Tom switched off the TV, but the three continued to stare at the blank screen without saying a word.
It was Ajay who broke the silence. ‘Om Sarva Mangal Manglaye Shivay Sarvaarth Sadhike Sharanye Trayambake Gauri Narayaani Namostu Te.’
Tom and Serena both turned to look at Ajay.
‘What does that mean, Ajay?’ Tom recognised the words from the card that was in the flowers on the statue.
‘It’s a prayer to Lord Shiva,’ replied Ajay. ‘It means, O! the divine couple Shiva Parvati! Thee, the protectors of this universe, along with Lords Brahma and Vishnu. We pray to you for our well-being, prosperity and the enlightenment of our souls.’
‘Did you place the flowers on Shiva’s statue?’ Tom asked.
‘Yes,’ Ajay said bashfully, looking down at his feet.
‘But why?’
Ajay didn’t answer, but kept his gaze firmly on the floor.
‘Why, Ajay?’ Tom said, a little more forcefully than he’d intended.
When Ajay looked up, Tom could see tears welling in his eyes. ‘I pray to Shiva, to show compassion and restraint.’
‘And you think that Shiva is responsible for this earthquake?’ Serena said gently, putting her hand on Ajay’s arm to soothe him.
‘I know he is,’ Ajay protested vociferously, taking them both a little aback. ‘I’ll prove it to you.’ Ajay stood up and walked out without saying another word.
CHAPTER 13
Frederick had reconvened the meeting in the Bunker a day earlier than anticipated. He wanted to make sure that, in the unlikely event they were questioned by the police, they all knew what to say.
He had already found out what had gone wrong with the device which caused the explosion. But he wanted the person responsible to explain to the others the circumstances which led to the deaths of two maintenance workers and left another two in hospital.
He opened the meeting by thanking everybody for making it at such short notice, before turning to the man on his left to take the floor.
The man played anxiously with his silver-rimmed spectacles. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead despite the air conditioning regulating the temperature of the room at a steady 23 °C. He cleared his throat nervously.
‘I would firstly like to apologise for attracting the unwanted attention of the authorities, which could potentially put us all in jeopardy. Secondly, I would like to reassure you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the investigation is brought to a swift, innocuous conclusion. Thirdly, I would like to give you my personal undertaking that nothing like this will ever happen again.’ Suitably humbled, he took off his glasses, wiped his brow with a handkerchief, and sat back in his chair.
‘But how did it happen, exactly?’ the only woman in the group spoke up. She clearly wasn’t going to let him off the hook with just a grovelling apology.
He returned his glasses to his face and cleared his throat again. ‘I underestimated the amount of charge required to cause the pipe to fracture. Luckily, the escaping helium dampened the explosion somewhat, causing minimal damage.’
‘Apart from the two casualties,’ somebody at the far end of the table interjected.
‘Yes, the loss of life is very regrettable,’ the bespectacled man replied. ‘But I don’t need to remind you of what would happen if the Collider was allowed to discover the God particle.’
‘We are all well aware of the consequences,’ interjected Frederick. ‘But our code does not permit the loss of life in order to prevent the God particle from being discovered.’
The man shrank back in his chair, accepting the admonishment.
‘I think the main purpose of this meeting,’ said Frederick, trying to steer the discussion back on track, ‘is to discuss how our exposure, following this tragic incident, can be minimised. Our forefathers were forced to go underground, and it is our legacy to maintain that anonymity until we achieve our objectives. Having the police crawling all over the facility puts that at risk.’
‘We need a scapegoat,’ the woman proffered.
Frederick frowned. The idea of implicating an innocent person didn’t appeal to him, but he knew, deep down, that it made sense.
‘Any other suggestions?’ he looked around the room at the blank faces staring back at him. No other proposals were forthcoming. ‘Okay, who do you have in mind?’ he said resignedly.
‘One of the maintenance team,’ a man on his right proposed.
‘No. We need somebody in authority,’ the man with the spectacles stated. ‘Somebody with access to the plant twenty-four seven. Somebody who could enter the tunnels without raising suspicion. Somebody who has a scientific knowledge of how the Collider works but, more importantly, how it could be stopped.’ He could see the others round the table nodding their agreement — everyone, apart from Frederick.
Frederick could see where this was going, and he didn’t like it. ‘You mean, somebody like Tom Halligan? But he’s only been with us two days.’
‘Exactly why he would be the perfect candidate. He arrives, and the very next day there’s an explosion,’ the man with the glasses countered.
‘But what about motive? Surely, that would be the first thing the police would look for?’ Frederick raised the objection, but he knew he’d already lost the debate. The others round the table could sense they’d found their sacrificial lamb.
‘Leave that to me,’ the man replied, taking off his glasses and wiping his brow again. ‘The fate of one human is inconsequential compared to the fate of the entire world.’
‘I guess so,’ Frederick conceded, diffidently. He closed the meeting by thanking everybody again. As they rose to leave, he turned to the person on his left. ‘I’d like you to stay behind. There are a few things we need to discuss.’
The others filed out of the room, leaving Frederick alone with Deiter.
‘What do you think that was all about?’ Tom joined Serena on the couch.
‘I have no idea. I’ve never seen Ajay that agitated before.’
‘I know he’s interested in seismology. Perhaps seeing the aftermath of that quake in Turkey has brought the reality home to him.’
‘We were all upset by the images, Tom,’ she replied. ‘But it doesn’t account for his belief that some Indian deity is responsible for causing it.’
‘True. Perhaps we should…’
The door to Tom’s apartment flew open and Ajay rushed back into the room. He was carrying a red leather-bound folder with the initials E.J.M. embossed in gilt on the front. He handed it to Tom.
‘Where did you get this from?’ Tom asked, noticing the gold letters.
‘It was Professor Morantz’s. I found it over there, when I discovered his body, so I took it for safekeeping.’ Ajay pointed to the small table in the corner of the room.
Tom opened the binder to read its contents. The document was divided into five sections, each marked with a different date. Within each section were pages and pages of statistics, all time-coded by hour, minute and second.
‘What do these figures mean?’ Tom shared the file across his and Serena’s laps.
‘They appear to be data readings from the Collider, going back to when it was first operational,’ Serena replied, staring quizzically at the pages.
Tom thumbed through the file.