I'm a bit surprised that there isn't a larger national (or even international) outpouring of grief and rage over Cale Fletcher's death. Maybe it's muted as it's subsumed into the general post-9/11 sentiment, but I would think the death of an international hero whose contributions to exploration rival those of Columbus, da Gama, Wright or Borman would hit a hell of a lot harder than it did here. (In fairness, this is probably a tinge of projection on my part over losing a second main POV character, and - no offense meant to the late, lamented Tom Wheaton - my favourite OOS personality...)
On that front, it's a combination of two factors. For one, like most authors, I put a lot of myself into my characters, and to languish in an outpouring of love and grief felt a bit self-serving. I don't doubt that the world would mourn Cale Fletcher in grand ways, but I didn't want to deal with those emotions directly.
Another reason that has weighed on me over the last 48 hours was that I have recently learned of the death of Cale Yarborough, who was a model and basis for Cale Fletcher. Cale Yarborough, a South Carolina native, race car driver, football player, skydiver, and all-around adventurer, was my first childhood hero and has been an influence on my life and work since I could pick up a crayon.
I'd encourage any of you to read his autobiography. He had a life that was akin to Indiana Jones crossed with Richard Petty (who was a long-time friend and rival). Cale Yarborough had one of the great American personalities that managed to burn both long and bright. He passed away this weekend at the age of 84.
If you're so inclined, I hope you'll take a look at this youtube clip showing some highlights from his racing career. If it sparks an interest in his life, then this post will have been more than worth it. The man had a thousand stories and none of them were boring.
I'd suspect this is due to Republicans tacking toward the centre rather than the evangelicals and social conservatives (as
@BowOfOrion notes in the update where McCain recruits Powell), coupled by strong, popular GOP candidates (the aforementioned McCain and Powell) and a rally-around-the-flag effect (due to landing Americans on Mars, as well as effectively winning a brief foreign war and suffering two major domestic terror incidents, the second of which claimed the life of the first American on Mars).
I think this analysis is fairly close to the mark. I have devoted many paragraphs to a long-form explanation of the subtitle of this work. A Scientific America is not close-hewn with the America of the timeline in which I live and work. Rather than the back-and-forth flow from party to party which has defined much of American politics in the last 50 years, I've taken a different tack. In Ocean of Storms, the nation's mood swings tend to be slower and more pronounced. The era which began with JFK extended until the 1980's, at which point the pendulum swung in the other direction.
In response to two decades of Democratic presidents, the Republican Party, rather than forming around its right flank, chose to attack the center and embrace a more open and accepting social platform.
The truncated presidency of Ronald Reagan led to a backlash against President Bush. Bush came to be seen as something of a benevolent usurper, which caused him not to seek a full-term. This in turn, led to the rise of McCain and Powell, two Americans who have always struck me as supremely honorable, no matter which timeline they call home.
While I make a point not to plan too far ahead in political details, suffice it to say that our current reality seems devoid of Republicans with this level of principle, so I think a swing in a different political direction is in the offing, (just in the Ocean of Storms timeline).
The public will demand public arrests, raids, trials, and so forth. All this done in secret, makes people think nothing is going on.
I had hinted at this reaction with one of my headlines. I think the logical extension here is both clear and accurate.
For one, we have no idea how often programs like this leak because we have an incomplete data set. We have no idea what the denominator even is…
Secondly, I personally doubt the degree of controversy this would stir up if it leaks in 20-30 years, during which time period it worked. Folks looking back at this in TTL’s present day would, IMO, simply take the “eggs, omelets, breaking” attitude as we so often do when events are at a recent remove of time.
I think this is a very interesting line of thought. I'm reminded of a quote from Mindhunter (an exceptional show from Netflix) which has resonated with me ever since I first heard it.
Edmund Kemper: "It seems to me everything you know about serial killers has been gleaned from the ones who've been caught."
(As a side note, the book for Mindhunter also gave me the story of the Soviet serial killer which was recounted to President Powell. That has not been embellished here from how I received it and I would be remiss if I did not fully credit John Douglas for that anecdote.)
It's fascinating to ponder the ramifications of that. The point is well said in that we simply cannot know if programs like this can be kept secret because we only have evidence in one direction.
My working concepts for this were based on Mossad assassinations that have long been a part of Israel's defense. I make no judgment on the nature of those killings. I simply use them here as a lens and a mirror to consider what they might look like in America. Over the coming weeks, I plan to educate myself a bit more about Mossad and Israel's use of covert assassination. All I really know is the film Munich and the book Vengeance upon which it is based. I plan to read Rise and Kill First to see if there's some insights that I can glean. Maybe it'll be useful, but I'm sure it will at least be informative.
The recent violence gave me pause when writing this chapter. While I have no wish to open that can of worms, it disturbs me how often I have to take time when writing a chapter to consider the way a reader will see it in light of current events. So often my hope for Ocean of Storms is that its art is imitated by life, but that does not extend to the chapters which involve violence and terrorism.
I love that this chapter has generated lively discussion. Please keep that going, and, as always, thank you for reading!
