It was a possibility that left Turbee and those around him breathless with horror.
According to the calculations of the mathematicians, engineers, and technicians at the Hoover Dam, however, if the plan to open the diversionary tunnels worked, and the next hour was spent in draining Lake Mead, any waves that formed would be minimal. The volume of water in Lake Mead would be significantly reduced, and the possibility of super waves would be infinitely smaller. The Hoover would be able to weather the test of the water coming toward it. If the diversionary tunnels could be opened quickly enough. If the water was drained from Lake Mead at the rate they calculated. It was what the men in, around, and on the dam were hoping for.
The TTIC control room was quiet. One of the helicopters had a video camera focused on the Hoover Dam. At Turbee’s request, the helicopter increased altitude, so that the entire channel leading to the Hoover Dam was shown. The signal was delivered over one of the Milsat satellite’s many channels. Other cameras were trained on the flood waters, from various elevations and angles. As they watched, wave after wave formed in the narrow chute that was the Grand Canyon. Behind each wave there were still more, lining up for miles, as the uncaged Colorado River smashed its way through cave-in after cave-in along the canyon, rushing toward Lake Mead.
The two diversionary tunnels within the dam itself were already fully opened, and a massive volume of water was roaring through them. The four teams had traveled from the south ends of the outer diversionary tunnels to the concrete plugs that had been placed there more than 70 years earlier.
Each team proceeded to jackhammer notches into their respective concrete plug, so that the Tiani/Melvin devices could be neatly inserted. When the holes were large enough, the T/M devices were wedged in place by the 30-ton Bradleys. No one had time to worry about whether the devices would be damaged by such action, or whether they would even work in such tight quarters. Once the placement was accomplished, timers were set, and the crews raced out of the tunnels to the relative safety of the tunnel outlets, where hovering helicopters were waiting to pick them up.
Seconds later, a booming sound was heard, deep within the tunnels. An explosion of water and stone burst out of the downstream outlets of all four outer tunnels. As with the initial, but much larger, T/M charge that had cut the Glen Canyon Dam in two, each device had sent a super-heated blast of plasma directly into the concrete plugs, vaporizing them. With the plugs out of the way, the water had quickly found and entered the tunnels, pushing the debris out of its path in a quick and powerful surge.
From above, it was a spectacular sight, with all four diversionary tunnels now open, along with the penstocks and tunnels of the dam itself. All told, a volume three times greater than the original volume of the Colorado was now flowing through, under, and around the Hoover Dam. Massive plumes of water were being ejected hundreds of feet into the air. Rainbows could be seen playing in the mist that now partially hid the great structure. The engineers calculated that at this rate, Lake Mead would be dropping close to a foot an hour. They thought that it just might be enough.
“You see, Mr. President,” Jordan McKay was saying over the phone. “It is not as bad as it could have been. The Glen Canyon Dam failed catastrophically, but the Hoover is strong enough to withstand the extra volume. With all the diversionary tunnels now open, the level of Lake Mead will not rise nearly as quickly. Our engineers are calculating the net rate of increase of water volume in Lake Mead. It is starting to appear that for a few weeks water will flow over the top of the Hoover, but the dam itself will not be compromised by this.”
“What about downstream from the dam? Lake Mojave, Lake Havasu, and so on?” asked the President.
“Those lakes are large enough to hold the overflow volumes. Obviously there will need to be emergency dyking. The Army Corps of Engineers will be working overtime on it, along with many other companies, but it is a manageable problem. The Hoover will stand, sir,” replied Jordan. “The Hoover will stand.”
“A manageable problem…” These were the words that were being echoed up and down the chain in the Intelligence Community. This was the phrase picked up by the media. Yes, a major dam had been destroyed, but the question of controlling the huge flows was a manageable problem. All of the media corporations had helicopters above the Hoover Dam. The fantastic picture showing the enormous geysers of water ejected through the four diversionary tunnels and, in addition, the massive flow of water through the dam, via the penstocks, was comforting. The rainbows were beautiful. People began to breathe a little easier.
60
“They’re crazy about this diversionary tunnel stuff, George,” said Turbee. “No way that’s ever going to work. The extra drainage may even make the situation worse.”
“How so, Turb?” George asked.
“That drainage of water is from the bottom of the reservoir. If one wave in a series suddenly disappears because it has been sucked into the diversion tunnels, the subsequent wave has a greater distance to fall, and the kinetic energy from that will be even greater. Maybe half the waves will disappear, but the remaining waves will skyrocket in energy. We’re going to get constructive interference, on a truly massive scale. I don’t think the Hoover is going to be flooded to death. I think it will be pounded into obliteration. Everyone should get off that dam.”
“But what about the draining of Lake Mead?” asked Khasha. “Shouldn’t less water mean less danger?”
“I don’t know, but I doubt it,” replied Turbee. “I think the dam is toast.”
“How long, Turbee?” asked Rhodes. “Best guess.”
“It’s not going to hold. The velocity of those giant waves will become over 50 miles an hour. Some of those waves will be more than 300 feet high. Once they get to that point, it won’t take long at all,” Turbee replied.
“How long?” repeated Rhodes.
“Four or five of those suckers a minute,” said Turbee. “I have no idea. Pounding and running water are going to take it down, no question. It won’t go in the same way that Glen Canyon did, but then again, we now have Lake Powell and Lake Mead both knocking on the Hoover’s door. From there on, it will blow over everything else until it gets to the Sea of Cortez. And no one seems to have a clue.”
They continued to watch the footage of the rampaging water. Dan was once again nowhere to be seen.
Catherine had been watching the pandemonium on TV. “I could have stopped it,” she moaned. “I had a chance. But I didn’t. I did nothing. Nothing.”
“Now stop this, girl. I doubt that you could have,” replied Sandra Becker. “If you are going to hold yourself personally responsible for all of this, you will never be able to think straight again.”
They had been going back and forth on this theme for ten minutes when the telephone rang. Sandra picked up the phone and answered immediately. It was Big Jack.
“This is Admiral Leonard Jackson. Is Corporal Catherine Gray of the RCMP there with you?” he asked.
“Why yes, she is. Hold on one second.” She handed Catherine the phone and whispered, “Sounds like someone important.”
“Corporal Gray here,” Catherine answered.
“Very good, Admiral Jackson on this end. I will be sending a helicopter to pick you up in a few moments. We will land in the RV parking lot.”