Title: Take the Fourth
Author: Jeffrey Walton
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 9781452089294
Pages: 419, Hardcover/Paperback
Genre: Fiction/Thriller

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Synopsis

You can thank the government that you never had polio, smallpox, or the swine flu. You can thank the government for protecting your health through its policies and laws. You can thank the government for abating your fears of epidemics and pandemics. But if you think your only fear of being inoculated against the flu or vaccinated against disease is becoming infected, then think again. The real fear is trading your freedom for your health without your knowledge. For President Jonathan Whitaker and his Chief of Staff Scott Norwood there is no fear, for they hold an unthinkable power only once held by God. For Deputy Director of Directorate of Science and Technology Jorja Carson and her colleague Greg Manoski, their deepest fears are becoming reality. As they traverse the common threads between an act of terrorism, a child abduction, and the murder of a senator's wife, they uncover the technological source of these godlike powers hidden deep within the bowels of Langley in a revelation that could mean the end of a presidency, the end of a government, and the end of America
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Roughly four years ago while vacationing in the British Virgin Islands, I was hit hard with morbi scriptis, more commonly known as the writing bug.  The first symptom started six years prior to the bug bite with a nagging notion of a governmental conspiracy.  It festered until that day I found myself overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean without a best seller to peruse.  The sickness from that bite took a hold on me.  I overcame the intimidation I felt due to not being officially schooled in the literary realm – math was more my thing.  I pushed through the inevitable lazyitis that the rays of the warm sun and a spiced rum drink can bring forth and finally put fingers to keyboard.

With netbook in hand, I embarked on a journey through an array of government agencies that probably have me on their terrorists watch lists somewhere in their hallowed halls.. As I accumulated knowledge of this underworld, that once nagging notion proved to have sprouted roots so entangled in our daily lives and justice system that my speculated fears were no longer just speculation.  Coming from a technological background well versed in the financial world, I was familiar with just how much information exists for any given person via credit scores and banking statements alone.  Now combine this data with the information freely given by most individuals that sign up for a super saver card, shop online, or post to Facebook and even the most trivial morsel of data can be used in the most consumptive way.  Once the data is linked together the real power of information can be exploited by defining the entire entity of any given individual – not just how much they can afford but how much they weigh or even what they might be thinking. Those who hold these linkages, hold the real power, the power of data, the power of knowledge….the power of truth.

Take The Fourth is my personal trip down the rabbit hole of perceived confidential data and information.  It is indeed a work of fiction, however, the underlying theme is all too real.  The rights we, as U.S. citizens, are granted by the 4th Amendment are shrinking due to the technologies that surround us.  In a world craving for power and control, you still have time to protect your privacy and rights.  It’s not too late

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