The Titicaca Effect

by Richard N. Tooker

  “Maybe,” Stout replied. “It might be possible to somehow add and then remove enough of the same kind of rock found in the overburden to shut it off. But nothing will start it unless it’s aligned properly with the sun.”

  “Could it be aimed?” Freeman asked.

  “I don’t think so. The effect is absolutely vertical. That is, it’s lined up exactly perpendicular to the earth’s surface. If it extended into the earth, it would point to the exact center. That precise a vertical alignment is way too perfect to be caused by a chance lineup of the minerals. I think the effect would point directly away from the center of the earth no matter how you lined up the mineral deposit. Until I made those measurements, I had a working hypothesis that if you could somehow free the mineral from the surrounding rock and put it on giant casters to let it freely rotate, you might be able to aim it. But I dismissed that when I saw how perfectly vertical it is.”

  “Wait a minute,” Fontaine said, the implications of what she had just heard becoming clear. “Could you use this thing to launch satellites?”

  “Aha! You understand!” Stout grinned. “Satellites, spaceships, entire buildings if you wanted to, the heavier the better, and up to about 150 yards wide. Since anything in the antigravity field simply falls up instead of down, weight and mass won’t matter. We’ll need to get rid of the water, but all that amounts to is building a relatively small dam. Put the object you want to send into space in the center of the effect before it erupts. Because it takes almost a minute to gain full strength, the launch stresses shouldn’t be severe at all. All under its own power, no need for gigantic rockets, no environmental impact. The only requirement is that any object making the trip will need attitude controls to keep it in the center of the pipe. Otherwise, it would likely drift off-center and be thrown out of the antigravity field before it gets to the desired altitude.”

  “And a way to come down,” Freeman added.

  “So it can launch satellites. Free. And it’s permanent.” Fontaine shook her head. “This is incredible.”

  “Better than finding a diamond mine,” Stout said.

  “Think about it, Barbara,” Freeman said. “This pipe is absolutely the most important natural resource any nation could possess. But I’m afraid that Bolivia might not be able to hold onto it.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Why do you think the CIA has gotten so active in Bolivia all of a sudden? Check the embassy records. I think you’ll find that there are more CIA operatives here right now than there ever have been. Did you know that nearly a quarter of the Pacific Fleet is standing by off the coast of Chile?” he responded.

  “How could you know that, Tyler? Are you sure you’re not just being paranoid?”

  “I heard President Truesdale give the order myself, on a conference call. And that’s not all. He also ordered the Pentagon to set up a task force to explore military options. That was nearly two weeks ago, and by now they must be through planning. I have friends in the Air Force who tell me they’re moving troops as we speak.” He paused to catch his breath. “They know it’s antigravity, Barbara, and they’ve figured out how valuable it is. This is not paranoia. This is real!”

  Fontaine stared at Freeman without responding for a few seconds. “I get the point, Tyler,” she said finally. “I think I agree with you. This does not sound good for Bolivia, and I’m afraid I have some news that verifies your theory.”

  “What news?”

  “We have information that the Peruvians have been in a series of secret meetings with the Chinese at their embassy in New York. The state department called us this morning to see if we could shed any light on it, and until now, I couldn’t see why we should be concerned. If the Chinese have designs on the Titicaca Effect, and if they could get the Peruvians to be their allies, they could launch an assault from the shore on their side of the lake. Less than 15 miles away.”

  “Jesus! Could they really get away with that?” Stout asked.

  “Probably not, not without it being detected far enough in advance to set up the necessary defenses,” she answered. “But that’s not the point.”

  “I see where you’re going, Barbara,” Freeman said. “Even a rumor like that could be enough to justify a preemptive U.S. grab of the site, under the pretense of keeping it away from the Chinese.”

  “It makes me sick to my stomach to think my government would do that,” Fontaine said. “But I swear it fits the available facts. All that buildup of firepower, the CIA’s involvement, The troop movements, and this afternoon Ambassador Previn and I are supposed to have an urgent teleconference with the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs. The military establishment hasn’t called us in the seven years I’ve been attached to this embassy. Why else would they be calling? I think they’re going to tell us to prepare the embassy for an invasion.”

  She paused for a few seconds, then asked, “What can we do? I can’t lie to Ambassador Previn or the state department. It would violate my oath. I could go to jail.”

  “Don’t lie,” Freeman responded. “Just delay. Play dumb for a few hours, then tell the truth. Think you can delay the teleconference until tomorrow?”

  “No way,” she answered. “Previn is too excited about being the center of attention all of a sudden. But I guess I could just let him do the talking and not volunteer what you’ve told me. They’re not likely to ask what we talked about here today, since they won’t even know this meeting took place.” She looked directly into Freeman’s eyes. “I see now why you wanted to keep this meeting a secret. You planned all along to involve me in some kind of deception, didn’t you?”

  “Not exactly. But I did hope to make you understand the importance of keeping the site in Bolivian hands. I’m thankful you didn’t need much convincing. Barbara, I need to know what you find out about any plans for an invasion. You’d better not call me, though. The minute you’re briefed, you’ll be a surveillance target. Get word to me through Alicia.”

  “I’m as loyal to my country as anyone ever was,” Fontaine said. “But if they’re planning on taking this away from Bolivia, it’s just not right. These people have suffered enough at the hands of foreign powers. The Titicaca Effect is theirs. Just this once, they should get to keep something for their own benefit. The question is, how do we make that happen? What can we do to derail an invasion, if that’s really what they’re up to?”

  Freeman glanced at Stout, returned his attention to Fontaine, then responded. “Well, like the good doctor here is fond of saying, I’m working on it.”

  Chapter 12: Larry King Live

  “Tonight, the president of Bolivia, Alberto Maldonado, explains the phenomenon that has baffled scientists throughout the world. Next, on Larry King Live!”

  The director, counting down the seconds required for the voiceover and animated logo for the popular CNN show, cued the venerable news host as the show went on the air. Larry King faced the camera and began, “For the first time ever in the United States, we’re happy to have with us the president of Bolivia, Alberto Maldonado.” He turned to face his guest. “Welcome, Mr. President. Thank you for being here.”

  Alberto Maldonado, dressed in a black suit with a conservative gray silk tie, looked more like one of the movie stars often featured on King’s show than a head of state. He smiled at King and responded in slightly accented but otherwise perfect English, “I am delighted to be here, Larry. Thank you so much for allowing us to be on your show on such short notice.”

  The camera pulled back to reveal Tyler Freeman sitting next to Maldonado.

  “Also with us tonight is Tyler Freeman, an American who is the chief FAA investigator into the crash of American Flight 921,” King said. “Welcome, Mr. Freeman.”

  “Thank you, Larry,” Freeman answered.

  “Well, Mr. President, the whole world has been focused on your country in the last few weeks,” King said. “Bolivia has received a great deal of attention in the media, because of what’
s going on at Lake Titicaca. I understand you’re going to talk about that tonight. Is it true you can now explain what the Titicaca Effect really is?”

  “Yes,” Maldonado responded. “We know what it is. And except for the terrible tragedy of the airline crash that it caused, we’re very excited about it.”

  King faced the camera. “Before we get to the explanation, Mr. President, let’s show our viewers - just in case they haven’t been watching the news for the last month - what we’re talking about.” The screen dissolved into a videotape of the giant waterspout in full eruption over Lake Titicaca. Technicians brought the sound track on the tape up to full volume for three or four seconds before lowering it so that King and his guests could do a voiceover narration describing the image on the screen. “What are we seeing here, Mr. President?”

  “This is the Titicaca Effect erupting, Larry.” The camera panned up the column of water as Maldonado’s voice continued, “As you can see, it is a gigantic column of water that originates on the surface of the lake. The column doesn’t break up until it has reached an altitude of more than two miles.”

  The image changed back to a studio shot of the two men. “And this happens every day?” King asked.

  “Every morning at precisely 9:49:51. It lasts for exactly 128 minutes, and then it stops.”

  “What keeps it from emptying all the water out of the lake?”

  The camera moved in for a close-up of the president. “The video we just saw stopped too soon to see it happen, but after about two minutes, the water in the column returns to the lake as rain, after the waterspout breaks up at its highest altitude. So there is no permanent loss of water, and except for the loss of some toads and fish, no damage to the ecosystem of the lake and the surrounding area.”

  “I know that a team of scientists has been studying this thing since it caused that airline crash a month ago. You say you can tell us what it is?”

  “Yes, we know what it is. Although when I tell you, you may not believe me.” The president paused as if trying to select the right words to reveal his secret, then said, “The Titicaca Effect is a reversal of the earth’s gravity. What appears to be a waterspout is actually water falling up, rather than down.”

  King leaned forward, a look of genuine surprise on his face. He was very nearly speechless. “Did you say a reversal of gravity, Mr. President?”

  “Yes,” Maldonado replied, a slight smile on his face. He said nothing more, seemingly enjoying the stunned look on his host’s face.

  “You can’t be serious!”

  “I am very serious, Larry.”

  “This is incredible,” King stammered. “You’re certain? How can that be? What’s causing it?”

  “Perhaps I should let Mr. Freeman explain.”

  The camera moved in for a close up of the FAA investigator. “Dr. Thaddeus Stout, the scientist who first discovered the cause of the phenomenon, has told me that it is a unique combination of rare minerals under the surface of the lake that are somehow interacting with the earth’s gravity and reversing its pull at that precise spot on the earth’s surface,” Freeman said. “I can’t say that I fully understand the physics behind his theory, but I have seen the evidence with my own eyes. It’s very real, I assure you.”

  “Why does it come and go?” King asked. “If gravity has reversed over the lake, why does it only happen once a day?”

  “The phenomenon only occurs when the mineral deposits beneath Lake Titicaca are lined up with the sun’s gravitational pull in a precise way. And that only happens for 128 minutes, once a day.”

  “It looks like a very powerful force.”

  “Yes, it is. It’s lifting millions of tons of water to the stratosphere with each eruption. The energy it releases each day is equivalent to that of a small hurricane.

  “Can it be stopped?”

  “Maybe. But why should we attempt to stop it? It represents no threat to the ecology of the region, and as long as no one is near the effect when it erupts there is no danger to humans. Besides, there are very good reasons not to interfere with it.”

  “How so?”

  “The Titicaca Effect can be harnessed and utilized,” Maldonado picked up the conversation. “It represents an extremely valuable natural resource. One that may, in fact, have a profound effect on the future of the entire world, not just Bolivia.”

  King leaned forward in his chair, his body language telegraphing the intensity of his interest. “How would you harness this power, Mr. President? Do you mean that it can be used to generate electricity? If so, it would be a renewable resource, like hydroelectric power, right?”

  “Certainly, there is that possibility,” Maldonado replied. “There is no doubt it would be possible, with some investment, to generate an enormous amount of electrical energy from the effect. But even with our present accelerated growth rate, Bolivia only needs a little over 1,200 megawatts of electricity each year, and we are already extracting much more than that from our natural gas reserves in Santa Cruz. We could export the power, of course. Brazil needs at least three times that much energy. They are already our largest natural gas customer, and their needs grow each year. But I am talking about something much more important than a simple contribution to the South American power grid.”

  He paused for effect, then continued, “Think about it, Larry. Anything placed in the reversed gravity field that the Titicaca Effect creates falls up, rather than down, with the same gravitational pull that the earth creates. At this point, we don’t know for sure how high it goes.”

  “You said earlier that it goes up for two miles,” King interrupted.

  “We know that the water column is breaking up at about two miles, but that is because the water lacks cohesion and simply spreads out beyond the effect of the field,” Freeman responded. “There ‘s no reason to believe that the gravitational reversal disappears at that altitude. In fact, there is every reason to believe that it doesn’t.”

  “OK, what does that mean?”

  Maldonado leaned forward, smiling broadly. “We believe that the Titicaca Effect is a naturally-occurring launch pad into space. A way to put objects into orbit around the earth. Very large objects.”

  King looked startled. “I gotta tell you, Mr. President, I never expected to hear anything like this. Are you sure about this? I mean, if you’re right, this could change everything about space travel.”

  “That is precisely what I am saying, Larry,” Maldonado answered. “Theoretically, any object less than 200 yards wide - the length of two American football fields - would be launched into space if it were placed within the Titicaca Effect when it erupts. It would only need to have small thrusters to steer it, to keep it aligned within the center of the antigravity field on the way up.”

  “Two hundred yards wide?” King asked. “How heavy could it be?”

  “It does not matter. A large mass would only increase the antigravity field’s effect on the object. Again theoretically, we estimate that with only two or three launches, it should be possible to put into orbit all the tonnage ever put into space, since the original launch of Sputnik in 1957.” The president had obviously done his homework.

  “How much money would it take to develop the site?”

  “Espaciopuerto De La Titicaca.”

  “I beg your pardon?” King looked confused. “I’m sorry, Mr. President, I’m from Brooklyn. What did you say?”

  Maldonado smiled again. “Espaciopuerto De La Titicaca. Titicaca Spaceport. Actually, development of the site will cost relatively little. We will need to dam the water away from the site, but fortunately the effect is located immediately off the shore of the Island of the Moon, and the water is no deeper than 40 feet where we need to work. The rest of the launch facilities can be built on the island itself. Very little infrastructure will be required to begin operations. No more than 20 to 25 million U.S. dollars.”

  “So for 25 million dollars you can open Espa.…how did you say that?” King chuckled.

>   “Espacio….” Maldonado coached.

  “Espacio,” King repeated.

  “Puerto,” Maldonado urged.

  “Espaciopuerto.”

  “De La Titicaca,” Maldonado completed the phrase. “Espaciopuerto De La Titicaca,”

  “Espaciopuerto De La Titicaca,” King grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “25 million dollars and you’re in business?”

  “We believe so. Our engineers have already designed the facility. It appears to be a comparatively simple task, and we have already begun lining up the materials and resources we will need. If all goes well, we can be finished and ready for testing within 90 to 120 days.”

  “So this spaceport should open for business before the end of the year?”