Defense Mechanism is a novel of suspense and psychology, treason and murder, love and betrayal.
It's about the tricks your mind plays to get you through each day, the walls you build to block the slings and arrows of harsh reality.
It's the story of a woman and the two men who love her.
There's a plot to destroy the US in a massive attack -- can an imperfect hero stop it?
Colonel Sam Sawyer, Chief of Security at a crucial Air Force base in the Arizona desert, loves Rita Kelly, a stunning beauty and a brilliant computer scientist. With equal intensity, he hates Johnnie Lonetree, a Native American and Sam's former friend, for things Johnnie has done in the past, and for what he may do in the future.
Native culture pulses throughout the story like the beat of a rawhide drum, and as we plunge into the tale, we symbolically join Buffalo dancers, converse with Navajo Code Talkers, gaze in awe at the otherworldly Kachinas, cherish the sand paintings, the pottery, and the weavings of the Diné, put on a transformation mask, and enter the Maze built by Elder Brother.
Defense Mechanism teaches us that, along with Sam Sawyer, each of us is the Man in that Maze, trying to find a path through life.
Characters:
Colonel Sam Stuart Sawyer (USAF) --
Chief of Security at Altamura Air Force Base.
Sam is 37 years old, tall and fit in his Air Force uniform. His eyes are blue and he is not far from handsome; his face is as simple and honest and rugged as the South Dakota plains he grew up on.
He has been in and out of love with Rita Diana Kelly, who is back in his life once again.
Sam and Johnnie Lonetree had been close friends as kids. But that friendship had been shattered by an act of betrayal involving Rita Kelly.
Throughout the story, Sam spies on every person who works or lives at the base, using hidden cameras to pry into their private lives, into their deepest secrets. He watches in a manner reminiscent of James Stewart in Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window. And as we watch with him we learn about the defense mechanisms employed by many of the characters. They and we use unconscious stratagems to guard us against failure, rejection, fear and grief -- all the pains that pierce our hearts.
Sam is 37 years old, tall and fit in his Air Force uniform. His eyes are blue and he is not far from handsome; his face is as simple and honest and rugged as the South Dakota plains he grew up on.
He has been in and out of love with Rita Diana Kelly, who is back in his life once again.
Sam and Johnnie Lonetree had been close friends as kids. But that friendship had been shattered by an act of betrayal involving Rita Kelly.
Throughout the story, Sam spies on every person who works or lives at the base, using hidden cameras to pry into their private lives, into their deepest secrets. He watches in a manner reminiscent of James Stewart in Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window. And as we watch with him we learn about the defense mechanisms employed by many of the characters. They and we use unconscious stratagems to guard us against failure, rejection, fear and grief -- all the pains that pierce our hearts.
Rita diana kelly --
Director of Computer Operations.
Rita is a strikingly beautiful but troubled scientist. She designed the "personal" computer called Selene, as well as the entire Hecate defensive system which protects America from nuclear attack.
She's thirty-two and has known Sam for more than nine years.
She has green eyes and flaxen hair, and often dresses like a cowgirl in jeans, boots and denim shirts.
Rita is prone to seizures. Some say that she uses her beauty like a wall to hide and protect what is inside.
Rita is a strikingly beautiful but troubled scientist. She designed the "personal" computer called Selene, as well as the entire Hecate defensive system which protects America from nuclear attack.
She's thirty-two and has known Sam for more than nine years.
She has green eyes and flaxen hair, and often dresses like a cowgirl in jeans, boots and denim shirts.
Rita is prone to seizures. Some say that she uses her beauty like a wall to hide and protect what is inside.
Johnnie Lonetree --
Computer expert working for DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
John Storm Lonetree is the same age as Sam Sawyer and has known him since boyhood. A Native American with one drop of white blood in him, he is handsome with coarse, black hair, dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones, resembling, to some, a Navajo Cary Grant.
DARPA has assigned him to test computer security at Altamura Air Force Base.
Once, several years ago, Johnnie came between Sam and Rita, and Sam has never forgiven him for it.
Johnnie Lonetree has come to hate America for what it has done to his people, robbing them of their land, their dignity, and their future.
John Storm Lonetree is the same age as Sam Sawyer and has known him since boyhood. A Native American with one drop of white blood in him, he is handsome with coarse, black hair, dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones, resembling, to some, a Navajo Cary Grant.
DARPA has assigned him to test computer security at Altamura Air Force Base.
Once, several years ago, Johnnie came between Sam and Rita, and Sam has never forgiven him for it.
Johnnie Lonetree has come to hate America for what it has done to his people, robbing them of their land, their dignity, and their future.
the maintenance crew: Marty, gogo, and klang
Sam loves to spy on three members of the maintenance crew -- Marty Pollio, Don Klang, and Michael Gogolich. Marty, the supervisor, is the oldest and calmest of the three, with balding white hair, and sensitive blue eyes. Klang is a chunky powerhouse, hardworking and quick to laugh. Gogo is thirty years old, mustached, wild, and wiry, with expressive green eyes. Not formally educated, they share a perceptive and comical wisdom.
When Marty and Klang tell Gogo about a Nova special they had seen, on the subject of psychological defense mechanisms, Sam and we learn the basics, filtered and often funny, about the tricks our minds play to shield us from all the pains that pierce our hearts.
When Marty and Klang tell Gogo about a Nova special they had seen, on the subject of psychological defense mechanisms, Sam and we learn the basics, filtered and often funny, about the tricks our minds play to shield us from all the pains that pierce our hearts.
Selene
Selene -- a computer with a feminine personality. Rita's daughter, because Rita designed her and brought her to "life". She is the most powerful computer in the world -- brilliant, fast, flexible, complex, able to learn and grow.
Selene has a thousand eyes and ears all over the base, tiny cameras, microphones, sensors. She has control over exits and entrances, doorways and windows. She has weapons to stun, disable or kill.
Besides a fantastic memory, Selene has the ability to reason, think, imagine, and create. She also appears to have various human emotions, including a capacity for love.
Selene has a thousand eyes and ears all over the base, tiny cameras, microphones, sensors. She has control over exits and entrances, doorways and windows. She has weapons to stun, disable or kill.
Besides a fantastic memory, Selene has the ability to reason, think, imagine, and create. She also appears to have various human emotions, including a capacity for love.
Copyright © Steven J. Maricic 2019