the release of latent heat. Within an hour, sustained winds had dropped from 193 to 157 miles per hour at the center of the storm-a substantial reduction.
The success of the experiment earned the three scientists Nobel prizes and rejuvenated the Navy’s antiquated fleet of nuclear submarines. A new sub force, known as ‘the weather net’ was commissioned, with refueling outposts established in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and western North Pacific. Having been relegated to reduced duties thanks to the advent of space defense systems, the Navy was suddenly back in business as ‘Cyclone Killers.’
Bruce Doyle stifles another yawn as he watches Super-Cane Kenneth’s powerful vortex near the Virgin Islands. Doyle is exhausted, having kept vigil on the super-cane since the tropical cyclone’s birth ninety-seven hours earlier.
And Kenneth is becoming an absolute monster, more enormous than even Super-Cane Pamela. To make matters worse, a fire at the weather-net depot in Haiti has forced the Navy to arrange emergency shipments of MPK cryogenic nitrogen gas mix from the Port of Miami. A three-day delay in acquiring an antiquated oil tanker for transport has allowed the already dangerous Category-6 storm to intensify.
The ESMA director checks the latest information coming in from the center’s Unmanned Cyclone Aerial Lab, known as ‘UNCLE.’ Resembling a four-foot steel dart with wings, these hurricane chasers fly back and forth through the storm, transmitting data.
SUPER -CANE KENNETH 0400 GMT TUESDAY 11/22/33
LOCATION: 18.3N 53.7W
MAX. WIND: 199 MPH
GUSTING: 212 MPH
MOVING: NW AT 14 MPH
PRESSURE: 941 MB
PREDICTED U.S. LANDFALL: SATURDAY 11/26/33 13:40 HRS
DESTINATION: SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
‘Jesus…’ Bruce Doyle touches the speed dial on his cell phone. ‘Sharon, it’s me. Contact the airlines. I want you and the kids in Philly by tomorrow afternoon. Don’t argue, just plan on staying with your mother at least a week.’
31
Tuesday Night
Manny follows his brother through the indoor Japanese garden, his head still foggy from the physician’s mood inhibitor. Moonbeams peek through the atrium’s Plexiglas dome above their heads, lighting the gravel path and a shallow stream, which crosses beneath a small wooden bridge up ahead.
‘You okay?’ Jacob asks.
‘No. What is this place?’
‘I call it my refuge, it’s the only place I feel safe. This entire complex is shielded from electrostatic waves. We call it a quiet zone. It safeguards my presence from Lilith and any other Hunahpu who might be out there.’
Up ahead is a timber-framed Japanese house.
‘You’re really into this oriental stuff, aren’t you?’ Immanuel asks.
‘The concept is called Wabi and Sabi… simple quietude-elegant simplicity. I find it spiritually liberating.’
Just before the entrance, lying in the middle of the path is a grapefruit-sized stone, wrapped in hemp. Jacob picks it up and shows it to his brother. ‘The bound stone symbolizes entry into a different world. You are now entering mine.’
Immanuel follows his brother over the bridge to the open formal entranceway.
‘You see, Manny, in the traditional Japanese home, there is no clear delineation between the exterior and the interior. Instead, there’s an intermediate structure composed of a formal entranceway, a veranda, a drawing room, and a courtyard, separated by various screening devices, all of which are designed to bring nature indoors while still shielding its inhabitants from the elements.’ Jacob pauses at the raised deck to remove his shoes. ‘Please?’
Immanuel kicks off his sneakers, feeling ridiculous.
There are no formal doors or walls, only an open wooden shutter. The floors inside are made of polished bamboo, covered here and there with tatami mats. A small alcove leads to a high-ceilinged, A-framed drawing room, at the center of which are four comfortable leather chairs situated around a stone coffee table. The kitchen is immaculate, the latest appliances discreetly hidden behind a wooden bar. A step down leads to the sunken dining room, its floor covered in a violet tatami, the surrounding bamboo benches lined in matching pads. The walls are made entirely of shoji -framed paper sliding doors. Through an open partition Immanuel sees another formal garden. He hears the soothing sounds of water-the stream passing beneath the floorboards to intersect the center atrium of the house.
‘Are you hungry?’ Jacob asks.
‘Just tired.’
‘The guest room’s through here.’ Jacob pulls open a shoji, revealing a small room, at the center of which is a tatami bed. ‘Better get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.’
‘Jake, what did you mean when you said I’m the Yin to your Yang?’
‘Yin and Yang are the two fundamental forces that make up the Tao-a primal, mysterious energy that translates simply into “The Way” or “The One”. From The One comes “The Two”-the Yin and the Yang, two powerful polar forces, like the positive and negative poles of a battery. Neither is fully dominant, each in a constantly changing dynamic of push and pull, energizing and pacifying.
‘There is a saying: All things arise from the Tao, formed out of matter, shaped by their environment. Take this home for example. You are the Yin, the house itself and the earth on which it stands. Both are formed of matter. Surrounding the home is energy-the Yang-constantly in motion, unfolding the boundaries of space and time. For the last six years our home has been closed, our two energies isolated. Now the house is open, and our two energies shall interact once more, shaped by our environment, reacting to the forces at play within the universe.’
‘This whole Mayan Xibalba thing… you really believe it’s our destiny?’
‘It is the journey that we were genetically programmed to follow.’
‘Yeah, right. But you also said that humanity’s stuck in a time loop. And you mentioned we’ve made the journey before.’
‘We’ve been there, yes.’
‘So, if we’ve been there, why are we still stuck in this time loop?’
Jacob sits on the edge of the tatami bed. ‘Our last effort failed. I’m not certain why, but I believe our attack was not properly… coordinated.’
‘By failed, I take it you mean we died?’
‘Don’t worry, this time everything is different. This time our father has reached out to prepare me. I’ve also spent the last six years readying battle plans in the holographic suite. I’ve re-created and analyzed every possible attack scenario. You’ll understand once your training begins.’
‘I want to understand now.’
‘It’s late, Manny. Get some sleep, and tomorrow I’ll-’
‘Now, Jacob!’
Jacob closes his eyes, debating. ‘Computer, activate guestroom screen.’
A panel of clear smart-glass rises from a bamboo floorboard.
