Commander Dave Stevens was a nuclear-weapons-trained fighter pilot. He served as Strike Operations Officer for the Persian Gulf, and with a Top Secret clearance, led classified defense programs. Test piloting new F-18s, he earned an aviation patent designed to save the lives of pilots. He’s sailed around the world on an aircraft carrier and has been to over 30 countries, 10 miles above the earth, 600 feet below the Atlantic and survived hundreds of his own carrier landings. Dave has aerospace engineering degrees from Cornell and the University of Michigan with postgraduate work in astrophysics, statistics and human factors. With an Advisory Board of renowned experts, he creates reality-based stories to entertain and warn.

Fuzed Advisory Board: When scaring people, it’s important to get your information right. Research is critical but access to renowned experts is even more important. The Advisory Board includes an International Space Station Commander, former Google Advanced Projects Director, Special Forces and Intelligence operatives, an Admiral in charge of Naval weapons development and COO of iRobot, NASA’s Program Executive for Exploration of the Solar System, a world famous meteorologist and an internationally renowned theologian.

What led a fighter pilot to pen an apocalyptic thriller?

My good friend and flight-school roommate was killed in a crash. During a night low-level mission, his jet hit the ground with no ejection attempted. The accident that claimed his life kills almost 60% of all tactical jet pilots. When we’re overloaded, we ignore warnings. Working with vision scientist Dr. Leonard Temme, we created an artificial horizon altitude warning system. It used virtual peripheral vision cues to trigger a “falling sensation,” and literally scare the pilot into reacting. It worked, received a government patent and was ranked #1 for DARPA funding.

After my Navy career, I realized pilots aren’t the only ones who ignore things that will kill them. It’s human nature. What if we could identify the most deadly threats to the human race and “scare” ourselves into doing something about them? Using Probabilistic Risk Analysis, we determined the top apocalyptic but preventable threats to humanity, and in some cases, life on earth. Ironically, the altitude warning system used fiction to impart reality. It projects a “fake” horizon to scare the pilot. The Fuzed Trilogy does the same.

Landing on aircraft carriers and training to drop nuclear weapons makes you consider your own mortality, not to mention the mortality of the human race. Ever since Issac Newton demonstrated the world operates under natural laws, science and religion have collided. Today, quantum physics and cosmology, with multiple dimensions, particles popping into existence and dark matter is as nonintuitive as religion. At the cutting-edge of physics, is it possible science and what we consider the spiritual might one day intersect?

Special Thanks.

These stories hinge on the expertise of many, from physicists to philosophers, editors to authors, literary agents to secret agents. A huge thanks to my producers, Rick Eldridge and Fred Miller, my Literary Agent Terry Burns and my original publisher Tony Collins and Noelle Pederson from Lion Hudson/Monarch Books. I’m very grateful to my talented editors, Teri Burns, Ryan Deken, Normandie Fischer, Frankie Sutton and Jenny Ward.

The message inside would be lost without our brilliant and renowned advisers: Ken Bowersox, Jim Cantore, Admiral Joe Dyer, Susan Dyer, Stuart Frisch, Allen Jackson, Dave Lavery, Dr. Ed Lu, Jerry Meadows, Dr. Bill Napier, Nick Nickles and Dr. Joe Veverka.

The accuracy of this story also hinges on brilliant subject matter experts: Chris Boblit, CDR Thomas Bosy, Winston Broad, Naomi Chuckwuk, Mike Craddock, Randall Dark, Reed DeVries, Nikko Dutton, Jim Eisenbeck, Julie Eisenbeck, Amy Hunter, Garrett Johnson, Kristi Kyle, Col John Marshall, Cherry Meadows, Dr. Adrian Melott, CDR Jim Roberts, Brett Sappington, Lanelle Shepherd, Dr. Carolyn Shoemaker, Dan Smith, Scott Straub, Lilli Stevens, Dr. Ann Ward, Dr. Brad Ward, David Welch and Doyle Yager. A few remain unnamed, due to the dangerous work they do.

I also want to thank the many exceptional reviewers, authors, friends and family who helped me craft a better story. They include Joe Baggett, Linda Baggett, Pat Barnes, Ron Barnes, Stan Boyd, Jackie Bray, Albert Comulada, Victoria Comulada, Jasmine Dary, Nate Dary, Lori Davidson, Carol Deken, Dr. Lou Deken, Lester Eisenbeck, Margaret Eisenbeck, Rob Gryger, Sam Hailes, Lesia Harper, Tommy Harper, Tim Hendricks, Laura Stevens-Hawkins, Keith Houk, Stacy Houk, Christian Johnson, Judy Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Rob King, Tracy Kuhar, Leslee Kitchings, Mike Lee, Catherine Murray, Richard Mustakos, Molly Mueller, Dr. Mike Pasternack, Ellen O’Neal, Patrick O’Neal, Lee Person, Jessica Peterson, Steve Ray, Carrol Rae, Norma Rae, Jeff Shortall, Betsy Smith, Dale Stevens, Ray Stone and Bart Waggoner.

Some of the character … of the story’s characters … was provided by some of the characters above.