The Alignment: Ingress

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Writing is a dangerous game. You take the word in your head and put it onto the page, but then the page suddenly picks the next word, and before you know it you are falling between the lines into a world you scarcely imagined.

Such was the case for me in researching this tale. An interview here with astro-archaeologist Conrad Yeats would lead to an interview there with adventurer Hank Johnson, each of whom shared often compelling but at times contradictory accounts. And there was no hiding from linguist Serena Serghetti, who for years has taken exception to my depictions of her in my novels, and who had plenty to say for herself.

Finally, nothing prepared me for my introduction to the Ingress “game,” or “inquiries” and “cautions” from Niantic Labs. Or to players like Mistyayn and the Blue Herons in Seattle — thanks for watching over the @lantis Media Tower — without whose support this story would not be possible.

The result is The Alignment: Ingress.

Fans of my Atlantis series will find it helpful to note that this story falls before the events of Raising Atlantis and as such is a prequel of sorts. For Ingress players and new readers alike, The Alignment: Ingress now becomes the first book in a whole new series of adventures.

As a former journalist, I’m often asked why I choose to publish my books as fiction. Truth be told, these days fiction can be closer to fact than nonfiction. Many of my friends in the intelligence community, for example, have taken their own cracks at writing novels only to see the good stuff redacted due to national security and nondisclosure agreements.

I suffer no such restrictions.

I do, however, accept a moral responsibility to not disclose specific tactical details involving exotic and chaotic matter, which pose dangers to private individual players and the general public alike. Also, exact archaeological locations, per Serena Serghetti’s wishes, have been fictionalized to protect the integrity of the actual sites.

And so, with palpable excitement, I’m writing down what I've witnessed thus far in the world of Ingress, a tale that in its own right is a transdimensional portal for all of us.

Thomas Greanias

April 2013