“Tidal power? That requires industry.”
“Which the Australians have agreed to help us with,” the admiral said. “They have been developing the technology for a number of years now.”
“What are they asking for in return?”
“Our friendship,” the admiral said. “Our future help with any problems they may have. Exchange of engineers and ideas. All of the above. Like you, they view this crisis as an opportunity to get it right.”
“But you still don’t see it that way, Admiral?”
Longbottom sat back. “I’ve done as you asked, and I will continue to do my best, but no, I don’t agree entirely with the steps we’re taking. I think we should be concentrating our efforts on the remaining oil platforms out to sea. The longer we wait, the more they deteriorate out there in the salty air.”
“Oil is the past,” Ester said. “There’s no future in it. We want the sky to clear, not to continue polluting it. I’ve promised the people a different way forward. It looks like you’re making an effort, Admiral, and I thank you for that.”
“We still need fuel for our vessels,” Longbottom said. “And I’m not sure how much oil the Australians can afford to share.”
Ester could sense that Longbottom was expecting a quid pro quo in exchange for his efforts, so she gave it to him, as she and Hadrian had previously agreed she would.
“Very well,” she said. “Reopen the closest platform.”
“Excellent,” he said. “I believe this to be a very wise choice.”
“How soon do you expect to see the first tidal turbines installed?” Hadrian asked, making sure the admiral knew that he would be expected to carry through.
“Within twelve months,” Longbottom replied. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
“And the new power grid will be constructed in such a manner that we will be able to hook the tidal generators right into it,” Ester said.
“Well, that will be more difficult,” the admiral said. “It would be better to wait until—”
“That wasn’t a question, Admiral. Nor was it a request. That was a statement. The new power grid is not going to be a jerry-rig. I want it purpose-built for future use with the tidal generators. And whatever ‘adaptations’ your people come up with will be to accommodate the nuclear reactors. Not the other way around. From now, we build with the future in mind. Is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Longbottom said, pissed because now his engineers would have to go back to the drawing board.
“And I would appreciate it if you would send daily reports to my office,” Hadrian added.
“Daily, sir?”
“Yes, daily.”
“Well, sir, you do realize that we may go for weeks at a time without any real changes in—”
“Daily reports,” Hadrian repeated. “And there had better be some kind of progress made on every one of them.” Then, offering the admiral some wiggle room, he added, “Even if it’s only the sketch of a new idea one of your engineers has put forward.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, I understand you also have security concerns,” Ester said, continuing their combined assault.
“Yes, well, on the issue of security, Madam President, we have located a site where a number of the pirates seem to be congregating on one of the lesser islands. I would like to know what, if anything, you’d like for me to do about this threat.”
Ester had heard these reports already, and though she knew the piracy problem was growing, she pretended not to be concerned. “What would you suggest, Admiral?”
“Cleaning them out, ma’am.”
“Then do whatever you deem necessary… so long as it doesn’t impede the Navy’s progress elsewhere.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Longbottom said, finally feeling some sense of accomplishment.
“Your list of responsibilities seems to be growing, doesn’t it, Admiral?”
“It does indeed,” Longbottom said.
“And to think you were worried about losing your importance,” Ester said with a chuckle. “Will there be anything else?”
“Not right now, Madam President, no.”
“I thank you again for your diligence,” she said. “And please pass my thanks down the chain of command.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When the admiral was gone, Ester rose and went to the window, where she stood leaning on her cane. “Barry, how would you feel about being president again, of the Islands this time?”
“Excuse me?” Hadrian said.
“I’m tired,” she said, turning from the window. “And I wasn’t kidding about me not making a pimple on Golda Meir’s backside. I’m an astronomer, Barry. A novelty act. I wasn’t born to lead a society into the new era.”
“The Islanders love you, Ester. You’re gruff and tough, and that’s what they need in a leader right now.”
“But what if I die?” she said. “It’s better that you’re already in office by then. Andrew Johnson had a lot of trouble after Lincoln’s death. I think it would better for me to claim ill health and to step aside soon. We’ll tell the Islanders that I’m staying on as one of your advisers, and I’ll make regular appearances if they really feel they can’t live without me, but I worry I may cause more trouble in the long run by remaining in office.”
“The people elected you, Ester, and you agreed to take the job for six years. They believe in you. And if you’re really that worried about dying in office, I promise right now to do my best to make sure all of your visions come to fruition.”
“That’s the problem, Barry. This was never my vision. It’s the vision of some poor dead idealistic astronomer.”
“Don’t abandon these people now, Ester. There’s nothing that says a lawyer makes any better leader than an astronomer—and you’re learning. He didn’t show it, but giving the admiral permission to shell that pirate stronghold out of existence bought you a lot of capital with the Navy. Nothing makes a military man happier than getting to take military action.” He laughed. “He’s probably getting ready to sortie the entire fleet as we speak.”
Ester nodded grimly. “He may be, at that.”
“But after he takes this pirate stronghold down,” Hadrian cautioned, “pretend to lose interest in the pirates we have left. It’s too soon to tell, but we may need an enemy to help keep us unified. So we should allow these pirates time to recover a little bit before sending the admiral back out. It’s a fine balance you need to strike, Ester.”
“See?” she said, pointing at him with the tip of her cane. “That’s the type of political evil that would never occur to me.”
Hadrian grinned. “That’s what you’ve got me for, Ester.”
Thirty-Six
The biggest trouble for Marty and his friends during their trip had been traveling along I-25 north of the Arizona border. It was jammed with deserted, bumper-to-bumper, ash-coated traffic, all of it pointing south on both sides of the highway. Even in the Jeep they’d had trouble negotiating their way through the logjam of cars and over thousands of ash-coated, frozen bodies along the road.
“What killed them all?” Emory wondered.
“Pressure wave,” Marty said. “Those who weren’t killed outright likely suffocated in the vacuum.”
By the time they reached the outskirts of Denver, the cars were nothing but burnt frames and the bodies no more than grizzled skeletons.
“This is where the firestorm first began to lose its intensity,” Marty said. “Everything north of here is likely burnt to a crisp.”
They drove into downtown Denver and got out and stood looking at the scorched remains of the once fair city.