There was a murmur of alarm and concern among the members seated at the table. Once again, the reality of the situation was slowly beginning to penetrate their studied resolve and professional decorum.

“Please,” Dr. Eisenblatt interrupted the scattered conversations. “Please, we must return to the issue. There is more. An even more serious danger to Hawaii and the Pacific Basin will come from earthquakes and volcanoes. As you know,” he continued in clinical fashion, “the islands of Hawaii came into being because of volcanic eruptions beneath the ocean floor. The entire area is still geologically unstable, as we have seen many times over the past two decades. But the impact of the object—the meteor—is sure to trigger a chain of seismic events throughout the Pacific Basin.”

As he spoke, computer simulations were being displayed on the large-screen monitors.

“I hasten to add that no one has available the empirical data to predict with certainty whether seismic shocks will occur, or how far they will travel. These disturbances,” he said, “will theoretically radiate at speeds up to twelve thousand kilometers per hour through the tectonic substructure in that region. The tidal wave, on its own, will set off seismic shocks in Hawaii. Add to that the fact that the concussion from California will likely reach Hawaii in three to four hours, and then we will see a cascading effect as the subsurface action reaches the Aleutians, then closer to home in Seattle, and straight down the Pacific Coast into Mexico.

“I’m sorry, Stan,” he said, speaking to the secretary of transportation, who was showing signs of strain and exhaustion, “but I must continue. Please forgive me, but I have to give this as straight as I can.”

“Go on, Jerry,” the other man responded. “I understand.”

“If this chain of events continues as I’ve described it so far, then we should not be surprised to see parts of Hawaii swamped with water, then torn apart by simultaneous volcanic action. The shock will be so intense that very likely most of what we know today as the Hawaiian Islands will disappear under the Pacific Ocean. Islands and atolls from the Aleutians to the Marianas will no doubt meet the same fate.

“But, Stan,” he added, reaching over to touch the secretary of transportation on the shoulder, “I also hasten to say that a lot of this is still conjecture, based on our best scientific analysis. You and I both know that we have never faced this exact situation before, thank God.

But this is what I anticipate.”

Al Augustus rose from his seat. “Thank you, doctor. But one more thing. Will you please amplify on what you see as the earthquake threat?”

“Mr. Secretary, as you know,” Eisenblatt responded, “I am a theoretical physicist, not a geologist or seismologist. What I’m telling you now comes from briefings and conversations that I participated in earlier today.”

“Yes, we all know that, doctor,” Augustus said. “Proceed.”

“The Baja Peninsula of California,” Dr. Eisenblatt continued, “was once part of the mainland. A violent earthquake split that peninsula away from the mainland. Then the intervening space filled with the body of water known as the Gulf of Baja. But the fault line that runs northward from that fissure continues northward into southern California. Most of us know about the San Andreas fault, but you may not know that California is literally criss-crossed with east-west fault lines, diagonal fault lines, as well as the main San Andreas fault, which runs northwest and southeast.