Breakthrough (Grumley)

When a young marine biologist discovers that she's the victim of a deceptive US Navy research group, her world is suddenly turned upside down. Together Alison Shaw and her colleague Chris Ramirez, are left trying to pick up the pieces of their professional lives. But those pieces are about to put Alison on a path with two creatures that are destined to change everything. Beginning with one of the greatest technological achievements in human history. And an extraordinary computer system known as IMIS.

ONE OF THE GREATEST BREAKTHROUGHS IN HUMAN HISTORY. A SECRET THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND. AND A CRISIS THAT CANNOT BE STOPPED. Deep in the Caribbean Sea, a nuclear submarine is forced to suddenly abort its mission under mysterious circumstances. Strange facts begin to emerge that lead naval investigator, John Clay, to a small group of marine biologists who are quietly on the verge of making history. With the help of a powerful computer system, Alison Shaw and her team are preparing to translate the first two-way conversation with the planet's second smartest species. But the team discovers much more from their dolphins than they ever expected when a secret object is revealed on the ocean floor. One that was never supposed to be found. Alison was sure she would never trust the military again. However, when an unknown group immediately becomes interested in her work, Alison realizes John Clay may be the only person she can trust. Together they must piece together a dangerous puzzle, and the most frightening piece, is the trembling in Antarctica. To make matters worse, someone from the inside is trying to stop them. Now time is running out...and our understanding of the world is about to change forever.

IT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST BREAKTHROUGHS IN HUMAN HISTORY. AN ACHIEVEMENT THAT STUNNED THE ENTIRE WORLD. AND IT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING. Facing the cold, clear glass, Alison Shaw stared nervously into the giant seawater tank. It was just one year ago that she and her team of marine biologists had stunned the world with their incredible breakthrough. And now, they were about to do it again. But an ocean away, something strange was unfolding. Along a lonely coast in South America, an experimental Russian submarine, long thought to have been dismantled, has suddenly resurfaced. And the U.S. Navy has taken notice, sending officers John Clay and Steve Caesare to investigate. The sub has been studying a group of unmarked soldiers. Disappearing into the jungle each night beneath the cover of darkness. Something has been discovered...something big. And it's about to fall into the wrong hands. Unless Alison Shaw and her team can find something that no one else can.

In 1984 a doomsday vault was constructed on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean. Its purpose was to preserve Earth's genetic history in the event of a global catastrophe. Now, decades later, a second vault has been uncovered. This one resting where no one ever expected. And the problem is - it's not ours. Yet even more curious than the vault itself, is what lies inside. Seeds. Millions of seeds. Each with a genetic embryo untouched and perfectly preserved. Waiting. No one knows who built it. Or when. What we have managed to figure out is that whoever it was traveled an immense distance. For the sole purpose of hiding their genetic blueprints on Earth. But why? Now a small group of marine biologists and navy investigators have been assigned to find out. Before anyone else does. But Alison Shaw and John Clay are not prepared for what they are about to uncover. Beginning with the truth behind our own evolution.

It began in Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands of years ago. When a handful of genetic mutations caused evolution to split from the primates. And mankind was born. Now, eons later, evidence of more splits from the apes are being unearthed. And with them, a disturbing realization. Ours was only one of many. And yet we survived. But it was not by luck or chance. We survived because humans had something the others did not. A unique ingredient that has only now been rediscovered. First in the mountains of South America, where it was promptly destroyed by the Chinese. And now a second source in Africa. The epicenter of mankind's very inception. A place that John Clay and Alison Shaw must find quickly. Because the Russians already know what we are searching for. And the Chinese want back what is rightfully theirs. The mother of all secrets awaits the world, in Africa. One that will not only explain who we are, but will decipher the very code within our own DNA.

Political and social infighting threaten to destroy the world. Rancor and hatred only grow stronger, engulfing entire nations. And each day moral and economic strife brings embroiled countries ever closer to war. But hope is not dead. Everywhere, pockets of honor and compassion continue to persevere. Where human lives are cherished and valor endures. And one small, extraordinary group fights to save us all. A team in possession of the mother of all secrets. The one secret - the one discovery - that could bring the world back from the brink.

It began with a breakthrough. In interspecies communication. Leading both John Clay and Alison Shaw through a series of startling discoveries and life-altering revelations. Divulging who we really are as a species. Why we are here...and who is here with us. And the greatest lesson of all, that our brains are not as rare and unique as humans had assumed. But rather just one of three brains between three extraordinary species. All influenced by a fluke of evolution that should never have existed on Earth in the first place. Something we are now finally on the cusp of understanding. It will take more than just one brain to do it. More than just one species. And courage from all three. Courage in the face of those still trying to stop Clay and Alison before their stranglehold on the world is lost. But Clay and his team already know the truth. That there is no courage without fear, and no victory without sacrifice.