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Project Stargate. This was a real program run out of the Stanford Research Institute and funded by the CIA. Their strange successes into remote viewing are factual.
Brain manipulation. There was much speculation in the book about brain plasticity, about augmentation with transcranial magnetic stimulation, and about how humans are natural-born cyborgs. How much of that is true? All of it. For an enlightening and entertaining exploration into the mystery of the human brain, I suggest you read The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge, M. D. As to Monk's induced amnesia, there are chemical techniques employed today that can erase selected memories, specifically through the use of propranolol.
Can we see the future? Nobel Prizewi
Intuition: Knowing Beyond Logic by Osho.
India and Gypsies. The history of the Romani and their roots in the Punjab region in India is factual. This origin is also the reason the chakra wheel is prominently centered on the Romani flag. As to India's caste system, the plight and status of the untouchable classes is a true concern. In fact, some historians believe it was just such a friction among castes that drove the Gypsy forefathers out of India. For more details about this struggle, there is a disturbing article in National Geographic in the June 2003 issue, titled India's Untouchables. Oh, and if you're ever visiting the Taj Mahal, there truly is a revolving restaurant atop the Deedar-e-Taj Hotel. I recommend the pani pani or golguppa.
Russia's radioactive legacy. The descriptions of Pripyat and the pla
Strange weapons. In this book, I employed sonic flares, radiosensitive poisons, whip-swords, shotguns that shoot Taser rounds, even a cell phone that converts into a gun. As you might guess, they're all real.
Autism and Autistic Savant Syndrome. While the exact cause for autism remains unknown, the latest research initiated by the Autism Genome Project in collaboration with the National Institute of Health has found that certain genes, along with environmental factors, contribute to the presentation of the disorder. For a better understanding of such unique minds, I highly recommend Dr. Temple Grandin's book, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism. Another book that I found insightful about autism and savant syndrome was the memoir by Daniel Tammet, Born on a Blue Monday: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.
In fact, the seed for this novel came from a quote by Dr. Temple Grandin. She was kind enough to permit me to use it: If by some magic, autism had been eradicated from the face of the earth, then men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance to a cave. To my mind, it echoes the quote at the begi
To answer that, I'll end with a partial list of famous historical figures who are believed to have displayed some level of autistic tendencies.
Hans Christian Andersen Jane Austen
Ludwig van Beethoven Emily Dickinson
Thomas Edison Albert Einstein
Henry Ford Thomas Jefferson
Franz Kafka Michelangelo
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Isaac Newton
Friedrich Nietzsche Mark Twain
Nikola Tesla Henry David Thoreau
Alan Turing Nostradamus
You be the judge.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While it may be inspiration that starts a novel, it's the dedication of the folks that surround an author that turn such inspiration into a finished product. In my last novel, I acknowledged the fantastic dream team at
HarperCollins, upon whose guidance and expertise I can place no greater value.
In this note, I'd like to spend a few words to especially recognize the writers of my critique group. I've been with this group since the begi
Gallowglas, and De
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author JAMES ROLLINS holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine and runs his own practice in Sacramento, California. An amateur spelunker and a certified scuba enthusiast, he'll often be found either underground or underwater. www.jamesrollins.com
ALSO BY JAMES ROLLINS
Subterranean
Excavation
Deep Fathom
Amazonia
Ice Hunt
Sandstorm
Map of Bones
Black Order
The Judas Strain