Plot Synopsis
Waking from their latest jump, Ryan Cawdor and his friends find themselves in a MAT-TRANS chamber which is smaller than the norm. This curious change is overshadowed by their next discovery: the chamber door release latch is stuck, leaving the group no way to leave the chamber and no way to start another MAT-TRANS jump to a different redoubt. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to make the mechanism work, Krysty Wroth calls upon her mutant strength and forces the door open. This frees the group but breaks the latch mechanism completely, rendering the MAT-TRANS inoperable. Rick Ginsberg, a cryonic patient from 2001 who was "thawed" by Ryan, estimates that he can fix the mechanism, but will need at least basic tools to do so.
The remainder of the redoubt is unusually small and limited, lacking the usual assortment of rooms and equipment. The only exit leads up a long, spiraling metal staircase which eventually comes out in a secret door built into the attic chimney of a partially fire-destroyed dacha. Finally able to see the sky, J. B. Dix uses his pocket sextant to find their approximate location; to his disbelief, the latest jump has taken him and his friends somewhere near Moscow.
After taking food and clothing from hostile residents of a nearby town, Ryan, J. B. and Krysty head out to obtain tools to repair the MAT-TRANS chamber. Their progress is halted when they are nearly shot by a Russian government security patrol. Realizing they need to be able to understand the local language to avoid further incidents, the group returns to the dacha for Rick, who is fluent in Russian. Rick protests at first, revealing that his ALS is no longer in remission and is making him progressively weaker, but relents when it becomes clear there is no other option if they are to find tools.
Meanwhile, in the Russian government capital (located in the suburbs near the heavily bombed ruins of Moscow), the recently promoted Major-Commissar Gregori Zimyanin has been following reports of the group's actions. The descriptions of the people involved stir memories of his encounter with a one-eyed American in Alaska. Despite orders to the contrary, Zimyanin continues his investigation, culling reports for suspicious behavior or crimes committed by one-eyed men.
On the advice of several locals, Ryan, Krysty, and Rick travel to the Russian War Museum in order to learn more about the current Russian government. Shortly thereafter Zimyanin arrives at the Museum, having estimated the group's likely path and assuming they would not be able to ignore the Museum. Ryan spots Zimyanin, immediately recognizing him, and hastens the group's progress through the Museum. On the way through they come across an ill-visited side exhibit which unexpectedly holds all the tools Rick needs to fix the MAT-TRANS chamber, presumably looted from the nearby dacha. The three resolve to come back at night when the Museum is closed to retrieve the tools.
With Zimyanin closing in from the front entrance and soldiers moving to set up roadblocks, Ryan and his friends move to leave through the back, only to discover that the back exit goes past the most popular (and monitored) exhibit: a tattered American flag, which attendees are expected to spit on. All three are nearly overcome with disgust, and Rick balks at following through, but in the end all three spit on the flag and leave unnoticed. As they leave Rick demands that the flag be taken as well when they return in the evening.
With Rick's condition rapidly worsening, Ryan and Kristy return to the Museum without him. The tools are stolen easily, their cases not even locked, but taking the American flag trips an alarm and alerts Museum security. Ryan and Kristy shoot their way through the confused guards and escape.
Ultimately Zimyanin is able to track the group's path back to the abandoned American dacha, following a path of violent firefights and other crimes, while the group works quickly to repair the MAT-TRANS door under the guidance of Rick, who is entering the final, fatal stages of ALS. Zimyanin's forces attack the dacha as repairs are nearing completion, and Rick asks to be left behind with cans of gasoline and a pyrotab to cover the escape. Ryan and the others are able to hold off the Russians long enough for the door to be repaired; before they leave Rick, wrapped in the rescued American flag, asks for one last favor, to hear The Star-Spangled Banner before he dies. With Doc's help the group tearfully sings the anthem for Rick, who dies before the song is finished.
Zimyanin manages to make it to the hidden redoubt during this time, and enters the control room just as Ryan hurls the burning pyrotab into the gas-soaked room before closing the chamber door; Zimyanin narrowly avoids being killed by the ensuing fire. As the MAT-TRANS activates he runs through the fire and quickly enters the chamber, intent on killing the now-incapacitated Ryan. Ryan is aware of Zimyanin's hands around his neck as the jump continues, but is unable to do anything as he slides into unconsciousness.
A mortise lock is a lock that requires a pocket—the mortise—to be cut into the edge of the door or piece of furniture into which the lock is to be fitted. In most parts of the world, mortise locks are found on older buildings constructed before the advent of bored cylindrical locks, but they have recently become more common in commercial and upmarket residential construction in the United States. They are widely used in domestic properties of all ages in Europe.
A door handle or doorknob is a handle used to open or close a door. Door handles can be found on all types of doors including exterior doors of residential and commercial buildings, internal doors, cupboard doors and vehicle doors. There are many designs of door handle, depending on the appropriate use. A large number of handles, particularly for commercial and residential doors, incorporate latching or locking mechanisms or are manufactured to fit to standardised door locking or latching mechanisms.
United Airlines Flight 811 was a regularly scheduled airline flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, with intermediate stops at Honolulu and Auckland. On February 24, 1989, the Boeing 747-122 serving the flight experienced a cargo-door failure in flight shortly after leaving Honolulu. The resulting explosive decompression blew out several rows of seats, resulting in the deaths of nine passengers. The aircraft returned to Honolulu and landed with no further incident.
Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel Pilgrimage to Hell was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name Jack Adrian. Mr. Lowder became ill after developing the plot and writing most of the book. Laurence James, under the pen name James Axler then finished the story.
A latch or catch is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on the other mounting surface. Depending upon the type and design of the latch, this engaged bit of hardware may be known as a keeper or strike.
Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. The loops are pulled through the backing material by using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle for leverage. In contrast latch-hooking uses a hinged hook to form a knotted pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn.
Seedling is the thirteenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Pilgrimage to Hell is the first book in the Deathlands Saga of novels. Written by Christopher Lowder under his pen name Jack Adrian and published on May 1, 1986, it follows the adventures of Ryan Cawdor, Krysty Wroth and J.B. Dix, and delves into how they met.
Latitude Zero is a science fiction novel by Laurence James, written under the house name James Axler. It is the twelfth book in the series of Deathlands.
Dark Carnival is the fourteenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Chill Factor is the fifteenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Moon Fate is the sixteenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Fury's Pilgrims is the seventeenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Shockscape is the eighteenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Deep Empire is the nineteenth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Cold Asylum is the twentieth book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Twilight Children is the twenty-first book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Rider, Reaper is the twenty-second book in the series of Deathlands. It was written by Laurence James under the house name James Axler.
Mikhail Vasilyevich Zimyanin was a Belarusian Soviet partisan, politician, and diplomat who served as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Pravda, the official publication of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, from 1965 to 1976. Afterwards, he was appointed to the party's secretariat. He retired on 28 January 1987 for "health reasons".
The General Lee is an orange 1969 Dodge Charger driven in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard by the characters the Duke boys, Bo and Luke, along with cousins Coy and Vance. It is known for its signature horn, its police chases, stunts—especially its long jumps—and for having its doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows. The car appears in every episode but one. The car's name is a reference to Robert E. Lee, general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It bears a Confederate battle flag on its roof, and also has a horn which plays the first 12 notes of the song "Dixie".
