“Any ideas?”
“Somewhere that’s still warm and tropical.” She lifted her cheek, staring pointedly at him. “But without box jellyfish, saltwater crocodiles, or stonefish.”
“Like where.”
“I was thinking Hawaii… maybe Maui.”
“Really? Aren’t those islands too tame and boring for you?”
She shrugged. “I’ve never been there. And right about now, boring sounds perfect.”
“Then a Hawaiian vacation it is.” He settled his face back into his doughnut. “Surely nothing can go wrong there.”
What’s True, What’s Not
At the end of my full-length novels, I love to spell out what’s real and what’s fiction in my stories. I thought I’d briefly do the same here.
CAPE TRIBULATION. I was lucky enough to spend some time in this area near Port Douglas in Queensland and always wanted to set a story here. It’s truly a magical place, where the rainforest meets the Coral Sea. I also took a horseback ride to the beach featured in this story, where I watched a huge saltwater crocodile saunter across the sand and into the surf. While there, I also became enamored with the history of the region. The site was indeed named by Captain Cook after his fateful accident on the nearby reefs. So I thought it would be fun to tell a story of a ship that suffered a similar, if more tragic, fate.
THE TRIDENT. While the ship featured in this short story is purely fictional, I based its fateful tale on the histories of two real convict ships: the Success and the Hive. Their combined stories involved mutiny, gold, and lost shipwrecks. So I borrowed their tales for this adventure.
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. As I was setting this story here, I couldn’t help but mention the tragic bleaching that is currently affecting two-thirds of the reef’s coral, covering a swath almost nine hundred miles long. The reef is home to many endangered species, along with four hundred types of coral and fifteen hundred species of fish. It’s an invaluable habitat, one that three hundred million people rely on for food, employment, and livelihood. So let’s not lose it.
ANFOG GLIDERS. Yep, those yellow research torpedoes are real… though I may have stretched their capabilities a bit. But not by much!
WHAT’S NEXT?
At this story’s conclusion, Seichan makes a fateful decision to head to Hawaii, specifically Maui. Gray has, of course, cursed them by declaring nothing can go wrong. Their sabbatical from Sigma Force is about to come to a crashing end — and nothing will ever be the same for the two of them. Already forces are in motion, fueled by an ancient horror known only as the Demon Crown. So hold tight, and I hope you enjoy the wild ride to come!
About the Author
JAMES ROLLINS is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of international thrillers, which have been translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the “top crowd pleasers” (New York Times) and one of the “hottest summer reads” (People Magazine). He lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
www.jamesrollins.com
Also by James Rollins
The Demon Crown
The Seventh Plague
The Bone Labyrinth
The 6th Extinction
The Eye of God
Bloodline
The Devil Colony
Altar of Eden
The Doomsday Key
The Last Oracle
The Judas Strain
Black Order
Map of Bones
Sandstorm
Ice Hunt
Amazonia
Deep Fathom
Excavation
Subterranean
Blood Infernal
Innocent Blood
The Blood Gospel
War Hawk
The Kill Switch