Bioweapons, The Official Secrets Act, Liverpool University, a Transatlantic Crossing and the Chinese Communist Party. Five elements that make up the spy thriller The Secret War

The Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act (OSA) is a law that mainly deals with national security and can apply to any information held by government bodies. It requires those who work with sensitive information to comply with it. In the book “The Secret War,” Karen Andersen reminds her boss Quacker that signing the act is only a reminder of their obligations under the law and that individuals are bound by it regardless of whether or not they have signed it.

Liverpool University
The Secret War is a fictional story that features a character named Tomio Nakamura who is a retired professor of biochemistry from the University of Liverpool. The story references a scandal involving a Chinese student and mentions that in real life, the University of Liverpool became the first in the UK to establish an independent university in China in 2006. Additionally, the story notes that Chinese students make up a significant portion of the University’s student population and that there have been concerns raised by British MPs about the potential influence of the Chinese government on campus. The University of Liverpool is also known for its research in tropical medicine and it played a major role in developing drug treatments and vaccines during the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), also known as the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the only political party in power in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921 with Soviet assistance, it quickly gained influence. The PRC, established in 1949 under the leadership of Xi Jinping, is run by the CCP and controls the country’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The CCP places significant emphasis on its party schools and shaping its ideology. In the Karen Andersen thriller series, Book 3 explores the connection between Professor Tomio Nakamura and the CCP.

Transatlantic Crossing
A Transatlantic cruise, also known as a “crossing,” is a luxurious way to travel between Europe and America on grand ocean liners. The Queen Mary 2 currently operates on this route and the voyage is typically 7 days, covering a distance of 3,150 nautical miles or 3,625 statute miles from Southampton to New York.

Bioweapons
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi is a crime under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). In contrast, defensive biological research for peaceful purposes is not prohibited such as that carried out at the Ministry of Defence’s Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down. Biological warfare is as old as civilization, but bio terrorism and black biology is an emerging threat to world peace