As she stepped around next to the projector, she was vividly aware that the all male group was equally conscious of her sex. Her voice broke slightly as she began, and she spoke her first few introductory sentences at a low volume that scarcely carried over the faint traffic noise from the window.
“A little louder for those of us who are hard of hearing, please Dr. Danielson.”
The admonition came from Phillips, but it was delivered with a warm supportive smile. Danielson heartened and her tone strengthened. She turned on the first slide, which drew her attention away from the audience and to her subject matter. Soon she was caught up in the precise intricate web of analysis that, through her deep involvement, was an extension of her own personality.
Danielson’s reading of her small audience was largely accurate. Before she began to speak and establish some grounds for an intellectual bond, the instinctive response was to react to her as a female. Not a man in the room failed to run a glance from her softly curled hair down to trim ankles and back and say to himself, “not your standard CIA type” or variations on that theme. There was a communal embarrassment and the reinforcement of some prejudice as she began so softly, but by and large they were a sophisticated and open-minded group prepared to relate on an intellectual level. Once Danielson got involved in her subject, she commanded their attention, and a growing respect. When she reached her major point, that the seismic signal kept sidereal time, time with the stars, there was a muffled commotion of gestures and excitedly whispered comments that told Danielson that she had established the desired rapport with her audience.
When Danielson finished, Ellison Gantt spoke from his seat in the swivel chair at the desk.
“This is a very strange situation, but let me say for the information of my colleagues that Dr. Danielson seems to have a good command of the basics of seismology in general and the nature of the Large Seismic Array in particular. I’d like a chance to study the data she’s presented in more detail, but at first sight I have to concur that the signal’s a genuine one. I’ve never seen one like it. It’s certainly not the result of normal seismological activity.”
Danielson knew Gantt by reputation. She was pleased by his gesture of support.
Harvey Leems spoke up from his seat near the door. “Do you have other independent evidence of the existence of this phenomenon—something other than this seismological record, that is?”
“Yes, let me speak to that,” replied Isaacs. “The seismic data is crucial because it told us that something systematic was occurring and led us to look for corroborative evidence. That’s the other half of the story.”
He gave a quick smile and nodded at Danielson. As he rose, she took his chair that was more convenient than the sofa. The remnant state of intense nervous involvement with her own presentation persisted. Several minutes passed before she could concentrate adequately on Isaacs’ remarks. Isaacs outlined the associated sonar data and the behavior it portrayed. Whereas the seismic signal was lost in the mantle, the sonar signal proceeded along the extrapolated path to the ocean surface, disappeared for about forty seconds and then retraced its path to the ocean bottom where the seismic signal was picked up once more.
“On the basis of such data,” Isaacs continued, “about three weeks ago a Navy destroyer was sent to investigate a site of the predicted surfacings. At its first station it recorded and relayed a signal typical of the one I just described. It then took up position near a second predicted point of surfacing.”
Isaacs paused and looked around at his audience. “Our data is incomplete, but at approximately the predicted time of surfacing, the ship exploded, capsized and sank. Two hundred thirty-six of the crew were lost.”
Most of the men to whom he spoke stared down at their hands or off to various spots in the room. Only Leems and Runyan kept their eyes on Isaacs.
“There’s some evidence that the turbines exploded. There’s no proof that the sinking of the ship was related to its mission, but the circumstantial evidence and other events suggest to me that that possibility must be strongly considered.
“We have seen in hindsight that a related event probably occurred to the Soviet aircraft carrier Novorossiisk last April. It was in the Mediterranean on the trajectory Dr. Danielson described and at the right time, as nearly as we can tell. Something punctured a small hole through it vertically a few millimeters to a centimeter across and triggered extensive fire damage. There was an associated sonar signal. We suggested a meteorite, but the Soviets rejected the idea; we’re not sure why. In any case, that event began an escalating and very dangerous conflict with the Soviets. We needn’t go into that here, but to say that the Soviets mistakenly blamed us for the damage to the carrier. Besides direct physical damage, ignorance of the true nature of this phenomenon threatens us with other indirectly related, but very real perils.”
Isaacs paused and scanned around the group.
“It’s imperative that we understand this phenomenon for its intrinsic menace, and to contain this related confrontation with the Soviets.”
He looked at them again, satisfied he had made the point.
“To summarize the picture we currently have, then,” said Isaacs, “some influence moves along a line fixed in space. It travels through the Earth or the ocean where its passage can be detected with seismographs or sonar, respectively. It seems to reverse just above the Earth’s surface and then return on a parallel path. There is evidence that this influence is responsible for puncturing a hole several millimeters across through solid steel. And there is every reason to think that it is something that is an immediate threat to life and property and, indirectly, to our political stability.”
Leems had listened carefully to this extended reply to his first question and raised another.
“If this phenomenon is as dangerous as you indicate, why haven’t there been widespread reports of damage? If it really surfaces regularly, that’s about eighteen times a day somewhere on Earth.”
“I agree that’s a point of interest,” replied Isaacs, “and Dr. Danielson has had another important insight in that regard, which she just told me about this morning. We think the answer is that, for the most part, the damage is of a curiously limited nature, and the locus on the Earth’s surface passes through relatively sparsely occupied territory. You’ve noticed, I suppose, that we are very nearly on the track here in La Jolla. From San Diego the path stretches across the southwest United States, where there are few people, although it does pass through Dallas/Fort Worth. The southeast United States is also not too densely populated. The nearest big cities to the path are Macon, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, both somewhat to the north. From there the path goes across the Atlantic, intersecting Africa south of Casablanca then cutting across North Africa and into the Mediterranean. It passes through the Middle East, but again misses the big cities, going south of Haifa and Esfahan. From there it goes across Afghanistan and Pakistan and through the Himalayas. The path cuts through the heart of China, but misses major population centers. If there were incidents in the rural areas there, as for many of the other affected countries, we might very well hear nothing of it. The path intersects Nagasaki and then proceeds across the Pacific. The story is very much the same for the locus in the southern hemisphere. Lots of ocean, relatively little population density.
“So I suspect most events go unobserved, and that many that are observed go unreported. The probability of a surfacing twice in the same place is small. To any single witness it would be an isolated event with little meaning.
“What Dr. Danielson has pointed out is that the seismic signal should come up within a region of high population density occasionally, increasing the chances of observing some associated phenomena. She predicts that the trajectory of the seismic wave will intersect a position within the city of Nagasaki this coming Thursday, July 8, Japanese time. On July 26 a similar event should take place in Dallas.”
“Well, you clearly want to put some observers at those sites,” said Leems, coldly. “Aren’t you jumping the gun, talking to us now without those data?”
Isaacs stared at Leems for a long moment, then replied in an equally cool tone. “As I said, the predictions were made after this trip was scheduled. I’m hoping the events that have already transpired will give you some clue to tell us what to look for.”
“Well, what about this business of sidereal time then; what do you make of that?” asked Gantt, attempting to head off Leems’ negativism.
“That’s one of the crucial issues we would like to raise with this group,” Isaacs replied to him. “The timing seems to be so special that it must be an important clue, but we haven’t been able to utilize it. Perhaps we could get some comment now from you.” He swung his hand in invitation around the room.
“Well, Alex—what the hell?” Gantt turned to address Runyan on the sofa.
Runyan scratched his thick beard. “I’m working on it,” he replied in a testy tone overlaid with humor, picking
