In “Above Scorched Skies,” a new novel written by veteran Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) intelligence analyst Zachary Davis, an eclectic group of scientists, analysts, entrepreneurs and researchers find themselves on the frontlines fighting a war for the U.S. government in a whole new domain: space.
Davis, an intelligence and national security policy expert, has worked in a wide range of contexts from the National Security Council at the White House to LLNL’s Z Program and its Center for Global Security Research (CGSR).
He wrote the book as part of his work for CGSR as a way to raise awareness among the public about the importance and implications of war in space, an ungoverned territory where there are no rules.
“In recent years, we have become quietly dependent on space for nearly every aspect of our military, economic and social existence,” Davis wrote in the book’s prologue. “The space domain is essential for navigation; communications; maneuver; targeting; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and strategic deterrence … What would happen if the entire space architecture disappeared overnight?”
Opening with a conflict emerging in the Himalayan Mountains between Chinese and Indian soldiers, the plot of “Above Scorched Skies” moves swiftly to illustrate how the war quickly spirals out of control to encompass cyberstrikes aimed at taking down the enemy’s water treatment, transportation, energy and financial systems.
From there, the well-tread cascades of disinformation and media propaganda are unleashed, causing mass outrage worldwide and catalyzing underground nuclear detonations from both India and Pakistan. Predictably, the United States and the global community becomes involved thereafter, condemning the tests and calling for the immediate end of testing. Soon after, the conflict widens and escalates from missile attacks on satellites to a full-on low-yield atomic device that detonates in low earth orbit.
From his vantage point, as someone who knew what could eventually come down the pike and was bothered by the fact that those outside the government lacked awareness of these issues, Davis was motivated to write the book as a way to galvanize industry, the government (local, state and federal), and the defense, scientific and technology communities to work together on efforts that would make the United States more resilient to such a conflict.
Indeed, CGSR, where Davis resides as a senior fellow, examines the intersection between technology and policy, as well as understanding the implications of technology for defense and deterrence.
The group releases several scholarly publications each year, hosts speakers and gathers members of the government, military, policy and academic communities for an array of workshops spanning a wide variety of topics related to national security and strategic deterrence.
“This book weaves together many of the themes that we study – technology, deterrence, nuclear strategy, strategic latency, theories of victory, over-the-horizon threats and multidomain warfare – into a story that we hope stimulates discussion,” Davis wrote in the prologue. “I wrote it in the spirit of what our colleague Peter Singer calls ‘useful fiction,’ stories that make us think about the path we are on and where it might lead.”
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