This story is a dystopian thriller about the start and end of WWIII from the perspective of an imagery analyst, which was the position I served in for the first 10 years of my career. It is a lesser known role in the US Intelligence Community (IC). Part of the reason I initiated this project was because, frankly, I hadn't ever seen the viewpoint of an imagery analyst represented meaningfully in film or literature before.

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Another reason I felt compelled to write is because it's been two years since I left the IC and I've had time and space to reflect on my experience. I realized in doing so that there were a number of lessons that I had learned over my tenure that seemed worth sharing. I was a freshman in college and only 18 when I received my Top Secret security clearance. Looking back on how young and clueless I was, I figured others at a similar stage of life may be interested in knowing fully what they're signing up for.

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I certainly didn't.

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This tale is a meta experience that challenges the reader to play the role of imagery analyst themself. Each chapter begins with a question, the same as how every assessment in the IC starts with policymakers tasking intelligence needs about current affairs. There are images (GEOINT), songs (SIGINT), and a third-hand telling of events (HUMINT), which are presented out-of-order and with little context in the same way that imagery analysts receive information on-the-job. It's the reader's responsibility to synthesize all of these data points to make their own assessment of what really happened.

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In the IC analysts aspire to work together and arrive at the same judgments when writing an assessment, but often disagree on how to interpret the evidence they collect. Perhaps by the end of your time following the protagonist's journey you'll conclude differently than the author did. If I were you, I wouldn't necessarily assume everything in this book to be true; after all it is a work of fiction, and you should never trust a single source.

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To understand the story fully, I encourage you to visit www.fromabovetheearth.com where you'll find the complete images and the playlist of songs associated with FATE. Without these critical elements, you'll miss out on more than half of the narrative. My aim was to not just compile a timeline of events of what occurred, but to give insight into Sebastian's inner emotions- to feel again what he felt too.

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Today in society from a young age we're taught that emotions are a source of weakness, that we need to put on a brave face and be strong as we go through life. If only the world could feel more deeply the mistakes of our past, maybe everyone would be more inclined to come together instead of hating each other in our present and future.

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Have a safe trip - JW