Ben Bova - Mercury

The closest planet to our Sun, Mercury is a rocky, barren, heat-scorched world. But there are those who hope to find wealth in its desolation.

Saito Yamagata thinks Mercurys position will make it an ideal orbit point for satellites that could someday create enough power to propel starships into deep space. He hires Dante Alexios to bring his dreams to life. Astrobiologist Victor Molina thinks the water at Mercurys poles may harbor evidence of life, and hopes to achieve fame and glory by proving it. Bishop Elliot Danvers has been sent by the powerful Earth-based New Morality to keep close tabs on Molinas endeavors, which threaten to produce results contrary to fundamentalist teachings.

Three of these men are blissfully unaware of their shared history and how it ties into one of mankinds greatest tragedies. Years before, visionary engineer Mance Bracknell made his own attempt to help man progress into space by building a ladder to the stars: a glistening tower stretching thousands of miles into the air, anchored by spans of steel to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. But technological endeavor was no match for human passions, and greed and jealousy provoked terrorists to an act of sabotage that resulted in the death of millions.

Theres no telling how many more will have to die before Mance has his revenge...

At the Publishers request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.