MANNER OF THE SUNDOG

Book excerpt: Nearing the end of the 21st century, the world has been devastated by catastrophic climate change, war, disease and overpopulation. Now the most sought after of all continents to live, Antarctica, has developed into a vastly inhabited and civilized oasis with its own cities, communities, cultures and native population known as the Annortics. Still under the control of the United Nations Consultative Parties, this utopian society established in the exclusive city of Ellsworth is governed by an international coalition of scientists known as ICS, more simply referred to as ICE. The governing laws have been set in accordance with the Antarctic treaty, which has continued to ban any exploitation of its prized resources for over a century. But the tyrannical global corporation known as GRANT, has begun to manipulate, extort and even assassinate key party members in order to take control of the most magnificent frontier on the planet for their own self-indulgence. With the recent discovery of an ancient and highly elusive Nazi military installment, members of GRANT's abducted science team have learned to develop and exceed the technology that would have allowed the Third Reich to conquer the world during WWII. Together with their covert elite force known as the Lynx, they will use this technology of an unknown origin to once again continue the pursuit of absolute power. In its capital city of Ellsworth, young physics prodigy Bane Elrick is drawn into conflict between Antarctica's own governing body, the International Coalition of Science and GRANT, a powerful global organization that has seized control of the world's economy, and now desires to take control of the planet's last frontier...Antarctica. After inadvertently learning of its profound history and dark secrets, Bane is forced to make decisions that will impact his future, while struggling to save his loved ones from losing the only home they have ever known to GRANT. Bane is guided by his mentor, Dr. Pierce Gödel, president of the Coalition and a renowned geneticist who lives confined to his self-made endodermic suit, which allows his paralyzed body to continue functioning as normal while preparing his revenge on GRANT for their failed assassination attempt which claimed the lives of his beloved wife and daughters. Under his preceptor, world renowned physicist, Professor Sergei Isen, Bane learns of an intangible and extremely valuable isotope that can be used dynamically for inter-stellar travel, anti-gravity propulsion, or as a powerful weapon against all civilization. Throughout his adventure, Bane learns the uglier side of politics, science and life from his friends, mentors and his father, Marlin Elrick, an architectural engineer who tries to guide him toward a more prosperous future. The ghostly memoirs of his deceased mother, a paleo-geologist, lead him as he recalls her cryptic cyphers from his childhood to unravel the secrets of Antarctica's history, and his own destiny. Markus Blackmore, a former UN Special Forces agent and commander of the Antarctic Regional Guard, shows Bane the darker side of humanity and how to fight for what he believes in. His nomadic neighbor, Donnar McKinley, a wise but eccentric old man, advises him through troubled times with what at first seems to be equivocal nonsense. All the while being driven by his passion for science, his native land and his love for an esteemed politician's daughter. Bane relates his tale to a new denizen of Ellsworth, sharing his accounts of early life and adventures as a scientist, where he was born and raised and his rise to leadership of the world's most intriguing continent, and sovereign nation of its own...Antarctica.