A cloud seemed to pass over Margrave's brow. "I've been checking the media reports," he said with a shake of his head. "The spin machine is going full steam. The Elites are saying it was a fluke that the disruptions coincided with the world economic meeting. They're worried, but the fools haven't taken our warning seriously."
"Time for another shot across the bow?"
Margrave got up and went over to the table. He came back with the laptop computer, settled in his chair again and tapped on the keys. The sole blank wall glowed and displayed a huge electronic map of the oceans and continents.
The global composite image was made from data fed into it from orbiting satellites, ocean buoys and dozens of ground stations around the world. Continents were silhouetted in black against the bluish green of the sea. Numbers from 1 to 4 blinked in the Atlantic Ocean; two were above the equator, two below it. A similar pattern was displayed for the Pacific Ocean.
"The numbers show where we made experimental probes of the ocean floor. The computer modeling I've programmed indicates that if we bring all our resources to bear in this area of the South Atlantic, we'll get the desired effect. The time for warnings is past. The Elites are either too dumb or too arrogant. In either case, we should go for the big enchilada."
"How soon are you talking about?"
"As soon as we can get things set up. The only language that the Elites understand is money. We've got to hit them hard in their pocketbooks."
Barrett removed his sunglasses and stared into space, apparently deep in thought.
"What's going on, Spider?"
"I think we should call the whole thing off," Barrett said.
Margrave's face underwent an amazing transformation. The V-shaped eyebrows and mouth deepened. The expression of devilish mischief was gone. In its place was a look of pure malevolence. "You've apparently got some issues."
"We're not talking college pranks, Tris. You know the potential for damage if this thing gets out of hand. Millions could die. There would be huge economic and natural disruptions that the world might not recover from for decades."
"How could it get out of control? You said you had a handle on it."
Barrett seemed to sink into himself.
"I was kidding myself. It's always been a crapshoot. After that business with the cargo ship on Site Two, I went back to the drawing board. I tested a miniaturized version of the equipment in Puget Sound. The orcas went crazy. They attacked a whole bunch of kids. They would have eaten one guy if I hadn't pulled him out of the water."
"Someone saw the zapper?"
"Yeah, a guy named Kurt Austin. I read about him in the paper. Works for NUMA, and was leading the kayak race that got busted up. He only saw the setup for a second. He wouldn't have known what it was for."
A dark cloud seemed to pass over Margrave's face. "I hope you're right. Otherwise, we'd have to eliminate Mr. Austin."
Barrett looked horrified. "You're kidding!"
Margrave smiled. "Of course I was just joking, old pal. I saw the reports of the orca attack. What are you telling me, Spider, that orcas are predators?"
"No, I'm saying that my experiment messed with their sensory abilities because I was unable to control the electromagnetic field."
"So what?" Margrave said. "No one got hurt."
"Have you forgotten that we lost one of our own ships?"
"It was a skeleton crew. They knew the dangers involved. They were well paid to take the risk."
"What about the Southern Belle?Those people weren't paid to take part in our experiments."
"Ancient history. It was an accident, my friend."
"Hell, I know that. But we're responsible for their deaths."
Margrave leaned forward in his chair. His eyes burned with smoldering intensity.
"Youknow why I feel so passionate about this enterprise."
"Guilt. You want to atone for the Margraves who built up your family fortune on the blood of slaves and opium addicts."
Margrave shook his head.
"My ancestors were small-time compared to what we're facing. We're battling a concentration of power that is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Nothing can rival the multinational corporations that are taking over the world with the help of the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF. These unelected, undemocratic entities ignore civilized laws and do anything they want, no matter what impact it has on everyone else. I want to reclaim power over the earth for its inhabitants."
"Spoken like a classic anarchist," Barrett said. "I'm with you, but killing innocent people doesn't seem to be the way to do it."
"I am truly sorry about the loss of those ships and their crew. It's unfortunate, but it couldn't be helped. We're not bloodthirsty or crazy. If we pull this thing off, that ship is a small price to pay. Some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good."
"The end justifies the means?"
If necessary.
"Thank you, Mr. Karl Marx."
"Marx was a charlatan, an overblown theorist."
"This project is based upon some pretty unconventional theories, you'll have to admit. Marxism was only a half-baked idea before Lenin read Das Kapitaland turned Russia into the workingman's paradise."
"This is a fascinating discussion, but let's get back to something we both agree on. Technology.When we started this gig, you said you could keep a rein on all the power we're unleashing."
"I also told you it would be an imperfect system without the proper frequencies," Barrett said. "I've done the best I could without those numbers, but there's a big difference between a rifle shot and a shotgun blast, which is what we're using. The waves and gyres we created far exceed anything we saw in the computer models." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of pulling out, Tris. What we're doing is too dangerous."
"You can'tpull out. The project would go down the drain."
"That's not true. You could plunge ahead on the basis of the work I've done. As your friend, I'm urging you not to continue."
Instead of reacting with anger, Margrave laughed. "Hey, Spider, you'rethe one who discovered the Kovacs Theorems and brought them to my attention."
"Sometimes I wish I hadn't. The man was brilliant, his theories dangerous. It may have been a blessing that his knowledge died with him."
"If I told you Kovacs had come up with a way to neutralize the effect of his theorems, would you reconsider your decision to leave the project?"
"Having a fail-safe option would make a big difference. But it's a moot point. The knowledge died with Kovacs at the end of World War Two."
A sly look came into Margrave's eyes. "Pretend, for the sake of discussion, that he didn'tdie."
"Not a chance. His lab got overrun by the Russians. He was killed or captured."
"If he was captured, why didn't the Russians expand on his work and make superweapons?"
"They triedto," Barrett said. "They caused the Anchorage earthquake and screwed up the weather." He paused, and light dawned in his eyes. "If the Russians had Kovacs, they would have done better. So he musthave died in 1944."
"That's the common assumption."
"Wipe that smug grin off your face. You knowsomething, don't you?"
"The story was true, as far as it went," Margrave said. "Kovacs publishes the paper about electromagnetic warfare. The Germans kidnap him to develop a weapon that will save the Third Reich. The Russians capture the lab and take the scientists back to Russia. But one of those German scientists left Russia after the Cold War ended. I located him. Cost me a fortune in bribes and payoffs."