First Frontier

the long version

First Frontier is Paul Heisel's first novel. A research scientist is face down in a swamp, dead. A serial killer on the loose, employed by the men in black. Religious fanatics will stop at nothing to keep all the secrets of Mars from the public. The year is 2015. The United States and the International Consortium is about to put men on Mars. The Frontier Project is nearly complete. Or is it? Moments before lift off, the project is in peril – ripe to be sold to the highest bidder. Private industry will make it to Mars to exploit its potential riches. Only the Deputy Director of the Frontier Project, VICKY HAWTHORNE, can expose the conspiracy. Killers lurk in the shadows,following her every move. They will find her. They will kill her. Time is running out. At NASA Langley Research Center, three scientists make a startling discovery. A computer tape from the Viking Missions indicates a previously discovered – then covered up – piece of data. There is a complex metal with an unknown element on the surface of Mars. Could this be a clue to unlock the secrets of the universe? Before the scientists can begin the analysis of the complex metal, they are silenced. Halfway across the world on the remote island of Pohnpei, an archaeological team uncovers perplexing Egyptian artifacts. Could the pottery fragments lead to a far more shocking conclusion about the origins and history of mankind? The ancient city of Nan Madol has secrets yet to be discovered amongst the mysterious basaltic monoliths. But on the lush island of Pohnpei, evil men wait for their opportunity to strike. None will be left alive. Is there any hope to expose the truth?