AUTHOR’S NOTE
In August 1944, an American ship carrying a large supply of bombs arrived in Sheerness, near London, to help with the war effort. Unfortunately, strong winds pushed the SS Richard Montgomery onto a sandbank in the River Thames where it broke its back. It is still there today, two-and-a-half kilometres from Sheerness and eight kilometres from Southend, with a cargo of 1400 tonnes of explosives. The wreck lies in about 15 metres of water, partly buried in silt. Successive British governments have not dared to risk moving it or do anything about it because it is disintegrating and some of the explosives are dangerously unstable. If one bomb exploded, it would set off the rest and the resulting blast would be one of the world’s biggest non-nuclear explosions.
The bombs could be triggered if another ship rammed the wreck; a rusted piece of the remains collapsed onto the cargo; the tide pushed one bomb against another; a terrorist or criminal deliberately disturbed the shipment, or even if one of the fused bombs reacted spontaneously. If it happened, a column of water about 300 metres in diameter would be blown three kilometres into the sky. The blast would cause widespread damage in the area of the Thames Estuary, just sixty kilometres from central London. The towns of Sheerness and Southend and nearby oil and gas refineries would suffer the most. Forty thousand people would be affected. Among them, there would be some injuries and deaths.
MALCOLM ROSE ON
THE SCIENCE BEHIND
JORDAN STRYKER
When I want to come up with a new idea for a story, I usually look to science because scientists are always discovering and creating new things. Some exciting advances are bound to be just around the corner. For a few years, I have been keeping an eye on the coming bionic age. There are so many new developments I’m fascinated by: brain implants that give vision to the blind and hearing to the deaf, robotic limbs controlled entirely by the mind, touch-sensitive skin for artificial hands, designer DNA, power-enhancing drugs, developing replacement body parts through stem cells, terahertz technology, a bat-like echolocation device to help the blind, generating electricity from body movement, smart clothing, and drugs to wipe painful memories. It’s clear that human re-engineering is under way.
Some of these body enhancements are already hitting the news. When soldiers return from war zones with dreadful injuries – often missing a limb after an encounter with a bomb – their medical treatment can grab the headlines. In writing the Jordan Stryker thriller series, I’ve been inspired not only by what modern medicine and technology can do for people, but also by their determination to cope.
I have seen today’s artificial arms in action. By the power of thought alone, they can hold food, stir tea and pick up a small key. Whilst this cutting-edge science enables the disabled, it does not allow them to bust through doors like Jordan does with his bionic arm. In creating Jordan Stryker, I have not limited myself to today’s exact medical technology. I have allowed myself to imagine where the science of body enhancement might take us in the next twenty years or so. By then, there will be some amazing developments. I’ve simply allowed Jordan to have the technology right now. I’ve also given him some of the grit shown by real-life victims of serious injury.
I haven’t given Jordan the fantastic powers of a superhero. That would have been interesting and exciting, but not what I wanted to write about. If Jordan walks up a wall (and he might in a future book), it’s because super-grip shoes are on the way to becoming practical, not because he’s transforming into a superhero.
At least one expert thinks the first bionic eyes will be developed by 2020. Of all Jordan’s abilities, I have peered into the future most with his artificial eyesight. I suspect that the power and range of his fictional vision will not become reality for many years.
One scientist is already talking about a time when people will merge with machines. This would be called the singularity. I don’t know if that will happen and, if so, I wonder if it is to be welcomed or feared. If a human being and a machine become a single thing at some point, the hybrid will probably be really smart and live for ever. This seems too fanciful for Jordan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a character in the second book regards Jordan as a step on the way to this awesome future.
DON’T MISS OUT ON JORDAN STRYKER’S NEXT MISSION...
Jordan Stryker owes his life to Unit Red, after they saved him from near death and rebuilt him with cutting edge science. Now a unit Red Agent, with unbelievable powers, Jordan has a mission: track down a cyber-terrorist who’s destroying systems and wreaking death and devastation all over the globe.
But, the super-hacker has a new target – Jordan himself. Soon Jordan is in a battle to stay alive, and it seems the very technology that saved him might now kill him...
Jordan Stryker’s new mission is an edge-of-your-seat cyber thriller, packed with high octane twists and turns.
epub 9781409538271
Kindle 9781409538288
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Malcolm Rose was born in Coventry and began his career as a research scientist. He started writing stories while studying for his DPhil degree in chemistry, as a means of escape from everyday life. He is now a full-time writer best known for his gripping science-based thrillers and forensic crime series. He has been awarded the Angus Book Award twice and the Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year. His novel, Kiss of Death, was chosen for the national Booked Up reading scheme, and was shortlisted for four prizes, including the Salisbury Schools’ Book Award.
For more information about Malcolm Rose visit his website: www.malcolmrose.co.uk
To find out more about the Jordan Stryker series visit: www.usborne.com/jordanstryker
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