Sigma Guide Read online

  Σ

  The Chernobyl Syndrome.

  The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine remains the worst nuclear plant accident in history, even compared to the recent catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. An explosion and fire at the No. 4 reactor released unprecedented amounts of radioactive material into the air. The contamination spread over much of the USSR and Europe, with Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia getting the worst of it. Over three hundred thousand people eventually had to be relocated, many of whom were never able to return to their homes. The nearby community of Pripyat, which had once boasted a population of 49,000, became a ghost town practically overnight. Today, a thirty-kilometer “Exclusion Zone” surrounds the abandoned town and plant. Believe it or not, the Zone is now open to tourism.

  Radiation from the disaster has been tied to cancer rates and birth defects, but the long-term death toll is difficult to predict—and the subject of considerable debate. The effort to control and contain the disaster, and deal with its devastating aftermath, was ruinously expensive and is believed to have contributed to the eventual fall of the Soviet empire.

  A massive concrete sarcophagus was hastily erected to enclose the reactor, but that is now over twenty-five years old—and was only built to last twenty to thirty years. Plans are afoot to build a new shelter, known as the “New Safe Confinement,” over the aging sarcophagus and reactor, but this has been a slow process, plagued by unexpected delays. Originally scheduled for 2005, it is now supposed to be finished by summer 2015.

  In theory.

  Σ

  A prophetic tradition.

  For over a thousand years, from roughly 800 BC to 400 AD, the Oracle of Delphi, also known as the Pythia, offered sometimes cryptic prophecies to kings and commoners alike. Supplicants came to the Temple of Apollo, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in Greece, to ask questions of the Oracle, a role which was occupied by a succession of priestesses from all walks of life. The Pythia was said to have received her wisdom by inhaling vapors (pneuma) which rose up from a chasm in the floor of the oracle’s chamber, known as the adyton. Over the centuries, such notables as Hadrian and Croesus consulted the Oracle, until the Christian emperor Theodosius I had the pagan temple shut down in 393 AD.

  Modern historians once dismissed the ancient accounts of the sacred vapors as a myth, but more recent studies have shown that Delphi sits atop two intersecting fault lines. It is has been theorized that these faults could have produced a gas, possibly ethylene, that induced a trance-like in the Oracle. This theory has yet to be proven, however, and Sigma’s own investigation suggests that the Pythia’s oracular abilities came from [REDACTED].

  It’s perhaps worth noting that Alexander the Great is said to have consulted the Pythia, although he was unhappy with her answers and literally dragged her out of her temple by her hair. Sigma previously crossed paths with Alexander during their hunt for the secrets of the Magi [MOB].

  Today, all that remains of the Temple of Apollo is ruins.

  Mission Designation: The Doomsday Key

  Duration: October 9-October 23. One year after TLO.

  Key Locations: United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, France.

  A brutal attack on an experimental farm in West Africa, a fatal explosion at the Vatican, and the mysterious assassination of a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey are all linked by one puzzling commonality: an ancient Celtic symbol branded into the heads of three murder victims. Sigma is soon brought into the investigation via two avenues.

  In Rome, Lieutenant Rachel Verona contacts Sigma when her uncle, Monsignor Vigor Verona, is seriously injured in an explosion at Saint Peter’s Basilica. That same explosion kills Father Marco Giovanni, an archaeologist who had been desperately attempting to contact Vigor for unknown reasons. Investigating the explosion, Rachel locates a mysterious artifact hidden by Giovanni: a mummified finger.

  Gray Pierce and Joe Kowalski jet off to Italy to assist Rachel, only to find Seichan waiting for them as well. Still running from both the Guild and the authorities, she reveals that the Guild is taking a keen interest in this affair. She crashes Gray’s quest to find out why Father Giovanni was killed, although her motives remain suspect.

  The unlikely quartet is hunted by Guild assassins intent on securing the artifact. After a furious chase through the Roman Coliseum, the team retraces the steps of Father Giovanni, who had been studying the myth and history of the “Black Madonna,” particularly as it relates to the intersection of paganism and early Christianity. His investigations also touched on a mysterious plague hinted at in the Domesday Book (a comprehensive 11th Century survey of England), as well as scattered legends of curses and healing potions linked to the Black Madonna. Giovanni’s trail leads them from Neolithic ruins in the Lake District of England, where smoldering peat bogs preserve centuries-old mummies infested with a killer fungus, to Wales’s Bardsey Island, said to be the final resting-place of Merlin the Magician. There a hidden crypt points them toward the “key” to curing a long-forgotten biological weapon once employed by the ancient Druids—and those who came before them.

  Meanwhile, among the victims in Mali was biologist Jason Gorman, the son of a powerful United States Senator. General Gregory Metcalf tasks Painter Crowe to look into the murder because Jason and his colleagues in Africa had been developing a new variety of genetically-modified (GM) corn when they were attacked. Before dying, Jason had emailed confidential research data to Dr. Henry Malloy, his old professor at Princeton, who is brutally assassinated before Monk Kokkalis and rookie agent John Creed can interview him.

  Sigma’s attention soon turns to Viatus International, a huge biotech corporation run by Ivar Karlsen, a visionary Norwegian businessman. As Karlsen is hosting an upcoming conference on overpopulation, Painter and Monk and Creed travel to Akershus Fortress in Norway to interview Karlsen, only to run afoul of Guild assassins led by Krista Magnusson, a seductive geneticist who has infiltrated Viatus on the Guild’s behalf. Krista is in contact with the Guild’s shadowy upper Echelon—and Seichan as well.

  As Karlsen relocates to the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Painter discovers that Karlsen was behind an ambitious , multipronged scheme to reduce the world’s population by [REDACTED], only to have his own plans coopted and subverted by the Guild. Judged expendable by Echelon, Karlsen and the Vault come under attack by Krista and her mercenaries, even as she plots to claim the “Doomsday Key” sought by Gray and his team.

  The battle for possession of the key—actually a cure to [REDACTED]--converges in Clairvaux, France at a maximum-security prison that was once a medieval abbey. All hell breaks loose as the hidden tomb of [REDACTED] is found to hold a secret that pits Sigma and the Guild against each other once more.

  Assessment:

  With General Metcalf now in command of DARPA, Painter finds Sigma on a much shorter leash than it was under Sean McKnight. Still, Painter manages to work with his new boss to resolve this new crisis, even persuading Metcalf to let Painter to go into the field—and leave Kat Bryant in charge of Sigma Command during his absence.

  Meanwhile, Monk is back in action after being on disability and desk duty for a year. In truth, neither Painter nor Kat are convinced that Monk is ready go back into the field after his harrowing ordeal in Russia (TLO), but Monk comes through in the end—even if there are still a few holes in his memory. Elsewhere, Gray finds himself in the tense, unenviable position of having to work beside both of the women in his life, Rachel and Seichan, with nearly fatal results for one of them.

  For the second time in three years, the Guild mobilizes in pursuit of a deadly bioweapon with ancient historical roots [TJS, TDK]. Ultimately, a member of the upper Echelon is exposed, as well as a telltale tattoo worn by the Guild’s enigmatic leaders. The full significance of the [REDACTED] symbol remains obscure, along with the Guild’s ultimate goals and origins. Only [REDACTED] is revealed as Echelon, but Sigma’s next encounter with the Guild would prove even mo
re revealing [TDC].

  Σ

  When in Rome . . . or Switzerland.

  Ivar Karlsen belongs to the Club of Rome, an international network of scientists, economists, business leaders, high-ranking civil servants, and past and present heads of state. Notable members include Mikhail Gorbachev and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The group was founded in 1968 at a villa in Rome, which is where its name comes from. It is currently headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland.

  The Club of Rome is perhaps best known for The Limits to Growth, an influential (and controversial) 1972 report that examined the conflict between uncontrolled population growth and finite resources. Recent studies have largely supported the original report’s conclusions and predictions.

  The Club’s most recent report, 2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years, warns that humanity may not survive unless it finds ways to both reduce its consumption and develop more long-range approaches to problem-solving, as opposed to concentrating on short-term gains. It encourages the world to strive toward a more sustainable future. More information at be found at the Club’s official website: www.clubofrome.org.

  Unlike Karlsen, the Club of Rome is not allied with the Guild.

  Σ

  Death and Taxes.

  The Domesday Book, which guided the unfortunate Father Giovanni to his own doom, was a comprehensive survey of England and Wales conducted in the 11th century by order of William the Conqueror, in order to assess the wealth (lands, livestock, and so on) of the kingdom for tax purposes. It eventually became known as the “Domesday Book” because it was as all-encompassing and irrevocable as the Last Judgment. It now resides in The National Archives in London and is regarded as an invaluable historical resource, providing an incredibly detailed look at life in 11th Century England. On-line copies of the book, which was originally written on sheep-skin parchment, can be found readily.

  As noted by Father Giovanni, certain regions are listed in the book as “wasted.” It is generally assumed that most of these areas had simply been laid waste by William’s wars of conquest, but Sigma discovered that a few such regions had actually fallen victim to [REDACTED].

  Σ

  The future on ice.

  The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where the Guild attempted to cover its tracks via [REDACTED], is buried deep in an underground cavern on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, less than seven hundred miles from the North Pole. Blasted out of the permafrost, it has been described as the ultimate safety net for the planet’s biological diversity, storing samples of seeds from all over the world. It has been designed to preserve and protect the seeds no matter what happens elsewhere in the world: wars, unrest, natural disasters, etcetera. The vault consists of three underground chambers, kept at -18 C (0 F), with a maximum capacity of 4.5 million seeds. The remote site is tectonically stable, permanently on ice, and high enough above sea level that global warming and flooding should not be an issue. At present, the vault holds over half a million seed samples, with each bagged sample containing an average of five hundred seeds. Seeds for food crops take priority.

  The Vault began operation in 2008. New seeds continue to arrive at the vault, including recent samples from Portugal, Costa Rica, Peru, Zambia, Azerbaijan, and Columbia. In 2010, a delegation of seven US senators delivered seeds for various spicy Native American chillies. Thankfully, they were not hot enough to melt the ice.

  Despite the best efforts of the Guild, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault continues to hold its precious samples in safekeeping—just in case they are ever needed to feed a hungry world.

  Mission Designation: “The Skeleton Key”

  Duration: Unknown. Shortly before TDC.

  Key Location: France.

  On her own in Paris, Seichan continues her search for the elusive puppet masters behind the Guild, but when she contacts Dr. Claude Beaupre, a noted historian with links to the Guild, he coerces her into rescuing his son Gabriel from The Order of the Solar Temple (l’Ordre du Temple Solaire), a doomsday cult led by Luc Vennard, a Guild operative with his own ambitious agenda. Also drafted into this assignment is Remy McCleod, a Scottish teenager whose tattoo-artist girlfriend Jolien was recently abducted by the OTS—and may end up a human sacrifice.

  Remy is a cataphile, an amateur explorer of Paris’s vast subterranean catacombs, whose knowledge of the underground necropolis is literally tattooed on his flesh. Spurred on by electrocution collars locked around their necks, Seichan and Remy must find and penetrate the hidden lair of the OTS—before the cult can trigger a catastrophe that will plunge half of Paris into a sprawling City of the Dead . . . .

  Assessment:

  Although not technically a Sigma operation, Seichan’s solo adventure in Paris yields vital intel on the Guild for both her and Sigma Force. In exchange for her efforts to liberate his son, Beaupre provides Seichan with various files, notes, and historical documents relating to the Guild’s roots in American history. These folders, which bear the seal of [REDACTED] and include a handwritten letter from [REDACTED], are later passed on to Gray Pierce and Sigma [TDC].

  Seichan is aware that the Guild often suborns violent cults such as the OTS for its own purposes. She also observes that Guild is stirred up, indicating that something major is afoot within the organization. It is at such times of upheaval, when contacts and assets are in motion, that locked doors swing open for a moment—and a daring operative can sometimes catch a glimpse of secrets usually kept under wraps.

  Σ

  A real-life cult of death and destruction.

  Much of the gruesome history of the Order of the Solar Temple is a matter of public record. Founded in 1984, the cult was responsible for a string of mass murder-suicides in the mid-nineties, including the brutal killing of a baby who was stabbed to death with a wooden stake. In total, 74 people were killed or committed suicide in Canada, France, and Switzerland. Believers, many of whom were wealthy and successful, were taught that the end of the world was imminent and that death was just a passage to a new life on another planet. At its height, the cult boasted somewhere between four and six hundred members, although its membership had begun to decline at the time of the murders and mass suicides. The founders of the cult, Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro, died with their followers.

  The OTS claimed descent from the Knights Templar, with Jouret even identifying himself as the reincarnation of the one of the original Templars, but there is no reason to believe that this was anything but an audacious fabrication, intended to sway the gullible. The OTS is said to have disbanded, but Seichan discovered for herself that the cult was not quite defunct.

  Σ

  Beneath the City of Light.

  By 1786, the cemeteries of Paris had become hopefully overcrowded, posing a threat to health and sanitation. A new place to store the accumulated dead of Paris needed to be found. Fortunately, hundreds of miles of old limestone quarries, some dating back to the days of the Roman Empire, stretched beneath the outskirts of the city. King Louis XVI ordered the bones relocated to the mines, a process which took about two years. In the end, the remains of approximately six million people ended up in what became known as the catacombs, where they remain to this day.

  A portion of the catacombs is open to tourists, but much of the sprawling underground labyrinth remains officially off-limits. This hasn’t stopped generations of enthusiastic cataphiles (“lovers of catacombs”) from exploring, mapping, and partying in the tunnels since at least the 1970s. Dodging the police who patrol the underground, a thriving subculture has made itself at home in the catacombs—just as the French Resistance did back in World War II. Graffiti from the French Revolution to the present adorns the tunnels, as do walls of human skulls and bones.

  The old quarries were originally located outside Paris, but the city eventually spread out over the tunnels, so that the city’s foundations are now riddled with underground passages and chambers. This sometimes has tragic consequences, as tunnel collapses have swallowed up entire houses an
d neighborhoods. The first such disaster took place in 1774, decades before the old quarries became a city of the dead, but another such collapse claimed twenty-one lives as recently as 1961. The Inspection Generale des Carrieres (IGC) inspects and reinforces the underground as needed, but only Seichan knows how close Paris came to joining the six million dead in the catacombs.

  Mission Designation: The Devil Colony

  Duration: May 18-June 4. Approximately eight months after TDK.

  Key Locations: USA, Japan, Iceland.

  Native American legends warn that if a sacred cave in the Rocky Mountains is ever violated, the world will end. This prophecy proves well-founded when an archaeological excavation at the site uncovers a hidden treasure trove of pale-skinned mummies, inscribed gold plates, and other relics, including the gold-plated skull of a saber-toothed tiger. Unfortunately, the dig also triggers a nest of ancient nanoparticles that cause the very earth around the site to dissolve, igniting volcanic eruptions—and restarting a centuries-old war for control of the lost secrets of a mysterious “Devil Colony.”

  The discovery also attracts Painter Crowe’s “niece,” Kai Quocheets, a young Indian activist who is soon caught up in the Guild’s ruthless pursuit of the ancient technology, a quest which may have begun hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago. Along with Joe Kowalski and Sigma geologist Ronald Chin, Painter rushes to Utah to rescue Kai and deal with the ongoing crisis. His team joins forces with Professor Henry Kanosh, a Native American historian and naturalist, to track down legends of a mysterious tribe of “Pale Indians,” The People of the Morning Star (Tawtsee’unsaw Pootseev), who were believed to have possessed secret, highly dangerous knowledge—and who might also have been the Nephites, one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, whom, according to the Book of Mormon, came to North America around 600 B.C.