When Frank Morton wins an $86 million lottery jackpot, he decides to retire and devote his time to a life-long interest in ancient mysteries.
Coincidently, an old Viet Nam buddy shows up with a mysterious black sphere inscribed with what appear to be Maya hieroglyphs. Intrigued, Frank convinces his buddy and two other friends, an anthropologist and a newspaper researcher, to help him investigate the origin and purpose of the sphere. The search leads Frank and friends on a journey from Seattle to the secret military installations of Nevada and on to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Along the way, they attract the unwanted attention of government agents, Mexican Federales and an ancient Maya priest. They also stumble across a three thousand year old secret that suggests a possible link between the shamans of Mesoamerica and a race of alien explorers.
Excerpt
Tony scooted his chair up to the table and leaned forward, motioning for Frank to also lean closer. Scanning the room for potential eavesdroppers, Tony began to speak in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "Frank, about three days ago I was down around Las Vegas. I stopped for dinner in a little town called Beatty, about 115 miles north of Vegas on U.S. Highway 95. I had dinner in the restaurant and then I went into the small bar and casino to make my usual donation to the Nevada treasury. There was a pretty good crowd that night, mostly other truckers like myself. There was a boxing match on television so I sat down at the end of the bar and ordered a Coke."
Tony drained his drink just as the waitress arrived with their refills and he didn’t say anything more until she had left the table. When she was out of ear shot, Tony leaned back over the table and continued.
"Between the rounds of the boxing match this old guy named Al and I got to talking. I mentioned that I was a truck driver and I asked him if he was retired because he looked like he was in his seventies, at least.
"The old man shook his head and said ‘No, I should be, but I work up at the mountain.’
"I had no idea what mountain he meant, so I asked him.
"‘Yucca Mountain,’ he replied. ‘It’s southeast of here, out on the range.’
"Well, at this point I was completely lost, because I’d never heard of any Yucca Mountain and I didn’t think there was much range country around Las Vegas—just desert and military stuff."
"I’ve heard of that place," nodded Frank, "It’s been in the news a lot lately. It’s out near a place called the Nevada Test Site. I think they’re planning to use it to store radioactive waste or something like that."
"Well, I’d never heard of it. Anyway, between rounds this old guy starts telling me about a huge underground tunnel the government is building up there, all the time glancing back over his shoulder as if checking to see if he’s being watched. When he started talking about how they are using it to store some very unusual objects, I got curious."
Tony paused and took another sip of his drink.
"Is there a point to all this, Tony?" asked Frank. "Every old timer in Nevada has a story about buried treasure or hidden gold mines. That’s how they bilk drink money out of tourists—and apparently truck drivers, too," smiled Frank.
"Well yes, my friend, there is a point, if you’ll just be patient," whispered Tony. "Between rounds 8 and 9 of the boxing match, old Al tugged on my sleeve. ‘They have alien stuff up there, you know,’ he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I tried to humor him and explained that I’d heard stories about alleged flying saucers that had been captured by the Air Force and were being reverse engineered at a place called Area 51. ‘No,’ he shook his head, ‘I never saw any flying saucers, but I do have a couple of these gadgets that I’ve been studying. Strictly hush-hush, you understand. They have more of them out there, too,’ he said as he handed me what looked like a dimpled black metal sphere about the size of a major league baseball."
Professional Reviews
Meticulously detailed, scientifically imagined
In Tractrix, the first novel in the Seeds of Civilization series, R.J. Archer develops a story set in modern times, with the added premise that highly developed civilizations were on Earth many thousands of years ago (ala Graham Hancock et al). His story develops as a scientific mystery, with the just-forming NWIDI team (like yet unlike Clive Cussler's NUMA team) racing and researching to solve the mystery of black spheres with Mayan (or older) writings on them, an adventure which takes them through Mayan/Olmec ruins and Area51 (or is it?). Modern Mayans are dying as they bring these spheres from their homeland to Nevada, and the NWIDI team tries to discover what motivates them to bring them, how they are getting them there and what is killing them, while keeping various government agencies close (but not too close).
The Clive Cussler parallels continue with Frank Morton, the main hero of the book, who is more educated that Dirk Pitt but also has a military background. Frank recruits ancient scholars, researchers and his former military buddy to help him chase down this mystery.
Mr. Archer's writing is meticulously detailed, reminding me with his descriptions of engineers I know, how they work and the actions they take. His characterizations are well done.
I look forward to reading Tsubute, the 2nd novel in the series. Highly recommended for Clive Cussler fans, those interested in ancient civilizations or anyone looking for an entertaining read with likeable characters.
--Larry Ketchersid, author, Amazon reviewer
Tractrix a great read
Tractrix sends readers on an engaging joyride through a labyrinth of riddles involving the ancient Maya, a secret U.S. military installation in the Nevada desert, and space aliens from centuries past. When Frank Morton hits an $86-million Powerball jackpot, he sets out to solve some of the world's most perplexing mysteries and soon finds himself confronted with far more questions than answers. What is the origin--and purpose--of 20 baffling black spheres inscribed with glyphs? Can the U.S. government agents be trusted? Is there a connection between the human race and entities from another space and time? Tractrix is a fast-paced yarn, based on intriguing historical perspective, and it's sure to keep you guessing and wondering right up until its surprising conclusion.
--Alan Lohner, author
A Lot of Fun
In the tradition Indiana Jones and the X-files, Archer takes us on a grand adventure exploring Mayan ruins and "Area 51." My only complaint would be that the characters seem a little one dimensional at first but they do evolve as the book continues. Overall this is a great first novel. This book is a fun, quick read and suitable for most ages.
--William Black, Amazon reviewer
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