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Prometheus Rebound, a novel by R.L. Akers

Ever since the release of R.L. Akers’ well-publicized novel Prometheus Rebound—which chronicles the origins of the Orbital Defense Corps and its fight against the K’luran threat—the ODC’s public relations officials have received countless questions from the general public regarding the veracity of the story. Below is a rather strongly-worded open letter from the Honorable Norman Elephante, Secretary of the Air Force, who remains responsible for certain aspects of ODC leadership.

If you have any further questions after reading below, please address an email to orbitaldefense@rlakers.com or call 1-855-ODCorps (1-855-632-6777).

		
				DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

				OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
			
				14 February 2016
			
		To whom it may concern:
		
		The very first thing I would like to reiterate is that the recently-published Prometheus Rebound is a novel, a work of fiction, and a highly fictionalized account indeed.  Beyond that, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight regarding a number of gross misrepresentations made by R.L. Akers, the author of this work of fiction:
		ORIGINS OF THE ORBITAL DEFENSE CORPS. This novel is flying off the bookshelves because it is an every-man’s tale, a story which perpetuates the myth that any person--regardless of their age or station in life--can rise to greatness, often with very little effort and within an incredibly short period of time.  As such, let me issue the following emphatic denials:
				Behind-the-Scenes Meetings involving the President, his chief of staff, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and ODC leadership most assuredly did not occur as described.  Some of the statements attributed to the aforementioned individuals are absurd in the highest degree.  The implication that the sitting President--or his predecessors--in any way ignored vital intelligence information, or that they are in any way inadequate to face the challenges of current events, is quite untrue.  In addition, the rather improbable scene in which the ODC comes into being paints Kara Dunn’s rise to leadership as an almost capricious choice on the part of this nation’s leadership, thus ignoring years of recently-declassified evidence regarding the well-planned creation of this newest branch of the U.S. military. 
Recruiting Practices for ODC pilots did not and will never include video game competitions in which prizes include military commissions.  To belabor this glaring inaccuracy further would be to grant it more credence than it deserves.

		(over)

		page 2.

		CHARACTERIZATIONS. The ODC strenuously objects to the aspersions cast upon the following respected members of its leadership:
				Col. Kara Dunn is the Gryphens’ highest-ranking officer and very nearly its most highly decorated, and her strong leadership remains unquestioned.  Casting her (in the novel) as an uncertain individual who must overcome fears and weaknesses to achieve her potential makes for a heartwarming tale full of good character development, but it is terribly inaccurate--as is the account of her especially unorthodox recruitment into the United States military.
Lt. Donald DeMaria’s obsessive habits regarding hygiene, if they truly exist, remain his business and his alone, and the seemingly contradictory anecdotes which Akers records--while admittedly hilarious--are nothing short of disrespectful.  In particular, several side stories included in first edition of the novel were so slanderous as to give DeMaria more-than-adequate grounds for a defamation suit; instead of exercising that option immediately, DeMaria very kindly issued a cease-and-desist letter, and these passages were removed from subsequent editions of the book.
Lt. Gene Jenkins is not only an upstanding officer within the ODC; before receiving his commission, he was a well-respected member of the public relations and marketing community that serves many Fortune 500 companies, not a dolt who makes embarassingly stupid remarks every time he steps before the camera.  Truly, it often seems Akers is more interested in humor than accuracy.
Gen. Jerome Peterson (USAF) is a close personal friend of mine, not to mention a career officer with countless combat and peacetime decorations to his credit.  His portrayal in Prometheus Rebound combines all of the unfortunate clichés regarding strong military leaders, and its inclusion in the novel does a disservice not only to the Air Force and Peterson personally, but to the author as well.

		(next page)

page 3.
Finally, there has never been an instance of treason within the United States Orbital Defense Corps, nor even the vaguest rumor of one, outside of Akers’ fictional account.  To claim otherwise is nothing short of irresponsible and un-American, and we will not further impugn any officer’s good name by perpetuating such myths here, not even to dispel them.  It is simply a travesty that Akers has lowered himself to such a level when the individual in question died a hero’s death and therefore cannot defend himself.
COMPLETE FABRICATIONS. As with any work of fiction, the novel Prometheus Rebound includes a number of plot elements that prove to be outright fabrications when placed under even the mildest scrutiny.  The following are just a few examples.
				The individual known as Gen. Carl J. Grant (USAF) most assuredly does not exist.  His supposed connection to numerous highly-secretive projects at the so-called Area 51 site is therefore, by extension, also a fabrication.  (I would like to note that, personally, I was quite amused by the author’s fumbling attempts to paint a sensational picture of the Air Force’s most famous installation.)  Since Grant does not exist, one must accept that the gross miscarriage of justice that supposedly led to his death also never occurred.  Finally, there is no young woman named Viviane Grant--not in this context, at least--and the individual who recently received publicity in connection with the creation of the ODC is nothing but a raving lunatic with a well-documented history of psychiatric issues.
The existence of a prophecy or messenger warning us of the K’luran threat as early as the 1980s strains the bounds of credibility for even the most hardcore conspiracy theorist.  It should not be necessary, but let me state for the record that there was never any individual code-named KLINE.  That said, I admit that this plot device in itself was a fine bit of storytelling and provided a well-executed example of literary foreshadowing.

			

(over)

		page 4.

		There are many other fanciful elements to Prometheus Rebound that I could cite, but I believe I have made my point.  I cannot stress enough that this is a work of fiction.  But should you nevertheless be tempted to lend credence to any of this novel’s more outlandish details, let me tell you a little about this novel’s author--
		
		It should be clear to any individual serving in this nation’s military that R.L. Akers has himself never served in any branch of military, foreign or domestic, nor even had the benefit of a semester with the Junior ROTC.  Furthermore, it is questionable whether his research extended any deeper than the information available on Wikipedia.  In fact, even the most cursory examination of Akers’ personal history reveals him for the hack author he is.  He never succeeded in publishing a novel before Prometheus Rebound, nor even succeeded in completing a manuscript, despite dozens of attempts.  And as for this one novel he has managed to complete, he was incapable of convincing a publisher and had to bankroll its first printing entirely from his own resources.  Enjoyable as this novel is, I want to leave you with one tidbit of advice I will always attribute to my Great Aunt Edna, may God rest her soul:  "Consider the source."
		
				Sincerely,

					Norman P. Elephante,

					Secretary of the Air Force