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Preface Like so many of Generation X, I grew up with the original Star Trek as an entry point. More important than the genre of science fiction was the topic of space. My generation then became the children of the original Star Wars trilogy of the 1970s and ’80s. There is much merriment to be made pitting Star Trek fans against Star Wars fans. I have participated in this myself and am ambivalent at best toward the “hardcore” fans whose entire life centers around a work of fiction. I am even more negative toward the naysayers who view the entire genre poorly. To date, I have yet to meet many seri- ous Space Force visionaries who are not “Trekkies” in some way, shape, or form. However, this is not a book about science fiction, and it is not a book only about Space Force. It is about the synthesis among a new Ameri- can military branch, our overall strategy, our vision of space, and a new economic revolution that will change the planet’s destiny. It is also about those dark forces that seek to overtake America in this quest and create a dystopia of violence and chaos. This preface is being written during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Whatever the outcome of this conflict, it simply reinforces what I have been writing and speaking about for two decades. Great power conflict is not back. It never left. Russia has its own set of vital and national interests. These are often and will often be in direct competition with those of the United States. The same goes for China. The Russian invasion also illustrates another theme. This is the problem of the lack of strategic vision, in particular, grand strategy, in American policy circles. The myopic policy missteps of the Obama years, which were rife, is a bill