The Carbon Trap (The Carbon Series Book 1)

by Randy Dutton

  Once in the room she implemented every security procedure and kept her pistol under her pillow. Anna ordered room service and a bottle of wine, and stayed put for the night. She had no interest in anything but surviving the rest of this trip.

  July 31, 0100 hours

  Black Hat

  Las Vegas Strip

  The CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter hovered in slow motion over the amphibious ship’s deck. It was twilight.

  Whomp, whomp, whomp…the sound filled her head. Her body floated above her father’s last assignment.

  The gray deck rolled and pitched heavily as sea spray splashed onto the flight line during the heavy autumn storm.

  From her viewpoint as an innocent 15-year old girl, she watched in horror as a strong gust pushed the maneuvering chopper backward, its aft set of twin rotor blades striking a railing on the ship’s superstructure. She was in the midst of a silent scream as the deflected blades angled towards the helicopter’s center, slicing through the long fuselage. Rotor pieces broke and flew in every direction. Two halves of fuselage, now barely connected, dropped to the ship’s edge, rolled onto their sides, and plunged into the ocean.

  The ship’s crash alarms resounded in her brain while the image of sailors running across the deck slowly faded. As if a hand was pulling her from behind, her view of the quickly sinking fuselage drew farther away.

  From a great distance, only an oil slick and empty, inflated raft remained in the ship’s wake. The distance grew between her and the ship in that heavy gray sea, until she had been pulled backward into the clouds and toward the heavens.

  Anna woke with a start, the partial scream of ‘Daddy!’ formed by her lips, tears streaming onto her pillow. She was sobbing, trembling.

  I haven’t had a nightmare…since I was 15. I’ve always been in control of my dreams. Why now?

  The recollection of her father’s fatal training accident that November day, 15 years before, was based more upon written testimony than visual record.

  There were no photos, and yet it felt so real. I was 19, not 15, when it had happened – why the regression? I didn’t even grieve when I got the news – just got drunk and picked up the first guy in the bar who showed interest. That started a sordid phase in my life, one of many I now regret.

  Still shaking from the vivid nightmare, she sat up and held her knees up close to her naked body; the cold sweat had dampened the sheets.

  It’s nearly 1 AM. I need to get in control... She looked at the refrigerator. I could finish the bottle of wine, maybe even order another. Getting drunk’s an option.

  Then a visual image of the Maldives painting flashed in her mind, the black stain rushing at her – enveloping her, shredding any remaining self-control. At that moment she was hit with uncontrollable remorse and grief, rolled onto her side and threw her head into her pillow. Her sobbing was intense.

  I’m sorry Daddy…I’m sorry for everything…Please forgive me. I needed you...I’m sorry for pushing you away...for wasting what you left me. I miss you, and…I…I love you. I want you to be proud of me. I’m trying to make amends. Please help me....

  She cried until her body and mind were exhausted. She fell into a fitful sleep.

  Dream fragments appeared, one was of a crowd of babies – one by one they disappeared as if never born, until only a few were left. People in white jackets picked up the survivors. Robert’s voice said, ‘We’ll keep these few...These belong to the elites.’ Suddenly, the scene changed to a flip flop at her feet, drifting away into the ocean.

  Her dreams shifted to vignettes of her violent past – they haunted her – sometimes she was the hunter, sometimes the target.

  An image of a speedboat cutting its way across beautiful blue tropical waters gave her a calming sensation and for awhile her body relaxed. Suddenly, the boat exploded in the water, and in the burning wreckage, the flip flop, a green glass bottle and a business card floated to the surface. Her body went rigid.

  She awoke to a barrage of self-recriminations and questions. I’ve tried boxing up everything bad. What’s happening to me?

  Sitting on the bed, she attempted to look toward the future.

  What of Pete? Would Pete accept my selfish and malevolent past? Was he caught up in the moment’s passion when he said he loved me? I miss his touch, his strength, his unselfishness. His belief in me is even stronger than my own. But do I owe it to him to avoid him?

  To involve him is to put his life at risk. And his family…they couldn’t possibly accept me if they knew even a fraction what I’ve done. I must put him out of my mind.

  And why do I feel so nauseated? She grimaced while holding her stomach for a moment. Either it’s the food I ate, or...my past is torturing me.

  She turned on Innocent Child then walked into the shower. With eyes closed and water cascading over her, she listened to the lyrics as a retrospective of her life – tears started flowing, then her stomach rebelled. Two songs later, she stood from the toilet. I can’t listen to that anymore!

  Clicking it off, she stepped back into the shower.

  Wide awake and toweled off, she tried rationalizing this night’s experience as a one-off situation, something that wouldn’t repeat. But the grief she now finally felt for her father’s death was real, cathartic even, and gave her some closure. She also had never before experienced remorse for her victims’ fate. In a way, she felt better for it – more human.

  Chapter 58

  July 31, 0500 hours

  Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas Strip, NV

  Knowing sleep wouldn’t return, she turned on the 5 AM news. Usually I tune out TV news. It’s more efficient getting it from newswires and filtered websites. Right now, I want to see real people.

  There’s Sven with his cocky self-assurance giving another interview. Her smile faded as she recalled how she had deflected his affections.

  The blonde newscaster was interviewing him in the studio, with a backdrop of the Snath filtration production facility.

  “Today we’re discussing the new carbon-trapping technologies from Snath Group, one month after they were launched. Dr. Swanson, NOAA reports they’re seeing a slight reduction in the rate of increase of global CO2 concentration. Do you credit this to your products?”

  “Our products are performing at 110% the rate we calculated, and because of this, our solid waste disposal operations have had to increase the size of the hauling fleet sooner than anticipated.”

  He was beaming.

  “The carbon we haul away is carbon removed from the air. You be the judge.”

  You’re looking pretty good, Sven…relaxed even. Anna thought as she smiled for the first time since late yesterday. You must be hooking up regularly. I’ll bet the music’s helping. Too bad I’ve been too preoccupied to monitor you as I’d planned.

  “Our financial analysts have been following the UN contracts,” the reporter continued, “and so far this year, Snath has received $27 billion. What do you project as a final year-end receipt?”

  “The Snath Group projects to receive about $150 billion in contracts for the year. But that includes all sectors. Let’s just say, Christmas bonuses will be fat this year.” He gave a toothy grin.

  Did he really say that? Anna shook her head. How crass! She broke out laughing.

  “And for next year?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised to see contracts for $450 billion next year. We are ramping up production at all our global facilities.” His smile continued unabated.

  Yes, Sven, make love to the camera. I’m sure young women are swooning as you smile to them, Anna mused.

  The background image shifted from an aerial view of Snath facilities to the filtration media. “We’ve gotten a report from biologists that small fragments of the filtration media are being found hundreds of kilometers downwind from where they’re being used. Have you created an invasive species?”

  His head tipped back, his blinking rate increased. “Absolutely not! Our filtration media is designed to pr
opagate under conditions that exist in certain industrial applications, but typically are not found in nature.”

  “We’ve heard the Snath Group is set to do a test spray over the Kilauea Caldera in Hawai’i next week to measure the CO2 trapping success of your carbon-absorbing bacterium. Is that still on track?” Footage of the volcano filled the screen. “And can you give our viewers a primer on what it’s supposed to do?”

  “Certainly. Yes, it’s still on track. Most people don’t know that bacteria are naturally found in the clouds. We’ve just taken a natural bacterium and genetically modified it to dramatically increase CO2 absorption. It needs a certain level to stay active...”

  Anna noticed something odd. Why did your smile widen on that comment? That’s one of your tells. You grin when you have an inside joke. What did you do?

  Sven continued. “...and volcanoes and geysers emit significant concentrations of natural CO2. It is estimated that volcanoes emit 145 to 255 million tons of CO2 per year, which is 5 percent the emissions caused by burning carbon fuels and making cement. Those release about 8 billion tons. If we can reduce emissions at a large source point, we compensate for some manmade CO2 emissions.”

  “Would you just have to spray once, or would this be a continual spraying?”

  “We believe a periodic spraying will be necessary…”

  There’s that grin again.

  “…as the volcanic plume blows farther away, its CO2 concentration dissipates. We’ll need to spray near the base of the plume, but without cooking the critters.”

  “That’s very interesting. You have another product waiting for trial use, do you not?” the newscaster asked.

  “Yes, we have developed a phytoplankton we believe will dramatically increase the absorption of CO2 at the surface interface. It’s our best work.”

  Sven, why are you talking about the phytoplankton that isn’t going to be released?

  “These small plants obtain energy through photosynthesis as they wander the surface of both fresh and salt water. Our version improves upon nature to remove more CO2 – permanently.”

  “Would this phytoplankton increase acidification?”

  “No. Acidification would actually decrease, which should encourage the growth of coral reefs. We may be able to save the Maldives after all.”

  “Dr. Johansson, some scientists say the plankton will only be eaten or decompose and release the CO2 back into the atmosphere, or worse, dump methane and nitrous oxides into the air.”

  “Our phytoplankton are different,” he said. “They don’t taste good to zooplankton, their primary predator, or other sea life that eat them. They also are more stable so will collect in layers on the bottom with very little decomposition. They release only the nutrients needed by other phytoplankton. The carbon stays at the bottom. We believe about 10% would sink to the sea floor and provide long-term carbon sequestration, compared to 1% now.”

  “What will sea life eat, if not this?” The newscaster tilted her head in puzzlement.

  “There are over 5,000 different phytoplankton species. There are protistan eukaryotes, eubacterial, and archaebacterial prokaryotes. They can eat those.”

  “That is great news, Sven. When will they go into field trials?”

  “Well the UN hasn’t given us the go-ahead yet. There’s some irrational concern it might get out of control.”

  Irrational concern, Sven?! Anna blinked rapidly. And there’s that grin again. You know damn well why it isn’t authorized, and it has little to do with the UN. What are you up to? She shook her head. I should have been watching you closer.

  “We’ve received reports the Department of Sustainable Agriculture is investigating phytoplankton blooms in various oceans and seas, with the first sighting in San Francisco Bay. Is that your creation?”

  “I don’t know anything about it.”

  “Would you know who might have originated it?”

  “I’d have to study it. Know that there are many companies trying to solve global warming, and everyone knows phytoplankton is the best way.”

  “Dr. Johansson, thank you very much for your time. You must keep us posted.”

  Damn, Sven, that’s your project. Swanson’s going to have your head!

  “In related news, the UN reports fines of $134 billion were issued to oil, natural gas, and coal companies around the world that have not signed on to the low carbon agenda. This commitment includes providing a complete inventory of all their sealed oil wells, their peak wells, and their continuously producing wells. OPEC members are said to be in disagreement with the UN over the fees and fines. Some have demanded the West be first to make the commitment.

  “In national news, the US Department of Defense has just been officially renamed The Department of Global Governmental Environmental Defense (DOGGED), with the new mission of enforcing the UN mandate to reducing carbon emissions. Navy and Marine Corps training is being tailored toward boarding and inspecting offshore oil platforms. These units soon will have the capacity to shut down drilling units. Concurrently, Air Force personnel are being trained to scan for and interdict carbon fuel transporters.

  “In an interview last Tuesday, our own Bob Bryant asked the US Secretary of the Department of Sustainable Energy (DoSE) how the US will replace the energy lost from the offshore rigs.”

  The screen changed to a wood-paneled room set with a table and two chairs. The silver-haired Secretary of DoSE was on the left and a male reporter on the right.

  “…DoSE over the past 10 years has provided over $2.3 trillion in loan guarantees, grants, and research to increase the biofuel generation within our borders. We are pleased that technology has kept up with our need to reduce carbon,” the Secretary began.

  “Can you describe for our viewers some of the technology you have funded?”

  “Certainly. One of the biggest successes has been the capability to turn biomass into biofuel. New technology has allowed us to use near infrared scanning to immediately evaluate grasses and other plants for feedstock. We now have a number of catalysts, microbes, bacteria, fungi, and algae that can convert the lignin and other components in plants to starch, starch into sugar, and sugar into ethanol or similar fuels. Some drop-in technologies convert biomass directly into replacement fuels for equipment that was originally intended to operate solely on petroleum products.”

  “Where’s this being used?”

  “Bob, with the UN mandate starting last month, numerous foundations have shipped simple Snath-manufactured starter kits to hundreds of thousands of villages across the world. Included with these kits are the means of replicating the equipment so ownership belongs to the people. This technology will allow villages to create their own biofuel.”

  “And what will they use as feedstock?”

  “Any biomass they have.”

  He seems proud of that. Anna noted his affirmative nod. What happens when the biomass runs out?

  “Have there been any problems with these technologies?”

  “Not really. The biomass absorbs the CO2 out of the air, people convert it into fuel, and the fuel burns and puts some of it back into the air.”

  “Mr. Secretary, you said some of it goes back. How much, and where does the rest of it go?” the newscaster probed.

  “Well, that’s the best part. Plants absorb much of it, and fresh water and the oceans absorb more than half the rest. The ocean-absorbed CO2 feeds phytoplankton, and the detritus from plankton and from the life that eats plankton, sinks to the bottom, creating a carbon trap.”

  “So what you’re describing is an open system where we’ll lose some of the carbon over time?”

  “Yes. That’s the beauty of it. It’ll lower atmospheric and oceanic CO2 concentrations over time.”

  “Have there been other big successes?”

  “Yes, we’re able to use similar processes to create the precursor chemical components for plastics and chemicals. Pending legislation soon will require all plastics and a number of chemicals to be
derived from these biobased precursors.”

  “That’s great news indeed. Tell me, Mr. Secretary, about cement. We know DoSE has been working with companies on reducing CO2 emissions from cement manufacturing.”

  “Yes, this is part of our overall strategy to tackle CO2 from every angle. As you know, making cement for concrete requires heating crushed limestone, clay, and sand to 1,450 °C using a fuel such as coal or natural gas. This process generates a lot of carbon dioxide. One metric ton of Portland cement releases about 800 kilograms – of CO2. Globally, we use 2.8 billion metric tons of cement, which is about 5 percent of all CO2 emissions.” He paused. “An entrepreneur found a way to lock up all of that CO2 and to remove an additional 100 kilos of CO2 per metric ton of cement. With the new method, for every ton of cement made, this new process prevents the release or actually removes 800 kilos of CO2 per ton of cement from the atmosphere.”

  “That’s amazing!”

  “Yes,” the Secretary continued. “This is such a breakthrough that the UN has expropriated this technology for the benefit of all mankind…”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Secretary, did you say the UN expropriated it?”

  “Yes. UN regulations now state that any technology that can be used for the benefit of mankind belongs to the people. Intellectual property rights are suspended in these cases.”

  “Mr. Secretary...is that fair to the inventor?”

  “Let me ask you,” he said defensively. “Is it fair for the inventor to blackmail the people into paying him for ideas the planet needs to survive?”

  “I, uh, guess not…Tell me more about the cement.”

  “It changes ingredients to include magnesium compounds. Atmospheric carbon dioxide reacts with and strengthens the cement as it hardens. We’ve now mandated it for all public works contracts and incentivized its use for all commercial applications. Building codes are being rewritten, also mandating its use.”

  “Has this cement been thoroughly tested?”