Before Ted Rust opened the meeting, Al Augustus again looked at Mark Beaulieu. All he got back was the warm smile of a friend. Perhaps he had been mistaken. Perhaps not.

“We will open this meeting,” President Rust began, “with a presentation by our science adviser, Dr. Eisenblatt, of satellite photographs taken during the past twenty-four hours.”

Dr. Eisenblatt stood up. His thin shoulders were stooped, his face lined with fatigue. “Ladies and gentlemen, I must tell you that the earth has been convulsed during the past forty-eight hours by the most devastating disaster in human history.

“Much of the devastation occurred at night,” he said. “And, even with our infrared photography capabilities, the satellite pictures are of poor quality. Most of the electric power throughout the Pacific area is no longer functioning. However, there are battery-powered satellite transmission facilities in the area that have sent back fragmentary information.”

Ted Rust stopped him, “Doctor, I suggest we begin with the United States.”

“As you wish, Mr. President,” he said. Pointing to a staffer across the room, he directed, “Please dim the lights.”

In the presentation that followed, the cabinet endured scene after scene of dead bodies, wrecked ships, collapsed buildings, and forest fires out of control. They were led through countless pictures of panic-stricken people, crazed with fear, trying to escape from hell on earth.

An aide entered the room quietly and handed a note to Dr. Eisenblatt. He read it quickly. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said softly, “I have just learned that only moments ago three dormant volcanoes in the Cascade Range—Mount Shasta, Mount Hood, and Mount Rainier— have all erupted. This means that people in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and northern California who escaped the floodwaters by moving to high ground may be killed by the hot gas and debris from these explosions.“With this information, Mr. President, I would calculate that the death toll in America may reach thirty million people.”

What happened next was like a reprise of their first cabinet meeting. “Oh, my God,” Ted Rust moaned. He tried to stifle his emotions but could not help sobbing aloud. Benjamin Benares gently led him from the room.

As before, Al Augustus resumed his place as head of crisis management and did not miss a beat. “Please continue, Dr. Eisenblatt.”

“We have now learned that, in addition to the three volcanoes in the continental United States, twenty-three more have erupted from Chile to Indonesia. The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 sent ash into eleven states—enough to cover a football field to a depth of a hundred and fifty miles. During nine hours of eruption, Mount St. Helens sent out five hundred and forty million tons of ash. If this figure is multiplied by twenty-six, we can estimate that fourteen billion tons of ash will enter the atmosphere, along with five hundred and twenty million tons of sulfur dioxide and aerosols.