A Manifest Destiny

About the Book

A Manifest Destiny is a techno-thriller. Private enterprise begins industrial development of near-Earth space, using current technology and accepting its inefficiency as the price of being there first. The developing company has its own political agenda, of course, which doesnt include participation by the mostly American workforce.

Attacks by an eco-terrorist lead to offers of help from Washington, funneled through the companys support offices in Albuquerque. The focus shifts to the new government when it shows its authoritarian nature; Washington demands to know how it will treat its American employees. The employees finally get fed up with the local government and begin plotting a revolution. Since Washington hasnt received a meaningful response, it regards the new government as a potential threat: it occupies a location from which it could bombard any place on Earth. Simple rocks would strike with the power of nuclear weapons.

The US sends (with Europe and Russia) a covert team to disable local defenses, followed by an invasion force. The team arrives in the middle of the revolution; Washington orders a takeover to prevent another new government forming in such a dangerous location. The covert team fails, and the invasion force is destroyed. With another attempt clearly in the offing, the revolutionaries launch a desperate counterstrike: bombarding their opponents launch facilities. Now theyve become the terrorists in the eyes of people on Earth.

About the Author

A. A. Hines spent 9 years in USAF Command and Control, and has worked in a variety of civilian jobs, most recently teaching economics and political science in the local community college.