jdavid.footprintsofthunder-第46章

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y　faster　I　mean　in　terms　of　time　and　space。　The　faster　later　waves　from　the　sixty　megaton　warheads　would　eventually　catch　the　waves　in　front　of　it。〃
　〃And　pass　it；〃　the　President　offered。
　〃Let's　assume　for　now　they　merge　to　form　a　larger　wave。　When　the　smaller　waves　contact　each　other　you　pick　up　some　frogs　here；　apples　there；　chunks　of　ice　in　the　antarctic；　water　off　of　lakes　and　oceans；　possibly　the　heat　of　a　blast　furnace　in　Pittsburgh。　In　the　future　frogs　and　ice　fall　from　the　sky　and　people　and　buildings　burst　into　flame；　all　events　that　have　been　recorded。　Now　picture　several　of　these　waves　merging　into　two　larger　waves　。　。　。　two　superwaves。　What　would　happen　when　two　superwaves　contact？〃
　Nick　paused；　and　let　the　idea　sink　in。　There　was　silence　around　the　table；　although　Gogh　was　scribbling　furiously　on　a　yellow　tablet。　After　Elizabeth　whispered　again；　the　President　had　a　question。
　〃It　takes　two　waves；　you　said。　The　other　wave　es　from　Soviet　testing？〃
　〃Yes；　sir。　The　model　assumes　a　Soviet　wave　and　a　U。S。　wave　meeting。　I　have　some　people　working　on　contact　points　using　French；　Chinese；　and　British　waves；　but　their　programs　may　have　been　insufficient　in　terms　of　frequency　and　megatonage　to　create　the　effect。〃
　Admiral　Chelsea　asked　the　question　Nick　had　expected　Gogh　to　ask。
　〃Some　of　those　dates　you　had　up　there　were　before　the　first　bomb　was　ever　tested。　How　do　you　account　for　that？〃
　〃Two　ways。　First　we　assume　that　the　time　wave　travels　in　both　directions；　forward　and　back。　We've　tried　to　fit　the　earlier　events　to　the　model；　and　some　events　are　when　and　where　they　should　be；　but　there　is　little　accurate　data　to　work　with。　The　best　data　we　have　from　before　the　turn　of　the　century　is　more　than　two　thousand　years　old；　but　it　too　isn't　specific　enough。　A　second　possibility　would　be　natural　events。　Mount　Saint　Helens　exploded　with　the　equivalent　of　ten　kilotons；　and　there　are　other　more　powerful　explosions　in　history…Krakatoa；　the　Siberian　explosion；　Pompeii。　They　aren't　regular　enough　to　produce　a　superwave　but　perhaps　could　have　bined　to　produce　some　events。〃
　The　room　filled　with　silence；　the　only　sound　the　hum　of　the　fluorescent　lights。　Then　Gogh　started　scribbling　on　his　notepad　again。　Others　around　the　table　started　asking　questions；　and　Nick　handled　each　of　them　within　the　parameters　of　the　theory。　Then　the　President　asked　the　question　he　was　dreading。
　〃Dr。　Paulson；　how　did　you　e　up　with　this　theory　and　these　programs　in　so　little　time？〃
　〃I　didn't；　sir。　Colonel　Conrad　and　Dr。　Roberts　obtained　the　puter　models；　and　Sergeant　Yamamoto　helped　decipher　them。〃　Grinning；　Yamamoto　waved　his　hand　at　the　mention　of　his　name。
　〃Who　created　the　original　program？〃
　As　Nick　started　into　the　story　of　the　hostages；　the　I…5　mountain；　and　how　a　college　kid　and　some　mysterious　group　of　friends　in　Oregon　had　predicted　the　end　of　the　world；　he　watched　for　reactions；　knowing　that　some　would　judge　his　theory　on　its　source　and　not　its　merits。　He　decided　partway　through　not　to　mention　Zorastrus　yet；　or　his　predictions。　This　group　was　more　likely　to　put　its　faith　in　technology；　not　in　the　analytical　abilities　of　an　ancient　scientist。　At　some　point　Gogh　stopped　scribbling　and　began　listening。　The　President's　eyebrows　raised　when　Nick　mentioned　Kenny's　current　mental　state。　Nick　quickly　added　the　fact　that　a　psychologist　had　been　with　him　in　the　cave　and　on　the　trip　to　Washington。
　〃Dr。　Roberts；〃　the　President　asked；　turning　toward　the　psychologist；　〃is　Kenny　Randall　insane？〃
　Nick　watched　as　Dr。　Roberts　rose　shakily　to　his　feet。　He　was　pale　and　perspiring　and　his　voice　wavered。
　〃Kenny　is　in　a　catatonic　state。　However；　the　psychosis　is　reactive；　not　chronic；　and　there　is　a　good　chance　he　will　recover。　But　what　I　think　you　are　really　asking　is　whether　this　theory　is　real　or　the　product　of　a　delusional　mind。　My　best　professional　judgment　is　that　Kenny's　condition　resulted　from　two　factors：　the　knowledge　that　something　terrible　was　going　to　happen；　and　the　inability　to　get　anyone　to　believe　him。　He　was　sane　when　he　began　this　work。　We　don't　know　anything　about　his　friends　yet；　but　we　assume　they　all　couldn't　have　been　insane。〃
　Nick　paused；　studying　the　President's　face。　He　looked　unconvinced。　Nick　had　only　one　other　card　to　play；　and　it　looked　like　this　was　the　time。
　〃Sir；　what　has　happened　was　predicted…but　not　by　those　psychics　Ms。　Hawthorne　rounded　up。　It　was　predicted　by　a　man　called　Zorastrus　。　。　。〃
　〃The　Prophet　of　Babylon；〃　the　President　said；　surprising　Nick　and　the　others　at　the　table。
　〃Yes；　sir。　Even　in　his　day　things　did　fall　from　the　sky；　or　strange　animals　appeared。　He　documented　them　and　measured　the　time　between　events。　He　knew　something　would　happen；　and　he　predicted　it；　unfortunately　he　was　executed　before　he　could　finish　his　calculations；　otherwise　we　might　have　had　some　warning。〃
　Nick　paused　again；　waiting　for　some　response　from　the　President。　When　it　came；　it　surprised　him。
　〃I　know　of　Zorastrus；　but　I　never　connected　his　prophecies　with　what　has　happened。　It　gives　the　theory　a　certain　credibility。〃
　〃I'm　not　so　sure；〃　Gogh　interrupted。　〃Time　displacement　is　not　a　part　of　any　theory　I've　heard　of；　ancient　or　modern。　Time　travel　has　been　speculated　on；　but　the　conditions　for　time　travel　are　not　met　in　this　instance。〃　As　he　habitually　did；　Gogh　talked　only　to　the　President；　then　occasionally　remembered　others　were　present　and　made　a　quick　head　sweep　to　include　them。　The　President　seemed　interested　in　Gogh's　opinion　and　encouraged　him　with　a　nod。
　〃Time　travel　can　be　acplished　in　only　two　ways；　neither　of　which　is　practical。　One　way　is　to　travel　through　a　wormhole；　but　wormholes　exist　only　at　the　center　of　black　holes；　since　they　require　conditions　of　infinite　density　and　gravity　to　warp　space。〃　Gogh　waved　his　hand　as　if　to　sweep　the　idea　away。　〃The　second　theory　of　travel　in　time　involves　cosmic　strings…　infinitesimal　thin　strings　of　pure　energy　left　over　from　the　big　bang。　These　strings　would　need　to　have　a　density　of　a　thousand　trillion　tons　of　mass　in　each　cubic　inch。　Two　such　strings　moving　past　each　other　would　warp　space/time　and　allow　an　object；　say　a　spaceship；　to　loop　around　the　nearer　string　and　arrive　in　the　past　of　the　farther　string。　You　may　or　may　not　understand　the　theory　underlying　what　I　am　saying；　but　you　can　note　that　none　of　the　conditions　for　time　travel　are　met　with　Dr。　Paulson's　theory。〃
　〃Dr。　Gogh；〃　Nick　cut　in；　〃there　is　a　mon　thread　in　your　time　travel　theories。　Both　theories　require　dense　matter；　either　a　black　hole　or　a　cosmic　string。　An　uncontrolled　fusion　event　does　condense　matter。　Some　have　theorized　that　such　explosions　create　black　holes。〃
　〃There　is　insufficient　mass　to　create　a　black　hole。〃
　〃There　is　insufficient　mass　to　create　a　cosmic　black　hole；　but　what　mass　there　is　may　be　condensed　to　a　level　similar　to　that　of　a　black　hole　or　a　cosmic　string。　You　need　a　black　hole　for　a　wormhole；　but　this　is　something　short　of　a　plete　breakdown　of　the　laws　of　physics。　There　may　be　other　effects　produced　by　dense　matter。〃
　〃Dr。　Paulson；　if　such　effects　were　possible　then　cosmic　explosions；　say　a　supernova；　should　produce　these　time　waves。　We　have　no　evidence　of　such　effects。　And　what　of　the　big　bang　itself？　Shouldn't　it　have　produced　such　a　wave？〃
　〃Dr。　Gogh；　I　think　the　evidence　is　there　。　。　。　has　been　there。　We　just　didn't　have　a　theory　that　properly　accounted　for　it。　For　example；　take　the　lumpy　universe　problem　and　the　problem　of　missing　mass。〃　Nick　paused　and　saw　the　President　and　the　rest　of　the　council　staring　at　him　blankly。　He　turned　to　the　President　and　tried　to　explain　in　simple　terms。
　〃The　big　bang　theory　hypothesizes　that　at　the　beginning　of　time；　all　matter　was　collected　。　。　。　existed　in　a　state　so　dense　that　the　laws　of　physics　as　we　know　them　would　have　no　meaning。　Then；　for　a　reason　we　cannot　know；　this　mass　exploded；　creating　the　universe　as　we　know　it。　If　we　accept　a　big　bang　beginning；　we　explain　much　of　what　we　observe　in　our　universe；　like　the　intense　background　radiation；　and　the　expanding　nature　of　the　universe。　But　the　big　bang　theory　has　weaknesses。　One　of　these　is　the　problem　of　missing　mass。　One　version　of　the　big　bang　theory　hypothesizes　that　the　expansion　of　the　universe　is　slowing　and　that　gravity　will　eventually　pull　all　matter　back　together。　The　problem　is　that　there　is　insufficient　mass　for　either　the　big　bang　to　have　occurred；　or　for　the　universe　to　pull　itself　together　again；　and　we　can't　find　the　missing　mass。〃
　〃There　is　dark　mass…〃　Gogh　began；　but　Nick　cut　him　off；
　〃Yes；　Dr。　Gogh；〃　Nick　said　turning　back　toward　Gogh。　〃But　even　that　is　insufficient。〃　Nick　turned　again　to　the　President。　〃The　second　difficulty　with　the　big　bang　theory　is　the　lumpy　nature　of　the　universe。　If　the　universe　did　begin　with　a　big　bang；　then　why　isn't　mass　evenly　distributed　throughout　the　universe？　Instead　we　find　lumps；　galaxies　and　solar　systems。　Why　the　uneven　distribution？　Our　theory　offers　an　explanation。　If　the　big　bang　created　a　time　wave；　mass　could　have　been　time　displaced。　The　lumpy　universe　could　be　created　when　mass　that　is　time　displaced　suddenly　appears　in　a　region　of　space　occupied　by　matter　traveling　in　normal　space　time。　These　clumps　would　then　coalesce　into　galaxies　and　solar　systems。　The　missing　matter　isn't　really　missing；　it　has　only　been　time　displaced　and　has　been；　and　will　continue；　to　appear。　What　we　have　experienced　is　a　smaller　version　of　what　is　a　natural　cosmic　event。〃
　Gogh　frowned　darkly；　immediately　rejecting　a　theory　he　had　considered　for　only　a　few　minutes。　〃The　mass　is　insufficient　to　produce　the　effect　you　claim。〃　He　shoved　his　yellow　pad　across　the　table　toward　Nick。　It　was　covered　with　putations。　Nick　ignored　it　but　Gogh　continued；　〃There　are　theories　to　account　for　both　the　lumpy　universe　and　the　missing　matter。〃
　〃But　no　unified　theory　that　takes　into　account　both；　plus　the　unexplained　historical　events　and　the　time　displacement　we　have　experienced。　As　to　the　insufficient　mass　to　produce　the　effect；　you're　looking　for　enough　mass　to　produce　a　black　hole　and　a　plete　disruption　of　the　laws　of　physics。　My　theory　doesn't　require　a　wormhole；　only　a　ripple　in　the　space/time　continuum　。　。　。　a　black　ripple；〃　Nick　argued。
　Silence　returned　as　every　mind　in　the　room　tried　to　digest　the　ideas　presented。
　Then　the　secretary　of　defense　leaned　forward　to　make　eye　contact　with　the　President。　Natalie　Matsuda　was　a　listener；　not　a　talker；　but　when　she　talked；　she　used　such　force　and　seriousness　that　her　few　words　had　enormous　impact。
　〃Mr。　President；　I've　read　reams　of　reports　on　what　has　happened；　but　I've　seen　only　two　theories　to　explain　it。　One　is　supernatural　punishment；　which　I'm　not　prepared　to　accept。　So　I　suggest　we　accept　Dr。　Paulson's　theory　as　our　working　assumption　and　move　on　from　there。〃
　〃I　agree；　Natalie。〃　The　President　looked　relieved　and　seemed　anxious　to　move　on。　〃Arnie；　I　appreciate　your　input。　It's　important　for　us　to　get　all　perspectives　on　a　problem；　but　please　put　aside　your　concerns　for　now　and　work　with　this　new　theory。　I　want　all　of　you　and　your　respective　departments　to　go　to　work　on　a　way　of　reversing　what　has　happened。　Let's　get　our　people　back。〃
　As　the　President　broke