The Proof — Austin Boyd

The Proof opens with a suspenseful encounter between the grandson of Dr. Robert Kanewski, while watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, and the alien spiders first seen on Mars in The Evidence. It's an encounter that costs Dr. Kanewski his life, just as Endeavor blasts off and the journey to Mars continues for John Wells and crew. Later, on Rex Edwards' commercial Mars rocket, Epsilon, the crew heads to Mars to learn more about the strange alien sightings there. With a successful launch to Mars, the three-person crew has an 18-month trip ahead of them. Can they endure the stress and loneliness of 18 months without loved ones? While they are gone, Earth will once again be tested by alien visitors and questionable religious ideas. Are the spiders truly aliens?

Back on the earth, there are more problems than Amy's illness and separation from her husband. Cult-like leader, Father Raines frequently shares prophetic messages from the “Father Race.” He predicts visitations that come true and the frightened world watches and waits to see what will happen. Suspecting that the “Father Race” is a hoax, FBI Special Agent Terrance Kerry continues his quest for answers. He travels around the globe, seeking Elias Ulrich, the terrorist he believes is behind the sightings of the aliens. Frequently, he turns to John Wells for insight and together they seek the truth. Ulrich continues his escape from Navy pursuers and the FBI, headed toward a mysterious and historic rendezvous off the coast of Mont Saint Michel in France. Is there an unknowable god and is Malcolm Raines his prophet? Why does Malcolm Raines, the prophet, get every prediction about the aliens perfectly correct? Who are the mother seed?

Amidst a backdrop of international intrigue and the unexplained loss of communication with the returning Mars crew, Amy Wells perseveres against the challenges of separation, and months of worry for her space-marooned husband. Acting on his own, John Wells survives a dangerous mission and returns alone from Mars after the loss of his friends on the Martian crew. He discovers upon his return that his reunion with family would be short lived. After the apparent murder of his wife and children, he tracks down the man who he thinks has killed his family. John tangles in a final scene with the prophet Malcolm Raines, and later Elias Ulrich, slugging the first and nearly dying at the hands of the second. In a cliffhanger ending, the reader sees that everything is not what it first appears.