Acknowledgments
Writing a book is a team effort, which is what made this partnership such a rewarding experience. But the members of the team went well beyond the two of us.
Thank you to the DC defense-policy community and the Washington Metro system for leading us to continually cross paths at meetings, interviews, and subway stops and strike up a friendship and, now, a writing partnership.
We were drawn into trying our hand at fiction by our shared love of authors who had thrilled, inspired, and addicted us as readers. They range from Arthur Conan Doyle and Herman Wouk to William Gibson and John le Carré to Tom Clancy and George R. R. Martin. Part of the fun of this effort was revisiting old memories of reading books like Red Storm Rising on the way to the beach in the back of the family station wagon, and then going back to read them again decades later, this time to look for tips from the masters but enjoying them just as much.
The research for the book encompassed not just the references you’ll find in the endnotes section (a bit of an anomaly for a novel, but we hope it will be useful for readers who want to learn more, as well as demonstrate the story’s grounding in reality), but also interviews, meetings, and conversations with a real-world cast of professionals who are reflected in the characters found in this book. We chewed through scenarios and lingo with U.S. Navy ship captains and Air Force fighter pilots, learned worldview and strategic thinking from Chinese generals, and tested out ideas with everyone from Special Forces veterans and computer hackers to Harvard scientists. We are deeply grateful to all of them. A special thanks goes to the group of expert readers who powered their way through the early texts and made the final product so much better, including Kenneth Eckman, Nathan Finney, Allan Friedman, Mark Hagerott, John Jackson, Mark Jacobsen, D.K., Greg Knepper, Jeffrey Lin, Fernando Lujan, Aaron Marx, Rich McDaniel, Ian Morrison, and Tammy Schultz, among others.
Our agents Dan Mandel, Bob Bookman, Ike Williams, and Katherine Flynn helped with everything from the setting up the meeting that was the original spark for the book idea to finding the manuscript a home with a great editor.
Eamon Dolan took a risk on us as first-time novelists and then not only provided valuable edits and big ideas but also continually challenged us along the way to try harder and be better at the craft. He is also even more brutal at eliminating characters than the Black Widow herself. RIP, Kyle and Dorothy. We would also like to thank Tracy Roe, MD, whose double-barreled copyediting prowess and medical knowledge were ably brought to bear on the manuscript.
Finally, we’d like to thank our families for their love, for their support, and, most of all, for convincing us that we could and should take this leap.
Endnotes
Forward
viiiHe reached down for his: John Bishop, “HEXPANDO Expanding Head for Fastener-Retention Hexagonal Wrench,” NASA Tech Briefs, August 1, 2011, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/10720.
ixcloud of smog stretching from Beijing: Global Bearings, NASA image, December 12, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013, https://twitter.com/Global_Bearings/status/411174216596074498/photo/1.
Part 1
3The screens inside the Jiaolong-3: “Manned Sub Jiaolong Completes Deep-Sea Dive,” CCTV.com, June 17, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014, http://english.cntv.cn/20130617/106712.shtml.
3deep below the COMRA: Qian Wang, “China Bids for Rights to Search Seabed,” China Daily, September 6, 2012, accessed August 19, 2014, http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-09/06/content_15737233.htm.
4Tianjin University developed the submersible: Phil Muncaster, “China Seeks ‘Oceanauts’ for Deep Sea Exploration,” TheRegister.co.uk, December 24, 2012, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/24/china_ocean_exploration_plans/.
5P-8 Poseidon’s recent engine upgrades: “P-8 Poseidon,” U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, February 2014, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.display&key=CFD01141-CD4E-4DB8-A6B2-7E8FBFB31B86.
7“U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone”: “Ocean Facts: What Is the EEZ?,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed August 19, 2014, http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eez.html.
7“as designated by the Mariana Trench”: Dan Vergano, “Bush to Make Pacific’s Mariana Trench a National Monument,” USA Today, January 6, 2009, accessed March 14, 2013, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2009-01-05-mariana-trench_N.htm.
7“drop a Remora”: “Remora — Fast Reconnaissance AUV,” L-3 Ocean Systems, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.l-3mps.com/oceansystems/remora.aspx.
9viz glasses: Chris Smith, “2020 Vision: The Future of Google Glass,” TechRadar, October 19, 2013, accessed February 22, 2014, http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/2020-vision-the-future-of-google-glass-1190832.
10“stuck in the Ghost Fleet”: “National Defense Reserve Fleet,” U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.marad.dot.gov/ships_shipping_landing_page/national_security/ship_operations/national_defense_reserve_fleet/national_defense_reserve_fleet.htm.
10Aegis cruiser: “The U.S. Navy — Fact File: Aegis Weapon System,” U.S. Navy, November 22, 2013, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2100&tid=200&ct=2.
10“something like five hundred ships”: Craig Miller, “Suisun Bay ‘Ghost Fleet’ a Shadow of Its Former Self,” KQED Science (blog), November 25, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014, blogs.kqed.org/science/2013/11/25/suisun-bay-ghost-fleet-a-shadow-of-its-former-self/
11“DD(X) is what they”: “Navy Designates Next-Generation Zumwalt Destroyer,” U.S. Navy, April 7, 2006, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=23064.
11“Navy was going to build”: “Cost to Deliver Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Likely to Exceed Budget,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, July 31, 2008, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-804.
12the USS Coronado’s wardroom: “Littoral Combat Ship Class — LCS,” U.S. Navy, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/pages/LittoralCombatShips.aspx#.U-_P_Ej6L6A.
12remote-piloted MQ-8 Fire Scout: “MQ-8 Fire Scout,” U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.display&key=8250AFBA-DF2B-4999-9EF3-0B0E46144D03.
13where a pirate attack: Marex, “Petro-Pirates Plague Busy Shipping Lanes,” Maritime Executive, July 9, 2014, accessed August 17, 2014, http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/PetroPirates-Plague-Busy-Shipping-Lanes-2014-07-09.
13“More than half of the world’s shipping”: “World Oil Transit Chokepoints,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, August 12, 2012, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.eia.gov/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=wotc&trk=p3.
13ever since Chinese special operations forces: Dean Cheng, “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Special Operations,” Special Warfare 25, no. 3 (July–September 2012), accessed March 18, 2014, http://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/10629.
14renminbi, the Chinese currency: Xinhua, “RMB to Be Global Reserve Currency by 2030: Economist,” China Daily, April 9, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-04/09/content_17420923.htm.
14“sail with our own oil”: Mark Thompson, “U.S. to Become Biggest Oil Producer — IEA,” CNN, November 12, 2012, accessed November 12, 2012, http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/12/news/economy/us-oil-production-energy/index.html?iid=HP_LN&hpt=hp_c2.
14“heightening regional tensions”: CNN wire staff, “Obama Announces WTO Case Against China over Rare Earths,” CNN, March 13, 2012, accessed March 14, 2012, http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/world/asia/china-rare-earths-case/index.html?hpt=hp_t2.
15“depend on rare-earth materials”: “What Are the Rare Earths?,”
Ames Lab, U.S. Department of Energy, accessed August 19, 2014, https://www.ameslab.gov/dmse/rem/what-are-rare-earths.
15“Their big mistake”: Edward Wong, “China’s Communist Party Chief Acts to Bolster Military,” New York Times, December 14, 2012, accessed December 14, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/world/asia/chinas-xi-jinping-acts-to-bolster-military.html.
15“just like back in ’89”: Jeffrey T. Richelson and Michael L. Evans, “Tiananmen Square, 1989: The Declassified History,” National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 16, National Security Archive, George Washington University, June 1, 1999, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/.
15“saw the problem differently than they did”: Edward Wong and Jonathan Ansfield, “China’s Military Seeks More Sway, Worrying Communist Party,” New York Times, August 7, 2012, accessed March 18, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/world/asia/chinas-military-seeks-more-sway-worrying-communist-party.html.
15“those ‘little princes’ ”: Cheng Li, “Rule of the Princelings,” Cairo Review of Global Affairs, February 10, 2013, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.aucegypt.edu/gapp/cairoreview/Pages/articleDetails.aspx?aid=295.
16British trading routes: “First World War: A Global View,” UK National Archives, accessed August 25, 2014, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/first-world-war/a-global-view/#.
16“Some say we’re fighting”: Wang Jisi and Kenneth G. Lieberthal, “Addressing U.S.-China Strategic Distrust,” Brookings Institution, March 30, 2012, accessed March 14, 2014, http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2012/03/30-us-china-lieberthal.
16lingering image of CVN-80: Thomas J. Moore, “USS Enterprise: Past, Present and Future,” Navy Live (blog), U.S. Navy, December 1, 2012, accessed August 19, 2014, http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2012/12/01/uss-enterprise-past-present-and-future/.
16“Ford-class carriers taking so long”: “Lead Ship Testing and Reliability Shortfalls Will Limit Initial Fleet Capabilities,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 5, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.gao.gov/products/gao-13-396.
16“You’re right that the DF-21E”: Otto Kreisher, “China’s Carrier Killer: Threat and Theatrics,” Air Force Magazine, December 2013, accessed December 3, 2013, http://www.airforcemag.com/magazinearchive/pages/2013/december%202013/1213china.aspx?signon=false.
17“What will it be next”: Harry Kazianis, “Is AirSea Battle Obsolete?,” Diplomat, June 21, 2012, accessed March 18, 2014, http://thediplomat.com/2012/06/is-airsea-battle-obsolete/.
17“air-sea battle concept”: Jonathan W. Greenert and Norton A. Schwartz, “Air-Sea Battle,” American Interest, February 20, 2012, accessed February 20, 2012, http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=1212.
21“a brilliant Russian scientist”: “Pavel A. Cherenkov — Biographical,” Nobel Lectures, Physics 1942–1962 (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1964), cited on NobelPrize.org, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1958/cerenkov-bio.html.
22“nine trillion dollars’ worth of our debt”: “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024,” Congressional Budget Office, February 4, 2014, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.cbo.gov/publication/45010.
22“Britain’s biggest trading partner”: “The First World War: Look Back with Angst,” Economist, December 21, 2013, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21591853-century-there-are-uncomfortable-parallels-era-led-outbreak.
24the four-engine Y-20: Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “The Y-20: China Aviation Milestone Means New Power Projection,” China Real Time (blog), Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014, http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/01/28/the-y-20-china-aviation-milestone-means-new-power-projection/.
25largest submarine and air base: Notes from webcast lecture by Alexander Neill, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Washington, DC, October 28, 2013, http://www.iiss.org/en/events/events/archive/2013-5126/october-8493/chinas-5th-generation-leadership-7fb9.
27Their liquid body armor’s exterior: “Case Study — Liquid Armour,” BAE Systems, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.baesystems.com/article/BAES_020435/liquid-armour.
28“ ‘On terrain from which’ ”: Sun-Tzu, The Art of Warfare, trans. Roger T. Ames, chapter 11.
28“PLA National Defense University”: “National Defense University PLA China,” ASEAN Regional Forum, November 17, 2011, accessed August 19, 2014, http://aseanregionalforum.asean.org/files/Archive/13th/9th%20ARF%20Heads%20of%20Defence%20UniversitiesCollegesInstitutions%20Meeting/NDU%20China.pdf.
29“Alfred Thayer Mahan”: “Biographies in Naval History: Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, US Navy,” U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/mahan_alfred.htm.
29“ ‘Americans must now’ ” : “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War — Spanish American War,” Smithsonian National Museum of American History, accessed August 19, 2014, http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=7.
30“daring us to act”: Bernhard Zand, “Power in the Pacific: Stronger Chinese Navy Worries Neighbors and US,” Der Spiegel Online International, September 14, 2012, accessed March 18, 2014, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/strengthening-of-chinese-navy-sparks-worries-in-region-and-beyond-a-855622.html.
30“However deep the water”: Jane Cai and Verna Yu, “Xi Jinping Outlines His Vision of ‘Dream and Renaissance,’ ” South China Morning Post, March 18, 2013, accessed August 17, 2014, http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1193273/xi-jinping-outlines-his-vision-chinas-dream-and-renaissance.
31“ ‘Those who know’ ”: Sun-Tzu, The Art of Warfare, trans. Roger T. Ames.
32the 788th Regiment: John Pike, “8341 Unit — Central Security Regiment,” FAS.org, May 22, 1998, accessed August 17, 2014, http://fas.org/irp/world/china/pla/8341.htm; fictional unit.
32“Our population demographics are not optimal”: Andrea den Boer and Valerie M. Hudson, “The Security Risks of China’s Abnormal Demographics,” Monkey Cage (blog), Washington Post, April 30, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/30/the-security-risks-of-chinas-abnormal-demographics/.
32“Our trade routes”: Sean Mirski, “How to Win a War with China,” National Interest, November 1, 2013, accessed August 19, 2014. http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/how-win-war-china-9346.
32“Our need for outside energy”: “China: Analysis,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, February 4, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=ch.
Part 2
37Defense Intelligence Agency: “Defense Intelligence Agency — About,” U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.dia.mil/About.aspx.
38A compact HK G48: “G36C — Das ultrakurze Sturmgewehr,” Heckler and Koch, accessed August 17, 2014, http://www.heckler-koch.com/de/produkte/militaer/sturmgewehre/g36/g36c/produktbeschreibung.html; fictional version.
38using covert radio signals: Geoffrey Ingersoll, “The NSA Has Secretly Developed the ‘Bigfoot’ of Computer Hacks,” BusinessInsider.com, January 15, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-has-the-bigfoot-of-computer-hacks-2014-1.
39SIPRNet classified network: Sharon Weinberger, “What Is SIPRNet?,” Popular Mechanics, December 1, 2010, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/computer-security/what-is-siprnet-and-wikileaks-4085507.
39air-gapped: Peter W. Singer and Allan Friedman, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).
39three faintly glowing metallic smart-rings: Darren Quick, “Ring Puts the Finger on Gesture Control,” Gizmag, Marc
h 4, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.gizmag.com/logbar-smart-ring-bluetooth/31080/.
39nicknamed the Eastern MIT: “Shanghai Jiao Tong University,” Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012–2013, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking/institution/shanghai-jiao-tong-university.
39Hainan Island incident: “Interview with Lt. Shane Osborn, U.S. Navy,” Frontline, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/china/interviews/osborn.html.
40hacker militias became crucial hubs: Singer and Friedman, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar.
40China’s J-20 fighter: Feng Cao, “China Unveils More Capable Stealth Fighter Prototype,” U.S. Naval Institute, March 19, 2014, accessed August 20, 2014, http://news.usni.org/2014/03/19/china-unveils-capable-stealth-fighter-prototype.
41her circulatory system: David Axe, “This Scientist Wants Tomorrow’s Troops to Be Mutant-Powered,” Danger Room (blog), Wired, December 26, 2012, http://www.wired.com/2012/12/andrew-herr/all/.
42randomize signals: Ryan W. Neal, “GPS Terrorism: Hackers Could Exploit Location Technology to Hijack Ships, Airplanes,” International Business Times, July 29, 2013, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/gps-terrorism-hackers-could-exploit-location-technology-hijack-ships-airplanes-1362937.
43Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace”): “China’s First Space Lab — Tiangong 1,” China.org.cn, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.china.org.cn/china/special_coverage/node_7125458.htm.
44chemical oxygen iodine laser: William H. Possel, “Lasers and Missile Defense: New Concepts for Space-Based and Ground-Based Laser Weapons, Occasional Paper No. 5,” Center for Strategy and Technology, Air War College, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, U.S. Air Force, July 1998, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cst/csat5.pdf.
44converted 747 jumbo jet: “Airborne Laser Test Bed,” Missile Defense Agency, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.mda.mil/news/gallery_altb.html.
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