Temple of Fire (18 page)

Main Deck

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

Quiz stood on the port side of the ship, watching divers from the Polk working from a submarine tender that had been summoned to the scene.  The repairs were being carried out in calm waters, Beatrice a distant memory as it churned westward.

So how do you sense things through my brain?  And the pulling on the toggle switch while I was unconscious — how was that possible?

* We had a previous discussion on the fact that we enjoy a symbiotic relationship.  Correct? *

Yes, but to me that simply implies that we have access to each other’s thoughts.  You obviously have access to my thoughts, and I to yours.

* It also implies that I have access to the gray matter in your cerebral cortex.  I therefore have access to your gross motor skills, although I would never usurp them in anything but an emergency. *

But the sensing thing.
  That’s a bit mystical.

* Every human brain emits electromagnetic energy.  It also can intercept electromagnetic energy as well.  As physics states, everything is part of non-local intelligence.  Some people are better tuned into this energy and intelligence than others.  You certainly are. *

So that’s how you’ve been able to give me guidance in the past.

* I’m simply helping you to understand what your brain
is already perceiving
on a number of levels. *

Do you think Hawkeye is suspicious of what happened below the temple of fire?

 * No.  He simply believes that you passed out as you were putting the harness in reverse and that your hand remained lodged against the toggle switch. *

Are you going to be with me for the rest of my life?

* Isn’t it a beautiful day to be on a cruise? *

Why can’t you just give me straight answers sometimes?

* Because, my dear boy, I don’t always have them. *

 

Catherine
Caine’s
Private Office

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

“Mr. Langhorne,” said
Caine
, “you present a unique problem.”

Langhorne had been given clean clothes, but he still wore his dusty cavalry hat.

“I suspect, ma’am, that you could simply drop me off somewhere in
Hawaii
and pretend that I never existed.  As far as I can tell, everything worked out for the best.”

“But you have ties to a covert arm of the Chinese military . . . as far as I can tell.”

Caine’s
challenging tone wasn’t lost on Langhorne.

“Well, I was married to Yang’s daughter, who, by the way, never told me that she was passing secret information to her father.  If I’m guilty of anything, it’s of being a soldier of fortune looking for unclaimed treasure.”

Sitting behind her desk,
Caine
reclined and looked at the face of the handsome mercenary.  “I can understand your being at odds after the loss of your wife, but you didn’t have to continue her work.  By
he
way, are you aware that appropriating treasure and artifacts from a site discovered on
United States
soil might be considered a felony?”

Indignantly, Langhorne sat up straighter on the opposite side of the desk.  “Now just wait a minute,” he said defensively.  “I didn’t see any signs posted or a military presence.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the concept of eminent domain,” Cain said.  “The United States Government is appropriating the land as we speak.  The timeframe of when you were there will probably not matter in court.”

Langhorne raised his hands in resignation.  “Then cuff me, Mrs.
Caine
.  You’re holding all the cards.”

“I am indeed, but I have a proposal for you, Dr. Langhorne.  “Before the unfortunate death of your spouse, you were a well-respected scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey.  If you’re open to the possibility, I can offer you a position with Titan Global.”

Langhorne smiled broadly.  “A clear case of ‘keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.’”

Caine
leaned forwards.  “I’d like to think, Dr. Langhorne, that after a sufficient probationary
period,
you can become a valued member of Titan Global.  In time, you might even help us with our search for
abiogenic
oil.”

Langhorne didn’t hesitate.  He took the copy of Roughing It from his pocket and tossed it on
Caine’s
desk.  His days as a maverick were over. 

“It beats the hell out of a federal penitentiary,” Langhorne said.  “Where do I sign, Mrs.
Caine
?”

 

Aft Observation Deck

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

Catherine
Caine
and
Saturo
Aiko
stood on the uppermost observation deck above the stern of the ship.  The
Alamiranta
was riding true again, although Navy divers were still completing temporary repairs so that the ship could reach
Lehua
,
Hawaii
safely.

“The Pentagon in
Washington
wants me to debrief you, Commander,” said
Caine
.

“I am your prisoner, Mrs.
Caine
.  You must do your duty as you see it.  I can withstand whatever measures you wish to employ.”

Caine
leaned on the stern railing, her hair blown sideways by the gentle ocean wind.

“We’re not going to torture you, Commander,” said
Caine
.  “It’s not our way.  Besides, you gave Titan Six help when they needed it at the blast crater.  Mr. Hawke informs me that you even helped save Quiz’s life.”

Aiko
nodded.  “My people have a strong sense of honor — usually.  We promised to help prevent a disaster that could have had global ramifications.  I did what I believed was right.”

Caine
said nothing for the next few moments.  “Titan can always use someone with advanced military skills . . . and a sense of honor.  Would you be interested in joining one of our elite special ops teams?”

Aiko
turned to face
Caine
, puzzlement clearly visible in her features.  Her brow was furrowed, her head cocked to the side.  “How would this be possible?  Would I not always be under your watchful and suspicious eye?”

“You would have to be debriefed — that cannot be avoided.  Our paramilitary teams are likely to come up against Chinese forces again at some point in the future.  Your government is obviously interested in The Genesis Code, and you and I would both need to feel secure in your allegiance.”

“I have nothing to return to,”
Aiko
said.  “I have no husband or children.  I have a grandmother who is very old, but she no longer recognizes me.”

“But where does your heart lie?”
Caine
asked.  “There’s an old saying: A house divided against
itself
cannot stand.”

Aiko
didn’t hesitate.  “My heart lies with honor.  I am not comfortable with my country’s global agenda to begin with.  Their betrayal of me has caused me to question their true motivations.”

Caine
sighed deeply.  “I’m familiar with betrayal, Commander.  I feel the pain on a daily basis.”

“Dominique?”

“Yes, Dominique.  I fear that, despite her great intelligence and altruistic goals, she is quite naïve.”

The two women began to walk along the deck, both of them quiet.

“I will work with you,”
Aiko
said at last.  “You were willing to put aside national differences for a greater good back in
Nevada
.  The greater good is a master I can easily serve.”

“Splendid.  You will undergo a period of training with Mr. Hawke and his team.  You will also be indoctrinated in several of our more cutting edge technologies by Dr. Grace Nguyen.  It will take time, but I believe you will become a valuable asset to Titan Global — and to humanity.”

“I have one request,”
Aiko
said.

“Yes?”

“I have always wanted to eat an American hamburger.”

Caine
laughed.  “That can be arranged, Commander.  Welcome to Titan Global.”

 

Lehua
,
Hawaii

Titan Global Pacific Maritime Base

 

The
Alamiranta
sat in its berth inside the crescent of the islet of
Lehua
.  Damage from the storm and explosion was being more thoroughly addressed while provisions, weapons, and new personnel were brought aboard.  The base was equipped with a dry dock, helicopter pads, hospital, and berths for Titan Global freighters, as well as smaller craft.

Beneath the mountain on
Lehua
was a command and control center that would help facilitate Titan Global operations in the future.  A research facility was also located in the mountain, with Doctors Ambergris, Madison, and Nguyen having helped design the labs in coordination with Demetrius
Caine
months earlier.

As Catherine
Caine
toured the base, she walked slowly past stations in the high-tech command and control center.  Several stations monitored global economic markets, climate conditions, troop movements on every continent, and situations that posed possible threats to ecological and military stability.

Perhaps the most cutting-edge tool at
Lehua
was
GlobeNet
, a sophistical computer program that gathered data on every news story in the world.  It also monitored huge quantities of data on the Internet — trillions of bits of information every hour — as it cross-referenced news on any topic from every website that was publicly available.  Its algorithms sought keywords that were either statistically anomalous or more prominent than would be expected.  The brainchild of Joshua Ambergris, its programming was based on Chaos Theory and fractal geometry.  Like many scientists, Ambergris believed that chaos was a precursor to predictable patterns.  In theory,
GlobeNet
could provide early warnings for wars, nuclear threats, economic recessions, terrorist activity, crime, natural disasters, and thousands of other scenarios.

An entire bank of computers flashed data at incredible
speed,
screens blinking when patterns emerged that were shunted to other data banks where they would wait for additional correlations.

Caine
surveyed several situations that she deemed noteworthy: an unknown satellite emitting unusual, coded signals had landed in the Antarctic; riots for democracy were flooding the streets of two South American cities; a Nobel
prize
winner in chemistry had been kidnapped by terrorists; and large African populations migrated across deserts to flee genocide. 

Finally, an infrared satellite in low earth orbit was observing an orange dot in northeastern
Nevada
.    

 

Catherine
Caine’s
Private Office

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

Joshua Ambergris sat in Catherine
Caine’s
inner sanctum, paging through notes he’d made over the past several days.  He also had information garnered from
Aiko’s
first debriefing.

“It appears that the Chinese have considerable aspirations in the matter of space exploration,” Ambergris said.  “I think the information on
Ixmilan’s
suspended animation might be of considerable use to their space program.”

“Are they contemplating interplanetary flights?”
Caine
asked.

“Perhaps.
 
Or maybe interstellar.”
  He flipped a page.  “Suspended animation might be of special interest to NASA as it plans its Mars Mission.”

“Very true.”
 
Caine
raised her eyebrows.  “As for the Chinese, they have The Genesis Code.  Who knows how they might try to apply it, whether here on earth or in space?”

“It’s a disquieting thought, to be sure,” said Ambergris.  “They have a large population, a well-trained military, and they own most of the world’s assets.  They may feel that this is their moment in history.  Perhaps
GlobeNet
will pick up something in the months and years ahead.”

“Perhaps.
  We’ll have to make sure we stay one step ahead of them.”

“Two steps would be preferable.”