Pulling The Dragon's Tail (45 page)

“Like the Pope declaring atheism?”

“Exactly. I know it sounds far-fetched. These
kinds of events are not very likely to happen nor are they exactly
in my control.”

“Ah!” said Campbell with an air of anticipation.
“But Option 16Z is!”

“Yes. That is the reason for my mad dashes
around the world, not counting those inspired by Herschel. 16Z
measures the impact on humanity if we told the world of the Alpha
Group. But I’ve just been grasping at straws. I wanted to get the
cooperation from a solid majority of the Alpha Group.

“Geez,” observed Campbell. “As you’ve been
looking for them, Herschel’s been one step ahead of you eliminating
them.”

“Seems that way doesn’t it?” agreed Nate. “So,
picture the scenario of a dozen or so of the Alpha Group rudely
awakening a naive world with the news that semi-immortality is
within their grasp. My latest computer models indicated that if
this scenario occurred, humanity’s psychological reaction might be
sufficient to create a coordinated effort to then address End-Date
concerns. The most consistent models all converge on showing a
better than three-in-five chance the End-Date would be pushed back
by five decades.”

“That’s some breathing room at least!” exclaimed
Campbell.

“And a nineteen percent chance of having it
eliminated altogether. But for all that, I also had to have the
formula in my hands. That’s where Dugan and I uncovered Hilliard’s
cryptic clues as well as his granddaughter, the one and only,
Campbell Devereaux.”

“And,” added Campbell, “through deep hypnosis,
the neuro chip that Grandpa placed in my brain. My God, Nate! And
now Thatcher could help you make Option 16Z a reality!” she said
excitedly.

“Whoa! Slow down! For sure, Thatcher’s presence
does seem serendipitous; perhaps…even an answer to prayer.”

“I sense some hesitation.”

“You see, another significant set of computer
models showed about a forty percent chance the world would
implode
upon learning of us. It’s just what Hilliard warned
from the start and was the rationale for our air-tight secrecy. He
insisted that human society couldn’t handle semi-immortals running
around. Who decides who’ll live longer; lottery? the highest
bidder? Would it be based on age or a determination of one’s moral
character? Or what if governments lost control of the distribution
of the formula, and overnight millions changed their longevity
prospects? Think of the ripple effect as people would in a
generation or so, just not die. They’d want to keep working, and
the next generation would be fighting them for jobs. The population
would increase, further straining budgets. That’s only the start of
the nightmare scenario that Hilliard predicted.

“Take yourself, Campbell. You’ve been around me
and Es for a bit. Maybe you won’t say so, but I’ll bet there’s some
envy. I see the look of awe. So what if you had access to the
formula, was in a mid-life crisis, or just didn’t want to lose your
youthfulness, wouldn’t it be tempting? How much would you pay for
it? What would you sacrifice to get it? The
power
to stave
off disease, disability, death is the most power that anyone could
have.”

Campbell was silent.
Me? Envious? Well
…maybe.

“In a sense, though,” concluded Nate, “there’s
no dilemma because I’ve not been able to discuss it fully with
them.”

“Who have you asked?”

“Just Es and Kalpana.”

And?”

“They said ‘do it’”

* * * * * *

Es showed them the layout of Dr. Hilliard’s
headquarters, downloading data from her neural port to their
dataports while Ryker looked on Dugan’s monitor. She then showed
them the cache of advanced weaponry on board and instructed them on
their use. Initially taken aback by the advanced firepower, Ryker
nonetheless proved to be a quick study. Nate listened respectfully,
but silently prayed he could avoid facing the choice of killing or
being killed.
Father, I believe in You, but is harming
someone
always
wrong? Guide my actions with what I may
face.

Momentarily they focused their attention away
from Dr. Hilliard and onto Red Dawn and Gideon’s Army. Thatcher
reviewed journalistic investigations about Red Dawn’s past attacks,
ranging from pipeline explosions to the havoc wreaked from
releasing genetically altered honey bees into the Amazon. There had
been no history of previous liaisons between Red Dawn and Gideon’s
Army.

Ryker asked the obvious. “Why does an ultra-left
wing organization like Red Dawn want to associate with the
ultra-right Gideon’s Army?”

“As bizarre as it appears,” answered Es, whose
bionic ear and robotic eyesight had been fully restored. “It is all
about expediency. Red Dawn wants to destabilize the environment
because in their twisted viewpoint they think people will stop
environmental degradation. Gideon’s Army wants to destabilize the
world so the Apocalypse will occur and Jesus will return to rule
the Earth.”

“Together they help each other; a package deal,”
barked Thatcher. “A plot hatched in Hell.”

“Dugan, are you synthesizing any new data?”
asked Nate.

A moment later, Dugan had generated a variety of
ideas based on common themes of the respective terrorist
organizations, locations of past strikes and raids, past and
current content of thousands of hours of intercepted cyber chatter
and interviews with captured members of the groups. He hypothesized
dozens of ideas as to the type, scope, location, and timing of an
attack. The CCR then downloaded these ideas for everyone to see and
digest.

“Any themes?” asked Nate, after perusing the
pages of Dugan’s ideas.

“Sheridan North has struck the air,
infrastructure, and people. However, he hasn’t struck the water,”
offered Campbell. “If only we could get inside the mind of a
terrorist.”

“Hmm. Interesting,” murmured Es. “Underwater
explosions maybe?”

“How about hurricanes and such?” asked
Ryker.

“If Sheridan can spin a hurricane, we’re all
dead ducks!” said Thatcher.

“Then what about underwater earthquakes, tidal
waves, ice floes?” offered Ryker.

Thatcher exclaimed, “My God! I remember speaking
to an associate several years ago who had researched Red Dawn. Some
connection with the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, fault
lines or something there; explosions would send part of the
mountain into the sea. Well, maybe that’s far-fetched.”

Ryker chuckled in disbelief. “Guys, you know
what a large mass of mountain crashing into the sea means?”

“Tsunami!” echoed Nate and Es in unison.

“Tsunami?” questioned Thatcher and Campbell.

Es and Nate exchanged uneasy looks with each
other.

Campbell was dismissive. “There used to be a lot
of worry about Canary Island’s volcanoes destabilizing and creating
a tidal wave across the Atlantic. I remember my parents telling me
about the one in ‘04 that killed hundreds of thousands in Asia. It
generated a lot of fear, and revived interest in the Canary Islands
scenario. I think they found the volcanoes fairly inactive though
and the risk minimal.”

Thatcher busily scanned though his dataport
monitor. “Au contraire. This article from the Journal of Tsunami
Research, August 2047 says the debate among scientists raged for
years; dueling computer projections on each side. Some said the
wave would be 900 feet high, some said less than a foot. But around
the 2030s, a consensus began building among scientists as new
geological data about La Palma Island in the Canaries began coming
in, along with improved information on tsunami damage from Earth’s
distant past.”

Thatcher looked around at his colleagues,
hesitating. “New findings indicated that fault lines were deeper
than previously thought, which could provoke a large ocean-crossing
wave. But the naysayers asserted that could only happen if the
entire
fault line would collapse in one massive event, a
highly unlikely scenario. Let’s see… the volume of rock crashing
into the sea would be many times larger than the island of
Manhattan…the energy released in the collapse would equal that of
six months of energy use by Western Europe.”

“Those are just projections.” Campbell was still
not convinced.

Nate looked grim. “But what if someone had a
great deal of time?”

“And money and personnel,” added Es. She knew
exactly where Nate was leading.

“A tsunami bomb of sorts,” Nate summed up.
“Dugan, calculate the consequences if a coordinated massive
explosion of volcanoes occurred along that fault line in the Canary
Islands.”

A moment later the CCR announced, “A high risk
for tidal wave exists if the Cumbre Vieja Volcano on the island of
La Palma exploded. It would likely initiate a major part of the
island to slide into the sea.”

“But they’re inactive,” Campbell persisted.

“Let’s assume that someone made them active,”
persisted Nate.

Dugan downloaded a map of the island of La Palma
at the western tip of the Canaries. Nate grew increasingly queasy
and swallowed hard. “Dugan, project the effect of a series of atom
or hydrogen bombs placed along the fault lines. What are the
chances it would destabilize the island and start a tsunami?”

“A sixty-three point five percent chance that a
series of deeply placed bombs would initiate an ocean-crossing
tidal wave.”

Thatcher still was incredulous. “Wait a sec! It
would take a whole army, an entire country to make that
happen!”

“The Sheridan North I know
could
make it
work
,”
said Nate. “In fact, it’s been rumored that he’s
acquired hydrogen bombs.”

“I don’t think we have a better lead,” suggested
Es.

“Dugan.” Nate’s voice was barely above a
whisper. “Extrapolate the effect of a tsunami on the eastern
seaboard of the North American Union and South America, and on
Africa and Europe too.”

“It would have the potential of reaching speeds
of 200 kilometers an hour with waves as high as thirty meters in
New York City and forty meters in Lisbon. Projected damage is
estimated at 2.5 trillion euros. Estimated loss of life even with
early warning is forty to sixty thousand.”

Audible shock arose from them all as Nate
breathed a quick prayer, more of a desperate plea. A moment later,
he rubbed his hands over his face and shook his head. “Years ago,
Sheridan—then known as Damien Rylee—and I, were environmental
activists. He made numerous trips to the Canaries for work and for
pleasure. In fact he had a big campaign to save the Joseph’s
Warbler from extinction. He knows the islands like the back of his
hand. I know it’s just a hunch guys, but I think he’s been planning
this for years. It’s the Big One.”

Stunned silence pervaded the aircraft. The hum
of the motors droned on.

Finally Ryker said, “If it’s all true, it’ll be
hell to pay!”

“Hell,” said Thatcher through gritted teeth, “is
a place my father very much deserves to be.”

“I’ve got to stop him!” said a resolute
Nate.

“I’m going with you,” announced Es.

Campbell shook her head and couldn’t help but be
fearful for Nate. He was going to face the fearsome foes of Red
Dawn and Gideon’s Army, armed only with his faith that Father
Abraham would stop the bullets for him.

If he has some deep intrinsic sense of duty
and mission, why then is he so unwilling to defend himself from
evil, so unwilling to use a gun? This man has so much that the
world needs, why’s he so god damn willing to risk having a scum
criminal end his mission and his life?
For the first time,
Campbell wished she could pray to a god that would protect Nate
Kristopher from his own foolishness.

Es and Nate sat in the cockpit of the hyperjet.
A meter in front of their eyes they viewed a holographic download
of the drama unfolding below them.

“Engaged in combat!” reported the transhuman
soldier as he ran up the mountainside of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
Bullets whizzed overhead. He threw himself on the ground and fired
off a round of ammunition up the hilly jungle terrain.

Five hours earlier, Nate and his colleagues had
made a difficult decision to split up their group. Es had
instructed Thatcher, Ryker and Campbell on how to gain access to
Dr. Hilliard’s headquarters off the coast of Bermuda. Meanwhile,
Dugan, Es and Nate headed for the Canary Islands in the eastern
Atlantic and the volcanic island of La Palma.

Soon Nate, Es, and Dugan would land on the
eastern flank of La Palma, join forces with Es’s transhuman
colleagues, and attempt to stop a horrific plan organized by the
combined forces of two of the world’s most ruthless organizations,
Red Dawn and Gideon’s Army.

“What is your status?” asked Es, directing her
question to the TH soldier on the screen.

“We have sustained light casualties,” replied
the TH soldier. “Recon shows at most they have fifty soldiers
spaced out across five points along the mountain top. The five
points indicate some type of encampments and appear to lie along
the fault line.”

“We will be landing off shore in approximately
twenty-two minutes,” Es told the soldier.

“By then,” replied the transhuman soldier,
breathing heavily, “we anticipate having taken at least two of the
encampments. Their small numbers of soldiers suggest they wanted to
keep a low profile and that they also did not expect a fight. This
is Randolph. Out.”

The holographic screen disappeared and Es turned
to Nate. “Are you willing to use a gun?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure,” he said
half-apologetically.

“I will instruct you anyway—if you are willing
to listen,” she replied patiently.