The Krone Experiment

Nothing in this book should be interpreted as a representation of views of any department or agency of any government body.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful for the valuable editorial help of Lucille Enix, Denise Brink, and David Hartwell. Special thanks go to Peter Sutherland and Linda Mills for reading and commenting on an early draft, to Hugo Bezdek for sharing insights into the workings of government agencies, and especially to my wife for her keen critical eye. Finally, I thank anonymous colleagues and their institutions who played host to me over several years, thus providing stolen moments in airplanes, motels, and restaurants, to add a few more paragraphs.

History of Publication

The Krone Experiment was published in original hardcover in November 1986 by Pressworks, Inc., Dallas. The U.S. paperback appeared in November 1988 as an Onyx imprint of the New American Library, New York. A British hardback edition was published in July 1988 by Souvenir Press, London, a Japanese translation in August 1988 by Kobun Sha, Tokyo, and a British paperback edition in June 1989 by Grafton, London. The Krone Experiment is available in print from http://www.thekroneexperiment.com/. Look for the sequel, Krone Ascending, in E-book format. Follow The Krone Experiment series on Facebook.

Here is the cover from the Japanese edition, an orbiting, laser-blasted sheep, that combines several of the technical themes in the book in a stupifyingly inappropriate combination.

About the Film

The Krone Experiment was made into an independent film in Austin, Texas. The movie is available on DVD at http://www.thekroneexperiment.com/. The author plays the perpetrator of The Krone experiment, who is mostly brain dead throughout the film. Look for vignettes showing the film’s characters 10 years later, a bridge to Krone Ascending, on YouTube. Follow The Krone Experiment on Facebook.

About the Author

J. Craig Wheeler is the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the University of Texas and recipient of a Regents Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Texas System. His research interests are supernovae, black holes, gamma-ray bursts and astrobiology. He has published about 300 papers in refereed journals, numerous conference proceedings, and edited five books. He served on the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council from 2002–2006 and was co-Chair of the NRC Committee on the Origin and Evolution of Life from 2002–2005. He served a two-year term as President of the American Astronomical Society from 2006 to 2008. Follow J. Craig Wheeler on Twitter @ast309.

Other Books by the Author

In addition to The Krone Experiment and its sequel, Krone Ascending, he has plans for a third book in the trilogy. His popular-level book, Cosmic Catastrophes: Supernovae, Gamma-Ray Bursts and Adventures in Hyperspace (Cambridge University Press 2000) won an award in a University of Texas faculty book competition. The second edition, Cosmic Catastrophes: Exploding Stars, Black Holes, and Mapping the Universe (Cambridge University Press 2007), was named one of the top astronomy books of 2007 by CHOICE magazine. This book also appears in a Polish translation, Kozmiczne Katastrofy, and a Hungarian translation, Kozmikus Katasztrofak. See http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf? bid=CBO9780511536625.

Praise for The Krone Experiment

“A thriller, a detective story and a brilliant piece of scientific speculation; this is a uniquely intelligent novel.”

—Tom Clancy, author of The Hunt for Red October.

“A world expert on black-hole astrophysics, Craig Wheeler gives us here an off-hours gripping adventure story.”

—John Archibald Wheeler, theoretical physicist, author of Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics.

“Exciting… fast-paced… A whopping good story that leaves you on the edge of your seat!”

—The Austin American-Statesman

Copyright

Copyright © 1986 by J. Craig Wheeler

Harcover ISBN 0-939722-21-6

Cover design by J. Robinson Wheeler, http://jrwdigitalmedia.com