‘The long-term consequences for science as a doctrine would be devastating,’ he went on. ‘It would set scientific research back hundreds of years and it wouldn’t just be physicists that would be affected. Every disciple in the science arena, from astronomy to oceanography, would be regulated to such an extent that we wouldn’t even be able to produce a new formula of dandruff shampoo without getting it approved first. Medical research, I fear, would be affected the most. It’s already a race against time to come up with new drugs and procedures to prevent and treat chronic diseases. Can you imagine how many more people would die as a result of slowing down the pace of that development with bureaucratic red tape — a hundred, a thousand, a million times more than have been killed in the Earthquakes? So, when we make our decision, it isn’t just the loss of life we need to consider, but also the potential loss.’
‘So what do we do now?’ Serena asked, anxiously.
‘I have some… er, colleagues,’ he replied. ‘I’d like to run it past them to get their perspective. Do you mind if I take the file with me?’
Tom and Serena exchanged glances. ‘I’ve made a copy for you,’ Serena said quickly, rummaging in her briefcase. She took it out and slid it across the desk to Frederick. Tom picked up their file from the desk and secreted it in his flight bag.
‘Thanks, I’ll come back to you as soon as I’ve had a chance to speak with them,’ he said absently, flicking through the pages.
‘Did you, by any chance, tell these colleagues about the message I left on your voicemail this morning?’ Tom enquired, trying to sound nonchalant.
‘No, I’ve been busy all morning trying to locate Ajay,’ Frederick lied. He had, in fact, phoned each one of them as soon as he’d heard the message to arrange a rendezvous in the Bunker to discuss the document.
‘Any luck?’
‘No,’ said Frederick. ‘It’s very unlike Ajay to go missing. We had some problems with him when he was a teenager, but what parent doesn’t?’ Frederick hoped that that wasn’t the reason he’d gone missing this time. ‘I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner rather than later. There’s probably a girl involved somewhere.’ Frederick stood up from behind his desk, indicating the meeting had concluded.
Tom and Serena followed suit. Tom was debating whether to shake the man’s hand or kiss him on the cheeks; he was still unsure what the local custom was. However, the decision was taken away from him as Frederick lumbered around the desk and caught hold of him in a man-hug, Tom responding with the obligatory patting on the back. They released and Frederick turned to Serena, arms still outstretched. She obliged — the embrace much gentler and briefer.
‘Thank you for entrusting me with this information,’ Frederick held the door open for them. ‘As I said, I’ll be in touch.’
Tom and Serena said their goodbyes and made their way back down the stairs to the golf buggy.
It was late afternoon and the sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows on the ground. The cold breeze had upgraded itself to a squall and had picked up some snowflakes along the way, which it deposited in their faces as they drove away. Tom’s cashmere jumper offered little protection against the biting wind. They didn’t say a word to each other until they were in sight of the main office building.
‘So, what do you make of all that?’ Tom parked the buggy and got out.
‘It’s a lot to take in,’ Serena got out the other side and followed him up the steps.
‘I know. But do you think we can trust him?’
‘We don’t appear to have much option,’ Serena replied, thinking back to Frederick’s elicitations.
CHAPTER 19
There was a tense atmosphere in the Bunker that evening. Everybody, apart from the woman, had been able to make it at short notice, CERN’s two private jets having been dispatched immediately to collect them from various locations across Europe.
The lights were dimmed and the wall-mounted monitors, which Frederick had switched on prior to their arrival, were showing news reports of the devastation caused by the earthquake in Istanbul. The volume had been turned down, but that didn’t lessen the impact of the programme on the people seated around the table. In fact, it had the opposite effect; taking away one of their sensory faculties made them concentrate even more on the detail of the images being broadcast.
Frederick watched their faces as they reacted to the scene of a body being discovered by rescue dogs. It had been over twenty-four hours since the initial quake and the incidences of survivors being found had diminished exponentially.
The International community had reacted swiftly. Donation centres had been set up in most countries overnight, with initial requests for food, blankets and fresh drinking water. An appeal for money would come later, but currently it wouldn’t be of much use to the hundreds of thousands of homeless people trying to survive the harsh conditions of a Turkish winter. Teams from the Red Cross and Blue Crescent had flown in and were facilitating the construction of tent cities by the army, outside the affected zone. Médecins Sans Frontières were in the thick of it, dispensing minor medical treatment where necessary and setting up field hospitals for the more seriously injured. The dead weren’t a priority. Bodies were being unceremoniously stockpiled in the streets as there was nowhere left to put them.
The enormity of the aftermath pervaded everybody’s mood, as they stared at the unfolding drama.
Frederick flicked a switch and the fluorescent strip lights came on. Everybody blinked, adjusting their eyes to the sudden glare.
‘We are responsible for that,’ Frederick said gravely. They turned to him, bewilderment etched on their faces. ‘I have here a document,’ he held up the copy that Serena had given him earlier, ‘which was compiled by Professor Morantz, just before his death. It clearly shows a pattern of earthquakes that took place at exactly the same time the Collider was operating at maximum capacity.’
‘Where did you get that?’ Deiter asked, sharply.
‘That’s not important. What is important is that the figures have been independently verified. Based on this information, we have no option but to conclude that the Collider is responsible for causing these earthquakes.’ Shock replaced bewilderment on the faces in front of him.
‘But how?’ the man on his far right asked.
‘We know that the Earth’s molten iron core produces a magnetic field which envelopes the planet,’ explained Frederick, ‘entering at the South Pole and exiting at the North Pole. The outer core of the Earth is, in effect, a giant molten magnet. What we have inadvertently created in the Collider is the world’s second largest magnet. I believe that, when the Collider reaches maximum capacity, the resultant electro-magnetic waves interact with the Earth’s geomagnetic field causing instability. This imbalance is then transferred through the Earth’s mantle to the tectonic plates, which realign, causing an earthquake.’
‘Science 101,’ the man who had asked the question said, nodding his head. ‘Magnets attract. How could we have missed such a fundamental flaw?’
‘Because we were so preoccupied discovering new science that we forgot about the old,’ Frederick said despondently.
‘Are you seriously asking us to believe that the Collider produces enough electromagnetic force to pull the Earth’s core towards it?’ the man opposite him asked sceptically.
‘No, that’s not what I’m saying at all,’ Frederick replied patiently. ‘The Collider causes a butterfly effect. The Earth exists in a state of fragile polar equilibrium; the tiniest influence on one part of the system can have a huge effect on another part. The magnetic waves the Collider generates upset the natural balance of the Earth, which leads to a chain of events, the outcome of which can clearly be seen on those screens.’