The Carbon Trap (The Carbon Series Book 1)

by Randy Dutton

  “Yes, probably the biggest player. But there are many others.”

  “And the Maldives issue?”

  “Was to protect part of the plan to deceive the world about global warming. But that’s just a tiny piece of a much larger puzzle. Global warming fearmongering is the means to an end.” She pursed her lips.

  “The end being, what exactly?”

  “Elimination of personal freedom, private property, and the Rule of Law. They replace them with global control of the human population, of all resources and distribution, and the Rule of Man.”

  His eyes widened at the revelation. “Will you ever tell me everything you’ve done in this game?”

  “No!” She was resolute. “That’s for your own safety, and for mine. Quite frankly, some of what I’ve done now sickens me.”

  Her eyes crinkled into a teasing smile. “Pete? You’ve infected me.”

  Pete looked at her questioningly.

  She laughed. “With morality, silly. Because of you, I think my idealistic adolescent conscience is returning. You’re my guardian angel.”

  He smiled at the acknowledgement, but his eyes stayed narrowed. “I sense there’s more. Is there?” He lifted her hands, which drew her nearer.

  She sighed sadly. “Yes. I think they’re after me.”

  Alarmed, Pete asked, “Who?”

  “The Russian mob.” She looked at him with pleading eyes when he pulled back.

  “My God, how do you know?”

  “That’s hard to explain without telling you what I’ve been doing. First, I was warned by an acquaintance about them, and I bugged out when I spotted two of their enforcers looking for me. That’s the bad news.”

  “There’s good news?” He was incredulous.

  “They’re looking for someone else, or, shall I say, another character I was playing.”

  “Not, Catwoman, I hope.” His smile reappeared.

  “No, not Catwoman.” She chuckled in response. “This one is more…gothic. But they may have a non-goth surveillance photo from a hotel that may or may not be traceable to me. I kept my face hidden, my hair darker, and my identity different. And I’ve destroyed the outfits.”

  “You sound like a CIA spy.”

  “Nothing so formal. My training was more personal, and not encumbered with…ethics.”

  “We’ll figure something out. Gads, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you so much. Let’s go back to the house and have something to eat. We’ll keep our conversation private. Don’t say anything that makes you uncomfortable. The women in my family have been known to interrogate my dates. We’ll talk to my dad. He’s coming by helicopter within the next couple hours.”

  With her head against his shoulder and their arms entwined, they slowly walked back to the house.

  Chapter 62

  August 1, 1400 hours

  Snath Genetics, South San Francisco

  Jared walked in to Sven’s office. This was something Sven had neither anticipated, nor desired.

  “Sven, you’ve been real quiet since the unveiling,” Jared said with an accusatory tone.

  “Hello, to you too, Jared. Welcome.”

  “Right.” Jared retorted dismissively.

  “I’ve sent in the progress reports. What’s wrong?”

  “Swanson thinks you’re preoccupied with something outside normal business. He’d like to know what it is.” Jared’s eyes were scanning the very sterile office for clues.

  “Just monitoring production rates of the carbon sequestration products.”

  “Sure you are,” Jared said sarcastically. With a steely gaze he added, “He wants a full report, and for it to include the phytoplankton project.”

  “Okay, when shall I send it?” Sven replied nonchalantly, concealing his nervousness.

  “You’ll bring it to him personally in Monaco...on the fourth.”

  For a moment Sven was excited with the thought of seeing Anna again, until Jared added, “He also wants to know if you know Anna’s whereabouts.”

  “Why, no. I haven’t heard from her in weeks. I haven’t seen her since the end of June when she took me to the airport. Has something happened to her?”

  Jared noticed Sven’s sincere concern. “So she’s not been in contact with you by any means?”

  “Not at all. I figure she was at her Black Hat thing.”

  “She disappeared halfway through.”

  “She must have had a good reason.”

  “You’ll call me immediately if you hear from her, or about her…won’t you?!” Jared demanded.

  “Absolutely.” Sven responded with more confidence than he felt.

  Jared exited Sven’s office.

  Sven craned his neck to watch which direction his uninvited visitor would take.

  Damn. Jared swung right, towards the production facility, not out the front door. He’s suspicious. That means Swanson’s suspicious. Must be the news reports of the plankton blooms. I’ve got to create a backup story. Will he notice the lack of employees in the key areas? Or, because he’s European, will he assume everyone takes August off?

  Sven flipped open his cell phone. “Eric? Where are you?”

  “At the control board...Do you need me?”

  “Someone’s coming your way and I need you to avoid him! Jared just left my office, and is fast on his feet. He’s very tall and rather mean-looking. He’s looking for evidence, and may suspect what we’ve done. Turn off the monitor and get the hell out of there. See me in the morning.”

  “I’m out of here!” Eric ended the phone call and moved towards a back exit.

  Sven stepped out his office and walked around the production area to intercept Jared. I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t pick up any clues.

  “I see these are empty, and…chlorinated. Why?” Jared was looking at the empty phytoplankton growing vats.

  “Chemical sterilization’s standard in this business. If we left phytoplankton in there and didn’t need them, they would settle to the bottom and be more difficult to clean.”

  “Uh huh. So you did what with the phytoplankton Swanson told you not to commercialize?”

  “We…I got rid of them. Chlorine’s good for killing plankton.”

  “I bet it is,” Jared said flatly. His eyes locked onto Sven’s. “You were so adamant about wanting to push the plankton solution, then stopped suddenly. Why?”

  “Too much on my plate. I firmly believe it’s the best solution to reduce global CO2”—Jared was sneering—“but I just don’t want to get in an argument with Swanson. So I’ve dropped it for the time being.”

  “That’s out of character for you, Sven.”

  “Let’s just say I know when to back down.”

  “Are these phytoplankton blooms your doing?”

  Sven shook his head. “Must be a competitor’s.”

  “We’ll see you, noon on August 4th, Monaco. Got it?!” Jared said brusquely.

  “Got it,” Sven replied. God, that is one spooky dude.

  Chapter 63

  August 1, 1200 hours

  Heyward Ranch, Denton, TX

  Lunch was set up on the back porch. A radio was playing music and, as the noon hour arrived, so did the news broadcast.

  Pete and Anna had just sat down together, Paula was getting her kids settled in, and Irma had just brought out more iced tea.

  “This is a bit of a ritual,” Pete explained to Anna. “We listen to the news together.”

  “Why?” Anna was somewhat perplexed.

  “Anna, we’re news junkies!” Paula chimed in. “We listen to the craziness of the world then try to explain it.”

  “And if you can’t explain it?”

  Paula chuckled. “Then we research it, dissect it, debate it, and then lampoon it.”

  Anna lightly laughed. “It actually sounds like fun.”

  “Let’s just say we never get bored, do we Mom?”

  “No, Dear,” Irma said as she was dishing some food onto a child’s plate.

&
nbsp; “One rule though, Anna,” Paula said with a smile, “No one takes offense from anything anyone else says. At the end of the day, we’re still family.”

  “I like that!” Anna wrapped her arm around Pete’s and leaned into him.

  He kissed her on the cheek. “I told you, we have a close family. This is what normal is.”

  Irma gave the couple her maternal stare, then added adamantly, “But we don’t debate politics during dinner. It’s not good for the digestion.”

  Pete grinned. “Mom rules...just ask Dad.”

  Everyone but Irma broke up laughing.

  Paula turned up the radio. The commercial about a chili brand with a lower carbon footprint had just ended.

  “Tried that chili once, stuff’s awful...no taste,” Paula commented.

  “This is Jill Brent of Global Heartbeat Network. Today is August 1st, and this is the news. We lead this broadcast with a surprise joint announcement this morning by Russia and the United States. Standing side-by-side, the Presidents of Russia and the United States announced the selling of Alaska to Russia for $1.1 trillion.

  Everyone put their forks down to listen carefully.

  “Standing in front of the White House with the leaders of both houses of Congress, President Fernandez said that the sale was narrowly approved in a secret meeting of both Houses last night. The Sell Alaska Bill passed on a partisan vote. President Fernandez joyfully proclaimed the revenue from the sale will help America pay for the carbon dioxide reduction program currently underway. To allay environmentalists’ concerns, President Fernandez assured his supporters that Russia has promised not to use its territorial expansion for carbon-based fuel development. The President went further to support the Russian pronouncement to rename the Arctic Ocean to the Russian Ocean, as the vast majority of that coastline now belongs to Russia.

  “This enhances Russia’s territorial claim of the North Pole. In dissent, the governments of Canada, Greenland, and Norway were prompt in denouncing this name change and the territorial claim on the North Pole.”

  “Oh my lord…” Irma said.

  Pete gave her the quiet sign so they could hear the details.

  As the announcement continued, Pete noticed Anna wasn’t not nearly as shocked as was everyone else. He mouthed a silent, Did you know?

  She gently nodded.

  A State Department official explained, “The Sell Alaska Bill makes the US responsible for the repatriation and reimbursement of all Alaskan citizens who want to relocate to any one of the remaining states, during any time over the next two years. The effective territorial transfer date is January first.

  “Russian President Matfey Lavrenty proudly welcomed those Alaskans who want to stay in Alaska to live and work. He promised they would have self-administrated autonomy for 50 years, except in matters of education, economics, state resources, law enforcement, judicial, and military affairs....”

  “That’s pretty much everything!” Paula said.

  Pete grimaced at the news while Irma looked downright disgusted.

  The news continued. “Private property rights would be respected except for land and weapons, and all mineral rights would be ceded to Russia. And while Russia would own the land, current residents may, on a case-by-case basis, be able to lease the land upon which their houses are situated. All weapons would be confiscated as a condition of staying in Alaska, with special permits available to those with special needs.”

  Pete mouthed the words, Swanson? Anna nodded with a grimaced expression.

  Irma stared at the radio but occasionally looked back, observing the silent communication between her son and his mystery woman.

  “President Fernandez made a second announcement that would satisfy the desires of many Americans. In the same secret session of Congress, and immediately following the Sell Alaska Bill vote, Washington D.C. was declared a state, effective immediately upon the official transfer of Alaska. This, President Fernandez said, ‘was to provide equality to the District’s citizenry, and to keep our flag at 50 stars.’ In a show of solidarity, the Democratic National Committee hailed the move.

  “In related news, 200,000 members of the US Ready Reserve Force were mobilized yesterday, apparently in anticipation of the Congressional action selling Alaska. This morning, massive protests erupted throughout the United States. Units of the RRF were on the scene and quickly rounded up protest leaders and those refusing to disband. The Department of Homeland Security announced that over 12,000 protesters had been arrested and they intend on prosecuting the protest leaders under domestic terrorism laws that have only recently been enacted. There was no report of violence, but witnesses said many of the crowds were extremely angry.

  “In other international news, food riots continue for their second month throughout Africa and Asia. Some reports are surfacing of thefts of biofuel feedstock meant to be used in authorized biofuel reactors, being instead used in homemade biofuel reactors roughly copied from the Snath Group design. Modified designs are proliferating on the Internet in violation of the UN Internet content control laws.

  “Now a word from our sponsor.”

  Pete turned down the radio. “So progressives are ensuring we can’t tap resources worth several times the value of the sale. This will be an economic disaster.”

  “I never thought they would negotiate away the basic freedoms.” Anna’s brow furrowed.

  “Dear, this government doesn’t think beyond the next election. It will fritter away everything the people have, just to pad their own nests,” Irma said.

  Paula was helping her kids with their lunches and shrugged. “I wonder what will be left for the children.”

  Pete turned the radio back up.

  “In agricultural news, the UN DoSA reported a slight decline in cereal crop production for July. Farm bureaus claim fuel constraints interfered with harvesting, and fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides are in limited supply.

  “The Farm Bureau criticized what they called government-induced shortages of natural gas that would further affect productivity. And the new taxes imposed upon nitrates will cause a reduction in winter crop plantings.

  Irma looked at Pete. “Son, what’s natural gas got to do with farming?”

  “It’s a component used to make nitrogen-based fertilizer, also for drying grain, Mom.”

  Irma nodded.

  “In related news, the Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday the Farm Bureau had lost its tax-exempt status, and was looking at the records of individual officials.

  “In carbon news, oil prices spiked another 10% for the month, as inventories were drawn down. Rationing is increasing, and lawsuits claiming breach of contract are up 520% over last year.

  “The UN Carbon Commission has ordered all oil and gas companies around the world to open up for inspections of all their old and current bore holes.”

  Irma interrupted, “Hmm, your father’s not going to be in good mood this evening.”

  Paula, Pete, and Anna exchanged telling glances.

  “Mom, he’s actually coming home early. Should here be in a couple hours.”

  “You’ll want to listen to this,” Anna whispered.

  “Concern has arisen that some companies have kept some of these bore holes classified. Industry insiders say recently, computer hackers have been accessing databases and revealing archival information about older fields that environmentalists fear might someday be put back into production. The UN is expected to soon mandate the permanent sealing of these boreholes, using a new biological sealant.”

  Anna’s hand tightly gripped Pete’s leg at that last announcement.

  “The UN Secretary General stated yesterday that there will be a period of adjustment as suppliers ramp up production of the new biomass reactors. The Snath microbes, which are the heart of the reaction for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, are proving to be extremely adaptable in converting most forms of biomass to fuel. Reports are coming out that black market trading of the microbes is accelerating
the adoption of home-based fuels. Globally, the widespread theft of sheet metal, tubing, pumps, and plastics is attributed to people making their own bioreactors.”

  As the newscast continued, Pete interrupted. “You know, about one fourth of all land-based biomass is used to provide food, shelter, and heat. Switching to biomass for fuel and chemical feedstock is going to dramatically increase that percentage. This is going to have major ramifications on our environment.”

  “Who stands to benefit?” Paula asked.

  “Well some say the ‘Gene Giants’ and ‘Big Box Breeders.’”

  Irma wrinkled her nose. “The what?”

  “The big biotech firms that patented the genetic code to grow plants under abiotic...sorry, environmental stress. And the agriculture firms that grow the proprietary seed from genetic code benefit. These companies are supported by the philanthro-capitalists such as...”

  He glanced at Anna, her lips were tightly pressed, then to his mother. “Alexis Swanson.... But many politicians, with their hands in the till, also benefit.”

  Anna conspicuously was not commenting.

  Pete added, “Much of the biomass that will be consumed in the process is in the southern hemisphere, and their corrupt politicians will sell their people in return for bribes.”

  “...A Snath representative reportedly called for the UN Carbon Commission to enforce their proprietary rights to the microbe and to the bioreactor design. He has been told by the governing board that the overriding interest is to meet societal equity demands. To compensate for the loss of revenue, the UN will pay a one-time $10 billion royalty to Snath Group. It has been widely reported that the basic design is being copied across all continents with modifications to fit available construction material. One report claims to have a bootleg bioreactor in McMurdo Station in Antarctica, though it is unclear what feedstock they’re using.”

  “Think it’s penguin poop?” Pete whispered to Anna but not quietly enough. She smiled and elbowed Pete.

  Irma frowned at the term.

  “In related news, Snath Group announced today they would not be releasing its much-anticipated carbon-sequestering phytoplankton. When asked to comment, Dr. Sven Johansson said an administrative detail had to be resolved. No further answer was given—”