Map of Bones (51 page)

Authors: James Rollins

Tags: #Mystery, #Thriller, #Suspense, #Science Fiction, #Adventure, #Historical

BOOK: Map of Bones

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AUTHOR’S NOTE

Thanks for following me on this latest journey. As before, I wanted to take this last moment to separate fact from fiction. I also hope this spurs some further investigation by readers. To aid in this, I’ve listed some of the books below that inspired this storyline.

So let’s start at the beginning. The Prologue. The Magi relics are indeed stored in a golden sarcophagus at the Cologne Cathedral, and the caravan that transported the bones from Milan to Cologne was indeed ambushed in the twelfth century.

Moving on to the first chapter, Super Black is a real compound developed at the National Physical Laboratory in Britain. The Eight Ball is a real structure at Fort Detrick (sorry for knocking it over), and liquid body armor is, amazingly enough,
real
, developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

I won’t go into such specific detail with the rest of the novel. I just wanted to use the above examples to demonstrate how what might seem wild in this novel may have some basis in fact. For those interested in more specifics, please check out my website (jamesrollins.com).

The Imperial Dragon Court is an actual European organization that traces its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is a ceremonial and benevolent society of aristocrats of varying influence. The bloody subsect described in this book is of my own imagining and not meant to disparage anyone currently in the Court.

As to the heart of this novel, it would take volumes to discuss the truth behind both m-state metals and the long trail they trace throughout history. Luckily, that volume has already been written, following in great detail the path from the Egyptians to modern times, including the strange effects of Meissner fields, superconductivity, and magnetism. I encourage anyone with even a slight interest in this topic to pick up
Lost Secrets of the Sacred Ark
by Sir Laurence Gardner. It was my own personal bible for this novel.

Speaking of bibles, if you were wondering about the conflict in the early Christian church between the followers of the apostles John and Thomas, a pair of great books on this topic were written by National Book Award–winning author Elaine Pagels:
Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
and
The Gnostic Gospels
.

For those interested in more details of the Magi and a possible brotherhood that still exists today, I recommend
Magi: the Quest for a Secret Tradition
by Adrian Gilbert.

I also recommend and am indebted to Robert J. Hutchinson’s
When in Rome, a Journal of Life in Vatican City
. It is a great and entertaining source of insight into the Vatican and its history.

Finally, I hope my own novel entertains but also raises some questions in the readers. In that vein, I’ll end this discussion of fact and fiction by endorsing the primary adage of Gnostic tradition: to seek the truth…always and in all ways. It seems a fitting finish to this novel. So to quote Matthew 7:7,

“Seek, and you shall find.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I
N A BOOK
of this scope, I needed a legion of supporters: friends, family, critics, librarians, curators, travel agents, dishwashers, and pet-sitters. First, thanks to Carolyn McCray, who red-inked every page before anybody else, and Steve Prey, for his thoughts and insights that evolved into the artwork within these pages. Then, of course, I’m honored to acknowledge my posse of friends who meet every other week at Coco’s Restaurant: Judy Prey, Chris Crowe, Michael Gallowglas, David Murray, Dennis Grayson, Dave Meek, Royale Adams, Jane O’Riva, Dan Needles, Zach Watkins, and Caroline Williams. And for all help with languages, my heartfelt appreciation to my friend from the Great White North, Diane Daigle. A special thanks to David Sylvian for his boundless energy, support, and enthusiasm and to Susan Tunis for her fact-checking of all manner and substance. For the inspiration for this story, I must credit the books by Sir Laurence Gardner and the pioneering research of David Hudson. Finally, the four people whom I respect for their friendship as much as their counsel: my editor, Lyssa Keusch, and her colleague May Chen, and my agents Russ Galen and Danny Baror. And as always, I must stress any and all errors of fact or detail fall squarely on my own shoulders.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Rollins is the bestselling author of six previous novels:
Subterranean, Excavation, Deep Fathom, Amazonia, Ice Hunt,
and
Sandstorm
. He has a doctorate in veterinary medicine and his own practice in Sacramento, California. An amateur spelunker and a certified scuba enthusiast, he can often be found either underground or underwater.

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ALSO BY
JAMES ROLLINS

Sandstorm

Ice Hunt

Amazonia

Deep Fathom

Excavation

Subterranean

This book is a work of fiction. While the described artwork, historical references, and science are factual, the characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

MAP OF BONES
. Copyright © 2005 by Jim Czajkowski.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © April 2005 ISBN 9780061792687

Version 12072012

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rollins, James, 1961–

Map of bones: a Sigma Force novel / by James Rollins.—1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-06-076387-6

FIRST EDITION

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Credits

Jacket design by Ervin Serrano
Jacket illustration by Paul Stinson