James Rollins
Bloodline
The eighth book in the Sigma Force series, 2012
To three brothers and three sisters,
Cheryl, Doug, Laurie, Chuck, Billy, and Carrie.
After being in the trenches this past year, it seemed
fitting for us to be together here, too. Love you all.
MAP
Horn of Africa
*
WORDS FROM ASSASSINATED PRESIDENTS
On the existence and threat of modern-day secret societies:
We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence… building a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.
– JOHN F. KENNEDY, FROM A SPEECH GIVEN AT THE WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL ON APRIL 27, 1961
On life and death:
Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.
– ABRAHAM LINCOLN
NOTES FROM THE HISTORICAL RECORD
Throughout history, conspiracy theories abound. It is only human nature. We are forever looking for patterns amid chaos, for signs of the invisible puppeteer manipulating the grand scheme of lives, governments, and the path of mankind. Some of these shadowy plotters are cast as villains; others as great benefactors. Some of these secret cabals are based on historical facts; others are mere fanciful fictions; and yet even more are a Gordian knot of the two, woven so inexplicably together that the line between fact and fiction becomes a tangled tapestry of false history.