In the stunning sequel to The Hawk Enigma, Voodoo and his team of special operators are thrust back into the heart of a global conflict. The stakes have never been higher as Chinaâs Belt and Road Initiative pushes into Central Asia, exposing dark ambitions and a secret lab advancing AI warfare.
Set against the vast steppes of Kazakhstan, this story unfolds in the shadow of the former Soviet Union. Tensions rise as Voodooâs team embarks on a covert mission. New team members add to the friction as more troubles from Voodooâs past return to the present.
They soon find themselves on the brink of a perilous future the Western world is unwilling to face: a world where AI reigns supreme, and there's no turning back. Fans of Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy, and Clive Cussler will snatch this thriller and refuse to let go.
Will Voodooâs team succeed? Or has his luck finally run out?
In the stunning sequel to The Hawk Enigma, Voodoo and his team of special operators are thrust back into the heart of a global conflict. The stakes have never been higher as Chinaâs Belt and Road Initiative pushes into Central Asia, exposing dark ambitions and a secret lab advancing AI warfare.
Set against the vast steppes of Kazakhstan, this story unfolds in the shadow of the former Soviet Union. Tensions rise as Voodooâs team embarks on a covert mission. New team members add to the friction as more troubles from Voodooâs past return to the present.
They soon find themselves on the brink of a perilous future the Western world is unwilling to face: a world where AI reigns supreme, and there's no turning back. Fans of Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy, and Clive Cussler will snatch this thriller and refuse to let go.
Will Voodooâs team succeed? Or has his luck finally run out?
Kunashir Island
Just North of Hokkaido, Japan
One Year Earlier
âWhat do you mean you saw a god?â Major Orlov demanded.
The young soldier in front of Orlov blanched, then stammered, âHe⌠he rose from the ground. By the time he got to his feet, he, or it, was bigger than anything I had ever seen. He wasnât alone either. There were two others as well.â The soldier pointed to the west. âI know it sounds crazy. But if they werenât gods, how else do you explain the huge light and the typhoon?â
Major Igor Orlov, seasoned career officer of Spetsnaz Group Vympel, collapsed his arms into a fold, his head angling slightly to the side. âThe other men in the platoon said they were blinded by this light you mention. Why were you not?â
The young soldier swallowed. âI was still in the back seat of the vehicle, sir. I was dismounting from the right side, looking down toward my boots as I got out, when it seemed like the entire night lit up brighter than the day. The men around me were screaming. I heard gunshots in the distance. Then a woman cried out. Her name, I think.â
âWhat was it?â
âHer name, sir? It sounded American⌠Hawk, maybe?â
The major made a gesture for the soldier to keep going.
âAfter the initial flash, I heard the hissing of a smoke grenade and the light dimmed enough for me to check around the vehicle. Thatâs when I saw him⌠Or them⌠There were three of them. The one in the middle was the biggest man I had ever seen. Through the smoke he appeared enormous. A giant⌠I know this sounds crazy. I just donât think it⌠or he⌠was human. Thatâs how big he was, sir. He bent down, and as he stood again, he appeared to get even bigger. Then he started running and vanished.â
Major Orlovâs blue eyes narrowed as he considered the soldierâs words.
âThe light went out after that,â the soldier went on, his gestures growing more animated as he reenacted the events. âAnd a small fire took its place. Thatâs when the bullets started bouncing off the vehicle. I took cover. My friend Anton got hit in the face and fell beside me. I tried to treat him right away. He wouldnât stop screaming. I wasnât helping him long before there were two explosions and another one of those bright lights farther down the beach.â
âWhat did you do next?â the major asked.
âI spent the rest of the fight focusing on Anton, sir. But that massive man was like something from a horror movie. He was so big. Carrying a huge weapon.â
Major Orlov examined the young soldier. In his eyes, Major Orlov saw no guile. No courage either. But that wasnât the majorâs concern at the moment.
This wasnât the first strange recounting of the events that took place here a few days earlier. On the beach of Kunashir Island, a disputed territory managed by the Russian government but claimed by the Japanese, Major Orlovâs men had found themselves in the middle of an international incident involving armed men, a commercial cargo ship, and a freak typhoon.
As Major Orlovâs men conducted his investigation into the events that unfolded that night, the testimonies of the men grew more and more fantastical. Some claimed they heard Chinese and Korean voices. Some English. Some even went so far as to say the silhouette they saw in the light and smoke was Baba Yaga, a witch, or the more ridiculous zmey goynych, a multiheaded dragon from Russian mythology that could turn into a man. There was one thing they all could agree on: two massive balls of light exploded on the beach that night that were so bright some of his men would never see again. And in the middle of it all, men appeared who then vanished in a cloud of smoke.
What am I to make of all this nonsense? Major Orlov thought.
With a tilt of his head, the major let a lieutenant know he was done with the soldier.
âRussia thanks you for your service,â the junior officer said, dismissing the soldier. The private saluted in response.
Major Orlov pivoted toward an awaiting entourage of junior officers. âTake me to the ship.â
The trek from the Russian barracks on Kunashir Island to the western shore took less than five minutes by truck. But since the massive typhoon that struck the island a few days earlier, travel on the ground was no longer an option. The major opted for a Kamov Ka-226 transport helicopter instead, using the opportunity to observe the carnage from the sky before arriving on scene. Once the helicopter was in the air, the transit took less than thirty seconds.
Through his window, an ocean-whipped and battle-weary mini-bulker cargo ship nestled into the beach where it had run aground. The concrete remnants of what was once a dock were carved into the shipâs skin on the north. To the south, soldiers and civilians coordinated a salvaging effort. Toyotomi Industries, the owners of the ship, had reached out to the Russian government first to gain access to the vessel. Once they stepped on board, however, it quickly became evident this was not a ship run aground in a storm.
It was a crime scene.
One passageway housed over a dozen bodies, some missing limbs, all awash in pools of dried, coagulated blood. The stench, according to the investigative crews, was beyond bearable.
Major Orlov knew this, of course. The garrison stationed on Kunashir Island responded to calls from locals regarding a ship that appeared to have run aground and accompanying gunfire. The ensuing firefight with the crew aboard the grounded vessel, which included explosions and large balls of light, ultimately resulted in seven Russian casualties and the bodies of over twenty men of unknown origin. The Russian military investigators speculated the bodies to be Chinese, but the lack of any documentation meant the Russians would need more time to determine countries of origin.
They only had a couple of hours to remove the bodies on the beach before Typhoon Nabi hit and wiped out all the evidence. The major had been at headquarters in Vladivostok at the time of this event and was unable to fly back to Kunashir until the forces had conducted their initial investigation.
âSir,â the pilot called out over a radio connected to his headphones. âWeâre getting a report of a discovery just south of this location. Based on what theyâve found, you may want to look.â
âTake me there.â
Less than a few kilometers south of the dead industrial cargo ship, the helicopter set down on an expansive beach. Even for June, the air seemed particularly cool. Locals warned you could still get sunburned through the overcast sky. Major Orlov had his doubts.
On the beach ahead of him, a local Ainu fisherman held a leash attached to a hefty Akita. The dog reared to its hind legs and barked as the owner yanked, struggling to control the animal. Two soldiers inspected a dark item in the sand as the major approached.
A soldier popped to attention and saluted. âMajor, this manâs dog found this earlier.â The soldier gestured to an object half-submerged in the sand.
Major Orlov, in his working boots, green operational camouflage uniform, and light blue beret, carefully stepped forward. The soldier reached down and revealed a large black bag. It yawned as the soldier released the metal teeth of the zipper.
Major Orlov took in the sight. âIs that what I think it is?â
The gentle waves of the Sea of Okhosk brushed the shore behind him.
âYes, sir,â the soldier said softly. âItâs a laptop⌠and a human head.â
A genre that reads like âscience factionâ where a fictionalized future meets the
realities of new and existing technologies brought forth into militarization.
Biochemical infusions, neural implants, and a Chinese God-like algorithm that spurs a global war. From the flashbacks of the Atomic bomb and previous war traumas to the gruesome realities of the battlefield portrayed in a cyber-kinetic and quantum sensing reality that can predict human thoughts, behaviors, and actions. The disjointed intelligence landscape along with advanced capabilities is a startling wake-up to new and emerging threats. It moves beyond defenses where preemptive breaches into systems seem to warrant such attacks in deterring and thwarting an authoritarian takeover of control and repercussions of the usage of lethality of laser weapons. For those who canât stomach the hemorrhaging of such bloodshed, a thought-provoking reason to advance policies for greater protection from such extremes.
From the academic university laboratories spanning the globe in some of the most preeminent technological hubs, an analogous time travel between quantum capabilities and Los Alomos, the notorious site for the development of the atomic bomb. It's a stark portrayal of the necessary and mission critical research that advances science with the propensity for sustainability, life-saving and interplanetary mobility along with the collective residual trauma of the aftermath from failures to reach peaceful negotiations and when deterrence fails.
For one character, Mason whose rogue activities served as cautionary messaging as well as challenging his loyalty to the team, individualism was raised as a threat to unity. However, an altogether different version through more acceptable means may challenge the notion of determinism that these technologies will play out in the theater without alternate courses of action. It's a ubiquitous question in the examination of AI across borders, cultures, and societies in building ethical systems that uphold the agreed upon and shared values. It's arguably the most important current topic across domains, countries, and institutions in crafting the future.