Technical Details.
1a. Brown, Dan. Deception Point. England: Transworld Publishers, 2001.
1b. This book report is by: Marshall, Jeff. Class 4 VWO, December 16, 2008.
2a. Main character(s) Description
In the following paragraphs, the main characters will be described along with a few minor characters that have important roles in the plot as well in the conflicts and other significant events in this book.
One of the main characters that are introduced at the beginning of the story is Rachel Sexton. She's a clever woman, about thirty-four years old. At the beginning of the story, she wears grey pants, flats and a Laura Ashley blouse. She has long, light brown hair that is curled under at the shoulders, that means her hair is of medium length. Furthermore, she's the daughter of Senator Sedgewick Sexton; however, Rachel is not on good terms with him. The reason for that is that the senator cheated on Rachel's mother. Rachel knew this and tried to convince her mother to divorce, but it was of no avail. An all-time low, even for the senator, was the fact that he abandoned his wife on Thanksgiving Day. Rachel's mother eventually had a car accident when she wanted to get back home after she brought the Thanksgiving dinner to a relative. Rachel never forgave her father for this. Furthermore, she has been pretty lonely. Rachel has a good sense of justice combined with rational thinking. She is hydrophobic, because as a little girl, she sunk through the ice and nearly drowned. At the end of the story, Rachel falls in love with the marine biologist Michael Tolland, a celebrity and one of the civilian scientists who were asked to confirm the discovery made by NASA. In the end, Rachel will never have to see her father again. She will most likely be happy with Michael.
As we take another look at the story, another important character is Senator Sedgewick Sexton, who has been mentioned before. He’s quite old (silver-haired), although we don’t learn anything else about his age. The man is also skinny, and he had been running a presidential campaign. His campaign assistant has supported him for a great deal. Her name is Gabrielle Ashe, and if it wasn’t for her, the senator would never have gotten so close to winning the election. He’s extremely ambitious, and tries everything to get a hold of the United States. However, he was pressurized by private space agencies. The main objective for them was to privatize NASA and they knew that Senator Sexton would immediately cut all of the funds that president Herney had been allocating to NASA for so long. Later on, we learn that he would give up anything, even his own daughter, for the sake of power. The senator is also a very selfish, egocentric, and prideful man. These traits are already beginning to show at the beginning of this story. He is known for his talents of impersonation, in a way that might bring him all the way to the White House.
The complete opposite of NASA, in all ways, is the NRO. This will be made clear in the “conflicts” section. The director of this “National Reconnaisance Office” is called William Pickering. He has a key role in most of the conflicts, so his name will be mentioned a lot of times in this book report. Rachel Sexton is one of his most qualified staff members. About his appearance: William Pickering is a bald, short man. He’s usually dressed in plain black suits, hence his nickname, “The Quaker”.
The final character that will be discussed in this section is a civilian scientist, Michael Tolland.
He is a marine biologist and a celebrity because of his documentary “Amazing Seas”. He’s one of the civilian scientists that have been hired by President Herney, to confirm NASA’s discovery.
Michael is approximately 30 years old, charismatic and handsome according to outsiders. He has wavy black hair and a good sense of humour.
2b. Setting
This paragraph describes the main settings in the book “Deception Point” by Dan Brown. To start with, the story is set in the United States of America, in the present. To be more precise, a very large part of the story is set in the state Washington, important organizations or buildings close to the Capitol. A few examples of these are the NRO main building, Senator Sexton’s office and of course, the White House.
Furthermore, the second setting that this paragraph describes is the Arctic Circle. This is a hot spot because NASA claims to have found a meteorite containing fossils of extraterrestrial life. Also, the area itself is desolate and lethal. It’s lethal because the main characters have to flee for their life after they found out that NASA’s claim was bogus. They are being pursued all the way. Another reason why this area is lethal is because of the so-called “katabatic”: a powerful gust of wind that will sweep you all the way off the ice shelf if you aren’t prepared for it.
All in all, suspense dominates in both of these settings, throughout the entire story.
2c. Conflict(s)/Resolution(s)
In this story, you can find a lot of conflicts. Most of them are “Character vs. Character”, but you also have a few that include the “Character vs. Nature” principle.
Since there are so many conflicts in this book, I'll only point out the most significant ones.
The first conflict is between the civilian scientists (Rachel, Michael and others) and the Delta Force. The Delta Force is a governmental organization. Therefore, they stand above the law, and the innocent scientists have no support whatsoever when they unravel the secrets behind the meteorite. The Delta Force tries to eliminate the scientists and succeeds in killing two of them on the Milne Ice Shelf. Rachel, Michael and Corky escape. Another confrontation takes place, this time on Michael’s ship, the Goya. The controller, the one behind the entire plot, admits defeat. The Delta Force members get killed; this team consisted of Delta-One, Delta-Two and Delta-Three. There were also victims at the other side, like the Coast Guard pilot (his name is not mentioned) and Xavia, a scientist who had been cooperating with Michael Tolland.
The second conflict is between NASA and the NRO. To be more specific, it’s between the respective directors, Lawrence Ekstrom and William Pickering. There are a few issues that they disagree about. Pickering says that NASA is a threat to national security, because the organization makes all discoveries public as soon as possible. These discoveries are often made by the most modern machines and other technology. According to Pickering, the world doesn’t have to know what the United States can and cannot do if we’re talking about science. Therefore, he wants NASA to become a governmental organization, just like the NRO. Ekstrom does not want this. The scientists who work for NASA are chasing their dreams by doing research, by taking initiative; all in all, they are merely experimenting. They are pioneers. Why lock them up in a heavily secured building? There is no resolution for this conflict; in the end, NASA stays like it has always been. Not privatized nor a governmental organization.
The final conflict discussed in this section is not between characters, but between the civilian scientists and the setting, the Milne Ice Shelf. Rachel and Michael had to flee for their lives, as explained in section 2b, and you can say that they have been very, very lucky. If you take a look at the story, it seems almost supernatural that they’ve overcome all of these dangers. The average Joe would’ve died for sure.
2d. Plot
The story starts out at “Toulos” restaurant, where two main characters are introduced, Rachel Sexton and her father, Sedgewick. The first argument is not far away. Rachel learned that her father just invited her to breakfast in order to ask his daughter to quit her job. Nothing interesting happens until she gets sent to the Arctic Circle to check out a NASA discovery. (Go to section 2h for more information) The meteorite will be extracted at that time. From that moment on, you see the action rise, leading to the first climax. One of the scientists gets killed by the Delta Force after he tried to collect a water sample. The secret was not to be unraveled, and the organization protected it at all costs.
Rachel, Michael, Norah and Corky eventually discover that there was a kind of plankton alive in the extraction point. However, this kind of plankton could only survive in salt water. How on earth is that possible if you’re talking about a meteorite that has been buried in the ice for over three hundred years? The scientists are planning to collect further information and find out that the meteorite was inserted from beneath the ice shelf. However, they need more proof. This leads to yet another climax: they are attacked by the Delta Force. One of the scientists dies and the others attempt to flee for their lives. They reach the end of the shelf and fall down on a lower level. The Delta Force soldiers look down on them and drop some sort of grenade into the crevasse. The cliff begins to shear off and the scientists are lost in open sea. The action ends there for a while.
Eventually, the scientists meet the Delta Force on Michael’s ship, the Goya. Another climax follows, as the Delta Force members are defeated with assistance of the Coast Guard. The controller of the Delta Force, who appears to be William Pickering, emerges from the chopper and goes after Rachel and Michael. Michael had told Rachel to hide in the submarine, in order to keep her safe. But after the fight with the Delta soldiers, the cable between the Goya and the submarine broke, causing the submarine to sink. Michael heads for the submarine and gets her out in time. However, a so-called “megaplume” (underwater tornado) is starting to form beneath the surface.
Rachel and Michael are saved by the Coast Guard, while William Pickering is still on board of the Goya as the ship is pulled down by the whirlpool.
The story comes to an end as Rachel, Michael and another scientist who survived are invited to stay at the White House.
2e. Explanation of the title
This paragraph explains the meaning of the title “Deception Point”. To start with, it refers to the spot where the fake meteorite has been found, the Milne Ice Shelf. But throughout the story, you see that there are deceiving characters as well. Let’s take Senator Sexton for an example. His assistant has always believed in him. That is, until she found out that Sexton had been taking bribes and illegal donations. The man has also been cheating on his wife, including the affair he had with Gabrielle. Another example: William Pickering turns out to be the controller of the Delta Force. That is deceiving to Rachel Sexton as she had always trusted her boss. All in all, you can see that people are deceived in multiple ways, and that’s what the title points out.
2f. Theme
The main theme of this story is “deception”. Deception in different ways, as explained in section 2e, you see that there are deceiving characters. You can also be deceiving by lying, manipulating, bluffing and keeping information from each other. You find this back a lot of times. Senator Sexton lied to all Americans when he denied the affair with Gabrielle on national television. In the end, he resigns. President Herney admits his mistake and continues to base his campaign on honesty. He ends up being the victor. Overall, you learn that what goes around comes around.
2g. Favorite paragraph
“Now, as the President and Gabrielle arrived at the backstage door of the Briefing Room, Gabrielle could hear the waiting throngs beyond. For the second time in twenty-four hours, the world was assembled to hear a special presidential broadcast.
“What are you going to tell them?” Gabrielle asked.
Herney sighed, his expression remarkably calm. “Over the years, I've learned one thing over and over...” He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “There is just no substitute for the truth.”
(p. 576-577)
There were several reasons as to why I liked this paragraph. To start with, I think it was exceptionally well-written. The characters are starting to live in front of you.
You even get to know the character's morals. The paragraph above is a perfect example;you can clearly see that honesty is very important to President Herney.
I can also relate to the last sentence in that paragraph, I completely agree with it.
That's why I've picked the paragraph quoted above as my favorite.
2h. Summary (in Dutch)
Het verhaal begint op het moment dat Rachel restaurant “Toulos” binnenkomt. Ze heeft een afspraak gemaakt met haar vader, senator Sexton. Politiek gezien gaat het hem voor de wind, alleen vindt hij dat zijn dochter hem in de weg staat omdat zij werkt voor het NRO, onder het bewind van de huidige president. Rachel is absoluut niet van plan om haar baan op te geven. Boos vertrekt ze naar haar werk, waar wel iets bijzonders aan de hand moet zijn. De president wil Rachel namelijk spreken, maar hij gaf geen reden op, aldus William Pickering. (Rachel’s werkgever) Toch wordt het verzoek van de president gehonoreerd, en zo raakt Rachel in een avontuur verzeild. Ze wordt van de ene plaats naar de andere gestuurd, want natuurlijk moet alles geheim blijven. Na het gesprek met de president wordt het duidelijk. NASA heeft succes gehad, en aan Rachel wordt gevraagd om deze ontdekking te laten verifiëren, samen met nog drie anderen. Dat houdt in dat ze een dag doorbrengt op de Noordpool. Als ze aankomt, krijgt te horen wat er precies aan de hand is: er is een meteoriet gevonden die sporen van buitenaards leven bevat. Een enorme opsteker voor NASA, zeker nu de organisatie zoveel te verduren krijgt van senator Sexton en zijn campagne. Later blijkt dat de senator onder druk is gezet door ruimtevaartbedrijven en dat hij smeergeld heeft aangenomen. Rachel zoekt uiteindelijk diezelfde middag nog contact met de president. Hij vraagt haar de ontdekking van NASA te ondersteunen. Rachel gaat schoorvoetend akkoord, maar komt erachter dat ze dit aan de hele staf van het Witte Huis moet mededelen, onvoorbereid. Ondertussen vindt een van de andere onderzoekers iets uit over de meteoriet. Hij merkt iets op aan het water dat zichtbaar is in het boorgat. Terwijl de wetenschapper probeert om bewijs te verkrijgen, komt hij door een geïmproviseerde aanval van de Delta Force in het wak terecht en verdrinkt. Het verhaal schakelt nu over naar Gabrielle, de assistente van Rachel's vader. Zij ontvangt een mysterieuze e-mail waarin zij opgeroepen wordt om naar het Witte Huis te komen. Gabrielle heeft van hetzelfde e-mailadres waardevolle informatie ontvangen. Nerveus komt ze uiteindelijk aan bij het kantoor van Marjorie Tench, de rechterhand van president Herney. Tench zegt dat zij weet van de affaire die Gabrielle met senator Sexton gehad heeft. Verder vertelt Tench dat ze op de hoogte is van het feit dat senator Sexton smeergeld aanneemt van ruimtevaartbedrijven. Gabrielle weet niet wat ze hiermee moet... We zijn weer beland bij de Milne Ice Shelf. De overgebleven wetenschappers kennen nu het geheim waar dhr. Ming voor gestorven was. Als ze het bewijs uiteindelijk hebben, komen ze voor de eerste keer in aanraking met de Delta Force. Een van de wetenschappers wordt vermoord en de rest ontsnapt ternauwernood. Met het bewijs.
Uiteindelijk komen ze erachter dat de meteoriet vals is, hij is van onderen ingebracht.
Op Michael's schip worden de wetenschappers weer aangevallen door de Delta Force, maar de laatstgenoemden delven toch het onderspit, dankzij de technische snufjes aan boord. De opdrachtgever laat zijn gezicht zien. Het is William Pickering.
Rachel ziet kans om al het bewijs naar haar vader te sturen. De senator wil deze informatie zo snel mogelijk openbaar maken. Gabrielle zegt dat ze Rachel hoogstwaarschijnlijk gaan vermoorden, maar de senator kan het niets schelen. De president kwam met foutieve informatie, (hij wist zelf niet dat de meteoriet vals was)
en dat hoort de hele wereld, volgens Sedgewick Sexton, te weten. Gabrielle komt vermomd naar de persconferentie van Sexton en verwisselt Rachel's bewijs met beelden waarop getoond werd dat zij en de senator gemeenschap hebben gehad. Dat betekende natuurlijk het einde van Sexton’s carrière. Rachel en Michael komen veilig aan en mogen logeren in het Witte Huis. President Herney wordt herkozen en daar eindigt het verhaal.
3. Evaluation & Opinion
This book was fun to read. There was a lot of action. Unlike other books, this book didn’t have any boring parts. Sure, there might be less action in some parts, but it always led to another climax. The characters were described well. I also noticed that the characters had different reasons to deal with the same situation. At times, that might create bonds between characters. Most of the time, it creates yet another conflict. The way of dealing with these conflicts is different. It’s interesting to find out how the character will react and sometimes, it’s the only reason why you would want to read on. Will the character stay calm or explode? Will the character confront his/her opponent by means of a discussion, or by eliminating them? The setting and the plot were clear, all in all, I would recommend this book.
4. Final assignment
Find a song text that fits the story.
“Kaleidoscope” by the Prototypes
Everywhere
Confessions fill you in
Obsessions finally
Will have a tragic truth from the sky to you
But slowly through you
You only talk to me
A little sacrifice for bad advice
refrain:
I picture the love from the pieces of you
But you turn it around for a different view cause
Loves like a Kaleidoscope
In a changing world, in a changing world
Love hangs by a fragile hope
In a changing world, in a changing world
K- k- k- k- k- k- kaleidoscope (3x)
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
Hold me now
Forever I want an end
Together talking...
I could fall for you if you want me to
Every time I see you sometime
And change my own mind
We could have it all but the colours fall
refrain
K- k- k- k- k- k kaleidoscope (3x)
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
refrain
K- k- k- k- k- k- kaleidoscope (3x)
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
Love hangs by a fragile hope
In a changing world, in a changing world
(It's still not there)
K- k- k- k- kaleidoscope
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
(Source: http://www.beelyrics.com/p/the-prototypes/kaleidoscope.html)
This song describes Michael’s emotions when he thinks of his deceased love, Celia. The story says that Michael keeps dwelling on things for some time. He never got over it until he met Rachel and got attracted to her. Now, at the end of the story, he needs to keep Rachel safe from the Delta Force, that’s why the line “Love hangs by a fragile hope” might be a good reference. The lines “Hold me now” and “Forever I want an end” can also be a reference to Michael witnessing his sweetheart’s death.
1a. Brown, Dan. Deception Point. England: Transworld Publishers, 2001.
1b. This book report is by: Marshall, Jeff. Class 4 VWO, December 16, 2008.
2a. Main character(s) Description
In the following paragraphs, the main characters will be described along with a few minor characters that have important roles in the plot as well in the conflicts and other significant events in this book.
One of the main characters that are introduced at the beginning of the story is Rachel Sexton. She's a clever woman, about thirty-four years old. At the beginning of the story, she wears grey pants, flats and a Laura Ashley blouse. She has long, light brown hair that is curled under at the shoulders, that means her hair is of medium length. Furthermore, she's the daughter of Senator Sedgewick Sexton; however, Rachel is not on good terms with him. The reason for that is that the senator cheated on Rachel's mother. Rachel knew this and tried to convince her mother to divorce, but it was of no avail. An all-time low, even for the senator, was the fact that he abandoned his wife on Thanksgiving Day. Rachel's mother eventually had a car accident when she wanted to get back home after she brought the Thanksgiving dinner to a relative. Rachel never forgave her father for this. Furthermore, she has been pretty lonely. Rachel has a good sense of justice combined with rational thinking. She is hydrophobic, because as a little girl, she sunk through the ice and nearly drowned. At the end of the story, Rachel falls in love with the marine biologist Michael Tolland, a celebrity and one of the civilian scientists who were asked to confirm the discovery made by NASA. In the end, Rachel will never have to see her father again. She will most likely be happy with Michael.
The complete opposite of NASA, in all ways, is the NRO. This will be made clear in the “conflicts” section. The director of this “National Reconnaisance Office” is called William Pickering. He has a key role in most of the conflicts, so his name will be mentioned a lot of times in this book report. Rachel Sexton is one of his most qualified staff members. About his appearance: William Pickering is a bald, short man. He’s usually dressed in plain black suits, hence his nickname, “The Quaker”.
The final character that will be discussed in this section is a civilian scientist, Michael Tolland.
He is a marine biologist and a celebrity because of his documentary “Amazing Seas”. He’s one of the civilian scientists that have been hired by President Herney, to confirm NASA’s discovery.
Michael is approximately 30 years old, charismatic and handsome according to outsiders. He has wavy black hair and a good sense of humour.
2b. Setting
This paragraph describes the main settings in the book “Deception Point” by Dan Brown. To start with, the story is set in the United States of America, in the present. To be more precise, a very large part of the story is set in the state Washington, important organizations or buildings close to the Capitol. A few examples of these are the NRO main building, Senator Sexton’s office and of course, the White House.
Furthermore, the second setting that this paragraph describes is the Arctic Circle. This is a hot spot because NASA claims to have found a meteorite containing fossils of extraterrestrial life. Also, the area itself is desolate and lethal. It’s lethal because the main characters have to flee for their life after they found out that NASA’s claim was bogus. They are being pursued all the way. Another reason why this area is lethal is because of the so-called “katabatic”: a powerful gust of wind that will sweep you all the way off the ice shelf if you aren’t prepared for it.
All in all, suspense dominates in both of these settings, throughout the entire story.
In this story, you can find a lot of conflicts. Most of them are “Character vs. Character”, but you also have a few that include the “Character vs. Nature” principle.
Since there are so many conflicts in this book, I'll only point out the most significant ones.
The first conflict is between the civilian scientists (Rachel, Michael and others) and the Delta Force. The Delta Force is a governmental organization. Therefore, they stand above the law, and the innocent scientists have no support whatsoever when they unravel the secrets behind the meteorite. The Delta Force tries to eliminate the scientists and succeeds in killing two of them on the Milne Ice Shelf. Rachel, Michael and Corky escape. Another confrontation takes place, this time on Michael’s ship, the Goya. The controller, the one behind the entire plot, admits defeat. The Delta Force members get killed; this team consisted of Delta-One, Delta-Two and Delta-Three. There were also victims at the other side, like the Coast Guard pilot (his name is not mentioned) and Xavia, a scientist who had been cooperating with Michael Tolland.
The second conflict is between NASA and the NRO. To be more specific, it’s between the respective directors, Lawrence Ekstrom and William Pickering. There are a few issues that they disagree about. Pickering says that NASA is a threat to national security, because the organization makes all discoveries public as soon as possible. These discoveries are often made by the most modern machines and other technology. According to Pickering, the world doesn’t have to know what the United States can and cannot do if we’re talking about science. Therefore, he wants NASA to become a governmental organization, just like the NRO. Ekstrom does not want this. The scientists who work for NASA are chasing their dreams by doing research, by taking initiative; all in all, they are merely experimenting. They are pioneers. Why lock them up in a heavily secured building? There is no resolution for this conflict; in the end, NASA stays like it has always been. Not privatized nor a governmental organization.
The final conflict discussed in this section is not between characters, but between the civilian scientists and the setting, the Milne Ice Shelf. Rachel and Michael had to flee for their lives, as explained in section 2b, and you can say that they have been very, very lucky. If you take a look at the story, it seems almost supernatural that they’ve overcome all of these dangers. The average Joe would’ve died for sure.
2d. Plot
The story starts out at “Toulos” restaurant, where two main characters are introduced, Rachel Sexton and her father, Sedgewick. The first argument is not far away. Rachel learned that her father just invited her to breakfast in order to ask his daughter to quit her job. Nothing interesting happens until she gets sent to the Arctic Circle to check out a NASA discovery. (Go to section 2h for more information) The meteorite will be extracted at that time. From that moment on, you see the action rise, leading to the first climax. One of the scientists gets killed by the Delta Force after he tried to collect a water sample. The secret was not to be unraveled, and the organization protected it at all costs.
Rachel, Michael, Norah and Corky eventually discover that there was a kind of plankton alive in the extraction point. However, this kind of plankton could only survive in salt water. How on earth is that possible if you’re talking about a meteorite that has been buried in the ice for over three hundred years? The scientists are planning to collect further information and find out that the meteorite was inserted from beneath the ice shelf. However, they need more proof. This leads to yet another climax: they are attacked by the Delta Force. One of the scientists dies and the others attempt to flee for their lives. They reach the end of the shelf and fall down on a lower level. The Delta Force soldiers look down on them and drop some sort of grenade into the crevasse. The cliff begins to shear off and the scientists are lost in open sea. The action ends there for a while.
Rachel and Michael are saved by the Coast Guard, while William Pickering is still on board of the Goya as the ship is pulled down by the whirlpool.
The story comes to an end as Rachel, Michael and another scientist who survived are invited to stay at the White House.
2e. Explanation of the title
This paragraph explains the meaning of the title “Deception Point”. To start with, it refers to the spot where the fake meteorite has been found, the Milne Ice Shelf. But throughout the story, you see that there are deceiving characters as well. Let’s take Senator Sexton for an example. His assistant has always believed in him. That is, until she found out that Sexton had been taking bribes and illegal donations. The man has also been cheating on his wife, including the affair he had with Gabrielle. Another example: William Pickering turns out to be the controller of the Delta Force. That is deceiving to Rachel Sexton as she had always trusted her boss. All in all, you can see that people are deceived in multiple ways, and that’s what the title points out.
2f. Theme
The main theme of this story is “deception”. Deception in different ways, as explained in section 2e, you see that there are deceiving characters. You can also be deceiving by lying, manipulating, bluffing and keeping information from each other. You find this back a lot of times. Senator Sexton lied to all Americans when he denied the affair with Gabrielle on national television. In the end, he resigns. President Herney admits his mistake and continues to base his campaign on honesty. He ends up being the victor. Overall, you learn that what goes around comes around.
2g. Favorite paragraph
“Now, as the President and Gabrielle arrived at the backstage door of the Briefing Room, Gabrielle could hear the waiting throngs beyond. For the second time in twenty-four hours, the world was assembled to hear a special presidential broadcast.
“What are you going to tell them?” Gabrielle asked.
Herney sighed, his expression remarkably calm. “Over the years, I've learned one thing over and over...” He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “There is just no substitute for the truth.”
(p. 576-577)
You even get to know the character's morals. The paragraph above is a perfect example;you can clearly see that honesty is very important to President Herney.
I can also relate to the last sentence in that paragraph, I completely agree with it.
That's why I've picked the paragraph quoted above as my favorite.
2h. Summary (in Dutch)
Het verhaal begint op het moment dat Rachel restaurant “Toulos” binnenkomt. Ze heeft een afspraak gemaakt met haar vader, senator Sexton. Politiek gezien gaat het hem voor de wind, alleen vindt hij dat zijn dochter hem in de weg staat omdat zij werkt voor het NRO, onder het bewind van de huidige president. Rachel is absoluut niet van plan om haar baan op te geven. Boos vertrekt ze naar haar werk, waar wel iets bijzonders aan de hand moet zijn. De president wil Rachel namelijk spreken, maar hij gaf geen reden op, aldus William Pickering. (Rachel’s werkgever) Toch wordt het verzoek van de president gehonoreerd, en zo raakt Rachel in een avontuur verzeild. Ze wordt van de ene plaats naar de andere gestuurd, want natuurlijk moet alles geheim blijven. Na het gesprek met de president wordt het duidelijk. NASA heeft succes gehad, en aan Rachel wordt gevraagd om deze ontdekking te laten verifiëren, samen met nog drie anderen. Dat houdt in dat ze een dag doorbrengt op de Noordpool. Als ze aankomt, krijgt te horen wat er precies aan de hand is: er is een meteoriet gevonden die sporen van buitenaards leven bevat. Een enorme opsteker voor NASA, zeker nu de organisatie zoveel te verduren krijgt van senator Sexton en zijn campagne. Later blijkt dat de senator onder druk is gezet door ruimtevaartbedrijven en dat hij smeergeld heeft aangenomen. Rachel zoekt uiteindelijk diezelfde middag nog contact met de president. Hij vraagt haar de ontdekking van NASA te ondersteunen. Rachel gaat schoorvoetend akkoord, maar komt erachter dat ze dit aan de hele staf van het Witte Huis moet mededelen, onvoorbereid. Ondertussen vindt een van de andere onderzoekers iets uit over de meteoriet. Hij merkt iets op aan het water dat zichtbaar is in het boorgat. Terwijl de wetenschapper probeert om bewijs te verkrijgen, komt hij door een geïmproviseerde aanval van de Delta Force in het wak terecht en verdrinkt. Het verhaal schakelt nu over naar Gabrielle, de assistente van Rachel's vader. Zij ontvangt een mysterieuze e-mail waarin zij opgeroepen wordt om naar het Witte Huis te komen. Gabrielle heeft van hetzelfde e-mailadres waardevolle informatie ontvangen. Nerveus komt ze uiteindelijk aan bij het kantoor van Marjorie Tench, de rechterhand van president Herney. Tench zegt dat zij weet van de affaire die Gabrielle met senator Sexton gehad heeft. Verder vertelt Tench dat ze op de hoogte is van het feit dat senator Sexton smeergeld aanneemt van ruimtevaartbedrijven. Gabrielle weet niet wat ze hiermee moet... We zijn weer beland bij de Milne Ice Shelf. De overgebleven wetenschappers kennen nu het geheim waar dhr. Ming voor gestorven was. Als ze het bewijs uiteindelijk hebben, komen ze voor de eerste keer in aanraking met de Delta Force. Een van de wetenschappers wordt vermoord en de rest ontsnapt ternauwernood. Met het bewijs.
Uiteindelijk komen ze erachter dat de meteoriet vals is, hij is van onderen ingebracht.
Op Michael's schip worden de wetenschappers weer aangevallen door de Delta Force, maar de laatstgenoemden delven toch het onderspit, dankzij de technische snufjes aan boord. De opdrachtgever laat zijn gezicht zien. Het is William Pickering.
Rachel ziet kans om al het bewijs naar haar vader te sturen. De senator wil deze informatie zo snel mogelijk openbaar maken. Gabrielle zegt dat ze Rachel hoogstwaarschijnlijk gaan vermoorden, maar de senator kan het niets schelen. De president kwam met foutieve informatie, (hij wist zelf niet dat de meteoriet vals was)
en dat hoort de hele wereld, volgens Sedgewick Sexton, te weten. Gabrielle komt vermomd naar de persconferentie van Sexton en verwisselt Rachel's bewijs met beelden waarop getoond werd dat zij en de senator gemeenschap hebben gehad. Dat betekende natuurlijk het einde van Sexton’s carrière. Rachel en Michael komen veilig aan en mogen logeren in het Witte Huis. President Herney wordt herkozen en daar eindigt het verhaal.
This book was fun to read. There was a lot of action. Unlike other books, this book didn’t have any boring parts. Sure, there might be less action in some parts, but it always led to another climax. The characters were described well. I also noticed that the characters had different reasons to deal with the same situation. At times, that might create bonds between characters. Most of the time, it creates yet another conflict. The way of dealing with these conflicts is different. It’s interesting to find out how the character will react and sometimes, it’s the only reason why you would want to read on. Will the character stay calm or explode? Will the character confront his/her opponent by means of a discussion, or by eliminating them? The setting and the plot were clear, all in all, I would recommend this book.
4. Final assignment
Find a song text that fits the story.
“Kaleidoscope” by the Prototypes
Everywhere
Confessions fill you in
Obsessions finally
Will have a tragic truth from the sky to you
But slowly through you
You only talk to me
A little sacrifice for bad advice
refrain:
I picture the love from the pieces of you
But you turn it around for a different view cause
Loves like a Kaleidoscope
In a changing world, in a changing world
Love hangs by a fragile hope
In a changing world, in a changing world
K- k- k- k- k- k- kaleidoscope (3x)
We can turn it around now
Hold me now
Forever I want an end
Together talking...
I could fall for you if you want me to
Every time I see you sometime
And change my own mind
We could have it all but the colours fall
refrain
K- k- k- k- k- k kaleidoscope (3x)
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
refrain
K- k- k- k- k- k- kaleidoscope (3x)
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
Love hangs by a fragile hope
In a changing world, in a changing world
(It's still not there)
K- k- k- k- kaleidoscope
We can turn it around now
It's still not there
(Source: http://www.beelyrics.com/p/the-prototypes/kaleidoscope.html)
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