“All the German books.”
“Exactly. Third, from Arby’s list – and from another independent source – it is clear that there is volcanic gas located at Site B. So, which islands have volcanic gas? Take the magnifying glass and look for yourself. Turns out, only one island does,”
“You mean this here?” the girl said. “Right. That’s volcanic smoke.”
“How do you know?”
“Spectrographic analysis. See this spike here? That’s elementary sulfur in the cloud cover. There aren’t really any sources for sulfur except volcanic sources.”
“What’s this other spike?” the girl said.
“Methane,” Malcolm said. “Apparently there is – a fairly large source of methane gas.”
“Is that also volcanic?” Thorne said.
“It might be. Methane is released from volcanic activity, but most commonly during active eruptions. The other possibility is, it might be organic.
“Organic? Meaning what?”
“Large herbivores, and – ”
Then there was something that James couldn’t hear, and the kid said, “Do you want me to finish this recovery, or not?” He sounded annoyed.
“No,” Thorne said. “Never mind now, Arby. We know what we have to do. Let’s go, kids!”
James looked up at the apartment and saw the lights being turned off. A few minutes later, Thorne and the kids appeared at the front entrance, on the street level. They got in a Jeep, and drove off. Malcolm went to his own car, climbed in awkwardly, and drove away in the opposite direction.
James considered following Malcolm, but he had something else to do now. He turned on the car ignition, picked up the phone, and dialed.
Field Systems
Half an hour later, when they got back to Thorne’s Office, Kelly stared, stunned. Most of the workers were gone, and the shed had been cleaned up. The two trailers and the Explorer stood side by side, freshly painted dark green, and ready to go.
They’re finished!”
“I told you they would be,” Thorne said. He turned to his chief foreman, Eddie Carr, a stocky young man in his twenties. “Eddie, where are we?”
“Just wrapping up, Doc,” Eddie said. “Paint’s still wet in a few places, but it should be dry by morning.”
“We can’t wait until morning. We’re moving out now.”
“We are?”
Arby and Kelly exchanged glances. This was news to them, too.
Thorne said, “I’ll need you to drive one of these, Eddie. We’ve got to be at the airport by midnight.”
“But I thought we were field testing.
“No time for that. We’re going right to the location.” The front door buzzed. “That’ll be Malcolm, probably. He pushed the button to unlock the door.
“You’re not going to field test?” Eddie said, with a worried look. “I think you better shake them down, Doc. We made some pretty complex modifications here, and – ”
“There’s no time,” Malcolm said, coming in. “We have to go right away.” He turned to Thorne. “I’m very worried about him.”
“Eddie!” Thorne said. “Did the exit papers come in?”
“Oh sure, we’ve had them for the last two weeks,”
“Well, get them, and call Jenkins, tell him to meet us at the airport, and do the details for us. I want to be off the ground in four hours.”
“Jeez, Doc – ”
“Just do it.”
Kelly said, “You’re going to Costa Rica?”
“That’s right. We’ve got to get Levine. If it’s not too late.”
“We’re coming with you,” Kelly said.
“Right,” Arby said. “We are.”
“Absolutely not,” Thorne said. “It’s out of the question.”
“But we earned it!”
“Dr. Levine talked to our parents!”
“We already have permission!”
“You have permission,” Thorne said severely, “to go on a field test in the woods a hundred miles from here. But we’re not doing that. We’re going someplace that might be very dangerous, and you’re not coming with us, and that’s final.”
“But – ”
“Kids,” Thorne said. “Don’t piss me off. I’m going to go make a phone call. You get your stuff together. You’re going home.”
And he turned and walked away.
“Gee,” Kelly said.
Arby stuck his tongue out at the departing Thorne and muttered, “What an asshole.”
“Get with the program, Arby,” Thorne said, not looking back. “You two guys are going home. Period.”