Polar Shift

'Far. They concentrated on the land rather than the sky, and created some earthquakes. After the big Alaskan quake, this country retaliated. We caused some nifty floods and droughts in Russia. That was all small potatoes.'

'Floods and quakes hardly seem minor occurrences,' Gamay said.

'That was only the warm-up. Scientists from both countries discovered about the same time that the combined force from their experiments could cause major changes in the earth's electromagnetic field. A top secret meeting between the two countries was held on a remote island in the Bering Sea. Scientists and government officials attended. Both countries were presented with evidence showing the serious consequences of further experimentation using the Kovacs Theorems.'

'How do you know all this if it was so secret?' Gamay said.

'Simple. I was one of the participants. We agreed to end research and get back to lesser evils, such as nuclear warfare.'

'It's hard to believe there is something worse than a nuclear holocaust,' Gamay said, raising an eyebrow.

'Believe it.' Frobisher leaned forward in his chair and lowered his voice from habit, as if he thought that the room was bugged. 'Keeping the secret was considered of such consequence that a security apparatus was set up in each country. Anyone who became too inquisitive or knowledgeable about Kovacs and his work was discouraged or, if necessary, eliminated.'

'Then the Kovacs Society wasn't formed as a cover for a poker game?' Trout said.

Frobisher smiled. 'That story usually turns most people off. No, the Kovacs Society was formed here as part of the setup. The reasoning was that it would be a first stop for someone interested in his work. If you had wandered in here a few years ago asking questions that crossed a certain threshold, I would have made a telephone call and you would have disappeared. You're lucky the unit was disbanded a few years ago.'

'What happened?' Trout said.

'Budget cuts,' Frobisher said with a smirk. 'Loss of institutional memory. The few people who were acquainted with the agreement died, taking the secret to the grave. No one was around to support the budget item, so it was cut. As time went on, Kovacs and his work faded into the woodwork. Like Nikola Tesla, Kovacs has become a cult figure of the conspiracy nuts, only lesser known. Most of the people who stop by here are crazies, like one guy who had a spider tattooed on his scalp. The more serious-minded are put off by my Froby act.'

'It's a very good act,' Gamay said.

'Thanks. I was beginning to believe it myself. I've been a one-man gatekeeper, fending people off when they get too nosy.'

'You talked about worldwide consequences from the electromagnetic manipulation,' Trout said.

Frobisher nodded. 'What scared everyone was the possibility that the electromagnetic manipulation would cause a shift of the earth's poles.'

'Is that possible?' Gamay said.

'Oh yes. Let me explain. The earth's electromagnetic field is created by the spinning of the outer crust around the solid part of the inner core. Scientists at Leipzig University developed a model that showed the earth as a gigantic dynamo. The heavy metals and liquid magma of the inner-core electromagnet are the clutch. The lighter metals at the crust are the windings. The planet's poles are determined by the electromagnetic charge. The magnetic poles are the result of vortices deep in the molten core. The magnetic poles tend to wander. Navigators take this phenomenon into account all the time. If one pole declines in strength, you might see an actual reversal of the magnetic north and south poles.'

'What would be the effect of a magnetic pole shift?' Gamay said.

'Disruptive, but short of catastrophic. Power grids would be knocked out. Satellites rendered useless. Compasses confused. Atmospheric holes might be punched in the ozone, causing long-term health problems from solar radiation bursts. You'd see the aurora borealis farther south. Migrating birds and animals would be disoriented.'

'You're right about a polar shift being disruptive,' Gamay said.

'Yes, but it would be nothing compared to the effects of a geological polar shift.'

As a deep-ocean geologist, Trout knew exactly what Frobisher was talking about. 'You're talking about actual movement of the crust over the inner core rather than a change in the earth's electromagnetic field.'

'Precisely. The solid part of the earth moves over the liquid part.

There's evidence that it has happened before, caused by a natural event like a passing comet.'

'I'm a deep-ocean geologist,' Trout said. 'A comet is one thing. I find it hard to envision that man-made machinations could cause major physical changes.'

'This is why the work of Kovacs was so important.'

'In what way?'

Frobisher rose and paced back and forth a couple of times in the small room to gather his thoughts, then stopped and made a rotating motion with his forefinger.

'This is different. Electromagnetism runs the whole universe. The earth is charged up like a huge electromagnet. Changes in the field can cause a shift in polarity, as we discussed a few minutes ago. But there's another effect, which Kovacs homed in on in his research. Matter oscillates between the stages of matter and energy.'

Trout nodded in understanding. 'What you're saying is that by changing the electromagnetic field of the planet, it is possible to change the location of matter on the earth's surface.'

'That might explain the ocean disturbances,' Gamay added.

Frobisher snapped his fingers and smiled in triumph. 'Give that man and woman each a cigar.'

'What would happen with a land shift?' Gamay said.

Frobisher's smile vanished. 'The forces of inertia would react to the shift of matter. The waters in the world's oceans and lakes would be jerked in a different direction, pounding the coastline, causing massive floods. All electrical devices would fail. We'd have hurricanes and tornadoes of unheard-of force. The earth's crust would break open, causing huge earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and massive lava flows. Climate changes would be drastic and long-lived. Radiation sickness from solar rays penetrating the earth's magnetic field would kill millions.'

'You're talking a catastrophe of major proportions,' Gamay said.

'No,' Frobisher said, his voice almost a whisper. 'I'm talking about nothing less than the end of all living matter. The end of the world.'

On the drive back to Albuquerque to catch their flight home, it was Trout's turn to be silent.

'A penny for your thoughts,' Gamay said. 'Adjusted for inflation, of course.'

Trout came out of his trance. 'I was just thinking about Roswell, New Mexico, where the UFO supposedly crashed.'

'Maybe we can go there another time. My head is still spinning with conspiracy theories after listening to our friend Froby.'

'What was your take on him?'

'He was either entertainingly eccentric or frighteningly sane.'

'That was my opinion as well, which was what got me thinking about Roswell. Some of the UFO enthusiasts say that after the incident, the president appointed a high-ranking board of scientists and government officials to look into the matter and cover it up. The group was called MJ12.'

'Sounds familiar. Are you thinking that the parallels with what we heard might be too close?'

'Maybe, but there's one way to confirm what he said one way or the other.'

'How is that?'

A plain-bound pamphlet was lying on the car's console between the two seats. Frobisher had given it to them, explaining that Kovacs had printed this single copy of the mathematical underpinnings of his controversial theorems. The booklet contained page after yellowed page of equations. Trout picked the publication up off the console and said, 'Lazlo Kovacs couldn't test his theorems. But we can.'

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