“You can see it up there on the screen. Our friend the South Atlantic Anomaly. As I've explained before, it's essentially a 'dip' in the magnetosphere where there is less natural shielding.” He pointed to an intersection where lines of latitude and longitude crossed. “About three hundred miles off the coast of Brazil is this area of weakest polarity, where a natural polar shift would occur.”

“The new North Pole,” Gant said.

Margrave laughed. “I can't wait to see the faces on the leading Elites when they discover that Lucifer's warnings had some teeth to them.”

Gant spread his lips in his warmest smile. He couldn't wait to see Margrave's face when he learned that all the work and fortune he had put into the polar shift project would benefit the very Elites that he despised.

NUMA 6 - Polar Shift

38

BARRETT SAT IN A quiet corner table of the dark-beamed taproom of the Leesburg country tavern. He was scribbling madly on a napkin, his head bent low over his work. The table was covered with dozens of crumpled napkins. An untouched mug of beer sat by his right elbow. He was oblivious to the glances the other customers were casting at the spider decorating his bald pate.

Austin and Karla sat at the table. Sensing that he had company, Barrett looked up with a faraway look in his eyes. He grinned when he saw their faces.

“You don't know how glad I am to see you. I'm about ready to explode.”

“Please don't do that just yet,” Austin said. He asked Karla what she wanted to drink and ordered two black and tans, a combination of Guinness and lager.

Racing around the Virginia countryside in an open car had made them thirsty. When the beers came, Austin slugged down half of his, and Karla blissfully buried her nose in the foamy head.

Before heading off to meet Barrett, Austin had given Pitt an update on the polar shift situation. Pitt had said he would call Sandecker, who was returning the next day from a diplomatic trip, and set up a briefing with the president when he got back from a tour inspecting tornado damage in the Midwest. In the meantime, he wanted Austin to meet with the Pentagon. As an added bonus, he gave Austin carte blanche with NUMA's vast resources.

“Sorry to take so long,” Austin said, savoring the cool brew that trickled down his throat. “We came as soon as we could. There was background noise when you called, and I'm not sure I understood you correctly,” Austin said. “You said something about the nursery rhyme, but I didn't get the rest.”

“After you left for Manassas, I started fooling around with Karla's bedtime rhyme. The title, 'Topsy-Turvy,' and some of the lines fit in with what we know about polar shift. It seemed too close to be coincidental.”