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FAQ

• Q. What's next for James Rollins...and fans of your Sigma Force novels?
  A. After writing Indiana Jones, I've learned how to keep my mouth shut. So all I can p ... Read More
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  After writing Indiana Jones, I've learned how to keep my mouth shut. So all I can promise is more mayhem and thrills and one heck of a shocker to come! 

• Q. You very gently tread into an area that borders on the taboo: scientific experimentation with children.
  A. Human experimentation has often been cloaked in the "greater good," where the "ends justify the mean ... Read More
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  Human experimentation has often been cloaked in the "greater good," where the "ends justify the means." All nations, including the United States, have participated in human experimentation, including involuntary experimentation. Are experiments going on today with children? In some corners of the world, I don't doubt that they are. Especially with disenfranchised children - the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled. Do other nations perhaps turn a blind eye to such experiments? I don't doubt that, too, especially in today's climate where the mantra seems to be growing that the ends justify ANY means.

• Q. Tell us more about what sparked your fascination with autism and the manipulation of savant talents?
  A. Rain Man-like talent still baffles scientists and has challenged our conception of human mental abil ... Read More
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  Rain Man-like talent still baffles scientists and has challenged our conception of human mental abilities. What set me on the course to write this book is a quote by Temple Grandin: "If by some magic, autism had been eradicated from the face of the earth, then men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance to a cave." It is her contention (one advocated by many historians and anthropologists) that pivotal advancements in human history have come about because of those rare individuals born with savant talents, whose unique way of looking at life have altered the course of mankind. So it made me wonder, what if someone gained control of that power?

• Q. In The Last Oracle, scientists around the globe are working to engineer the next Buddha, Jesus or Mohammed. Can a great prophet, a person whose touch and thought changes the world, be created by man?
  A. I believe we are not far off from this possibility (if we're not already there). The new frontier of ... Read More
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  I believe we are not far off from this possibility (if we're not already there). The new frontier of neurology is the exploration of the brain with more and more sophisticated electrodes, some so small that they can be inserted into individual neurons. Already neurologists have inserted silicon chips into the brains of quadriplegic patients that allow them to manipulate computers to move a cursor, to surf the Internet by their thoughts alone. So how long will it be until we learn to harness the brain's full potential and scarier, how long until we learn to control that in another person?

• Q. What are some of the other themes in The Last Oracle?
  A. In addition to the current theories about autism and autistic savants, I delve into ... Read More
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  In addition to the current theories about autism and autistic savants, I delve into the organic source of human intuition (does it exist, and if so, where does it arise?), along with some cutting-edge research into the bioengineering of the human brain.  That’s on the science side.  The book also explores historical mysteries – like the true origin of the Gypsy clans and the tragic fate of the ancient Greek oracle of Delphi.  More topically, the novel also broaches modern global threats.  For example, few people realize the extent of the nuclear legacy left behind by the old Soviet-era war machine.  In fact, there is a lake in the Ural Mountains of Russia that is so radioactive that if you stand at the shore for an hour, you’ll be dead a week later.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the concepts and details that are incorporated throughout The Last Oracle.

• Q. Many of your concepts are pulled from the news, or from scientific journals -- what was the based-upon-fact genesis of The Last Oracle?
  A. Most of The Last Oracle is rooted in fact.  I spend the last few pages of ever ... Read More
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  Most of The Last Oracle is rooted in fact.  I spend the last few pages of every book separating fact from fiction in my novels. I talked about autism earlier, but here are a few of the interesting and factual tidbits that were incorporated into this novel: Newer studies prove that men and women have the general ability to see three seconds into the future. How? We don't know, but they've proven that we do! Humans are "natural-born cyborgs." Einstein met an Indian woman who could solve a mathematical equation even before he could finish asking the question. There is a lake in Russia that is so radioactive that if you stand on the shore for an hour, you'll be dead a week later. And the prophecies of the Greek Oracle of Delphi did indeed change the course of human history.

• Q. In your author's notes, you write that the JASONS, a global think tank of scientists, truly exist. How were you able to delve into the shuttered world of this secret organization?
  A. The JASONS formed during the Cold War to offer advice and counsel to the Department of Justice. They ... Read More
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  The JASONS formed during the Cold War to offer advice and counsel to the Department of Justice. They were initially a band that consisted of physicists, but today, their membership has expanded to almost every scientific discipline and into most branches of the military. Few JASONS would ever speak of their affiliation, and most of their projects to this day are shrouded behind the cloak of Top Secret. But slowly information has been leaking out. One journalist did an in-depth study and interviewed many members of the JASONS and wrote a book titled,The JASONS, the Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite.

• Q. This novel traces the Romani, known as Gypsies from Delphi, into the Indian Continent and across the world. Do the members of this nomadic tribe truly hold the key to long-buried secrets?
  A. Considering the origin of the Romani people has only recently been determined by linguistics, I wage ... Read More
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  Considering the origin of the Romani people has only recently been determined by linguistics, I wager there are many secrets buried among a tribe of people who have been wandering across vast stretches of the world for so many centuries. A full descriptive history of these nomadic people has yet to be done. How many stories must be buried in the memories of those who have traveled continents and centuries? That knowledge alone is a vast treasure waiting to be tapped.

• Q. In perhaps the most terrifying plotline within The Last Oracle, you reference the decaying radioactive tomb of Chernobyl, the new Sarcophagus being created to encase the wreckage, and lethally toxic lakes of nuclear waste scattered throughout Russia,some of which lie on top of geographic fault lines. You talk of the possibility of one earthquake tearing the land apart, unleashing a toxic tidal flow, which would flood the Arctic Circle and poison the world. It's all true, isn't it?
  A. As frightening as that all sounds, it's all true. The toxic legacy of the Cold War is still with us ... Read More
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  As frightening as that all sounds, it's all true. The toxic legacy of the Cold War is still with us today and it's aticking time bomb. There is a lake in the Ural Mountains of Russia that is so radioactive that if you stand at the shore for an hour, you’ll be dead a week later. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the concepts and details that are incorporated throughout The Last Oracle.

• Q. The former vet with a twisted sense of humor -- your books tend to feature a spooky critter, whether it’s a man-eating squid, toothy grendels, flesh-eating swarms of frogs.  What killer creature (or exceptional animal) did you mastermind for The Last Oracle?
  A. In this book, a group of children are on the run from a menagerie of genetically e ... Read More
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  In this book, a group of children are on the run from a menagerie of genetically enhanced beasts but they have a companion at their side: Marta, an elderly chimpanzee who has a few secrets of her own.

• Q. Your books tend to feature man-eating squid, toothy grendels, flesh-eating swarms of frogs, and more. What killer creature (or exceptional animal) did you mastermind for The Last Oracle?
  A. In this book, a group of children are on the run from a menagerie of genetically enhanced beasts, bu ... Read More
  A:

  In this book, a group of children are on the run from a menagerie of genetically enhanced beasts, but they have a companion at their side: Marta, an elderly chimpanzee who has a few secrets of her own.

• Q. You seem to be the Indiana Jones of the genre. What amazing adventures did you undertake in researching/mapping the plot of The Last Oracle?
  A. I finally succumbed and accepted an invitation to go diving with sharks. Suffice it to say, I still ... Read More
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  I finally succumbed and accepted an invitation to go diving with sharks. Suffice it to say, I still have all my arms and legs. I've also done some traveling in Russia, including into some zones marked with radiation signs. And so far, I'm not glowing in the dark. At least not yet.

• Q. Your book has a mixture of information from large historical insight to medical issues.  How did you go about doing the research for this book?
  A. I love to do research, so much so in fact that I now limit myself to 90 days.  ... Read More
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  I love to do research, so much so in fact that I now limit myself to 90 days.  On that 91st day, I must start writing.  Otherwise, I could just keep exploring and rooting through the thousands of intriguing details that make up a novel.  For The Last Oracle, I spent time in Russia and Greece.  At the time, my brother worked for the commerce department at the US embassy in St. Petersburg, so I gained much firsthand experience.  But a majority of the research into a book is a more internal process:  reading, sifting through stacks at the library, interviewing scientists and historians.  It’s amazing how many people are willing to talk to you if you preface a discussion with “I’m an author looking to write a novel about your field of expertise.”  It’s opened doors in NASA, the CIA, even the NORAD complex at Cheyenne Mountain.  On second thought, maybe I’d better not be saying that out loud.

• Which Order to Read Sigma Force Books
• Autism and Its Relationship in The Last Oracle
• Chernobyl and its role in The Last Oracle
• The Last Oracle Cover Story