Polar Shift

letters were indicators that meant the next letter was actually a number. A preceded by another letter equals 1, B equals 2 and so on.'

'You've lost me again,' Austin said. From the puzzled look on Karla's face, she was wandering around in cipher land as well.

Barrett set the computer page aside and picked up the napkin in both hands. 'This is an equation.'

'An equation for what?' Austin said.

'By itself, the message doesn't make sense, but we've got to look at it in context. Kovacs intended that the message would be seen by only one person: Karla. He said she would always have the poem when you needed it.'

'Are you saying what I think you're saying?' Austin said.

'I just figured this out a few minutes ago, so I can't be sure until I put it to the test,' Barrett said. 'But Kovacs could have given us a set of electromagnetic frequencies.'

'The antidote,' Karla whispered.

Austin gingerly picked up the napkin as if it would fall apart. 'This is the frequency that can neutralize a polar shift?'

Barrett's Adam's apple bobbed a couple of times 'Hell, I hope so,' he said.

Karla leaned over and kissed Barrett on the top of his bald head. 'You've done it.'

Barrett looked downhearted for someone who had saved the world. 'Maybe. I'm afraid we don't have much time.'

'What do you mean?' Austin said.

'After our meeting, I listened to the phone conversations transmitted by the electronic bug you planted on Gant's estate. He and Margrave talked. They've left the country by now.'

'Damn,' Austin said. 'Where did they go?'

'I don't know. Margrave never got around to telling me the plans for the final phase. But it's not where I'm worried about, but what. I think they're about to put their plans for a polar reversal into effect.'

'Any estimate on how long we have?'

'Hard to tell,' Barrett said. 'The target location is in the South Atlantic. I wasn't in on the final discussions, so I don't know the exact spot. Once they're on-site, it's only a matter of hours before they pull the switch.'

Austin handed the napkin back to Barrett. 'Can this equation be translated into something we can use to actually neutralize the reversal?'

'Sure. The same way E = mc² was translated into the Bomb and nuclear power. All you need are the resources and the time.'

'You'll get all the resources you need. How long will you need to build something that will do the job?'

'I'll need help. I provided the engineering and made the scale model for the trigger device, but others worked on the actual construction.'

'I'll get you help. How long?'

Barrett gave him a bleak smile. 'Seventy-two hours. Maybe.'

'I think I heard you say thirty-six,' Austin said. 'How big will this device be?'

'Really big,' Barrett said. 'You saw the setup on the transmitter ship.'

'Ouch,' Austin said. His unshakable confidence wavered for a second, but his agile mind was already cranking into gear. 'What do you do with this thing once you get it built?'

'It has to transmit electromagnetic waves covering roughly the same area as the polar shift.' He shook his head. 'We're going to have to figure out how to transport the neutralizer to the target area. Damn. I feel so responsible for this whole mess.'

Despite Barrett's biker appearance, he had a fragile psyche. Austin saw that guilt was tearing the brilliant computer whiz apart, and if that happened he would be of no use.

'Then I can't think of anyone who would be better at cleaning it up. Leave the transportation to me. I've got an idea that might work.'

He rose from his chair and put some bills down on the table for the beers. As they left the tavern, Austin saw Spider head toward his motorcycle and said, 'Where are you going?'

'To ride my bike.'

'I'll have someone pick it up,' Austin said, taking him by the arm. 'Too dangerous.'

Karla grabbed Barrett by the other arm, and they steered him to the Jeep. On the way back to Washington, Austin got on his cell phone, called Zavala and said he had an important job for him to do.

'I'll get right on it,' Zavala said after hearing the details. 'I talked to the Trouts. Good news. They traced the transmitter ship to Rio via satellite and are on their way.'

Less than an hour later, Austin pulled into the NUMA parking garage with Barrett and Karla and they took the elevator to the third floor. The corridors were silent and dark except for a shaft of light coming from the study next to the conference room. Zavala had brought Hibbet in as Austin had requested.

Austin said, 'Thanks for coming, Alan. Sorry for yanking you here a second time, but we need your help.'

'I meant it when I told you to call night or day if you needed me. Is there anything new since we talked the last time?'

'We've confirmed that the whirlpool and giant waves were side effects of an experiment in causing a polar reversal. And that the magnetic reversal could trigger a geologic reversal with catastrophic implications for the world.'

Hibbet's face turned ashen. 'Is there any way to stop this from happening?'

Austin's lips tightened in a thin smile. 'I'm hoping that you can tell us.'

'Me? I don't understand.'

'This is Spider Barrett,' Austin said. 'He designed the mechanism to trigger a polar reversal.'

Hibbet glanced at the sad-faced Barrett and his tattooed head. He'd been around long enough to know that the sciences attracted its share of oddballs. He extended his hand. 'Brilliant work.'

Barrett beamed at the professional recognition. 'Thanks.'

Austin sensed an instant synergy between the two men. 'We want you to work with Spider, Joe and Karla to build an antenna capable of neutralizing the low-level electromagnetic waves that are being used to create a polar shift.'

'Building the antenna won't be a problem. It's nothing but metal and wire. But you could use it to hang laundry, for all the good it would do without the correct frequencies that would act to buffer those being used to stir things up.'

Karla smiled and slipped a folded sheet of paper from her blouse. Using infinite care, she unfolded the paper and slid it across the table to Hibbet. He picked the napkin up and frowned as he read the equation written on it. Then the light of understanding dawned in his eyes.

'Where did you get this?' he said in a whisper.

'My grandfather,' Karla said.

'Karla's grandfather was Lazlo Kovacs,' Austin said. 'He encoded his work before he passed it down. Thanks to Spider, we've figured it out. Now that we've done all the hard work, can you build us an antenna?'

'Yes,' Hibbet said. 'At least, I think I can.'

'That's good enough for us. Tell us what you need. You've got all the resources of the U.S. government behind you.'

Hibbet laughed and shook his head. 'That's a lot better than dealing with the NUMA bean counters. You don't know the trouble I've had trying to buy experimental equipment.' He paused in thought. 'Even if I can whip something together, we'll still need a platform to carry it to where it would do the most good.'

'How big would this contraption be?' Austin said.

'Big,' Hibbet said. 'Then you'd need the generators to power the antenna. And a way to transport something that weighs tons.'

'That's the bad news,' Austin said.