It relates to science in many ways. The biggest way it relates to science is how NASA discovers a meteorite buried deep in the ice in the Arctic. This discovery is basically the main part of the book that brings it all together.
When the meteorite was found the whole book started to get interesting. The discovery of the meteorite was the climax of the book. A little after the discovery of the meteorite NASA drills the ice and uncovers the meteorite. To everyone's surprise NASA finds something else inside the meteorite. NASA found real space isopods, which are basically like space bugs and chrondules, which shows that the meteorite is real. This meteorite is very significant because it is the first to prove that there is space life, and that there is more intelligent life form to be found. As the story gets deeper some of the NASA scientists are found dead. The main reason behind all this is because they were getting closer to discovering a horrible secret. They found out that the meteorite was inserted in the ice from underneath. This false discovery is a huge part of the story because it helps the reader realize how important the discovery of a meteorite is. It also gives the book a big twist because every aspect of the book is affected on the discovery.
Dan Brown's (the author of Deception Point) intent or scientific message of the book Deception Point is how scientific discoveries can affect so many lives and that if they are misconceived for something that they are not, then there will be a whole different outcome. He also shows how science is so delicate and if something were to go wrong, the final result can be horrific.
The whole book is surrounded by the scientific principle of the meteorite discovery. For example, when the meteorite was found, NASA was very pleased. This was so big that the president planned to tell the whole world on national television. When Rachel, Michael, and Corky find out that all of this is a trap and that the meteorite was placed inside the ice, the whole story changes from a celebration of the greatest find in the world to a distressful time of panic wondering why anyone would do such a thing. Overall, there are many instances in the book where the discovery of the meteorite changes the outcome of the plot.
The main character or protagonist of Deception Point is Rachel Sexton. When she discovered that the meteorite was a fraud, she immediately tried to stop NASA before they tell the whole world that they found real isopod fossils in a meteorite. She then goes on to find out who is behind this scheme and why they would even attempt it. If Rachel were not to do those things there might have been success behind the whole plot and more people would have been in danger.
The scientific principle of the book Deception Point is important because without it there would not be an interesting plot. The main character affects the way the outcome and the scientific principle because they have their own will to do what they wish. That is why the discovery of a meteorite with isopod fossils inside it is the scientific principle.
Vocabulary
Ice - the solid form of water, produced by freezing; frozen water.
Meteorite - a mass of stone or metal that has reached the earth from outer space; a fallen meteoroid.
Isopod - Any of numerous crustaceans of the order Isopoda, characterized by a flattened body bearing seven pairs of legs and including the sow bugs and gribbles.
Chrondules - glass like pockets in a meteorite that occur when the meteorite breaks and burns through the atmosphere.
Extraterrestrial - A descriptive term for things outside the Earth, such as possible civilizations outside the solar system, or objects, such as meteorites, that actually reach the Earth.
Fossils - A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust.
Universe - the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm.
Ice shelf - ice that is attached to land but projects out to sea
Arctic Ocean - The waters surrounding the North Pole between North America and Eurasia. The smallest ocean in the world, it is covered by pack ice throughout the year.
NASA - an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight
