He glanced back at her. “How familiar are you with the physiology and history of the Tran?”
“We’ve made a few interesting discoveries,” Ethan told him.
Bamaputra eyed him a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I’ve noticed that several of you seem very comfortable with these people as well as with their language. I will presume you are cognizant of the basics, then. If I go too fast for you or mention something you are not familiar with, please interrupt and I will elucidate.
“There is nothing complex about what we are doing here. Three fusion plants have been installed deep within this part of the continental plateau. We are using the production of these plants not only to power our installation but to melt the ice sheet from the underside up. You will be interested to know that where it clings to the continental shelf in this area the oceanic ice sheet is in places less than twenty meters thick. That is one reason why we chose this peninsula as our base of operations. The warming of the atmosphere in this vicinity and the concurrent melting of surface ice is the by-product and not the principal intent of our operation.”
“Why?” asked Blanchard.
“Because this atmosphere needs more of two things: water vapor and carbon dioxide. In addition to melting the ice sheet we are pumping water vapor back into the air. To produce the carbon dioxide that accompanies it we extract oxygen from the air and add carbon from large coal deposits directly beneath this station. There are substantial archaic seams of anthracite in the area. It seems strange to burn a fossil fuel for no other reason than to intentionally pump it into the atmosphere.”
No scientist, Ethan was struggling to follow the conversation, which was why Bamaputra was making everything as simple as possible.
“The greenhouse effect on Tran-ky-ky is weak. We intend to artificially increase it to the point where enough of its sun’s heat is retained to raise the surface temperature as much as eighteen degrees.”
“What is all this talk?” Hunnar finally asked his friend.
Ethan replied without taking his eyes off Bamaputra. “He is talking about raising the temperature of your planet considerably, to well above the point where ice becomes a corpse.”
“You’re talking a long time,” September was telling their host. “You won’t live long enough to see it to fruition.”
“Ah, but that is where you are wrong, my large friend. Because the climatological balance on Tran-ky-ky is so delicate, it is in fact possible to effect substantial shifts in temperature over a surprisingly short period of time.”
“What I don’t understand,” Ethan told him, “is why you’re bothering. All that’s going to happen naturally.”
“Yes, but the change will take ten to twenty thousand years. The planet will enjoy its briefer warm cycle before swinging back out in its perturbed orbit and freezing again. Then the down cycle of life will resume. The oceans will refreeze, the temperature will drop permanently back below freezing, and the Tran will once more be forced to cower in their caves and feudal castles, reduced to devoting their racial energies just to surviving. No, you are wrong about the time we require to change this. You forget your elementary physics.” Several of the scientists grimaced. If this reaction pleased Bamaputra, he gave no sign of it.
“Once the ice sheet has melted through, the defrosting effect will accelerate even in the absence of above-freezing temperatures since the exposed dark water will absorb and distribute the sunlight which the ice has previously reflected. The result will be accelerated shrinkage of the ice sheet and the expansion of open ocean into the northern and southern temperate zones. The level of the seas will rise fifty meters and more. Those Tran inhabiting low-lying areas will be forced, as would be the case in fifteen thousand years or so, to abandon them and move to higher ground. There will be a mass migration from the low islands to the higher land of the continents. As the air warms, these will become inhabitable, as they historically have been before when the climate moderates. In point of fact, they will come here.
“Our initial research suggested that this, the southern continent, was the area of highest population density in warmer times. There will be a corresponding migration and physiological change in the animal population as well. There will be some deaths among the Tran because their necessary physical change from a cold state to a warm one will also be accelerated.” He shrugged. “This is unavoidable.”
“How many deaths?” September’s voice was very low.
“Impossible to predict with accuracy. They are certainly to be regretted, but you might reflect that in earlier times such deaths occurred naturally as a consequence of the long, arduous journeys from the islands to the continents. These deaths will be prevented.”
How?” Blanchard asked him.
“When the Commonwealth learns what is happening here by means of relay from the outpost, regulations will have to be put aside in favor of rescuing as much of the native population as possible. Their arcane restrictions do not apply in the face of a ‘natural’ catastrophe affecting large numbers of sentients. The Tran of Yingyapin, quietly aided and abetted by us, will do likewise. It is not in our interest to have anyone die unnecessarily.”
“Nonetheless, you’re willing to accept those deaths as an inevitable consequence of what you’re doing as opposed to modifying your goals,” Jacalan said.
“You must consider what the final result of our work here will be,” Bamaputra said emphatically. “As the temperature rises the Tran will begin to change physically. They will lose their dan and chiv and long fur and adopt the golden-furred Saia state millennia earlier than otherwise. A much more natural state of affairs. They will become land dwellers instead of ice dwellers.
“Don’t you see what this will mean for them? They will be given a boost no other generation of Tran has ever had. In a congenial climate they will be able to develop properly, to achieve the advanced civilization they are capable of but which was always aborted by the onset of this brutally cold climate. For the first time in their history they will be able to reach a level of civilization high enough to enable them to retain it through any future onsets of frigid weather. As a result they will be ready to enter into not associate but full membership in the Commonwealth thousands of years earlier than would otherwise be possible.
“Furthermore, the inevitable consequence of emergency Commonwealth aid will permit them to retain their newly achieved civilization regardless of what happens to the climate if our artificially enhanced greenhouse effect cannot be maintained. It will be the dawn of a golden age for Tran-ky-ky.”
Like the rest of them September had listened quietly to Bamaputra’s exculpation. Now he frowned and scratched at the back of his neck.
“You know, monkeying around with something like a world’s climate is strictly forbidden by just about every primary Commonwealth directive I can think of. Folks are only allowed to play god on uninhabited worlds. Trying to make permanent changes on one populated by intelligent locals, well, if word of what you’re doing here got back to the right parties I wouldn’t give half a credit for your prospects.”
“Ah, but we have the advantage of operating on such an isolated world. By the time the ‘right parties’ ”—he formed the words with barely concealed contempt—“get wind of what we are doing it will be too late to reverse the process. The seas will already have begun to melt, the Tran will have begun to change physically, and shutting us down here would be more harmful than permitting the process to continue.”
“What I can’t figure,” Ethan said, “is what’s in it for them.” He nodded toward Corfu, who looked a little startled at abruptly being included in the skypeople’s conversation. “I mean, you’ve obviously managed to secure his cooperation and that of this self-proclaimed emperor and the rest of the local population. I don’t see that they’re necessary to it. You could just as easily lock yourselves inside this mountain and ignore them.”