel doors that were rarely opened. Tesedoors were the source o much speculation by the crew, not only because they were always locked, but there were times whenmovement could be heard behind them.

Anna woke up when the Black Hawk lowered its landing gear.Gaia ? What are we doing at Gaia , Uncle Steve? I thought wewere going back to the Mojave.

Just a precaution, princess. Dont worry. Youll be back tonish school in no time.

Te Black Hawk landed onGaia

and the door slid open.Te warm, salty ocean breeze welcomed Steve and Anna as they stepped on deck.

Dr. E was waiting or them when they landed. She was the chie biologist and an expert in animal li e. Usually a pleasant womanin her thirties, Dr. E could be a tiger when provoked. It was clearto everyone who met her that she was able to communicate with

animals better than people. But i E were happy, everyone wouldbe happy. At least thats the way it seemed.Steve opened his backpack and removed three small plastic

baggies. E, this stu marked oad, Jelly sh Worm, and Snake,youve never seen anything like this. I guarantee it.


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E was bubbling with enthusiasm as she held up each baggie toget a better look.

Te glowy stu is the jelly sh worm, Steve continued.Tese creatures oat, or y, or kind o a combination o both.Teres some kind o intelligence with them as a mass entity. I alsothink its toxic, or at least the vapor in its gas bladder is. Anyway,you gotta get on this, like now. We need answers, especially i thistruly is toxic.

E was smiling ear to ear. Steve knew her well. She wouldntsleep until she had some answers. Tats just the way she was, andits what Steve loved about her.

One o the crewmen, Stanley, noticed a small puddle o bloodon the deck near the rear wheel. He dropped to one knee andscooped some blood onto his nger to con rm that it was resh.He took a quick sni to make sure it wasnt paint and peered upinto the wheel well.

Mr. Cutter, the man said urgently, theres something hereyou have to see.

E and Anna ollowed Steve as he walked over to thecrewman.

Whats going on, Stanley? Steve asked.Stan shifed his weight, took o his baseball cap, and scratched

his head. Well, i I didnt know better, I would say theres a deadmonkey in the rear wheel well.Anna dove to the deck and looked up into the opening.Howler! Uncle Steve, its Howler!Steve leaned over. Anna, is he alive?I cant tell, hes jammed in there and theres a lot o

blood.

Cutter echnologies had modi ed the Black Hawks by addingretractable landing gear to aid in supersonic ight. Howler wasstuck inside the compartment, drenched in blood, and completely silent.

I think one o the bolts pierced his shoulder, Anna said, and


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one o his legs looks like hamburger. Tere was a moment o silence as all waited.

He just moved an eye! Hes still alive! Anna reached to grabHowler, who was barely conscious.

Anna, Steve intervened, let Dr. E look at him.No, Uncle Steve, I got him. He trusts me. Come here, you

crazy monkey.As Anna reached up, Howler released his grip on the wheel

well and dropped into her arms. He turned his head, struggledto open his eyes again, and placed his hand on the toad hornnecklace around her neck. He exhaled deeply, then closed hiseyes and went limp.

Anna looked up with tears welling in her eyes as E placed twongers on Howlers neck.

Hes not dead, not yet. Teres a pulse, but we dont havemuch time. E was very serious when it came to animals and sheimmediately assumed control o the situation.

Stan, bring a stretcher. Anna, youll ride on the stretcher. ry not to move the monkey until we can get him to my lab.

Anna and E had grown ond o each other over the years, andSteve knew the sight o Anna this upset would galvanize E. I Howler could be saved, it was E who could do it.

As the crew ran the stretcher carrying Anna and Howlero the landing deck, the Black Hawk slowly descended into thehelicopter bay.

Back in the nations capital, the president looked out over therose garden rom a window inside the White House.

Giant toads, oating jelly sh, and toxic gas are one thing, but

his chie scientist comatose in the hospital? It isnt exactly whathe had hoped to hear this morning. op scientists rom aroundthe globe had rushed to Brazil, the majority now slaughtered by mutated jungle animals or burned in the ensuing re. Vitimanihad been ortunate to survive at all. Te CIA still had a team in


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the orest monitoring the situation, but the president worried ortheir survival as well.

Early news reports in the worldwide media spoke only o anaccident involving helicopters in the Amazon that killed someo the greatest scienti c minds o the day. Coverage ocusedmainly on university students across the planet and their plans

or candlelight vigils that evening.Te president thought, Strand did it just right. First he makes

an incredible claim, and then he lures the only people who candisprove it to Brazil, where theyre slaughtered, every last one o them. What kind o madman is this?

As the president sat down at his desk, he knocked a smallround mirror on its side. Framed in sterling silver, it was a gif

rom the rst lady the day he took o ce. She presented it to himduring a rare quiet moment on Inauguration Day. It was early morning in the Oval O ce, and he still remembered the exactwords she said when she gave it to him.

You are an emotional man, she told him, and your eelingsin uence your decisions. You cant help it, dear. It always shows onyour ace, which is why Im giving you this mirror. I youre lost inyour own thoughts, look in the mirror. You will see how you are

eeling, and it will help you gain perspective on your decisions.

You are the president o the United States o America and themost power ul man on the planet, but i you can see yoursel asothers do, it will help you control your emotions.

Te president picked up the mirror and looked at himsel .He saw an angry man, angry that people had died, angry thatVitimani was hurt. And he had a predisposed urge to blame it onStrand. He didnt like theatrics and he didnt like getting played a

ool in ront o the media.He looked out o the window again and onto the south lawn.Suddenly, a cloaked gure dropped to its knees in ront o thewindow. It was a man, but it was something more. It was Strand.

Te president jumped out o his chair and stood tall and erect


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at the window, not intimidated in the least. Strands cloak coveredmost o his exoskeleton as he stood up. Te piercing stare o hisluminous eyes met the presidents unwavering gaze or a longmoment.

Strand reached into his cloak, pulled out an envelope, andheld it up or the president to see. He turned and walked towardthe French doors a ew yards away.

As Strand advanced, he retracted a portion o his exoskeletonto expose a portion o unprotected arm. He wanted the presidentto know or sure that he was human and not a machine.

Te president walked over to the French doors to meet Strand.Whatever technology Strand possessed, it was ar superior toanything in the U.S. arsenal, and now he was aunting it by circumventing all security and dropping in or uninvited visits.

Te presidents ace was red with anger as he opened the doorsorce ully.

State your business here.I simply wanted to deliver this, sir. Strand held out an

envelope.Te president looked at the envelope or a moment. He knew

that i Strand was there to kill him, he would already be dead, sohe took the envelope. Another door in the Oval O ce abruptly

opened and Secret Service men rushed in with guns drawn.Strands exoskeleton quickly closed around the exposed arm.I am the harbinger, nothing more. I am giving you Chapter

wo. It will be released on the Internet in twenty- our hours, butI wanted you to have it rst.

Show your ace, Mr. Strand.Sir, that wouldnt do either one o us any good. Tank you

or your time.Strand turned and walked toward the lawn.One o the Secret Service men lunged at the president, tackling

him to the ground to get him out o harms way, while the rest o the agents took up positions and began ring at Strand. More


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J.B.B. Winner

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A Navy o cer who was part o the team ring on Strand spokeup. It looked like a omahawk cruise missile, um, motorcycle,Mr. President.

How ar can he get, Lieutenant?It has a range o 550 miles, with at least a thousand pounds

worth o ordnance, sir. I he replaced the bombs with a uel tank and added a couple o rockets, at least double that.

Can we track him on radar?Well, the missile emits a very small radar signature, which

makes it almost impossible to positively identi y on radar. I heies within thirty eet o the ground, we probably wont be able to

track it. And i he stays in the clouds, we cant get a visual ID.Is there anything else? What about a heat signature?Well, sir, the lieutenant said hesitantly, its a small object

and it really doesnt have much o a heat signature.Hes outmaneuvered us. Te president was not happy. Not

happy at all.Yes, sir. Well, good thing hes on our side. Isnt that right, Mr.

President?On our side? Te president thought to himsel . He remembered

the slaughter in Brazil and worried about Vitimani.I think hes on his own side with his own agenda and I dont

trust him.He stared at the envelope in his hand. I Strand uses the rontdoor next time, he thought, well be ready or him.


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A dark hero, Strand, fghts an epic battle to save mankind. Driven by atragic past, and a deep desire to do the right thing, Strand valiantly pursueshis mission. His world is made up o incredible technologies: exoskeletons,

robots, dinosaurs, missiles and explosions. Its a thrill-a-minute ride!! Robert Gunter, Author, Te SandLot

A well-written and imaginative adventure novel about a dark superhero Fun and entertaining

Paul Jenkins, Eisner Award Winning Writer for Spiderman, Inhumans,Marvel Knights, Origin (Wolverine), Incredible Hulk and more.

I am the reluctant harbinger, chosen as I am because of an accid

and debt to which I am forever bound. I will f ight ignorance aarrogance, the hunters and the deceivers. I will bring darkness tthose that would prey on the innocent.

My name is Strand.Its X-Men Meets Jurassic Park... : Te Strand Prophecy

A present-day superhero science fction epic.On the steps o the White House, a reluctant superhero delivers evidence

o an ominous scientifc discovery to the President ... and the world.I Te Strands fndings are true, the very nature o li e on earth is about

to change, and humanitys ate hangs in the balance.Strand must now race against time and battle power ul orces,

to protect the innocent rom rapidly evolving predatory creaturesbe ore it is too late.

Protect the InnocentTe multiple award winning authors JBB Winner is actually

a ather daughter-daughterwriting team o Je , Brittany and Brianna Winner. Te

Artwork and illustrationsby Daniel Gerardo Apango Goiz

Cover by Rob Prior.Book design and interior

Strand Prophecy

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Transcript of Strand Prophecy