The Solar Magnet
Page 2
declination of 23-1/2 deg. and is that farsouth of the line. The longest day in the northern hemisphere isnaturally June twenty-first."
"And the shortest day when the sun has the greatest minus declination."
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"Precisely, at the winter solstice. Now to explain what is happening.The year went normally until June twenty-first. That day was of thecorrect length, about fourteen hours and fifty minutes long. Thetwenty-second should have been shorter. Instead, it was longer than thetwenty-first. Each day, instead of getting shorter as it should at thistime of year, is getting longer. We have already gained some thirty-twominutes of sunlight at this latitude. The explanation is that the anglebetween the equator and the elliptic is no longer 23-1/2 deg. as it hasbeen from time immemorial, but it is greater. If the continuing tiltkeeps up long enough, the obliquity will be 90 deg. When that happens,there will be perpetual midday at the north pole and perpetual night atthe south pole. The whole northern hemisphere will be bathed in acontinuous flood of sunlight while the southern hemisphere will be aregion of cold and dark. The condition of the earth will resemble thatof Mercury where the same face of the planet is continually facing thesun."
"I understand that all right, but I am still in the dark as to what iscausing this increase of tilt."
"No more than I am, old dear. Herriott keeps babbling about a hiddenbody which is drawing the earth from its normal axial rotation, but thefool ignores the fact that a body of a size sufficient to disturb theearth would throw every motion of the solar system into a state ofchaos. Nothing of the sort has happened. Ergo, no external force iscausing it. I am positive that the force which is doing the work islocated on the earth itself. Furthermore, unless my calculations arebadly off, this force is located on or very near the surface of theearth at approximately the sixty-fifth degree of north latitude."
"How can you tell that, Doctor?"
"It would take me too long to explain, Carnes. I will, however, qualifymy statement a little. Either a variable force is being used or else aconstant force located where I have said. The sixty-fifth parallel is along line. The exact location and the nature of that force, we have tofind. If it be man-made, and I'll bet my bottom dollar that it is, wewill also have to destroy it. If we fail, we'll see this world plungedinto such a riot of war and bloodshed as has never before been known. Itwill be literally a fight of mankind for a place in the sun. Due to itsfavorable location in the new position of the earth, it is more thanprobable that Russia would emerge as the dominant power."
"Undertaking to destroy a thing that you don't know the location of andof whose existence you aren't even sure is a pretty big contract."
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"We've tackled bigger ones, old dear. We have the President behind us. Ihaven't made much headway selling my idea to that gang of old fossilswho call themselves the council of scientists, but I did to his nibs.Just before that attempt at assassination, I had a chin-chin with him.The fastest battle cruiser in the Navy, the _Denver_, is to be placed atmy service. It will carry a big amphibian plane, so be equipped toassemble and launch it. Bolton will relieve you from the Presidentialguard to-day. We sail in the morning."
"Where for, Doctor?"
"I feel sure that the force is caused and controlled by men and I knowof but one man who has the genius and the will to do such a thing. Thatman is Saranoff. Because he must be concealed and work free frominterruption, I fancy he is working in his own country. Does that answeryour question?"
"It does. We sail for Russia."
"Carnesy, old dear, at times you have flashes of such scintillatingbrilliance that I have hopes for the future of the secret service. Intime they may even show human intelligence. Toddle along now and payyour fond farewells to the bright lights of Washington. Meet me at thePennsy station at six. We'll sail from New York in the morning."
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With the famous scientist and his assistant as passengers, the _Denver_steamed at her best speed across the Atlantic. As soon as New Yorkharbor was cleared, Dr. Bird charted the course. Captain Evans raisedhis eyebrows when he saw the course laid out, but his orders had beenpositive. Had Dr. Bird ordered him to steam at full speed against theshore, he would have obeyed without question.
The _Denver_ avoided the usual lanes of traffic and bore to the north ofthe summer lane. Not a vessel was sighted in the eight days whichelapsed before the Faroe Islands came in sight on the starboard bow. The_Denver_ bore still more to the north and skirted around North Cape fivedays later. At Cape Kanin she headed south into the White Sea.Surprisingly little ice was encountered. When Captain Evans mentionedthis, Dr. Bird pointed out to him that it was August and that the dayswere still lengthening. Once in the White Sea, the _Denver_ was madeready for instant action. A huge amphibian plane was hoisted in sectionsfrom the hold and mechanics started to assemble it. Dr. Bird spent mostof his time working on some instruments he had assembled in the radioroom.
"This is an ultra-short wave detector," he explained to Carnes. "It willreceive vibrations to the lowest limit of waves that we have ever beenable to measure. The X-ray is high on the scale and even the cosmic rayis far above its lower limit of detection. We are hunting for anelectro-magnet, the largest and strangest electro-magnet that has everbeen constructed. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we areseeking for a generator of magnetic force. It does not generate theordinary magnetism which attracts iron and steel, nor the special typeof magnetism which we call gravity, but something between the two. Itattracts the sun enough to disturb the tilt of the earth's axis, but notenough to pull the earth out of its orbit. Such a device should give outa wave that can be detected, if we get a receiver delicate enough andoperating on the right wave length."
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He spent hours improving and refining the apparatus, but in the end heconfessed himself beaten.
"It's no use, Carnes," he said the day after Cape Kanin faded from viewto the north. "Either the apparatus we are seeking gives out no wavethat we can detect or my apparatus is faulty. Luckily we have otherthings to guide us."
"What are they, Doctor?"
"The facts that Saranoff must have easy transportation and a source ofpower. The first precludes him from locating his station far from thesea-coast and the second indicates that it will be near a river or othersource of power. The only Russian points on the sixty-fifth parallelthat are open to water transport are the Gulf of Anadyr, north ofKamchatka, and the vicinity of Archangel. I passed up Kamchatka becauseit would mean too long a haul through unfriendly waters from Leningradand because there is not much water power. Archangel is easy of accessat this time of the year and it has the Dwina river for power. That willbe our first line of search."
"We will explore by plane, of course?"
"Certainly. We wouldn't get far on foot, especially as neither of usspeaks Russian. We'll head south for another day and then-- What's that?"
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He paused and listened. From the distance came a dull drone of soundwhich brought him to his feet with a start. He raced out onto deck withCarnes at his heels. Far overhead in the blue, a tiny speck of blackhovered.
"We're on the right trail, Carnes," he said grimly. The plane passedover them. In huge circles it sank toward the ground. Dr. Bird turned toCaptain Evans. Orders flew from the bridge and a detail of marinesrapidly stripped the covers from the two forward anti-aircraft rifles.
"I dislike to fire on that craft before it makes a hostiledemonstration, Dr. Bird," demurred Captain Evans. "We are at peace withRussia. My action in firing might precipitate a war, or in any event,serious diplomatic misunderstandings."
"Allow me to correct you, Captain Evans, we are at war with Russia. Thewhole world is at war with the man who has pulled the earth out of hercourse. In any event, your orders are positive and the responsibility ismine. Wait until that plane gets
within easy range and then shoot itdown. Do not fail to get it; it must not get back to shore with word ofour approach."
Captain Evans bowed gravely. Shells came up from the magazines and werepiled by the guns. From the fire control stations came a monotonouscalling of firing data. The guns slowly changed direction as the planedescended. Nearer and nearer it came, intent on positive identificationof the war vessel below it. It passed over the _Denver_ less than fivethousand feet up. As it passed it swung off to one side and began toclimb sharply. Dr. Bird glanced at the fighting top of the cruiser andswore softly. From the top the stars and stripes had been broken to thebreeze.
"Fire at once!" he cried, "and then court-martial the fool who broke outthat flag!"
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