2042: The Great Cataclysm

by Melisande Mason

  Chapter Nine

  Nick let himself into Laura’s apartment and immediately felt a sense of relief. While he waited his thoughts turned to Australia, to his brother Brian, and to his best friend Graham Bronson in Hawaii. What was he going to tell them? What is more important, how and when will he tell Brian, a journalist? How would they react? Would they believe him? Would they panic? Of course they would! He would try to get hold of Graham after meeting with the President. Maybe he could talk Laura into going with him. Thoughts crammed his mind like a crowd at a pop concert, all trying to get in at once.

  It was dark when Laura arrived home to find him pacing the floor. Dropping her briefcase she flew into his arms and smothered him with warm hurried kisses. Finally his crowded mind thinned and the warm musky smell of her familiar Obsession perfume enveloped him. It had been months since they had seen each other and now nothing else mattered, Josh, and the whole mess was pushed aside.

  ‘Wow.’ She said. ‘I love the moustache. What made you decide to grow one?’

  ‘Lazy, I guess.’ Nick replied hoarsely.

  ‘Well, it really suits you.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He said before kissing her passionately.

  Laura placed a hot hand on his chest, and her eyes smouldered as she gently pushed him away, turned and headed for the bedroom.

  Nick watched her leave and suddenly wished he had a stiff scotch to bolster his libido. Even in this state of arousal he couldn’t shake the anxiety gnawing at his insides. He paused and looked toward the cocktail cabinet, but thought better of it and followed Laura to her room.

  She had removed her outer clothing and clad only in a pair of panties lay quietly on the king-size bed. The flash of slinky white satin gleamed in stark contrast against her golden olive skin and Nick caught his breath. He stood silently at the foot of the bed and without taking his eyes off her, unbuttoned his shirt. Walking to the side of the bed he let it fall to the floor while at the same time the sound of his zipper opening sliced the quiet room. His trousers slipped to the floor as he slid onto the bed beside her. She reached out and pulled him against her full bosom, and as his mouth went down on hers she moaned, and he felt the heat of her skin tingle against his own.

  With surprising gentleness he kissed her repeatedly his lips lingering sensuously over hers. He felt the heat rising and his erection pressing hard against her body as he fondled her aroused nipples. He kissed her again and shuddered as her tongue probed his lips and he returned her ardour with a savage hunger. She writhed beneath him thrusting her trembling body against his. He raised himself up and moved lower kissing her body, leaving a trail of scorching rapture on her glistening skin. He felt himself drowning, and as the tension mounted he closed his eyes to restrain the fierce throbbing in his loins. Laura clutched at him forcing her body upward, arching repeatedly until she cried out in release. Nick’s muscles tensed as his blood soared and he growled, exploding with his own shuddering climax.

  They remained in each others arms a long time reluctant to break the bond, until the air-conditioning chilled their bare skin.

  ‘Music,’ she commanded and the soft sound of a Chopin piano concerto wafted into the room.

  Smiling for the first time in weeks, he stroked back the damp strands of hair from her face. ‘I’ve missed you.’

  Breaking away she raised herself onto one elbow. ‘I missed you too. Where have you been? I expected you last night.’

  ‘I stayed at a hotel. I was a mess and I didn’t want to load my bad mood onto you. I’ve got something to tell you but I want you to promise not to tell anybody until I give you the go ahead.’

  ‘What is it?’ She sighed.’’You look so worried.’

  ‘Our world is about to go up in smoke, or I should say water.’

  Laura’s black eyes flickered for an instant then she smiled. ‘What! You say the weirdest things Nick. I, um,wanted to talk to you about us’

  ‘Us?’ Nick paused. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been paying you enough attention lately. I’ve had a lot on my mind.’

  ‘Thats just it. You’ve always got so much on your mind and I know it’s not always me. Remember when you asked me to marry you? I wasn’t ready to settle down then.’

  ‘Yeah, moonlight, wine and waves lapping on the sand.’ He paused remembering that night when they’d had too much champagne.

  ‘Well, ah, I’m still not ready to settle down and I don’t think it’s fair to lead you on. It wouldn’t work for us Nick. Our interests are too wide apart.’

  He was not hearing her. ‘Would you come to Australia with me?’

  Laura sat up and stared at him. ‘What? Good grief, Nick. Didn’t you hear what I just said?’

  Nick left the bed and began dressing. ‘Yeah, you’re giving me the brushoff. I wouldn’t call that a positive response to my lovemaking.’

  ‘Oh, no. You’re the best, but I want a man around more than a week here and there. I want to have kids and a Dad who’ll help me raise them. Someone who’ll take his son fishing or football training, or his daughter to ballet class.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s not me eh?’

  ‘No. Don’t get me wrong. I love having you around, it’s just not often enough.’

  He stared at her not half listening, that crowd had barged in again.

  She changed the subject. ‘Why did you ask me to go to Australia with you?’

  ‘You know I’ve been in Hawaii checking a new fault line in the ocean.’ Laura nodded her head. ‘Well, it’s not just confined to there. I tracked it almost to the North Pole. There’s going to be major earthquakes in the Pacific!’

  ‘Why would earthquakes in the Pacific send you back to Australia? That’s a long way from here. Don’t you think we’d be safe here?’

  ‘These will be more than the usual quakes. This new fault line’s right down the middle of the Pacific and we um, found a huge nuclear waste dump in the Bering Strait right smack-bang in the path of the fault. It’ll cause an atomic explosion so big it’ll rock the world and the flooding we have now will be nothing compared to what’s coming.’

  She thought he was joking but the look on his face, and the strange way he had been behaving suggested he was telling the truth. It sounded incredible! She was stunned and before she could ask more questions the sat-phone buzzed beside her.

  ‘Yes, just a moment. It’s for you.’ Laura passed him the phone and left to get some coffee. She could hear him in the distance and her hands shook as she prepared the drinks. She wasn’t sure what to think, how do you react when someone tells you the world is about to be turned upside down?

  ‘I’ve gotta go!’ Nick yelled from the bedroom as he dressed hurriedly. ‘Josh’s arranged a meeting with the President tonight! Please keep a lid on this. It’s important! I’ll call you when the meeting’s over.’

  The door slammed as he left before Laura could answer. Well, she would wait. Just for today, but she had a gut feeling she wasn’t going react the way Nick had hoped.

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Ten

  Sunday, May 28

  Josh was waiting outside the President’s room with four men whom he introduced as the Secretary for the Navy John Holmes, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and General James Worth, Secretary of State Bob Anderson and Admiral Richard Deakin.

  They had no idea why they had been summoned at short notice, it was not out of the ordinary for the President to call them at odd hours, so they relaxed as they chatted informally with each other.

  When Josh introduced Nick they were polite but a little disinterested. Most dressed in green jacksuits. Nick on the other hand chose to wear what he classed as business clothes: boating shoes no socks, his favourite beige moleskin trousers and a denim collared shirt. While their hair was closely cut, Nick’s was tied back in the usual pony tail. He shuffled his feet and could hardly think straight, but resisted the temptation to stroke his moustache or gnaw at his already mangled fingernails. He wished this ordeal was over and he cou
ld go back two months to when he’d first embarked on this crazy mission. Then he realised nothing would change what was about to happen, so he straightened his shoulders and waited.

  The big oak-panelled interior door to the President’s office swung open and they were met by a stocky thickset man who looked like he belonged on the wharf front instead of the President’s office. His square face showed no expression as he greeted them curtly.

  He addressed Josh and Nick. ‘Morning gentlemen. I’m Vice President Peterson. The president will be here shortly.’

  A large room dominated by a huge square oak desk greeted them. Behind the desk a high-backed swivel chair stood unoccupied and framed by a large window overlooking a garden shaded by tall Cherry Blossom trees, some bearing the faded remains of their once vibrant April blooms. Bookshelves lined another wall, cluttered with well-used reference books, novels and magazines. Comfortable arm chairs lazed strategically around the room. The entire office presented a well lived-in homely ambience.

  Peterson ushered them to a large highly polished timber conference table that occupied another room adjoining this office.

  Nick wondered why the meeting was being held at the Capitol instead of the Oval Room in the White house.

  A small man who was not introduced, sat at one corner of the table hunched over some papers. Nick surmised he was not a politician as he had the same tanned outdoors look as himself. As they took their seats another tall thin man entered and moved directly to the head of the table, followed by the others whom Nick had already met.

  ‘Josh, this’d better be important.’ He said. ‘I’ve put off a meeting with the Secretary for the Interior.’

  ‘It’s vitally important Mr President. Nick Torrens here can explain it to you better. It’s about earthquakes. Nick…’

  President Walker looked startled and Nick shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had rehearsed his speech over and over, picking the words that they would understand, and resisting his normal urge to be flippant, he began. ‘Sir, I’ll try to keep this simple. I’ve spent the last few months in Tahiti and Hawaii, and just recently in the Bering Sea off Alaska.’

  ‘Yes, yes. I know about that. Get on with it.’

  Nick fumbled with papers in front of him and sat forward. ‘Er, what I’ve found points toward a major catastrophe!’

  Nick watched the bored expressions around the table turn to bewilderment. He continued before anyone could speak. ‘There’s a new long crack in the ocean floor, we call it a fault. It starts at Mururoa Atoll and stretches north through the Bering Straight into the Chukchi Sea, just south of the Arctic Ocean.’

  He rose from his chair, pulled out a map from his briefcase and spread it over the table in front of him. The map was instantly projected on to a wall behind him. He pointed to the locations as he spoke. ‘All along this fault, there’s abnormal seismic activity, low frequency earthquake swarms, which indicates impending eruptions along it’s entire length. Big ones.’ He looked the President in the eye. ‘To make matters worse, we discovered a nuclear waste dump in the Chukchi Sea right in its path. Um, no doubt you’re aware of the waste, but there are some nuclear subs dumped there that nobody knew about. Probably with nuclear fuel still on board. A major quake here will create a huge chasm that’ll open up the sea bed and swallow that pile of junk into the bowels of the earth.’ He paused to gauge the reaction around the table. The President’s face paled.

  ‘God only knows what’ll happen when that explosive force meets the liquid magma chamber below. Maybe a nuclear scientist could predict it more accurately, but my guess is it’ll be big enough to destroy just about everything in that region.’

  He paused again before continuing cautiously, long enough for the shocked men to start a babble of disjointed conversation and questions.

  The small man at the corner seat ruffled his papers.

  The President stared at Nick, a grim expression on his face. ‘Gentlemen.’ Nick paused. ‘I haven’t told you the worst yet.’

  Vice President Peterson rose from his chair. ‘The worst!’ He exploded. ‘Are you crazy? I don’t believe it!’

  ‘I’m sorry, it’s true.’ Said Nick. ‘You all know that the hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole began to expand in the nineties, and started the ice melting in 2020. Since then Global warming has accelerated the problem. You also know that all attempts to slow the global warming have failed. The other hole we found over the North Pole four years ago has weakened the northern cap considerably. If the quakes reach the cap it won’t withstand such a huge explosion without shattering. Once shattered the ice will melt very quickly.

  When the eruptions start, huge flows of lava will be pushed up from below the earth’s crust, forming volcanoes and new islands in the shallower regions of the Pacific and the North Atlantic Sea. When that happens all the oceans will pour onto the land, raising the sea level anywhere from three to fifteen metres or more! Er, sorry. That’d be ten to fifty feet.’

  This time there was no babble. An unnerving silence permeated the room.

  The President spoke first in an almost indecipherable whisper. ‘Ten to fifty feet? For how long?’

  ‘The sea will be displaced by the new islands. It won’t recede. Ever.’

  The President pinned Nick with his eyes.

  ‘Furthermore all that melted ice has to go somewhere. An explosion like this could be the equivalent of five-hundred-thousand megatons of TNT! That’s five times bigger than the explosion that destroyed the volcanic island of Krakatoa in 1883. I don’t know how the planet will react. There’ll be ferocious winds, and there’ll be a chain reaction; one earthquake setting off another, perhaps as far south as New Zealand and probably across to the Peruvian-Chile trench and the Caribbean Plate. All the coastal areas of Australia will be hit by huge tsunami more devastating than anything we’ve seen.’ Nick stopped, his face turned pale and he ran his fingers thorough his hair.Oh my God! He thought. What if…? He swayed a little and promptly sat down.

  The secretary for the navy, John Holmes rose from his seat and turned to Josh. ‘What about the dykes? They’ve been keeping the rising sea back for years.’

  ‘They won’t hold against this.’

  ‘If we can believe this theory, what will happen first? The rise in the sea level or the tsunami?’

  ‘It’s more than a theory’’ Josh who had remained quiet, commented defensively, expecting this reaction from the navy. ‘Pretty much the same time. The shock waves will create the tsunami, which will be followed by the rising sea.’

  Nick continued. ‘Um, huge amounts of sea water will be swallowed into the magma chamber all along the open fault line and, ah, when confined by rock it will quickly become steam. We all know what happens when steam builds under pressure. There’ll be violent explosions sending the sea water bursting out again to create a tsunami.’

  ‘Okay, we hear what your saying.’ The Vice President interrupted. ‘How come you’re so sure?’

  Nick wasn’t sure of anything anymore. He pushed his shoulders back and flicked his neck. ‘The ERS2 satellite system. It’s been operating for two years and it’s proven to be accurate in predicting earthquakes. It’s not just my findings, you have the eminent scientist Wolf Drescher stationed with the US Coast Guard on Unimak Island. He came with me on the Bunyip and supports me one-hundred per cent. He’d be here now, but he wanted to stay behind to close up his research station. It was Wolf who called me up there from Hawaii. He was concerned about the peculiar things he was finding.’

  ‘What’s the timing on this?’ The President asked. ‘How long before it happens, if it happens?’

  The small outdoors man who had also remained quiet to this point, interjected. ‘Oh, it will happen all right. Maybe sooner than we think.’

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t get your name.’ Nick said to him.

  Josh looked at Nick.

  ‘This’s Professor Don Sinclair, he’s a nuclear scientist. I talked to him after our first meeting.�
�� Josh said.

  ‘I’ve studied your reports Mr. Torrens, and I agree with you.’ Sinclair said. ‘The atomic explosion you foresee will be the biggest humankind has seen.’

  The President frowned. ‘Will there be atomic fallout Mr Sinclair?’

  ‘Oh, yes. There will be, and long-term leakage of the longer-lived radioisotopes into the surrounding ocean. They’ll be spread by the currents. That will be the least of our worries. Methods can be employed to control this but we can’t control the sea level.’

  Josh whispered to Nick. ‘Are you okay Nick, you sound a bit odd.’

  Nick’s nodded and his fingers tapped out a silent rhythm on the table. ‘To answer your earlier question Mr President, we don’t know when it will happen but it’s um, building up rapidly. It could happen any time.’

  Admiral Deakin had listened attentively during Nick’s speech and now moved forward in his seat. ‘I think we all know who dumped this nuclear stuff you found Torrens. Can’t we force them to clean it up?’

  ‘Even if we could there’s no time, and it would put men’s lives in danger.’

  ‘Sounds to me that we’re all going to be in danger. Surely you don’t expect us to put the whole naval fleet on alert on the theory that it could happen any time. We could be sitting around for months.’

  President Walker raised his long arm and made a halt sign to the admiral. ‘It’s all right Richard, I think we’ve heard enough. Whether we believe it or not we can’t afford to ignore it.’ He addressed Vice President Peterson. ‘Tom get our experts working on this immediately, I need them to validate Nick’s findings, and call an emergency video conference with the World Government when you can. I’m going to call Prime Minister Barker in London personally. Meanwhile start putting together emergency evacuation procedures. Top Priority, and keep it away from the bloody press as long as you can. This catastrophe could be greater than any war threat. We can control a war but I’m not sure where to begin here. Nick, I have to ask you to remain at our disposal for now. You too Mr Sinclair. We’ll no doubt have a barrage of questions from the World Government.’