La Quinta Cove

Blasphemy

by Douglas Preston

Deep underground in a mountain in the Arizona desert a select group of scientists work in secret on a supercollider that is primed to investigate the Big Bang theory. None of them is particularly religious, but there are questions about what the ramifications might be if they are able to unlock the mysteries of the universe. What if they create a black hole that could potentially destroy the earth?

The land has been leased from the Navajo tribe, who have misgivings about the sanctity of their nearby burial grounds. A mission church nearby is headed by an oddball preacher, who believes the mission of the scientists is to destroy religious belief.

Wyman Ford is sent by the science advisor to the President of the United States to secretly check on the project and determine its progress, or lack thereof for the enhancement of the upcoming election battle.

Upon his arrival at the site, Wyman decides that something strange is going on there, but he can’t quite decide what. The man in charge is charming and appears to welcome Wyman into the group, but remains circumspect as to their progress. Meanwhile the strange preacher has been posting warnings on the Internet that the project is going to produce Armageddon and that people must join him at Red Mesa to protest the project and shut it down. The suicide of one of the scientists seems to give some more credence to the idea that something is amiss in the project.

The preacher reaches a televangelist who takes up the preacher’s ravings and produces mass hysteria nationwide. Wyman is still trying to decipher what is going on inside the mountain on the computers, but with little progress. What he discovers could be life changing—if it’s true. He believes not and seeks to prove it.

Very interesting plot that keeps the reader involved to the end.