by D F Capps
“You put ten million watts into the transmitter and when it gets focused at the target, you have billions of watts of energy released. The military weapons use Tesla magnifying antennas. The energy released by Tesla over Tunguska was greater than our most powerful hydrogen bomb, and it was projected a quarter of the way around the globe, in 1908, by one individual. You can’t imagine the power these modern facilities have.”
Sean sank back in his chair. This whole conversation went way beyond what he was thinking when dinner began. If what Patrick said was true, the consequences could be profound.
“How many of these places are there?”
Patrick sat back and finished his drink.
“Right now? Two dozen or so. Ten of them are in Russia. The thing is, Tesla did that without any conductive materials in the atmosphere. With the metals from the chemtrails, the power that can be projected is horrendous.”
Sean picked up his glass and looked down into the amber liquid. If Patrick was right, and he just could be, these facilities were very dangerous places.
“So where are these facilities and who owns them?”
Patrick tapped on the buff envelope. “I have a ‘members only’ section on the website. Membership costs a hundred bucks. I took the liberty of assigning you a user name and an initial password. That’s where you’ll find all of the research documents, sources, and scientific references. That way you can expense our bet as research. Receipt is in the envelope.”
Sean nodded and smiled. Some sources, like Patrick, were worth cultivating. “Facilities?”
“The more powerful transmitters are inside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, where they have access to the electrojet—naturally occurring electrically charged particles flowing in from the north and south magnetic poles.”
Sean wrote the word electrojet on the envelope under the web address so he could research it later.
“Take a look at Poker Flats in Alaska, Tromso in Norway, and the phased antenna arrays in Antarctica,” Patrick said.
“Antarctica?” Sean looked up at Patrick. “I thought it was all ice and research stations.”
Patrick shook his head. “The United States, Russia, and China all have HAARP transmitters in Antarctica. They claim it’s for research, but it’s a weapon system, plain and simple.”
Chapter 23
“Dr. Schambrect?” Sean called out.
Hundreds of sliding drawer cabinets filled with tens of thousands of fossils formed a virtual maze in the basement of the Earth Sciences building.
“Back here.”
Sean followed the sound of Schambrect’s voice as he worked his way around rows of gray metal cabinets.
Dr. Schambrect stepped out of an aisle. “Welcome to Virginia Tech. How can I help you?”
Sean pulled out his notebook and flipped through several pages before he found it.
“You wrote a paper on paleoclimatology.”
Dr. Schambrect grinned. “Not every day I get reminded of that. Don’t tell me you actually read it.”
“Still trying. I’m Sean Wells from the New York Times. I’ve heard a lot of talk about carbon dioxide and climate change, but everything is very recent, time wise. I hope you can translate the gist of your paper into my level of English so I can get some perspective.”
Dr. Schambrect led the way to a small table with chairs in the corner of the room.
“You mind if I bring a friend into this? I think his opinion can help you.”
“Sure, why not.” Two for the price of one, Sean thought.
Dr. Schambrect punched in a number on his cell phone. “Yeah, Daryl. I’ve got a live one. You want to join the conversation?”
He glanced at Sean, then added, “Yeah, I’m in the tombs.”
He hung up.
Sean grinned. “So, I’m a live one?” He was amused at the term, especially in regard to himself.
With a smile and a shrug, Schambrect said, “You’re willing to listen and look at the facts. Too many people are so afraid of being politically incorrect that you can’t even have a conversation with them.”
“Well, political correctness and I aren’t exactly on good speaking terms,” Sean replied, returning the scientist’s smile.
“I can tell—you’re here—talking to me.”
The door opened and a short, chubby man walked in.
“Daryl, this is Sean Wells from the New York Times. Sean, Dr. Daryl Rathbone, head of anthropology. Sean is asking about the role of carbon dioxide.”
Sean and Daryl shook hands. Daryl took a seat as he said, “Aaah. The industrial revolution bogyman.”
Sean chuckled. “Bogyman?”
Daryl nodded. “Short version: The industrial revolution started around 1760 with a world population of about seven hundred and twenty million people. Over the last two hundred and fifty years the human population has grown to ten times what it was, and much of the human diet has shifted toward meat consumption. The end result is that the number of animals—humans and food animals, such as cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens, have exploded all the while trees and oxygen producing plants have been cut back. Where there used to be grass and farmland, now we have cities, with concrete and asphalt.”
Sean wrote a quick note. “Which don’t produce oxygen, I take it?” Sean asked.
“Exactly,” Daryl said as he shuffled his chair closer to the table. “We have ten times the people and more than ten times the amount of food animals converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, plus all of the jet aircraft in the air producing even more carbon dioxide.”
Sean nodded as he wrote more notes. “So the carbon dioxide level has gone up by ten times?”
When he glanced up, the two of them were staring at him, a serious look on their faces.
“Human produced carbon dioxide, yes,” Daryl said. “The overall increase is thirty-two percent.”
Sean frowned. So far this wasn’t making a lot of sense. “If the carbon dioxide levels have increased that much, why hasn’t the temperature gone up by that much?”
“As you might be aware,” Dr. Schambrect said, “there’s a lot of disagreement on the climate change issue. Historically we have been in a prolonged cooling period, so if the climate is warming up again, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.”
These guys are holding something back from me, Sean thought. What is it, and why?
“How much does the temperature actually change over time?” Sean asked.
Dr. Schambrect tilted forward in his chair. “Over the last billion years, or something shorter?”
A billion years, Sean thought. How would they even know? “Sure, let’s go for the billion year range.”
Dr. Schambrect seemed to be loosening up a little. “The average surface temperature has gone up and down through a limited range of ten degrees Celsius, that’s eighteen degrees Fahrenheit for most people in America.”
Eighteen degrees didn’t seem that drastic. “Really? That doesn’t seem like a lot. So what role does carbon dioxide play?”
Now they both appeared more relaxed.
Dr. Schambrect chuckled. “Water in the form of humidity, rainfall, and clouds has a major effect on both life and the climate. Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas, not carbon dioxide.”
Then why the big fuss over carbon dioxide? Sean wondered.
“Water creates clouds,” Dr. Schambrect continued, “which moderate the amount of sunlight that reaches the surface of the planet through reflection. Water also stimulates green plants, which absorb the sunlight and release oxygen. When water evaporates it absorbs a huge amount of heat.”
The shift in focus from carbon dioxide to water was unexpected.
“Right,” Daryl said. “Ninety-five percent of the climate is controlled by water vapor, not carbon dioxide. Besides, almost ninety-seven percent of carbon dioxide is produced by nature, only a little over three percent is actually man-made.”
Ninety-seven percent, Sean thought. Where have I heard that number before? “Meaning what
?” He shifted forward in his seat.
“Meaning the man-made contribution to the greenhouse effect is less than one percent.”
Less than one percent? The climate change people were convinced the whole problem was human-produced carbon dioxide. Why weren’t they even mentioning water vapor? What was going on?
“My point is,” Dr. Schambrect said, “that climate change is most often caused by tectonic plate movement, volcanic eruptions, and changes in solar activity, not carbon dioxide.”
Sean put his pen down and straightened up in his chair. This was getting interesting.
“The two basic gases of life are oxygen and carbon dioxide,” Dr. Schambrect continued. “Animals breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Plants, through photosynthesis, take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. More plants, higher concentrations of oxygen in the atmosphere. More animals, higher amounts of carbon dioxide. The balance between plants and animals seesaws back and forth.”
This was a completely different take from what was being promoted to the public.
“I’m confused,” Sean said. “Isn’t there a direct relationship between carbon dioxide levels and temperature?”
Dr. Schambrect shook his head. “Not really. Warmer temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide encourage higher rates of plant growth, resulting in more oxygen, which encourages more animals to grow.”
Sean was uncertain as to how seriously he should take all of this. These two could be trying to put one over on him. “So what kind of a swing in carbon dioxide levels are we talking?”
Sean watched Dr. Schambrect closely.
“We’ve had carbon dioxide levels of less than one hundred parts per million and as high as six thousand parts per million.”
Sean’s eyebrows rose. That’s quite a spread, he thought. “Where are we now?”
Dr. Schambrect didn’t have the intensity, or elevated emotional level, typical of people who fanatically believe in something. He seemed more reserved, calm, more comfortable with his facts and knowledge level.
“Somewhere in the range of three hundred eighty to four hundred parts per million.”
That figure Sean had seen before. If carbon dioxide levels have been as high as six thousand, why were the environmentalists panicking at the prospect of five hundred parts per million? “So, near the lower end?”
“Yep. I’ll give you an example. Four hundred fifty million years ago, near the end of the Ordovician period, carbon dioxide levels were around forty-five hundred parts per million. Twelve times higher than they are now.”
Sean glanced at the two scientists. They seemed calm and confident.
“How hot was it then?”
Dr. Schambrect smiled. “It was an ice age.”
Sean was shocked. How could that be? “Glaciers?”
Dr. Schambrect nodded. “All over the place. That was the problem. Plants and animals don’t grow very well in the cold. Carbon dioxide levels soared. Oxygen dipped to the lowest levels in history.”
We die without oxygen, Sean reminded himself. “So what happened?”
Dr. Schambrect breathed out and looked him right in the eyes.
“Second largest extinction event—ever. With low levels of oxygen, the sea animals died off until the balance of plants and animals was restored by a warming climate.”
Incredible. How could this not be part of the media conversation? “You seem fairly certain about all of this. How do you know?”
Evidence, Sean thought. Where’s the evidence?
“Radioisotopes,” Dr. Schambrect said. “We have accurate ice cores from east Antarctica that take us back eight hundred thousand years. We can infer the climate from pollen and other particulates in the layers of the ice. That sets the pattern.”
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere, Sean thought.
“By following the established relationships of carbon-14 and oxygen-18 isotopes, we can take the climate pattern back for a billion years,” Dr. Schambrect explained.
So there’s a well-defined scientific basis for what they’re saying. Sean wrote the name of the isotopes in his notebook. “Then it’s not really about temperature, but the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide? Plants and animals?”
He glanced at the two scientists.
“In a nutshell? Yes. Carbon dioxide isn’t a primary cause of climate change, as some people insist. It’s an indicator of the plant and animal balance.”
Okay, Sean thought. Now I can clearly divide the political propaganda from the scientific facts.
“Swell,” Sean said softly, then thought, Now I remember . . . “I’ve read that ninety-seven percent of scientists agree that global warming is real and that it is caused by human activity. Any comment?”
They both laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Daryl was shaking his head.
“Who did you talk with?” Dr. Schambrect asked, a wide smirk forming on his face.
“Dr. Raju, University of Maryland.”
Dr. Schambrect nodded. “Guess he didn’t bother to explain.”
If you wanted to know what someone’s motivation was, or what they were hiding, you just had to ask their competitors, Sean thought. “Explain what?”
“Dr. Raju submitted the results of his research to NOAA and several U.N. non-government organizations demonstrating that the so-called warming trend was from data in the early 1990s, and that the planet has actually been cooling off ever since then.”
Dr. Schambrect looked over at Daryl, then back to Sean.
“They brought his research paper back to him and told him to change his conclusions and resubmit it to them.”
Sean’s shoulders dropped. It was the same old story of corruption and influence he had encountered so many times before.
“Did he do that? Did he change the conclusions on his own research?”
Dr. Schambrect nodded, a sad expression on his face.
“They told him if he didn’t, he and his whole department at UM would never receive another dime in federal research grants or federal support in any form. It was a career-breaker, so he made the changes.”
Sean nodded. It was the political hacks and money again. “And the rest of the ninety-seven percent?”
Dr. Schambrect shook his head. “It’s actually more like one percent, not ninety-seven. If you get federal grants or federal financial support, you support the climate change agenda. It’s a package deal.”
This was why Sean hated political agendas: It was all about money and influence, never about truth and honesty.
“You two obviously don’t support the global warming premise. Why not?”
Daryl shook his head slowly. “Well,” he said. “First of all, the real science just isn’t there, and secondly, we don’t have any grant money at stake.”
Sean tapped his pen on the table. “And if you did?”
The two PhDs glanced at each other. “Fortunately, we haven’t been required to choose. That’s one of the really difficult parts of university employment: being forced to choose between your own ethics and your career. So far, we’ve managed to avoid that dilemma.”
On the drive back to DC, Sean kicked the whole argument back and forth in his mind. Could it really be that simple? The balance of plants and animals on the planet? It certainly makes more sense than carbon emissions, or cow farts. This can’t be that complicated. If the whole problem in the environment is the balance between plants and animals, why are they spraying aerosols into the atmosphere? Wouldn’t that just make things worse? It doesn’t make any sense! This geoengineering thing is taking place for a reason, but why?
Chapter 24
“Close your eyes,” Dr. Cowen said softly. “Take three deep breaths and release them slowly.”
He was wearing a U.S. Space Command uniform instead of the regular Navy uniform he wore on their first encounter. Diane hadn’t seen him since the interview in San Diego.
She breathed in and out slowly.
“R
elax,” he said slowly. “Breathe deeply. Let go of all of your thoughts. Just relax.”
Ryan had told her about Dr. Cowen’s exercise and how valuable it was in the simulators. She was skeptical, but if it was going to help her kill Zeta Greys, she was willing to try it. She let the tension drain from her body.
“In your mind, picture your last flight in the simulator,” he said. “Visualize how everything seemed to move so fast. Now slow the motion down in your mind so everything moves in slow motion. Notice all of the detail. Draw everything from your peripheral vision into your awareness and remember all that is there.”
Really? she thought. It actually happens that fast. How is my mind going to slow that down?
“See the trees, the rocks on the mountainside, the light, and the shadows. In your mind, imagine where you are in three dimensions: your distance from the ground, the mountainside, and the scout saucer. Keep yourself aware of your surroundings at each and every moment. Feel the motion of your craft. Make that motion part of your being, an extension of your own body. Sense the connection you have with your craft, how it banks and rolls. See your craft as the outer extension of yourself. Expect your fighter to function as your mind does, an integral part of you, naturally and smoothly.”
She moved her fighter craft through the air, and imagined it as an extension of her own self: No division, no delay, just slow, smooth, flowing motion. Interesting, she thought. It seems to be working.
“Bring your fighter so it directly faces the scout saucer. As you are centered on the target, pull the trigger. See the light beam strike the scout saucer. Imagine your shot disabling the craft, knowing it will go down. Feel the satisfaction of confronting and destroying the scout saucer.”
She imagined her shot penetrating the scout saucer, damaging the controls inside, and bringing it down. If only it worked this way in real life.
“Now begin again. This time make everything even slower. Bring in more detail, become more aware of your position in three dimensions. See each separate item within your field of vision clearly and distinctly, placed exactly in the space around you.”