TheoLoop

by A. Scott Howe

Hirayuki Doei, a young Japanese researcher outfitted in scuba gear is found floating in a foggy bay, murdered in the most brutal manner. It was rumored that Doei discovered something that hadn't been seen for a thousand years.

Meanwhile, Professor Tim Hughes has brought his family to Japan on a trip for a little research and relaxation. When his daughter Kariko is stalked by both the police and the underground, Hughes must take his family and flee, staying one step ahead of the pursuers. Somehow Kariko ended up with Doei's cryptic notes, and unknown ruthless persons would do anything to obtain the priceless secrets they contain. But what do Japanese history, Egyptian hieroglyphics, astronomy, quantum physics, robotics, and biology have to do with Doei's groundbreaking discovery?

Hughes must track down clues halfway across the planet, all the while trying to protect his children from falling into the hands of deadly enemies.

286 pages, Hardcover

Published January 9, 2024

About the author

A. Scott Howe is a licensed architect and retired robotics engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He earned PhDs in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering from Hong Kong University and in architecture from University of Michigan. Dr. Howe spent 10 years of practice in Tokyo, Japan, and taught for 6 years at Hong Kong University. He functioned as Design Integration lead for the NASA Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Deep Space Habitat team, and was the original designer of the Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) at Johnson Space Center, which has been renamed the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) doing mini missions with multi-week crews. Dr. Howe worked as a member of the JPL All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) robotic mobility system development team.

Dr. Howe is an avid scuba diver, backpacker, amateur radio operator extra (N3ASH), 4-wheeler, and outdoor enthusiast. He is the author of over a hundred technical papers covering topics of space habitation, robotics, and architecture, and has been co-editor for technical books (as listed on this page). Technical papers can be viewed on the spacearchitecture-dot-org website, under "publications".

Dr. Howe has been writing science fiction as a hobby for over thirty years, culminating in a series called "One Eternal Round", which is written as a possible distant future fictional history based on his experience in the NASA community. the series (so far) includes:

Near future:
Book 1: Theoloop (2021)
Book 2: Chronosphere (2014)
Book 3: Replicycle/Retrocause (2022)

Far future:
Book 4: Waterball (2012)
Book 5: Blister (2013)