Book III ⇔Present Day♁ NBC Affiliate, Denver, CO, USA “Dr. Hork, sir, are you ready?” Sarah was shy as she approached, her voice meek as she mustered to gain William’s attention. “We’re live in one minute.” Her eyes were intent, gracefully swallowing adrenaline in an effort to mask her subtle nerves. Although there was nothing technically special about this morning’s routine satellite connection with New York, she still held her breath while the production team established communication. On any normal day Sarah inherently strived for perfection, but today was anything but normal. The entire...

Book III ⇔ Present Day♁ Old Stage Rd, WSW Cheyenne Mountain, CO, USA The truck vibrated violently, its rear tires losing grip on the gravel mountain road as it hopped across the washboard. Josh’s grin was wild and he punched the gas, the rear sliding around a corner. The sun was high and shadows from the tall pines cut the sunlight, their contrast mimicking a strobe light as the truck jittered underneath. Dust billowed from the mud tires and settled on the dash, wind whipping freely through the open windows. The Ford charged ahead, twisting the forest into a frenzy while Josh mimed along...

Book III ⇔ Present Day♁ Hork Estate, Colorado Springs, CO, USA The press junket in Denver was relentless and consumed the rest of William’s day. After starting the morning with First Light, he did several phone interviews with scientific journals, followed by another television interview with Fox News, a syndicated podcast in the afternoon, and finally, he wrapped up the day with another nationally televised interview on the CBS Evening News. William didn’t shy away from the attention and he was proud to share his work. The criticism surrounding the new discovery affected him like a light...