“You said Captain Bateman from the Scorpion was the person who tried to sink the Seawolf,” Dane said. “What about the rest of the crew of the Scorpion?”
“They all died in the explosion at Groton,” Foreman said. “Bateman died on board the Seawolf.”
“But that means the Shadow can manipulate people,” Dane noted. “That’s something new.”
“Something new as far as we know,” Foreman agreed.
“Why does it seem like every time we find out something new about the gates and the Shadow, we learn how little we actually know?” Dane asked.
“How did the Shadow get the Scorpion’s reactor to go critical?” Ariana asked.
“Before the explosion the video feed from the team that went into the Scorpion’s reactor showed a cylindrical object with golden beams emanating out of it,” Foreman said.
“Like the beam that went into the mainframe computer on board our plane in Cambodia?” Ariana asked.
“Right,” Foreman said. “The military is calling what’s just happened a reconnaissance in force- the Shadow is checking out the opposition before making its main strike. And because the Shadow focused on our underwater capability, particularly near the Bermuda Triangle, and because that gate is the only one that has increased in size, we have to assume that’s where the attack is coming from.”
“Or directed,” Ariana said.
“There’s no target of strategic significance in that area,” Foreman said.
“I’m not talking about a target here,” Ariana clarified. “I’m talking about the attack. Look what happened to Puerto Rico as the result of the tsunami. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is not too far away from here. If the Shadow focuses energy into that rift between the tectonic plates, God knows what havoc they could reek. It would make the wave that hit Puerto Rico look like a splash in a puddle. They could easily take out the eastern seaboard of the United States and a large part of Europe. And if they’re coordinating this attack through other gates as appears to be-” Ariana paused, letting the other’s figure it out for themselves.
“The whiz kids here have done projections on the most advanced computers they have,” Foreman said. “Wargaming what could happen if the Shadow fires all twenty-three of the Tridents left from the Wyoming. Given that the Trident’s range is about four thousand miles, they can cover a large part of the Atlantic along the mid-ocean ridge.
“There’s a lot of variables- ocean depth, crust depth over the magna between the tectonic plates- but with each warhead exploding at about a hundred and twenty kilotons, the computer says that at the very least the effect will be numerous volcanoes boiling up along with earthquakes on a magnitude we have never experienced in modern history. As you’ve noted, the resulting tsunamis will devastate the east coast of the United States and most of western Europe.
“That’s at a minimum,” Foreman continued. “There is also the possibility that there could be a crustal displacement of the tectonic plates. Since we’re not even sure exactly how the tectonic plates are moved, we’re not sure of the forces involved, but if those forces from inside the earth are channeled by the explosions, God knows what could happen.”
“And what if they use the other nuclear weapons they’ve accumulated over the years?” Ariana asked. “What if they also launch assaults along the Pacific Rim out of the Devil’s Sea gate? The Mediterranean from a nearby gate? The Red Sea?”
“I’m having them wargame that worst-case scenario,” Foreman said.
“We don’t need a computer simulation,” Sin Fen said. “If the Shadow launches such an assault, you can be assured they know what they are doing. It will be the end of mankind. The entire surface of the planet will change. Continents will be moved much as Antarctica which most likely was Atlantis, was moved from the middle of the Atlantic to the South Pole.”
Dane broke the silence that followed that statement. “So we’re back to where we’re at the start of this. We need to find out what’s below us. I think the gate coming this way lets us know it’s important.” He stood up. “We’re wasting time sitting around talking about it. Let’s get going.”
Chapter 18
“Have you ever heard of a place called Thule?” Tam Nok asked. She had the metal plate out and was hunched over it, her finger tracing the lines, her lips moving as she read to herself.
Ragnarok lowered his hand which he’d been using to block the sun so he could scan the surrounding terrain. They were hiding in a streambed, bushes surrounding them and large trees towering overhead. Stonehenge was many miles behind them and Ragnarok knew they would reach the shore early this evening once they began walking again. He was tempted to continue during the daylight but the alarm over the dead patrol must have been raised by now and he knew they would not last long against a unit of the Saxon King’s army.
Ragnarok could almost smell the sea over the horizon. He longed for the thunder of the waves on shore and the sight of his high-prowed ship pulled up on the beach waiting for them. Dusk was only about an hour away and then they could move.
“I have heard of Thule,” Ragnarok acknowledged, sitting back down on the dirt embankment, then leaning back, hands behind his head. “To the north, beyond the ice and snow and fire. Or so the old ones say.”
“What fire?” Tam Nok asked.
“It is said fire comes out of the ocean as one approaches Thule,” Ragnarok said. “I have seen such fire once when sailing along the coast of Iceland.”
“There are strange writings here,” she indicated the metal map. “Some of them revolve around Thule.”
He closed his eyes, remembering his mother’s words. “Fire and ice, the beginning of all things.”
“Tell me the story of the beginning,” Tam Nok asked.
“You knew of the Valkyries,” Ragnarok opened his eyes and looked at her. “You called yourself a Disir. If you know those things, you know of the creation and the stories of the Gods.”
Tam Nok shook her head. “I knew of those thing because you knew of them.”
Ragnarok frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I cannot explain it right now. Please, tell me the Viking legends of the beginning.”
Ragnarok remembered his mother, the family gathered around the fire in the end of their lodge, the wind howling outside. Her voice, low and soothing as she told the stories of the gods and goddesses. He felt a pang for what he had lost and for the first time he didn’t smother that feeling with a surge of anger and desire for revenge. It was simply there, a heavy weight on his chest.
“The world was dark and there was no order. No rule. No goodness. In the center of the world was a chasm, so large one could not see the bottom. If you threw a stone off, you never heard it hit, so deep was this split in the Earth called Ginnungagap.
“To the north of Ginnungagap is the kingdom of Niflheim, a dark world always covered in the fog. This is where Thule is also located. To the south of Ginnungagap is the world of fire and constant light, called Muspellsheim. Here lived Surtr, the flame giant whose only duty was to protect his land from those from Thule.
“But Surtr became bored as he was alone in Muspellsheim. He swung his mighty flame sword to practice and produced much steam, which rose toward Ginnungagap and froze in strange shapes. From that ice came two other creatures- Ymir, the first of the giants and Audhumbia, a large cow.”