Solution: Nuclear
San Luz was in a state of complete chaos. The majority of the island
people dropped everything as the word of treasure spread, and the slopes
of El Viejo were covered with treasure hunters using everything from
shovels to pointed sticks in an effort to find _los diamantes_. Only a
bare handful even knew that the diamonds occurred only in a small
volcanic pipe on the western slope.
If the hunt continued, Rick thought, the slopes would be denuded of
vegetation.
There was intermittent fighting around the volcanic pipe, the police
reported. Guevara's peons had succeeded in holding the diamond pipe, but
were surrounded by soldiers. Now and then Guevara attempted to clear the
entire area, but with the entire army struggling to dig diamonds he
wasn't having much success. The police officer who investigated also
reported that an American was with Guevara. That would be Connel, of
course.
The scientists had moved at once to start shooting again, with the
police pushing back the diamond seekers until the dynamite could be set
off in safety. The crazed hunters assumed that the explosions were also
means of seeking the diamonds, and rushed to the craters before the
smoke had cleared.
No one really cared. The data was being collected, and it showed that
the situation was growing extremely serious.
"Ten days maximum," Zircon said. "Maybe less. The magma has about
reached that rock dike, and once it melts through, there goes the
mountain."
"We must get the people off," Governor Montoya insisted. "That is the
first thing. I shall call at once for help from the Americans. They have
forces at the Canal Zone and also in the West Indies. They will send
help."
"Yes," Hartson Brant agreed. "But first, we have a proposal. We will
need the troops, but we may also need other help."
Governor Montoya looked at him keenly. "This proposal is perhaps a
solution for El Viejo?"
"Perhaps. Let me outline the situation." The scientist pointed out the
magma on Dr. Williams' sketch. "This is where the magma is now. Above it
is a very thick layer of rock in which we can find no major weakness. It
may hold the magma for a while. At least it probably will melt slowly."
He pointed to a little line running from the western slope of the
mountain down to the rock dike. "This was where we wanted to dig a
channel. Now it is too late to go all the way to the rock. The heat
would be too great. But if we could drive a hole through, with great
suddenness, the magma would be released and the eruption would be away
from the island and into the sea."
"How would you do this?" the governor asked.
"By getting help from the U. S. government, from Army Engineers and
Seabees, who are U. S. Navy engineers. We would drive the tunnel as far
down as time permitted. Of course we would keep track of the magma
constantly. Then, as time ran out, we would place a charge in the
hole--a shaped charge, as it is called--which would drive the hole most
of the way to the magma. It would also crack the rock dike. The magma
would seek the weakest spots, of course. It is under enormous pressure.
And we would have the result we want."
"But what kind of explosive would be enough for such an undertaking?"
Montoya demanded. "Not enough dynamite could be packed into the tunnel
to do the work."
"We weren't thinking of dynamite," Hartson Brant said quietly. "We were
thinking of a nuclear explosion."
Rick gasped. He had no warning of this. The scientists had evidently
arrived at the conclusion while he was flying around over the diamond
seekers.
Montoya gasped, too. "But that would kill everyone on the island!"
"Not at all," Zircon boomed. "It would kill no one. Of course we would
clear the area with troops."
"But the radioactivity," the governor protested. "I have read it is
deadly!"
"Only if it can reach people," Hartson Brant explained. "This shot would
be far underground. There would be no fall-out, as it is called, at all.
Of course the earth around the explosion would be greatly radioactive.
Some of the activity would be trapped in the magma. But where would it
come to rest? On the bottom of the sea. There might be some danger to
bottom fish in the vicinity, but I think the water would get so hot from
the lava that fish would avoid it, anyway. And eventually the
radioactivity would decay of itself to low levels. Sir, I see no other
way."
The governor raised his hands in a gesture of resignation. "I know
nothing of these matters, and it is your business to know. I accept your
assurances without reservation. Now, what do we do?"
The scientists had not only conceived the solution, but had a detailed
plan of action. Within a half hour, the loud-speaker had been removed
from the plane, and Rick was flying Governor Montoya, Hartson Brant, and
Esteben Balgos to Trinidad.
Arrangements had been made by phone while they were en route. A car,
sent by the President of the West Indies Federation, picked them up at
the airport and whisked them to the Federation's headquarters.
The President listened to the story with intense interest, then
summoned the American ambassador and the representatives of Venezuela
and Colombia.
After a detailed discussion by Hartson Brant of the properties and
limitations of nuclear explosions, the conference agreed. Immediate
action was called for. The Venezuelan and Colombian representatives
hurried off to notify their governments, while the President of the
Federation put in a conference call to the United States, to the
Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of State, and the President's Special Assistant for Science
and Technology, who happened to be an old friend of Hartson Brant's.
A personal phone call from a head of state was without
precedent--especially a conference call. The U. S. officials were
located within an hour, and the call put through. On the West Indies end
were the Federation's President, the U. S. ambassador, Governor Montoya,
and Hartson Brant, speaking from four different rooms. Rick hung over
his father's chair, listening.
The Federation's President introduced himself and described the problem
briefly. Then he introduced the governor. Montoya said briefly,
"Gentlemen, we must have help or the island of San Luz will perish. I
ask help on behalf of my 32,000 people."
The Federation's President then introduced Hartson Brant. Rick gathered
that the U. S. President's Special Assistant and the Chairman of the
Atomic Energy Commission both greeted him warmly as an old friend.
The scientist outlined the problem and its solution. He continued,
"According to our estimates, we will need ten kilotons in order to have
a margin of safety. It will take as many Seabees or engineers as
necessary to drive a tunnel. The tunnel dimensions will depend on what
machinery you can get to us. I leave that to your experts. We will also
need about five thousand sea-based troops to handle the island
population. We may have to carry them bodily to safety. Now, can it be
done?"
There was silence as the scientist listened. Rick stood on one foot,
then the other, waiting. He could hear the mumble of voices through the
earphone but could make no sense out of it.
Presently Hartson Brant said, "Yes. I believe the runway at San Luz
could handle a C-124." There was silence again. Finally, the scientist
said, "I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, then." He hung up and
turned to Rick with a grin.
"Our President will put pressure on the local Venezuelan and Colombian
ambassadors here for an immediate decision from their governments, and
our own Secretary of State will instruct our ambassadors in Venezuela
and Colombia to camp on the doorsteps until they get agreement. He will
also notify the United Nations, and invite observers from the Security
Council. The AEC will fly in a 10-KT nuclear charge and a group of
experts. The Secretary of Defense promised that a battalion of Seabees
with full equipment would arrive in San Luz within twenty-four hours.
The Military Air Transport Service will airlift in enough troops to
handle the crowd. Any questions?"
Rick grinned back. "It sounds as though everyone's in the act but the
British."
"Oh, they're in it, too. The Federation's President will represent their
political interests, but we'll also have a British cruiser standing
offshore for help as needed. And I forgot an important addition. Our
President's Assistant for Science and Technology is notifying the proper
committees of the National Academy of Sciences. We'll have a planeload
of geophysicists down here in a few days to get all the scientific data
possible out of this event. So we're well covered."
"I guess we can relax now," Rick said with relief. "The job is out of
our hands."
"Not quite," Hartson Brant corrected. "They all agreed that the
Spindrift Foundation should be placed in over-all charge. So we've got
our work cut out for us!"