And ignored it, I see.
And whether you believe it or not, it is possible for others to take us by surprise ... just read up on your history.
The problem is that your surprise depends on a magical piece of technology that somehow got thorough testing--presumably at sea--in an era when the US Navy owns the world ocean--and that the Navy never got a whisper about it during said testing.
It would be akin to the US successfully developing stealth aircraft without the Soviets ever learning about it. And that said development was performed at a top secret facility--that just happened to be right next door to GRU headquarters.
Fairly typical.
Anyhow ... it's clear your opinon is made up before you ever crack its cover (which is not surprising actually because it more or less projects your oft stated opinion on many other issues ... and since I wrote the thing ... 2+2 kind of a thing) so its relatively uselss trying to speak to you more about it.
But, like I have been saying ... that's okat with me too. It is a fictional novel ... let's try that again on for size ... a fictional novel. I hope people enjoy it while they read it and that they think a little about those things I mentioned above while doing so. No more and no less.
I have enjoyed BUMP'ing this thread though and getting some tidbits out there for other lurkers/readers. Thanks for being a part of that process at any rate.