In the early decades of the twenty-first century, the most commonly
held truth is that knowledge is power. Yet a select few men and women
begin to suspect what few will admit: we know nothing at all.
The
world’s oil resources have dwindled. The rich are turning richer and
the power-mongers are becoming more powerful. China and the United
States dominate the globe in a geopolitical chess match. The human mind
has merged with the cybergrid, yet the human race seems not to have
evolved much at all.
Then, on a remote South American mountain,
two scientists stumble on a grisly scene. Here, while trying to protect
an ancient sacred rock, a primitive tribe has been slaughtered. No
witnesses remain to reveal what could have inspired such carnage. Or so
it would seem.
In the international arena, meanwhile, a new
global race is on: a weapon capable of tipping the balance of power is
discovered. Among the competitors are a National Security Agency
director who is playing at an elaborate doublecross within his own
agency and a vengeance-seeking Israeli meteor hunter. Shamans and
zealots, geniuses and madmen – all seek to unlock mysteries that fell to
earth millennia ago. But the key lies with four mute children who may
unwittingly hold the secret to the planet’s survival – or its
destruction.