Prologue
July 9, 2033
At her office in Salonika, Greece, Dr. Katherine Pangalos read an e-mail concerning two mysterious babies in the care of her non-profit international medical organization. Within hours of birth, the children—both girls—were babbling, making peculiar, complex sounds that seemed very similar.
Over her computer’s speaker system Pangalos listened carefully to the recorded sounds: rhythmic and fluid for short stretches, but halting and clicking much of the time, like a language in the process of formation. Definitely not normal baby talk, her doctors were saying, and she couldn’t help but agree.
Utilizing a high security encrypted Internet line—which Pangalos normally employed for other purposes—she contacted a renowned linguistics expert who could be trusted, and the startling truth began to unfold. . . .