Deception Point

''Deception Point'' is a 2001 mystery- thriller novel by American author Dan Brown. It is Brown's third novel. It was published by Simon & Schuster.

The novel follows White House intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton's involvement in corroborating NASA's discovery of a meteorite that supposedly contains proof of extraterrestrial life, resembling the ALH84001 case. The discovery comes at a time close to the United States presidential election in which her father is running. The discovery will aid the campaign of her employer, the incumbent president of the United States, Zachary Herney, but put her further at odds with her already estranged father, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, who is running for election. Ms. Sexton, accompanied by a team of experts, must prove the authenticity of the meteorite, which will either make or break the campaign of President Herney.

Plot

On the eve of a United States presidential election, NASA discovers a meteorite in the Milne Ice Shelf containing fossils of insect-like creatures, seemingly proving the existence of extraterrestrial life. The discovery could potentially be a deciding factor in the presidential election, in which one of the key issues is whether to continue funding NASA. Incumbent US President Zachary Herney favors supporting space research, while his challenger Senator Sedgewick Sexton argues for dissolving NASA.

President Herney sends a team of experts to the Arctic to verify the authenticity of the extraterrestrial insect: oceanographer Michael Tolland, astrophysicist Corky Marlinson, glaciologist Norah Mangor, paleontologist Wailee Ming, and National Reconnaissance Office employee Rachel Sexton, Senator Sexton's daughter.

When the scientists find an anomaly that calls the authenticity of NASA's discovery into question, they are attacked by a Delta Force team that had secretly been spying on them. The Delta Force soldiers kill Ming and Mangor while leaving Rachel, Tolland and Marlinson to perish on an ice floe, but they are rescued by the Navy submarine USS ''Charlotte''. Rachel alerts presidential advisor Marjorie Tench and NRO director William Pickering of the attack, and Pickering sends an air transport to bring them back to the United States.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Tench tries to sabotage Sexton's campaign by blackmailing his aide, Gabrielle Ashe, with photos of an extramarital affair that she had with Senator Sexton, and reveals that Sexton is secretly backed by a coalition of private aerospace corporations who would profit from NASA's dissolution. Ashe discovers that Tench's claims are true, but also finds out that NASA lied about the origin of the meteorite.

The surviving scientists retreat to Tolland's research ship off the New Jersey coast, where they fully re-analyze their data and discover that the meteorite is fake. A surprise attack by the Delta Force team prompts Rachel to fax the data to her father, asking for help. In the ensuing skirmish, all Delta Force soldiers are killed, their helicopter is sunk, and Pickering is revealed to be their commander; he masterminded the fake meteorite to aid Herney's campaign and prevent the dissolution of NASA. The ship and Pickering are sucked in by a vortex, while a Coast Guard Osprey picks up Rachel, Tolland and Marlinson.

Sexton attempts to reveal Rachel's fax in a press conference in hopes of implicating NASA and the president in the meteorite hoax, but Rachel and Gabrielle swap Rachel's fax with the photo evidence of Sexton's affair with Gabrielle, humiliating him and ruining his chances of winning the election. By the end of the story, Michael and Rachel have developed a romantic relationship.

Characters

Authentication team: During the story, NASA invites five external experts to help authenticate the meteorite finding as secondary sources:

* Rachel Sexton: A data analyst for the NRO and Senator Sexton's daughter, Rachel's relationship with her father is antagonistic because of his infidelity, which indirectly contributed to her mother's death in an accident. Due to her job of analyzing and summarizing data, she is recuited by President Herney to help independently verify the authenticity of the meteorite.
* Michael Tolland: An oceanographer and television celebrity-scientist, Tolland possesses excellent educational and social skills. Tolland can remain calm under fireChapter 127 and think out of the box.Chapter 128 Having lost his wife to cancer, Tolland gradually develops a crush on Rachel.
* Corky Marlinson: A world-renowned astrophysicist and a staunch proponent of the authenticity of the meteorite, Corky has little knowledge of proper social conduct.
* Norah Mangor: A prickly glaciologist, Norah has a tough, tomboyish personality.
* Wailee Ming: A paleontologist with an impeccable dress habit.

Politicians:
* Zachary Herney: The President of the United States, who is running a difficult reelection campaign, due to ongoing critiques from his opponent, Senator Sexton. Herney's campaign is suffering due to his support of NASA, due to their ballooning budgets and recent failures.
* Senator Thomas Sedgewick Sexton: Rachel's father and an ambitious presidential candidate. Senator Sexton is corrupt, promiscuous, and ruthless; he accepts bribes, engages in several extramarital affairs, and prioritizes his career over his family.
* Marjorie Tench: Senior Adviser to the president. Described as very astute and ruthless.
* Gabrielle Ashe: Senator Sexton's aide and one-time mistress.

NASA:
* Lawrence Ekstrom: Administrator of NASA, who is managing the meteorite discovery in-person at the Milne Ice Shelf.
* Chris Harper: NASA section manager; he appears in four dedicated chapters and explains how NASA did not find the meteorite as claimed.

NRO:
* William Pickering: The director of the NRO and Rachel Sexton's boss.
* Delta Force team: A team of three males stationed at the Milne Ice Shelf to ensure the meteorite announcement goes according to plan. They are equipped with state-of-the-art technology of the time, such as surveillance microbots, an Aurora aircraft, a Kiowa Warrior helicopter and weapons that manufacture their own munitions.

References

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2001 American novels
Novels by Dan Brown
Techno-thriller novels
Novels about NASA
Novels set in the Arctic
2004 science fiction novels
Military science fiction novels
American mystery novels
American thriller novels