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Authors: W. Michael Gear

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Down the tree-covered slope, she could see Lymon, walking tall and confidently across the sand beside Sid Harness. Every once in a while, Lymon would bend and toss something into the surf.
He's alive because of me
. She took a deep breath, staring out over the turquoise Caribbean water.
Yes, he was alive.
She closed her eyes, remembering the easy and languid sex they'd shared that morning before Sid's arrival. She recalled how she'd run her fingers down his sides and felt him shudder at her touch.
She had to believe that everything balanced, that the life she had taken made her love Lymon with a greater intensity. That the part of herself that had died in that blast of automatic fire had been replaced by something more profound.
Each breath that Lymon took, each pulsing beat of his heart, had been bought and paid for by her sacrifice.
She placed a hand on the form-fitting white sundress and pressed her abdomen. How could she comprehend the eight million sperm he had shot inside her? All those copies of Lymon's DNA churning about in a frenzy of futility. Even as she sat there they exhausted themselves by the thousands, frantic flagellae ceasing to thrash in her warm fluid. Energy spent, they drifted, carried relentlessly away from their goal by her dark vaginal currents. Did they surrender themselves to oblivion knowing they were already too late? Did some subtle hormone warn them that her womb was already taken?
She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it looked like: Round, slightly rough on the outside. She could imagine it resting there against the blood-rich lining of her uterus. It had already begun to siphon energy and nourishment from her body. The first pangs of nausea had made their presence known that morning.
She still had to tell Lymon. And what would he say? That she was crazy?
No, not Lymon. But perhaps she was crazy in her own curious and odd fashion.
After an agony of indecision, Christal had chosen abortion.
I can't blame her
.
She stared longingly at the two men as they turned and began retracing their tracks on the deserted beach. Lymon was on his way back to her. No matter what, she wouldn't face this alone. The knowledge warmed her soul in a way she couldn't describe.
She had met her devils, slain them, and come out stronger for it. The future would come with its own antagonistic choices, hard questions, and difficult explanations. One by one, she would face them, deal with them. She would do it with a steel conviction, and damn the critics. Perhaps now, finally, Father could be proud of his little runaway.
She took a deep breath and pressed on the softness above her uterus, carried away by the mystery of how they had managed to do it so quickly.
She wondered if she even cared.
I am the Madonna, brought to prominence through immaculate conception. Will my daughter be divine? Or just another life? Will she share my soul, or create her own? And, if she creates her own soul, does that mean that the spark of God glows in each of us?
So what was a person? A collection of proteins and molecules in which a discrete soul would eventually find a home? A piece of herself to replace the part that had died in that machine gun burst?
God must be laughing.
“In
The Athena Factor,
Michael Gear has transformed America's obsession with Hollywood beauty into an epic thriller of transcendent terror. I thought the world would come to an end with comet strikes, mushroom clouds, and apocalyptic plagues. I never dreamed we'd overwhelm the earth with J-Lo look-alikes and George Clooney clones.”
—Jack Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
 
“With a Crichton-like mix of scientific intrigue and pulse-pounding suspense, the Gears deliver a fascinating exploration of the frontiers of science.”
—
Booklist
on
Raising Abel
 
“Gear writes superbly rolling prose with flair, confidence, wit, an ear for sounds, and an eye for details … . And he has another gift: the ability to teach his readers as he entertains them.”
—
Rocky Mountain News
on
The Morning River
 
“Extraordinary … Colorfully integrates authentic archaeological and anthropological details with a captivating story replete with romance, intrigue, mayhem, and a nail-biting climax.”
—
Library Journal
on
People of the Owl
 
“Gripping plot, lots of action, well-developed characters, and a wealth of authentic historical facts.”
—
Booklist
on
People of the Masks
 
“Simple prose brightened by atmospheric detail sweeps this fluid, suspenseful mix of anthropological research and character-driven mystery to a solid, satisfying resolution.”
—
Publishers Weekly
on
People of the Mist

Tor and Forge titles by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear

Note: Within series, books are best read in listed order when noted.

-----

NORTH AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN PAST

Thousands of years ago, small hunting bands crossed the fragile land bridge linking the Eurasian continent to the Americas and discovered a land untouched by humankind. Over the centuries that followed, their descendants spread throughout this land.

Bestselling authors and award-winning archaeologists W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear bring the stories of these first North Americans to life in this magnificent, multi-volume saga.

Short Fiction in the series (prequel to
People of the Morning Star
):

“Copper Falcon”

Duology within the series (in order):

People of the Weeping Eye

People of the Thunder

-----

THE ANASAZI MYSTERIES
(in order)

The Gears breathe new life into the vanished world of the Anasazi. Dive 800 years into the past—a world of danger, murder, and a power that transcends time.

-----

OTHER TITLES BY KATHLEEN O'NEAL GEAR AND W. MICHAEL GEAR

The Betrayal

-----

BY KATHLEEN O'NEAL GEAR

Thin Moon and Cold Mist

Sand in the Wind

This Widowed Land

IN ME SERIES (in order)

A tale of prehistoric politics and erotic passion surrounding a Native American High Chieftess, struggling with her own inner turmoil and the troubles of her tribe.

-----

BY W. MICHAEL GEAR

Long Ride Home

Big Horn Legacy

The Athena Factor

MAN FROM BOSTON DUOLOGY

The Morning River

Coyote Summer

-----

(show Tor and Forge logos)

www.tor-forge.com

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
THE ATHENA FACTOR
Copyright © 2005 by W. Michael Gear
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
 
 
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
 
 
eISBN 9781466815599
First eBook Edition : March 2012
 
 
ISBN 0-765-35023-8
EAN 978-0-765-35023-7
First edition: July 2005
First mass market edition: July 2006

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