The research for the book encompassed not just the references you’ll find in the endnotes section (a bit of an anomaly for a novel, but we hope it will be useful for readers who want to learn more, as well as demonstrate the story’s grounding in reality), but also interviews, meetings, and conversations with a real-world cast of professionals who are reflected in the characters found in this book. We chewed through scenarios and lingo with U.S. Navy ship captains and Air Force fighter pilots, learned worldview and strategic thinking from Chinese generals, and tested out ideas with everyone from Special Forces veterans and computer hackers to Harvard scientists. We are deeply grateful to all of them. A special thanks goes to the group of expert readers who powered their way through the early texts and made the final product so much better, including Kenneth Eckman, Nathan Finney, Allan Friedman, Mark Hagerott, John Jackson, Mark Jacobsen, D.K., Greg Knepper, Jeffrey Lin, Fernando Lujan, Aaron Marx, Rich McDaniel, Ian Morrison, and Tammy Schultz, among others.

Our agents Dan Mandel, Bob Bookman, Ike Williams, and Katherine Flynn helped with everything from the setting up the meeting that was the original spark for the book idea to finding the manuscript a home with a great editor.

Eamon Dolan took a risk on us as first-time novelists and then not only provided valuable edits and big ideas but also continually challenged us along the way to try harder and be better at the craft. He is also even more brutal at eliminating characters than the Black Widow herself. RIP, Kyle and Dorothy. We would also like to thank Tracy Roe, MD, whose double-barreled copyediting prowess and medical knowledge were ably brought to bear on the manuscript.

Finally, we’d like to thank our families for their love, for their support, and, most of all, for convincing us that we could and should take this leap.

viii He reached down for his: John Bishop, “HEXPANDO Expanding Head for Fastener-Retention Hexagonal Wrench,” NASA Tech Briefs, August 1, 2011, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/10720.

ix cloud of smog stretching from Beijing: Global Bearings, NASA image, December 12, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013, https://twitter.com/Global_Bearings/status/411174216596074498/photo/1.

3 The screens inside the Jiaolong-3: “Manned Sub Jiaolong Completes Deep-Sea Dive,” CCTV.com, June 17, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014, http://english.cntv.cn/20130617/106712.shtml.

3 deep below the COMRA: Qian Wang, “China Bids for Rights to Search Seabed,” China Daily, September 6, 2012, accessed August 19, 2014, http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-09/06/content_15737233.htm.

4 Tianjin University developed the submersible: Phil Muncaster, “China Seeks ‘Oceanauts’ for Deep Sea Exploration,” TheRegister.co.uk, December 24, 2012, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/24/china_ocean_exploration_plans/.

5 P-8 Poseidon’s recent engine upgrades: “P-8 Poseidon,” U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, February 2014, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.display&key=CFD01141-CD4E-4DB8-A6B2-7E8FBFB31B86.

7 “U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone”: “Ocean Facts: What Is the EEZ?” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed August 19, 2014, http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eez.html.

7 “as designated by the Mariana Trench”: Dan Vergano, “Bush to Make Pacific’s Mariana Trench a National Monument,” USA Today, January 6, 2009, accessed March 14, 2013, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2009-01-05-mariana-trench_N.htm.

7 “drop a Remora”: “Remora — Fast Reconnaissance AUV,” L-3 Ocean Systems, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.l-3mps.com/oceansystems/remora.aspx.

9 viz glasses: Chris Smith, “2020 Vision: The Future of Google Glass,” TechRadar, October 19, 2013, accessed February 22, 2014, http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/2020-vision-the-future-of-google-glass-1190832.

10 “stuck in the Ghost Fleet”: “National Defense Reserve Fleet,” U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.marad.dot.gov/ships_shipping_landing_page/national_security/ship_operations/national_defense_reserve_fleet/national_defense_reserve_fleet.htm.

10 Aegis cruiser: “The U.S. Navy — Fact File: Aegis Weapon System,” U.S. Navy, November 22, 2013, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2100&tid=200&ct=2.

10 “something like five hundred ships”: Craig Miller, “Suisun Bay ‘Ghost Fleet’ a Shadow of Its Former Self,” KQED Science (blog), November 25, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014, blogs.kqed.org/science/2013/11/25/suisun-bay-ghost-fleet-a-shadow-of-its-former-self/

11 “DD(X) is what they”: “Navy Designates Next-Generation Zumwalt Destroyer,” U.S. Navy, April 7, 2006, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=23064.

11 “Navy was going to build”: “Cost to Deliver Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Likely to Exceed Budget,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, July 31, 2008, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-804.

12 the USS Coronado’s wardroom: “Littoral Combat Ship Class — LCS,” U.S. Navy, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/pages/LittoralCombatShips.aspx#.U-_P_Ej6L6A.

12 remote-piloted MQ-8 Fire Scout: “MQ-8 Fire Scout,” U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.display&key=8250AFBA-DF2B-4999-9EF3-0B0E46144D03.

13 where a pirate attack: Marex, “Petro-Pirates Plague Busy Shipping Lanes,” Maritime Executive, July 9, 2014, accessed August 17, 2014, http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/PetroPirates-Plague-Busy-Shipping-Lanes-2014-07-09.

13 “More than half of the world’s shipping”: “World Oil Transit Chokepoints,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, August 12, 2012, accessed August 16, 2014, http://www.eia.gov/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=wotc&trk=p3.

13 ever since Chinese special operations forces: Dean Cheng, “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Special Operations,” Special Warfare 25, no. 3 (July — September 2012), accessed March 18, 2014, http://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/10629.

14 renminbi, the Chinese currency: Xinhua, “RMB to Be Global Reserve Currency by 2030: Economist,” China Daily, April 9, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-04/09/content_17420923.htm.

14 “sail with our own oil”: Mark Thompson, “U.S. to Become Biggest Oil Producer — IEA,” CNN, November 12, 2012, accessed November 12, 2012, http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/12/news/economy/us-oil-production-energy/index.html?iid=HP_LN&hpt=hp_c2.

14 “heightening regional tensions”: CNN wire staff, “Obama Announces WTO Case Against China over Rare Earths,” CNN, March 13, 2012, accessed March 14, 2012, http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/world/asia/china-rare-earths-case/index.html?hpt=hp_t2.

15 “depend on rare-earth materials”: “What Are the Rare Earths?” Ames Lab, U.S. Department of Energy, accessed August 19, 2014, https://www.ameslab.gov/dmse/rem/what-are-rare-earths.

15 “Their big mistake”: Edward Wong, “China’s Communist Party Chief Acts to Bolster Military,” New York Times, December 14, 2012, accessed December 14, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/world/asia/chinas-xi-jinping-acts-to-bolster-military.html.

15 “just like back in ’89”: Jeffrey T. Richelson and Michael L. Evans, “Tiananmen Square, 1989: The Declassified History,” National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 16, National Security Archive, George Washington University, June 1, 1999, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/.