Breakthrough(19)

It had been two weeks since their trip to Emerson’s ship. After three days of searching for the lost Triton rover with an older submersible they were forced to return to Washington and file a formal requisition to go back out and finish the job. Judging from Langford’s expression they knew what was coming.

Finishing the call, he hung up with a sigh. “Well the sub is out,” Langford said.

“They know that we can’t hope to find the Triton or replicate the problem without taking a sub down,” Clay replied.

Langford nodded. “They know, I made that abundantly clear. It’s just too damn expensive. With these democrats cutting our budgets, we just can’t justify spending a couple million dollars to steam out there and run some tests.”

“What about Emerson’s submersible?” Caesare asked. “They still haven’t found it and that’s going to be one expensive piece of equipment to write off. We could be looking for that at the same time.”

Langford shook his head. “Let’s not give up on the Triton.”

Clay was not surprised. It was not the first time they were held up because of funding. Sooner or later everything came down to money. What bothered him the most was that in all likelihood the decision was based on a spreadsheet rather than a death certificate. If the Alabama had been in the Mariana Trench when it had the error, it could have smashed into one of the trench walls and turned that submarine into a giant tomb. Clearly someone had decided that this was an isolated system malfunction, something he could not deny without more testing. Of course he could not confirm it without testing either. Another shining example of naval bureaucracy.

“Well if the Navy wants the Triton but we don’t have access to a sub,” Caesare started, “how exactly are we supposed to recover it?”

Langford smiled. “Funny you should ask.”





The United States Geological Survey was created in 1879 when President Rutherford B. Hays signed the bill appropriating the designated funds. Based in Reston, Virginia the USGS had the task of providing detailed data on the planet’s myriad environments and ecosystems. With a budget of just over one billion dollars, nearly 400 locations, and a network of over 10,000 scientists, technicians, and support staff, the scientific reach of the USGS was enormous, and the reason why the department’s Director Kathryn Lokke routinely got very little sleep. With a tumultuous rise to the head of the organization, and with the previous director being caught in a scandal of fraud and extramarital affairs, Lokke had her hands full trying to run things and repair the damage to their image.

The irony was that the USGS was one of the better run organizations in the public sector; something Lokke thought about often. She could not help but take it personally since she had spent the better part her career at the USGS. In fact, Lokke was not only one of the first female directors of the department, but arguably the most scientifically capable as well, when compared to her predecessors. She had been a lead scientist for years and headed some of the organization’s most difficult projects, which was why she found the job of running it all the more frustrating. She was not a bureaucrat and loathed having to play one, something else she thought of often, especially as she exited the room after her 10 a.m. conference call.

Lokke walked quickly back to her office on the top floor and almost made it past her assistant without being stopped.

“Ms. Lokke!” said Richele as she put down the phone. “Mr. Haines just called and said he needed to talk to you urgently.”

Lokke frowned. “About what?”

“He didn’t say. But he’s on his way up. I thought perhaps you would like me to bump some other…perhaps more annoying meeting instead”.

Lokke could not keep from smiling even after being stuck on the phone all morning. Richele was obviously talking about Albert Petriono, the head of Energy and Minerals. Someone everyone tried to avoid. “Thanks Richele, that would be great.”

She winked. “Already done.”



Haines burst into the office two minutes later and quickly closed the door.

“We have a problem.”

Lokke was startled. This was very unlike him. She pushed her laptop away and gave him her full attention. “What kind of problem?”

“Have you been told about the earthquake in the Antarctic?”

“Briefly this morning.”

Haines took a deep breath. “It was near the Ronne.”

“Did we get another break off?” Lokke asked, thinking about the giant, island-sized piece of ice that had broken off the Ronne Ice Shelf a few years earlier.

“Well for starters, it was no ice quake.”