A Note from the Author
In an effort to create a realistic setting for this story, I have borrowed from multiple real-world sources so that the people, places, and events my fictional characters experience could be as close to reality as possible. Following is a list of some of these sources.
The dialogue in chapter 2 between an announcer for Radio Tehran and a spokeswoman for the Iranian students who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran is based on the actual dialogue of this nature on November 4, 1979, the day of the seizure. The student communiqués to the world used in this chapter are excerpts of the actual communiqués issued that day. See Massoumeh Ebtekar (as told to Fred A. Reed), Takeover in Tehran: The Inside Story of the 1979 U.S. Embassy Capture, pages 69-71.
The U.S. News & World Report article quoted in chapter 25 is real. It was written by David E. Kaplan and entitled “Not Your Father’s CIA.” The article appeared in the November 20, 2006, issue of the magazine, though I have used it as though it appeared in a January 2002 issue.
In Chapter 32, I mention an actual Wall Street Journal story, “Iran’s Web Spying Aided by Western Technology,” written by Christopher Rhoades and Loretta Chao. The story ran June 22, 2009.
In the same chapter, I cite an actual New York Times story, “Revolutionary Guard Buys Stake in Iran Telecom,” published in the “Deal Book” section, edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin. The story ran in the September 28, 2009, edition.
The story from the Times of London entitled “Discovery of UD3 Raises Fears over Iran’s Nuclear Intentions” mentioned in chapter 41 was written by Catherine Philip and ran on December 14, 2009.
In Chapter 43, I quote from an actual book, The Awaited Savior, by Baqir al-Sadr and Murtada Mutahhari. It is published by Islamic Seminary Publications in Karachi, Pakistan, and can be found online at http://www.al-islam.org/awaited/index.htm.
The physical descriptions of the Twelfth Imam and the depictions of the signs that are said to precede his arrival are taken from various traditions and hadiths. Numerous sources describe these signs, including the Web site www.awaitedmahdi.com.
In Chapter 62, I excerpt a monograph written by Mehdi Khalaji and published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It is entitled Apocalyptic Politics: On the Rationality of Iranian Policy. You can find it at http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/pubPDFs/PolicyFocus79Final.pdf.
The Thuraya satellite phones mentioned in chapters 54 and 63 are real; the details and specifications were drawn directly from the company’s Web site, http://www.ts2.pl/en/News/1/24.
The TV news report on the Hamadan earthquake in chapter 68 was adapted from an actual CNN report during the Haiti earthquake. See “Haiti appeals for aid; official fears 100,000 dead after earthquake,” January 13, 2010, http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html.
The words the Twelfth Imam uses when describing Jews as the descendants of “apes and pigs” (chapter 70) and when giving instructions about decapitation and ripping his enemies’ hearts from their chests (chapter 84) are based on an actual communiqué issued by a radical Islamic jihadist group based in Gaza known as Jama’at Al-Tawhid wa’l-Jihad. The message was issued on March 20, 2010. It was picked up, translated, and reported by the Jerusalem-based Middle East Media Research Institute. See http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4060.htm.
In Chapter 74, I cite an actual New York Times article, “North Koreans Say They Tested a Nuclear Device,” written by David Sanger. The story ran on October 9, 2006.
Readers who are familiar with the geographic layout and landmarks in Tehran may notice that I’ve taken a few liberties with the locations of certain buildings such as the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosala Mosque. All other physical descriptions of buildings, street layout, and the surrounding areas are based on research and are as factual as possible.