Domain

A TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES BOOK NEW YORK

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.

DOMAIN Copyright © 2001 by Steve Alten

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

The author is grateful for permission to reprint copyrighted material. These permissions and other acknowledgments appear on page 380, which constitutes a continuation of this copyright page.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

A Forge Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010

www.tor.com

Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

Book design by Ellen Cipriano Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Alten, Steve. Domain I Steve Alten.-1st ed.

p. cm.

A Tom Doherty Associates book. ISBN 0-312-87476-6 (acid-free paper)

1. Life on other planets-Fiction. 2. Mayas-Antiquities-Fiction 3. End of the world-Fiction. 4. Archaeologists-Fiction I. Title.

PS3551.L764 D66 2001 813'.54-dc21 00-048454

First Edition: February 2001

Printed in the United States of America

0987654321

For Ken Atchity, Manager, Mentor, Friend.

Acknowledgments:

It is with great pride and appreciation that I acknowledge those who contributed to the completion of Domain.

First and foremost, to my literary manager, Ken Atchity, and his team at Atchity Editorial/Entertainment International for their hard work and perseverance. Kudos to editors Michael Wichman (AEI) for his vision and to Ed Stackler of Stackler Editorial for his excellent commentary.

Many thanks to Tom Doherty and the great people at TOR Books, editor Bob Gleason, and Brian Callaghan, as well as Matthew Snyder at Creative Arts Agency in Los Angeles, and Danny Baror of Baror International. Kudos to Bob and Sara Schwager for their great copy-editing.

Thanks also to the following individuals whose own personal expertise contributed in some way to Domain: Gary Thompson, Dr. Robert Chitwood, and the terrific staff at the South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center, Rabbi Richard Agler, Barbara Esmedina, Jeffrey Moe, Lou McKellan, Jim Kimball, Shawn Coyne, and Dr. Bruce Wishnov. And to authors Graham Hancock, John Major Jenkins, and Erich Von Daniken, whose work certainly influenced the story. Very special thanks to Bill and Lori McDonald of Argonaut-Grey Wolf Productions/Web site:
www.AlienUFOart.com
, who contributed to the editing and are responsible for the incredible artwork found in this novel, and to Matt Herrmann of VILLAINDESIGN for his graphic input and photographic contributions. I am also deeply indebted to Donna and Justin Lahey, whose dedication, creativity, and know-how have helped launch my novels via the Internet. Last—to my readers: Thank you for your correspondence. Your comments are always a welcome treat, your input means so much.

—STEVE ALTEN.

For more information about Steve Alten's novels or to contact the author personally, click on
www.STEVEALTEN.com
.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments:

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL

PROLOGUE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 3

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 4

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 8
Chapter 9

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 18

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 19

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 20
Chapter 21

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 22

JOURNAL OF JULIUS GABRIEL
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
EPILOGUE

Permissions and Credits

Back Cover

About the Author

… and in these ancient lands encased and lettered as a tomb

and scored with prints of perished hands, and chronicled

with dates of doom …I trace the lives such scenes

enshrine and their experience count as mine.

—THOMAS HARDY.

The most beautiful experience we can have is the

mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands

at the cradle of true art and true science.

—ALBERT EINSTEIN.

Fear and religion. Religion and fear. The two are

historically entwined. The catalysts for most of

the atrocities committed by man. Fear of evil

fuels religion, religion fuels hatred, hatred

fuels evil, and evil fuels fear among the

masses. It is a diabolical cycle, and we

have played into the Devil’s hand.

—JULIUS GABRIEL.

JOURNAL OF

JULIUS GABRIEL

I
stand before the vast canvas, sharing the feeling of loneliness its creator must have surely felt thousands of years ago. Before me lie the answers to riddles—riddles that may ultimately determine whether our species is to live or die. The future of the human race—is there anything more important? Yet I stand here alone, my quest condemning me to this purgatory of rock and sand as I seek communion with the past in order to comprehend the peril that lies ahead.

The years have taken their toll. What a wretched creature I’ve become. Once a renowned archaeologist, now a laughingstock to my peers. A husband, a lover—these are but distant memories. A father? Scarcely. More a tortured mentor, a miserable beast of burden left to my son to lead about. Each step across the stone-laden desert causes my bones to ache, while thoughts forever shackled in my mind repeat the maddening mantra of doom over and over in my brain. What higher power has chosen my family among all others to torture? Why have we been blessed with eyes that can see the signposts of death while others stumble along as if blind?

Am I mad? The thought never leaves my mind. With each new dawn, I must force myself to reread the highlights of my chronicles, if only to remind myself that I am, first and foremost, a scientist, nay, not just a scientist, but an archaeologist—a seeker of man’s past, a seeker of truth.