Accelerant- Sixth Extinction

by James Morris Robinson

  The lights suddenly dimmed, and on the wide-screen appeared images of a beautiful, new, super-container-ship. High Commander Roble asked a question. “What if we could weaponize the power of a Harbor Tsunami?”

  There was dead silence in the room.

  “My fellow comrades...that is not a rhetorical question.”

  A Syrian soldier answered, “We could then take the fight to them, sir...our enemies?”

  “Outstanding answer soldier...simply brilliant.”

  The High Commander pointed to the container ship with pride. “Our focus for the rest of the day will be container-ships. Genesis is preparing leviathan Fireships in China that will enable us to take the fight to our enemies. Fireships are not new. We are just building on perfection. The world's navies used Fireships in the days of wooden, rowed, or sailing ships. Fireships trap and burn their enemies to death. It was usually an old ship flying the nation’s flag and markers. Fireships were vessels filled with combustibles deliberately set on fire and steered into position or allowed to drift into an enemy fleet in order to destroy ships or to create panic and make the enemies break formation.”

  The High Commander pointed to the ships on the screen with pride. “The perfect catalyst to generate a harbor tsunami. They are 25 stories tall and about 1,450 feet long, or a quarter of a mile and 200 feet wide. Our ships can hold more than 22,000 of the standard 20-foot containers. If you put each container end to end, the line would stretch for about 70 miles. These vessels, if stood on their sterns, would be taller than the tallest building in New York City and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is the tallest building in the world. Technology allows these leviathans to be operated by teams of just thirteen people or so.”

  The room lights were powered up. High Commander Roble commanded a great voice when he revealed the following. “Genesis will go dark according to a massive plan that took years in the making. Ships such as this one will be deployed. They will take the fight to Genesis’ enemies. The targets are on a need to know basis. Our Fireships will be as deadly as they are beautiful. They are being built in the best shipyards in the world. Scientists are in awe of their technology and speed. Ship designers are amazed at their functionality and beauty. But do not let their cargo fool you. They are traveling nuclear storms. Genesis will also dispatch five Leviathan-class ships and tankers to run the offense. This countermeasure will also ensure that our Fireships get through and deliver the payload. It will, for some, be the end of days.

  “For us, it signals the beginning of Genesis’s New World Order. With that being said...let us welcome Genesis Chief Geologist Navid.”

  “Thank you, High Commander. I want to thank you all for your service and commitment. Today, I want to share with you that Allah’s plan ensures our success. His plan has been in motion for billions of years. It started with the very first global extinction. There have been five great extinctions in earth's history. Scientists have identified these time periods in the history of life on Earth during which exceptionally large numbers of species went extinct. The western world’s corrupt politics and quest to dominate the world’s cultures have forced us to accept this mission. We must deploy fire to cleanse and fix this broken world…as God has done before.

  Super-continents have formed and broken apart throughout the geological history of Earth. The one we hear about the most is Pangaea. Over 300 million years ago, the Pangaea super-continent was cobbled together by a series of geological events. This meant that all land masses on Earth were one Super-continent before they broke apart during the Triassic and Jurassic Periods. There was a massive single continent with one ocean named the Panthalassa, which was deeper than modern oceans.

  Jeff curiously asked, “How deep is that?”

  “Consider the Mariana Trench, in the western Pacific, east of the Philippines. It is about 124 miles east of the Mariana Islands. The Mariana Trench is a crescent-shaped scar in the Earth’s crust that measures more than 1,500 miles long and 43 miles wide. The distance between the surface of the ocean and the trench’s deepest point is the Challenger Deep, which lies about 200 miles southwest of the U.S. territory of Guam. If Mount Everest were dropped into the Mariana Trench, you would have to dive over a mile to touch its peak. That is how deep it is. Panthalassa, the world ocean, had trenches so deep, it would be like traveling to another world.”

  Jeff noticed Kyle’s restlessness and feared Kyle would interrupt…and he did.

  “Excuse me, Chief Navid, with humble respect sir, I am not impressed with how deep ancient oceans were or how super-continents formed. I want to know how we can win this war with the western world.”

  Chief Navid stared at Kyle and continued.

  “Over Earth’s history, there have been events called the ‘Five Great Extinctions.’ Scientists have identified these time periods in the history of life on Earth during which exceptionally large numbers of species went extinct. These extinctions were quite different from the usual rate of extinction, which occurred even when the diversity of life was increasing. The first known extinction was the Ordovician-Silurian extinction that occurred about 439 million years ago, due to drop in sea levels as glaciers formed, followed by rising sea levels as glaciers melted. During this extinction, 25 percent of marine families and 60 percent of marine genera were lost. The second extinction was the Late Devonian extinction. It took place somewhere around 364 million years ago. Warm water marine species were the most severely affected in this extinction event, which led many paleontologists to believe that an episode of global cooling was the culprit, similar to the event which may have resulted in the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction. This mass extinction killed 22 percent of marine families and 57 percent of marine genera.”

  Jeff asked a clarifying question. “Ok, I think I am following you. But what is ‘genera’?”

  “Oh sorry, it's taxonomic language. Taxonomy is the science of identifying, naming and classifying species. Every species has a unique two-part name situating it within a genus, and is further assigned to a series of higher-order taxonomic rankings. The basic taxonomic hierarchy or classification is generally agreed to consist of Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. Genera is plural, meaning more than one. Get it?”

  “I got it, ok…makes sense.”

  “So, we move to the third extinction. The Permian-Triassic extinction happened about 251 million years ago, and was Earth’s worst mass extinction. Ninety-five percent of all species, 53 percent of marine families, 84 percent of marine genera, and an estimated 70 percent of land species such as plants, insects, and vertebrate animals were killed during this catastrophe. Scientists believe a comet or asteroid impact led to this extinction. Others think that a volcanic eruption coated large stretches of land with lava from the Siberian Traps, and related loss of oxygen in the seas was the cause of this mass extinction. Still, other scientists suspect that the impact of the comet or asteroid triggered the volcanism. Either way, fire ended the world as it was known.”

  The fourth extinction called the ‘End Triassic’ extinction happened 199 million to 214 million years ago. It was most likely caused by massive floods of lava erupting from the central Atlantic magmatic province, triggering the breakup of Pangaea and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The volcanism may have led to deadly global warming. This led to 22 percent of marine families, 52 percent of marine genera, and an unknown percentage of vertebrate species going extinct.

  Finally, we get to the fifth mass extinction, the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, which occurred about 65 million years ago. Some say it was caused by the impact of a several-mile-wide asteroid which created the Chicxulub crater now hidden on the Yucatan Peninsula and beneath the Gulf of Mexico. Other scientists believe that this mass extinction was caused by gradual climate change or flood-like volcanic eruptions of basalt lava from the Deccan Traps in west-central India. We do know that during this extinction, 16 percent of marine families, 47 percent of marine genera, and 18 percent of land verteb
rate families, including the dinosaurs, disappeared.

  Kyle was growing rather impatient. “Sir…again where are you going with this?”

  Chief Navid smiled but once again ignored Kyle.

  “One last thing before I’m done. The fact is that many of earth species vanished in the five cataclysmic mass extinctions and today, 99.9 percent of all species that have existed on Earth are extinct. Some say that this is the natural order of things. Others say that this was God’s way of fixing things that were broken. He wanted to fix things…make them right so that we, humans, could begin.”

  Allah created a world in which we all could be happy. As a species, Humankind has been on earth less than 48 hours in geological time. Yet the western world is causing the sixth extinction as we speak. Animals are going extinct 500 to 5,234 times faster than at the normal background extinction rate, which is about 10 to 25 species per year. Many scientists claim that we are in the middle of a mass extinction event faster than the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction which wiped out the dinosaurs.”

  Jeff noticed Kyle's eyes light up. Kyle asked, “How is this?”

  “Interesting question soldier. In an extraordinarily short period, humans have managed to alter the earth with climate-changing ocean and air pollution that is causing the sixth mass extinction of species. Habitat destruction, in combination with climate change, is making the situation only worse. Increasing temperatures may force species to move toward their preferred, and generally cooler, climate range. If those habitats are destroyed, then the species are not able to escape the climate change and will go extinct. By the year 2100, human activities such as pollution, land clearing, and over-fishing will drive more than half of the world's marine and land species to extinction. Add the western world’s corrupt politics, wars, greed, racism, and quest to dominate the world’s cultures, and the purpose of Genesis is clear. We must deploy fire to cleanse and fix this broken world…as God has done before.”

  Jeff held his head low as he listened.

  Another Field Commander raised her hand.

  Chief Navid read the nameplate on the desk and responded, “Yes Commander Emina.”

  “Chief Navid, I once read an essay written by the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC. The author noted that a civilization is an elaborate structure of ideas and institutions, slowly built up over time by the intelligence and effort of countless individuals working alone and together. If we fail to understand and live out that complexity, which tries to answer to the complexity of human life itself, we can easily fall back to a less-human existence. Many individuals and groups dominant in America and other counties identify Western Civilization with racism, slavery, imperialism, colonialism, and environmental destruction.”

  “Very well said, Commander. Western environmental destruction and greed had broken the world. We are fixing things. Genesis will watch the world burn if this is the price that must be paid to set things right. This will be the beginning of the Genesis New World Order.”

  “We may kill many innocent people…women and children.”

  “Yes Commander Emina, we are Muslim guerrillas. We are the ‘Mujahideen,’ engaged in Jihad. It is our religious duty to maintain ‘Islamism’ anywhere in the world. This is who we are now. This is what we all signed on for. Are you all with us?”

  Within the great hall amidst a thunderous roar. Then in almost perfect unison, all soldiers joined Commander Emina as she prayed, “All that we ought to have thought and have not thought, all that we ought to have said, and have not said, all that we ought to have done, and have not done. For our thoughts, words, and works, we ask Allah, for forgiveness.”

  Chief Navid and the High Commander nodded at each other with tight lips and pride as they felt the powerful energy in the hall.

  The High Commander concluded the training session, “This is the beginning of the One Genesis World...our new world order. We are hastening the Sixth Extinction. Genesis will watch the world burn if this is the price.”

  Jeff looked at Kyle in amazement. Kyle was relieved. Jeff really understood it now, he thought.

  High Commander Roble and Genesis Chief Geologist Navid bowed humbly and exited the great hall amidst a thunderous roar.

  Chapter Four — The Patriot

  Captain John Russell (J.R.) slowed his descent from Mach-1 at 50,000 feet to 20,000 feet as he approached the Pease Air National Guard Base runway in his F-18 Super Hornet. The flight helmet allowed J.R. to use the visor for more than a shield for his eyes; it could inform him about the health of the jet, including remaining fuel and altitude. The helmet also provided J.R. with night-vision. There were six cameras in the fighter's skin with sensors that could pick up when J.R. moved his head. He could look through the jet's ‘eyes’ to see the world as the jet saw the world. He had the ability to essentially look through the floor of the plane and see the ground. The helmet had unmatched situational awareness.

  He checked the infra-red search and tracking system and saw that his F/18 Hornet Strike Squadron was in tight formation on a trajectory to land. He had flown north from his base in Charleston, South Carolina for military exercises.

  “Pease Tower, this is Captain John Russell; I am bringing the boys in.” J.R. checked his heads-up display to confirm that the velocity vector had him in the landing zone. He spoke to his squadron via the avionics communications system and they heard him loud and clear. “Tower has cleared us. See you on the ground.”

  The Strike Squadron said in unison, “Roger that Captain.”

  J.R. came from an upper-class family in the Midwest. His dad had nicknamed him J.R. when he was young. A child of old cattle and grain money, he grew up in Kearney, a little town west of Omaha, Nebraska.

  J.R.’s family had been in the center of the cattle business for years. They could trace their lineage back to a Norwegian Viking clan and his father was very proud of this. J.R.’s father wanted him to pursue a corporate career or a career in politics. J.R. however, had always wanted to fly and serve his country.

  J.R.’s dad would proudly say, “Viking blood is definitely in that boy’s veins.”

  J.R. once told his best friend, Daniel, “Only those close to me know that I once feared flying. I developed a fear of flying as a kid. It happened when I flew to Denver to see my uncle. The plane encountered rough turbulence. After that, I never wanted to fly again. My dad helped me overcome my fear by pretending to be stuck on the roof of our barn. He pleaded for me to come up and save him. While my mother and neighbors looked on, I got the courage to save my dad by climbing to the top of the inside of the barn, and reaching out and pulling him back in. They all cheered me. They honored me by dressing me up in a Superman costume. Then all the neighbors came over for a great cookout and there I was with my chest standing out, my superman cape flapping in the wind.”

  J.R.’s handsome features, complemented by his jet black hair and blue eyes, made him look like a real superhero that day. His dad bought him books on airplanes and he began to take flight lessons at a young age. He had been piloting planes since his late teens. Of course, when J.R. grew up, he realized the trick his Daddy had played on him. He loved them all for caring to help him overcome his fears.

  J.R.’s dad was the president of the Nebraska Cattlemen's Association. His father’s customers for Nebraska corn-fed beef included the who’s who in America’s defense contracting. J.R.’s best friend Daniel was Jeff’s older brother. Although J.R. lived in Nebraska and Daniel lived in Georgia, they talked most weekends.

  J.R. had celebrated his forty-fifth birthday last month and enjoyed a great life with his family. The greatest loves in J.R.’s life were his daughters, Hailey and Hannah, and his wife Alexis. J.R.’s wife Alexis was a traveling physician's assistant that specialized in mother and baby care. J.R. was proud to be a jet fighter. He loved telling the story of the aircraft he flew to the young men and women at his daughters’ school on career day each year. Hailey and Hannah told Uncle Daniel that each year after thei
r father’s talk at school, their popularity rose.

  J.R. had finished his dinner in the officer’s quarters and was reviewing tomorrow’s agenda for his team. Suddenly his phone began ringing, not even looking at who it was, he answered.

  “Hey J.R., what’s up?” Daniel addressed his longtime friend.

  “Address me as Captain.”

  “Yeah right!” Daniel laughed, with J.R. joining in.

  “How are you doing brother? You got there safe?”

  “Daniel, you sound like dad.”

  “Yours or Mine?”

  “Both of them.”

  “Just checking on you. I know you are getting up at the crack of dawn. See you in a couple weeks. Goodnight Bro.”

  J.R. got to see Daniel at least four times a year when he spent time at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, not far from Savannah. Another officer sitting nearby overheard the conversation. “It must be nice to have a good friend like that.”

  “Yes. Daniel and I met at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and we played together on the college basketball team. During our time there, Daniel worked hard to become quite the point guard. He was a great captain, team player, and mentor. His mentoring helped me develop into a formidable shooting guard. I returned the favor as Daniel’s study buddy. We tackled all academic assignments together and held each other’s hands, so to speak. We worked hard and maintained B averages throughout our college years.

  Both J.R. and the other officer had a hardy laugh at the last comment. J.R.’s face saddened. “I admired Daniel’s ability for overcoming adversity. I attended the championship basketball game where he blew his knee out. I was with him when the doctor informed him that the injuries were simply too severe for him to go pro. It also ruined his chances for military duty. He did not complain, never said a word. He made the best of it.”