When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, it appeared that a new world order had emerged, one where democracy prevailed and autocratic communism was rendered obsolete. Some claimed it was the end of history. Except the Russians had other plans. They werenât ready to abandon their power on the world stage without a fight.
After over a decade of development, Russia is only months away from finalizing an advanced quantum computer that can break all known encryption in less than a microsecond. When the CIA unearths intel on Russiaâs progress, they turn to agent Chris Hodge, the man judged by the Agency as best equipped to lead the team tasked with sabotaging Moscowâs advanced quantum computer.
If Chris Hodge and his team succeed, democracy will continue to prevail.
If Chris Hodge and his team fail, Russiaâs victory on the technological front will lead to Moscowâs unbridled power.
Will Chris Hodge remain relevant after the most difficult mission of his career?
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, it appeared that a new world order had emerged, one where democracy prevailed and autocratic communism was rendered obsolete. Some claimed it was the end of history. Except the Russians had other plans. They werenât ready to abandon their power on the world stage without a fight.
After over a decade of development, Russia is only months away from finalizing an advanced quantum computer that can break all known encryption in less than a microsecond. When the CIA unearths intel on Russiaâs progress, they turn to agent Chris Hodge, the man judged by the Agency as best equipped to lead the team tasked with sabotaging Moscowâs advanced quantum computer.
If Chris Hodge and his team succeed, democracy will continue to prevail.
If Chris Hodge and his team fail, Russiaâs victory on the technological front will lead to Moscowâs unbridled power.
Will Chris Hodge remain relevant after the most difficult mission of his career?
The first thing that Chris Hodge did after he headed into his office at Langley was adjust the thermostat to sixty-four degrees. It had only been three days since he had left the mountainous north of Afghanistan and he had not yet adjusted back to the mid-Atlanticâs temperate autumn weather. The second thing that Chris Hodge did was check his email. The most recent message in his inbox had a subject line that read [Undisclosed]. He clicked it open and began reading. Hodge had accumulated significant TIC, or troops in contact, from his numerous deployments throughout the Middle East and North Africa. He had become normalized to the chaos and accustomed to operating in hazardous independent conditions long-term. After he finished reading this âinvitationâ to initiate action on an entirely different sort of operation, all Hodge could do was smirk. Was this a good response? Hodge thought.
Seconds after Hodge had finished reading the open email, a fist began to wrap against his door. The knocks were perfectly spaced, the sound resembling a metronome.Â
âCome in.â
Daniel Keyes entered Hodgeâs office. Upon joining the CIA, Keyes had been trained for wet work. He had engaged in more than a few ops on the ground. However, in recent years, his duties were far more strategic and managerial. Still, no one could describe him as a doughboy, like some of the analysts and others relegated solely to office work at Langley. âDid you check your email?â After Abbott Mazuskiâs passing, Keyes had been appointed Hodgeâs new handler at the Central Intelligence Agency. Hodge perceived that his former handler, despite his frequent obfuscations, viewed him as a protĂ©gĂ©, and perhaps almost as a son. Unlike Mazuski, Keyes had not developed Hodge since childhood, and so his brusque mien and current lack of rapport were understandable. That, coupled with the fact that his relevance to the plan had recently been in question, reinforced to Hodge that he would have to prove his merit once again. He was up for the challenge. I understand their perspective. I made some errors in Afghanistan. They need to trust that Iâm up to snuff and that my mind remains on our missions.
âIâm not much for small talk either,â Hodge quipped as he reflected on his actions several months ago in Afghanistan. He had jumped off a precipice, not realizing how high a fall it would be, in an effort to draw the Taliban away from his team and towards him.
Keyes frowned. âYouâve been requested to handle this.âÂ
âGlad I know a thing or two about quantum physics.â
âAre you ready?âÂ
âRoger.â Hodge moved his cane to the ground, out of Keyesâ view.Â
Keyes left the room without any further conversation. Hodge logged out of his account. Well, this is different. I wonder if quantum computers can recite Allahu Akbar. Hodge was quite prone to sarcasm. He believed it was a sign of intelligence. And in Langleyâs high-stakes environment, Hodge desired to ensure that those senior to him remained steadfast in supporting his involvement in the plan.
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Shortly before his last mission in Afghanistan, Chris Hodge had moved out of the studio apartment that he had called home since his sophomore year. His old place had been a rental in Cambridge near his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With the help of Mazuski, Hodge had secured the purchase of a house ten minutes away from Langley in Tysons Corner. It was a small single-family home that blended into its surroundings without attracting attention. The inside was as utilitarian as the outside. Both Hodge and Mazuski judged that level of anonymity as among the homeâs strongest selling points.Â
It came as no surprise when Hodge found out that the handler who had judged him relevant had passed away. Mazuski had been afflicted with lung cancer since their first encounter at Landmark, Hodgeâs wine bar of choice while attending MIT. In Hodgeâs line of work, emotion could not cloud the pure rationality needed to complete your operations. He had seen many recruits eliminated from the plan because of an inability to control their emotions under extreme duress. Naturally, even those who were asked to leave or who resigned of their own volition were exceptional individuals. They would not have been invited in the first place if they were known to crumble when faced with physical or mental hurdles. Keyes had informed Hodge of Mazuskiâs death at a mission briefing. It had been held prior to Hodgeâs deployment to Afghanistan in a new capacity, leading teams from a desk at the forward operating base instead of in the action. Hodge received Keyesâ news with a simple nod. Inwardly, he said a silent prayer for the man who had revealed the truth behind his fatherâs passing in the Beirut barracks bombings, that same man who had given his life a greater purpose than the projected academic trajectory Hodge had assumed would await him after graduation.Â
It was a few minutes to noon on Saturday morning. Hodge had been awake since 0600 reviewing information on quantum computing. He had taken only two small breaks to prepare and eat his breakfast and lunch. Quantum computing, like most intellectual pursuits, fascinated him. Over the course of two decades, Hodgeâs broad knowledge base had been secretly cultivated by Mazuski. Hodge had developed proficiency in multiple foreign languages, expertise across many STEM fields, and a vast understanding of history, philosophy, and the arts, among other topics. The evolution of computing was a specific fascination for Hodge, one that exceeded most others. Computers had once needed whole rooms at research facilities. Today, the processing power of those early computers was exceeded by a budget laptop. Quantum computing, with its basis on the concepts of superposition and entanglement, presented an exciting new frontier, albeit one with dangerous implications on the geopolitical stage. Unlike traditional binary code, which must either have a value of zero or one, the qubits that formed the basis of quantum computing existed in both states simultaneously. This was entirely different from when a person flipped a coin, for example. In that instance, there are only two possible results: heads or tails. However, the principles underlying quantum computing mandated that both sides needed to exist in order to have the other side. Unlike with a coin flip, quantum computers donât produce heads or tails results, but both, with each still needing the other in order to have both sides. The fluidity of this state had the potential to revolutionize the world and push mankind to new frontiers. It also had the potential for devastating outcomes if used without ethical mooring.Â
Hodge placed one of the research reports on his desk when he heard his doorbell ring. It was Mark Mitchell, one of the East Coastâs top physical therapists and a regular tapped to help many at the Agency who had developed injuries in the line of work or elsewhere. Mitchell was physically fit and halfway through his thirties. His standard choice of attire was a polo shirt and cotton pants. He looked like the type of man who had vacationed in Cape Cod with his parents every summer. If Mazuskiâs hidden hand had not cultivated Hodge since his youth, that lifestyle would have seemed a far cry from Hodgeâs formative experiences.
âHowâs the ankle treating you? How bad is the pain when you put pressure on it?â Mitchell had Hodge perform an assortment of strength and stretching exercises during their sessions. Their work together was designed to increase Hodgeâs mobility. Today, Mitchell had added more resistance bands and secured them to the wall. This was done as a way to assess Hodgeâs progress and advance his recovery.
âIâm fine. I can still move like a running back.â Somehow, I have a feeling this guy wouldnât confuse me with LaDainian Tomlinson. But the last thing I want is Markie boy telling Keyes that my progress has slowed or halted. Although Hodgeâs response was short of the standards of factual accuracy, it was true that the injury he suffered in his first deployment to Afghanistan seven months ago had healed at a much faster rate than even he expected.Â
âSure. And Iâm President George W. Bush,â Mitchell scoffed. âLook, you need to understand that this will be a process. If you work your regimenâas I know you willâif you do your stretches, yoga, and weightlifting consistently, then maybe, maybe, youâll almost feel like yourself again.â
Hodge grinned. âIs that so?â Mitchellâs words had increased his own inexhaustible drive to reach one hundred percent again. I smoked a few ragtag Talis and that uncivilized traitor on a bum ankle. And I wasnât even on one of the teams. If my ankle is in as bad shape as this trainer thinks it is, then, when it fully heals, they should sic me on the Tall Skinny Guy, the one whose flunkies killed almost three thousand Americans. Osama wouldnât stand a chance.Â
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Keyes entered Hodgeâs office at 0800 sharp. Hodge had already arrived at Langley one hour earlier. For the last hour, he had pored over several white papers and theoretical papers on various methods used to construct qubits. Hodge had learned that there were multiple approaches. One way was through trapping a few dozen ions of rubidium or ytterbium in a vacuum chamber by time-varying electromagnetic fields. Another possibility was to keep lithographically-patterned superconducting circuits at millikelvin temperatures inside dilution refrigerators.Â
When Keyes looked up from his files, he did a double take. âNo cane, Hodge?â
âIâm better than ever,â Hodge replied.
âThat was a brave move, but was it a necessary move?â Hodge shrugged in response to Keyesâ question. âResearch coming along?â
Hodge nodded. âThis topic is paramount for the future of mankind. And that is an understatement. But, like so many pivots in history, this needs true world management and a joint cohesive strategic plan.â
âOh, is that all? I thought youâd like it. Something to keep your brain from getting dull.âÂ
Hodge suppressed a smile. âTo that regard, should I fax over some copies to certain members of Congress?âÂ
âFunny. Except it would hardly be a laughing matter if the Russians reach their objectives before we do. Imagine the dissemination of this technology to their rogue proxies in Syria or Iran, or in alliance with China.âÂ
âIâm fully aware of the implications, sir.â
âGood.â Keyes paused as he scratched his forehead. âWhat do you think is going to be done with Guuce Duale?â
âThatâs not answered yet.â Hodge had withstood an attack from the Taliban little more than a few weeks ago. He had disposed of a number of Tali fighters during this mission in Afghanistan, including his former asset Guuce âBlackbeardâ Duale. Hodge had once viewed his asset as a friend. That was before the drone strike that killed Dualeâs wife and son. That was before Duale displayed his utter lack of civilization. That was before Duale killed his teammate in Fallujah. Duale was now in Guantanamo Bay, aka Gitmo. In Hodgeâs opinion, that was a fate far too kind for such a man.Â
The second book of the Relevant series, The New Cold War: Defending Democracy From Russia's Secret Tech Weapon, by Peter Zaccagnino, sends readers on the thrilling worldwide journey through the US, Pakistan, and Russia.Â
Chris Hodge is a devoted CIA agent, not afraid of the new challenges, testing his mental and physical skills - despite his severe ankle injury. He's tough and determined, and a pretty woman (especially the one that acts too overtly) can't distract him from his goal. He's a firm believer in his country's values, and he doesn't hesitate in acknowledging his beliefs, even risking an open confrontation with colleagues and family members. After the CIA acquires intel that Russia is about to make a breakthrough in quantum computers, Chris Hodge employs the best specialists and leads the group into the lion's den, Moscow, to sabotage the research.Â
As an espionage novel, the book successfully balances the action-packed and the technical sides of the story. This is not a breakneck thriller where life-threatening situations go one by one without giving a reader a minute to reflect on what is going on. Instead, a reader slowly becomes invested in the general atmosphere of the year 2005, a year with controversy over troops' involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq and the beginning of the race between Russia and the US. The book deserves high marks for full disclosure of quantum computing topic: the author does an excellent job unravelling how it works in the understandable yet technical language. The explanations are transmitted in the characters' dialogues, so a reader doesn't feel overwhelmed by new information.Â
Aside from the main story, the book also contains some minor plotlines that, at this moment, seem incomplete. The Pakistan line loosely connects the two books of the series through a figure of Duale, an ex-friend of Chris Hodge. The plotline that takes around a quarter of the second book ends on a cliffhanger but leads nowhere. It also would be beneficial to add a logical conclusion to the relationship between Chris Hodge and his brother. As it is now, the brother figure serves as mere means to show Chris Hodge's superior political views.Â
The book has some flaws, not apparent to the English-speaking audience, in depicting post-Soviet Russia and contains outdated words not used in the modern Russian language.Â
The book can also be read as a standalone. At the beginning of this book, the information briefly fills a reader into what happened in book one.Â
I'd recommend the book to lovers of captivating, thought-provoking narratives. The book is a brilliant blend of mystery, suspense, and thriller.Â
I received an advanced review copy through Reedsy Discovery, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.