23 Hours

With every step we take, advancing ourselves as a species, humans come closer to understanding divinity. Each scientific breakthrough also makes us more powerful as humans, gives us greater wherewithal to question the existence of the divine. It was only a matter of time before explorers of the twenty-first century would allow us to launch a device deep into space that would return data and information, verifying the existence of other worlds that can support other life forms. Our desire to seek out the meaning of our existence through exploration is insatiable. What men never realized, however, was that they were being observed, and the launch of the first nuclear-propelled spacecraft sent the wrong message. This is how the saga began.

Mark Rogo is a frustrated author, deciding late in life that his bucket list needed attention. His various careers through life have led him in different directions, none of which quelled his desire to write. After graduating La Canada High School and the University of Pacific, Mark entered Southwestern School of Law only to discover that Perry Mason was nowhere to be found. His next move was to join the family business as a used metalworking machinery dealer, which became his career for over twenty years. Eventually, he bought Morton Machinery Company and transformed it from a stocking dealer focused solely on profits generated through speculative purchases to a multifaceted company with divisions in leasing, new machinery sales, asset-based lending, and controlled liquidations. The United States economy had other ideas, and as the manufacturing base left the country, so did Mark's desire to work harder and earn lesser. So he followed the path his wife had embarked on and once again reinvented himself as a high-end residential real estate agent, which is where you will find him today in Beverly Hills at Coldwell Banker along with his wife of thirty-nine years, Lynn. Mark and Lynn have two daughters, Marcie and Lisa, a son-in law, Anil, and two perfect granddaughters.