I really should learn restraint and stop firebombing large swaths of the world, but what’s the fun in that? Just a few fast details. Yes, the Eiffel Tower really does feature an ice rink during the winter months, some twenty stories above the city, and for Christmas, the place is a wonderland, truly living up to its name as the City of Lights.
But below all those lights . . . lots and lots of dark catacombs. All the details about that subterranean cemetery are as accurate as I could make them. Even that macabre throne of bones. The painting that figures prominently in the book (the rendering of Die Toteninsel, the Isle of the Dead, by a cataphile artist named Lone) is really down there. Even its prophetic palindrome and tiny pentagram.
Hell’s Gate
The Pyrenees Mountains, long considered a bastion for witches, do indeed hide many caves of questionable repute, the most famous being Cuevas de las Brujas (or Sorginen Leizea) near the town of Zugarramurdi. There are slews of legends about this place: stories of a monstrous black he-goat who prowls the surrounding meadow, of witches’ sabbaths being celebrated. The mountain spring that flows out from there—the Orabidea River—is also called Infernuko erreka, or “Hell’s Stream.” So be careful taking a drink from there.
Finally, I started this novel with a warning, about a curse buried in the pages of this novel. If you’d like to know more about how thoroughly you’re doomed:
Roko’s Basilisk
Here are two illuminating articles. Read at your own risk.
“The Most Terrifying Thought Experiment of All Time,” by David Auerbach, Slate, July 17, 2014
“WARNING: Just Reading About This Thought Experiment Could Ruin Your Life,” by Dylan Love, Business Insider, August 6, 2014
And in case you feel you need absolution, you could always visit this new AI-godhead church:
“Inside the First Church of Artificial Intelligence,” by Mark Harris, Backchannel/WIRED, November 15, 2017
So there you have it. As we’ve reached the end, I’m reminded of the old movie War Games, featuring Matthew Broderick as a high school hacker battling an artificial intelligence. The infamous line from that movie was the computer asking, “Shall we play a game?”
Now that you’ve read this book, I hope you know the answer.
Yes? (wrong)
No? (wrong)
The correct answer:
Unplug it . . . and run.
Acknowledgments
It seems no good deed truly goes unpunished. The critique group that I joined many ages ago—well before I was ever published and still a full-time practicing veterinarian—has stood steadfastly throughout my career, offering great editorial advice, from plot discussions to character analysis, and yes, catching the many mistakes that pepper my first drafts. And this novel is no exception. So first and foremost, let me thank that close-knit bevy of critical first readers: Dave Meek, Chris Crowe, Lee Garrett, Matt Bishop, Jane O’Riva, Matt Orr, Leonard Little, Judy Prey, Caroline Williams, Tod Todd, Frank Barrera, and Amy Rogers. And as always, a special thanks to Steve Prey for the great maps . . . and to David Sylvian for making me look good across the digital universe (and beyond) . . . and to Cherei McCarter for the many significant historical and scientific tidbits found within these pages. And of course, a big note of appreciation and thanks to everyone at HarperCollins for always having my back, especially Liate Stehlik, Lynn Grady, Danielle Bartlett, Kaitlin Harri, Josh Marwell, Richard Aquan, and Ana Maria Allessi. And I cannot forgo giving a special shout-out to Brian Grogan, who has been at my side at HarperCollins since the beginning of my career and who actually gave this book its title (Crucible). Last, of course, a special acknowledgment to the people instrumental to all levels of production: my esteemed editor who has also been with me since my first book, Lyssa Keusch, and her industrious colleague Priyanka Krishnan; and for all their hard work, my agents, Russ Galen and Danny Baror (along with his daughter Heather Baror). And as always, I must stress that any and all errors of fact or detail in this book, of which hopefully there are not too many, fall squarely on my own shoulders.
About the Author
JAMES ROLLINS is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers that 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 hailed among the “hottest summer reads” (People magazine). In each novel, acclaimed for its originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets—and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight. He lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
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