On May 19th, 2019, my tour group posed near the Giza Pyramids when they heard an explosion.
"What was that?" One of them jumped. She could feel the earth tremble.
"Oh, nothing," said the tour guide, hurrying them along.
The IED, planted in a car near the Grand Egyptian Museum, hit a bus carrying 28 people, 25 of whom were tourists from South Africa (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48328793).
Fortunately, no one died, although 17 were injured, including two who suffered eye trauma.
This is the inciting incident for Scorpion Scheme.
Most other details are true, too, if rearranged: the retaliation against Hasm; the bomb that killed three Vietnamese tourists and an Egyptian tour guide; the repatriation; the children dying underground; the organ trade; the political unrest; even the sneaky toilet and fake palm trees.
Yet I felt safe during my trip. I walked in the Valley of Kings and Queens. I cruised down the Nile. I swam in the Red Sea.
My friends thanked me for my positive portrayal of the Middle East on social media, because Western media emphasizes the danger.
So I want to stress that, in 2019, the vast majority of tourists had absolutely no trouble visiting Egypt. And I, for one, relished discovering an entire civilization with thousands of years of history.
However, on my outbound flight from Vienna to Cairo, I chatted with a seat mate who informed me of the bombing we'd missed. I assumed he was joking.
"No. It was a bomb. You can read about it yourself when we land."
"Really?" I'd joined the tour late so I could celebrate my son's birthday with him, which meant I was a continent away when the IED went off. I thought, Wow. My son protected me.
What a fluke. Is this what happens? Random things tilt us on the knife edge between an indulgent vacation and losing our eyesight?
Yes. That's become even more clear in 2020. In case you're reading Scorpion Scheme in the future, this is the hardest year our planet has collectively faced in my lifetime. We've recorded 36,778,228 cases of COVID-19, with 1,066,391 deaths as of October 9th.
I'm still practicing as an emergency physician and a hospitalist looking after admitted patients. We brace for the next wave as I write.
Which reshaped Scorpion Scheme in real time. I'm not writing about the pandemic because it's not entertaining to me. Literally, doctors, nurses, war veterans, children, cancer patients, writers, artists, musicians, scientists, parents, grandparents, athletes, and more have been killed by SARS-CoV-2, taking a disproportionate toll on the poor and people of colour.
I want to escape that right now. So Scorpion Scheme contains very little on-page violence and more food, myths, dancing, and getting busy.
Why?
'Cause Hope needs it.
Because I need it.
I have only two small inklings of what will happen next to Hope, Tucker, and Ryan. I only know that they'll keep on living, loving, fighting crime, and fighting each other.
Keep reading. Keep fighting. Keep dreaming. We need you.