“‘Now, suppose that at the precise moment when it begins to contract, I explode a ton of dynamite. That accelerates the contraction and, in one hour and forty-nine minutes, there comes an equally accelerated wave of expansion. When the wave of expansion ebbs, suppose I explode another ton of dynamite, thus further increasing the wave of contraction. And, suppose this performance be repeated, time after time. Is there any doubt as to what would happen? There is no doubt in my mind. The earth would be split in two.
“‘I could set the earth’s crust into such a state of vibration that it would rise and fall hundreds of feet, throwing rivers out of their beds, wrecking buildings, and practically destroying civilization.’”
He lowered the clipping to find Nora gaping in disbelief. “You did say ‘too crazy to be true,’” she said. “You can’t believe he wants to destroy the world.”
Dodge recalled Von Heissel’s boast about creating a new world, but it was the voice of Captain Falcon’s ghost that echoed in his head: He will betray you. He will destroy everything. A hallucination, perhaps, but the ghost had been right on the first count.
“I think that’s exactly what he wants. Destroy civilization; create a new world in its place. When I was in that hidden valley in Pennsylvania, I saw where he had tested an earlier prototype of the device, a circle, about a hundred yards across, where the ground had broken down to dust. I think that while the device was turned on, it would have behaved almost like a liquid.”
“How does that help him destroy the earth?”
“Tesla talked about exploding a ton of dynamite in exactly the same place over the course of several hours… days even. What would happen if you tried to do that? Let’s say you did in the middle of Central Park. After the first blast, you’d have a great big crater. And with each new blast, the crater would get deeper. It would be like creating an open pit mine; you’d never be able to actually explode the dynamite in the same place twice.”
He could see the wheels turning in Nora’s head. “But if you’ve got a machine that can liquefy the ground at a constant depth, you could drop a bomb in and have it explode in exactly the same spot over and over again.”
“I think this is what Von Heissel wants to do. The resonance wave generator is just part of it; like a hammer and chisel working together.”
“Is it really possible? Crack apart the whole earth with just a few tons of dynamite?”
“Tesla seemed to think so. And I don’t think we can take the chance that he might have been wrong.” He managed a smile. “The good news is, Von Heissel’s plan won’t work without that resonance wave machine. I doubt he has enough adamantine ore to make more than one. If we can get aboard Majestic and wreck the machine, his plan is finished.”
“Easy peasy,” she replied glumly.
Dodge reached over and gave her knee a reassuring pat. Then he went up the aisle to where Hurricane was conversing with Frey. “I think I know what Von Heissel’s trying to do. How are we on getting aboard Majestic?”
Hurricane’s reply came with a grim smile. “Colonel Frey here has an idea that might work. You’re not going to like it.”
About an hour after Newcombe spotted land through the porthole in his stateroom, he received a summons to a part of Majestic he had never visited. He had no difficulty finding it; his ever-present escort knew exactly where he needed to go.
His destination was a large bay, situated on the same level as the central corridor, but just aft of the staircase leading up to the landing platform. There was little question in his mind about the purpose the bay served; the object suspended by a rotating gimbal apparatus above the center of the bay, surrounded on all sides by a metal rail, was unmistakably the larger-scale version of the resonance wave device.
His part in the construction of the device had taken place entirely in the laboratory. After perfecting a method to refine the adamantine ore, he had been given precise specifications for the shape of what Von Heissel called the “emitter,” the part of the machine where the resonance waves were created. Newcombe had created a solution of adamantine cyanide with the remaining ore, and then cast it into a mold supplied by the baron. After handing over the finished product, his role in the affair had ended. Or so he thought.
Von Heissel was there, standing beside his creation. So also were Fiona and Lafayette, along with a handful of crewmen, all armed with machine guns.
The baron greeted him expansively. “Dr. Newcombe, welcome. I thought you might like to join us for a test of the resonance device.”
“Well, you know what they say. If you’ve seen one…”
Von Heissel chuckled. “Ah, but that is like comparing a child’s toy car to a Daimler. You’ve never seen anything like this. And it’s only possible because of your contribution with the adamantine. I would have thought you’d be eager to see how it holds up.”
Newcombe shrugged. “I can’t make any promises. Science is as much about learning from failures as it is achieving successes.”
The baron’s smile took on a sinister tilt. “I do hope, for your sake, that you haven’t planned for such a failure. Or rather, should I say, for the sake of Miss Dunn and Mr. Lafayette.”
“Are you suggesting that I might have sabotaged the emitter?” Newcombe knew that was exactly what the baron was implying. “Knowing that you would take it out on them if I did? Now you’re insulting my intelligence, baron. As much as the idea of helping you disgusts me, I wouldn’t dream of putting them in danger. But you do have to realize that machines are prone to failure. You can’t hold me responsible for some other part breaking down. And like I said, I can’t make any promises about the emitter; no one’s every created anything like that before. This is unexplored territory.”
Von Heissel held his stare for an uncomfortably long time, and Newcombe could almost feel the man’s gaze peeling away the layers of his soul, searching for some hint of deception. He was grateful for the borrowed eyeglasses; the stare was much more endurable with the subject slightly out of focus.
Finally, the baron relented and clapped his hands together in satisfaction. “Let’s have our test then, shall we? Dr. Newcombe, please stand at the rail with your friends.”
Without a trace of hesitation, Newcombe took a place alongside Fiona. “How have you been?” he asked, conversationally.
“I’ve been better,” she replied, with uncharacteristic anxiety. “I hate being cooped up in my stateroom.” She paused a beat, watching as Von Heissel and his crew men moved away from the center of the room, putting a healthy distance between themselves and the device. “Did you really help Walter… or whatever he calls himself these days?”
“I didn’t have much of a choice, really.” He patted her hand and tried his best to look reassuring. “But it’s done. And now we can think about getting out here.”
“You don’t actually think he’s going to let us leave, do you? I overheard some of the crewmen talking. They said that Sorensen shot down your friends’ plane.”
“I knew he was a killer,” Lafayette intoned. “He tried to push me off the landing platform, you know.”
Newcombe remembered the incident well, and now it made a lot more sense. Lafayette’s account of being abducted and taken aboard Majestic might have shed too much daylight on Von Heissel’s plan, so the decision had been made to silence him permanently. When that hadn’t worked, the baron had tried a different approach, buying Lafayette’s cooperation with empty flattery and the promise of being involved in creating a living legend.