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foreign aggression?”

  “Our enemies would also experience great disruptions and thus be in no position to threaten us.”

  “Your plan would demand substantial resources and incredible risk. It sounds almost delusional.”

  “I know, but I am sure that it has been divinely inspired. I could feel it, and the providence that led me to this revelation was given to me by a young man named Gabriel.”

  “Gabriel, the name of God’s messenger; I shall present your plan to the council. Do you have the science on which this revelation is based?”

  William handed the journal containing Dr. Collins’ article to the Colonel.

  “This information is public. Does that present a problem?”

  “The author of the article and the discoverer of these zones is now a strong advocate for getting them continually monitored with international oversight. He could be a problem and may need to be silenced.”

  “That will be taken under advisement should your revelation be validated. Good day, Captain.”

  Professor Collins was a recently singled man in his forties. He was going through a sort of midlife crisis, and as a result he was now more fit and active than he had been at any time during his life. He had purchased a small sailboat and often spent his weekends sailing in the bay. When not on the water, he liked to spend his free time hiking in the Catskills or sometimes in the Appellation Mountains. His ex-wife divorced him thinking that she could do better and when she could not, she became very attracted to the new Joe. They hooked up from time to time for sex, but he never considered remarrying her. He was trying to expand his social life, but now the things he did for fun were taking a backseat in his crusade to get these critical sites studied and monitored.

  The council reviewed Captain Lee’s revelation. They were intrigued, but many did not believe it would work. This would be an all-in venture. No longer could they hide in the shadows and remain anonymous. They decided that it was far too risky, and that the Brotherhood had not attained the capabilities necessary to execute such a mission or pull off a coup even in a time of extreme crisis. The Captain’s plan was shelved for now, but it could be revived again if there was a radical change in circumstance or a sign from God. The Brothers of Ehud had contacts and members far beyond just the air force. The council handed all the information they had to men who had the resources and expertise to evaluate the feasibility of such a plan. The results were not urgently needed, so it was likely to take some time before they would know if this was more than just one man’s fantasy. There were some on the council who believed the Captain’s revelation to be divinely inspired. They had pushed for the feasibility study, and they wanted to keep all options open. The problem of international monitoring at these locations was discussed and was determined to be a potential obstacle. They decided that Professor Collins needed to be terminated, subtly.

  Joe now decided that he needed some time for himself and headed out to the mountains. He was hiking on one of his favorite trails in the Catskills when he saw her. She was tall, blonde, very fit and very attractive. She wore a tight sports top and a pair of very short shorts that showed off her long athletic legs, and she was hiking alone. Joe asked her if she would enjoy some company, and she said yes. They set off down the trail together. After about two miles, she suggested that they take a side trip. The trail was steep, and he could barely keep up with her.

  They reached the top of this small ridge where the view was breathtaking. Before he could react, she delivered a powerful sidekick to his ribs sending him over the embankment. She watched him tumble, slamming into rocks and small trees until he disappeared into the forest. She waited an hour or so listening for calls for help or other signs of life. Having heard none, she left.

  Joe regained consciousness after several hours. His head was bleeding, and he was sure that he had broken his right leg and a few ribs. He checked his phone. It was smashed and inoperable. Joe knew his chances of surviving a night or two in these mountains as injured as he was, were not good. His one advantage was that he knew this area extremely well. There was no way that he could climb the embankment and get back to the trail. He wouldn’t have been able to do it on his best day much less in his current state. Anyway the trail that they had used for their little side trip did not get very much traffic, making the odds of getting help there unlikely. He found some adhesive tape in his pack and used it and a piece of bark to splint his leg. He also found a stick that was suitable for a crutch. He knew that he was about a mile and a half to two miles away from the more popular lower trail. Using the sun to get his bearing, he angled his descent in what he thought was the right direction. There was about three hours of daylight left. His progress was slow due to his injuries and the terrain; he would be lucky to find the trail before it got dark. He was now getting weak and disoriented; having no idea how far he had gone or whether he had been able to stay on course. It was starting to get dark, when he collapsed from exhaustion. He laid there drifting in and out of consciousness, and then he thought he heard people’s voices. He must be near the trail, he thought to himself. He tried calling for help, but he did not have the strength. His mind was in a fog, and he wasn’t even sure that the voices were real. In a moment of clarity, he remembered the emergency whistle in the side pocket of his pack. His vision was blurred as he fumbled for it. He pulled it out and started to blow. He blew with all the strength he had left which was not much, and then passed out.

  Joe awoke in a hospital room with his ex-wife and Mark by his side. He had been unconscious for two days. His head injury had caused his brain to swell, and there was some subdural bleeding. It had been touch and go for a while, as he also needed surgery for other internal injuries. He was now lucid and the worst was over. Joe told them about the woman. They could not believe that anyone would have a reason to try to kill him. Mark phoned the police, and a detective came and took Joe’s statement. The officer was skeptical given Joe’s head injuries, but he filed the report.

  It was not long before the council discovered that Dr. Collins was still alive. About this time, some preliminary results from the feasibility study were starting to become available. Their research wing had determined that it was possible to get up to a three foot increase in sea level the first year and as much as a half a foot per year thereafter. This would make the southern half of Florida uninhabitable and cause major disruptions in many of our coastal cities. To accomplish this, they would need over a dozen thermonuclear warheads and to execute two bombing runs roughly twenty four hours apart. Many targets would need to be hit twice due to the incredible energy absorption capacity of ice sheets that were over two miles thick. It was an operation of extreme difficulty and high risk, but it could be done. Over a dozen warheads would need to go missing for over twenty four hours. They would need two long range bombers and a refueling mission for each sortie. This exceeded their current capabilities and resources, but could be possible in the near future. It was their ability to take advantage of the turmoil and stage a successful coup that was in question. The plan was again shelved, and the termination order on Dr. Collins rescinded.

  After he recovered, Joe continued his research on the stability of the west Antarctic ice sheets. The basin that contained the ice sheet that flowed into the Weddell Sea was determined to be even more unstable than the Thwaites Glacier. Its supporting rock was even further below sea level, and it was smoother having fewer catch points. The focus of Joe’s work now centered on the grounding zones where the ice plugs were located. These are the transition areas between the floating ice and the ice supported by the bedrock. If the floating ice were to melt or drift away, the glaciers behind them would become uncorked and would then flow more easily into the sea.

  As the years passed, global temperatures and sea levels continued to increase albeit slowly. The research wing of the Brothers of Ehud continued to keep abreast of what was happening to the Antarctic ice sheets. Even the minute increases in sea level had made the ice sheets more vulne
rable. The Brotherhood itself continued to grow. It had gained additional influence in the military and had increased its material resources. Then catastrophe struck them. They did not believe that it could possibly happen in America; a godless man who openly admitted to being an atheist was elected president. Even worse, he was likely to get enough Supreme Court nominations during his term to radically change its ideology. It was more than they could bear. Something needed to be done: a coup, an assassination, something.

  President-elect James Wilson was the luckiest politician on Earth. He got the Democratic Party’s nomination by the skin of his teeth, and no one thought that he could win the general election. Then the libertarians in the Republican Party split from the social conservatives and ran their own candidate, with the effect of dividing the conservative vote. Wilson lost some votes within his own party for his open atheism, but still managed to win a plurality with thirty seven percent of the vote. He did not even win enough states for an Electoral College victory. This should have sent the election to the House of Representatives, except for the pact that several key states had made