Polar Shift (NUMA Files 6)

Margrave leaned forward in his chair. His eyes burned with smoldering intensity.

"You know why I feel so passionate about this enterprise."

"Guilt. You want to atone for the Margraves who built up your family fortune on the blood of slaves and opium addicts."

Margrave shook his head.

"My ancestors were small-time compared to what we're facing. We're battling a concentration of power that is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Nothing can rival the multinational corporations that are taking over the world with the help of the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF. These unelected, undemocratic entities ignore civilized laws and do anything they want, no matter what impact it has on everyone else. I want to reclaim power over the earth for its inhabitants."

"Spoken like a classic anarchist," Barrett said. "I'm with you, but killing innocent people doesn't seem to be the way to do it."

"I am truly sorry about the loss of those ships and their crew. It's unfortunate, but it couldn't be helped. We're not bloodthirsty or crazy. If we pull this thing off, that ship is a small price to pay. Some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good."

"The end justifies the means?"

If necessary.

"Thank you, Mr. Karl Marx."

"Marx was a charlatan, an overblown theorist."

"This project is based upon some pretty unconventional theories, you'll have to admit. Marxism was only a half-baked idea before Lenin read Das Kapital and turned Russia into the workingman's paradise."

"This is a fascinating discussion, but let's get back to something we both agree on. Technology. When we started this gig, you said you could keep a rein on all the power we're unleashing."

"I also told you it would be an imperfect system without the proper frequencies," Barrett said. "I've done the best I could without those numbers, but there's a big difference between a rifle shot and a shotgun blast, which is what we're using. The waves and gyres we created far exceed anything we saw in the computer models." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of pulling out, Tris. What we're doing is too dangerous."

"You can't pull out. The project would go down the drain."

"That's not true. You could plunge ahead on the basis of the work I've done. As your friend, I'm urging you not to continue."

Instead of reacting with anger, Margrave laughed. "Hey, Spider, you're the one who discovered the Kovacs Theorems and brought them to my attention."

"Sometimes I wish I hadn't. The man was brilliant, his theories dangerous. It may have been a blessing that his knowledge died with him."

"If I told you Kovacs had come up with a way to neutralize the effect of his theorems, would you reconsider your decision to leave the project?"

"Having a fail-safe option would make a big difference. But it's a moot point. The knowledge died with Kovacs at the end of World War Two."

A sly look came into Margrave's eyes. "Pretend, for the sake of discussion, that he didn't die."

"Not a chance. His lab got overrun by the Russians. He was killed or captured."

"If he was captured, why didn't the Russians expand on his work and make superweapons?"

"They tried to," Barrett said. "They caused the Anchorage earthquake and screwed up the weather." He paused, and light dawned in his eyes. "If the Russians had Kovacs, they would have done better. So he must have died in 1944."

"That's the common assumption."

"Wipe that smug grin off your face. You know something, don't you?"

"The story was true, as far as it went," Margrave said. "Kovacs publishes the paper about electromagnetic warfare. The Germans kidnap him to develop a weapon that will save the Third Reich. The Russians capture the lab and take the scientists back to Russia. But one of those German scientists left Russia after the Cold War ended. I located him. Cost me a fortune in bribes and payoffs."

"Are you telling me he had the data we need?"

"I wish it were that easy. The project was strictly compartmentalized. The Germans held the Kovacs family hostage. He held back crucial data hoping to keep his family alive."

"Makes sense," Barrett said. "If the Germans were aware there was an antidote to his work, they would no longer need him."