Death Wave by Ben Bova Page A

Halleck,” he commanded his voice-activated phone.
    He loathed the chairwoman of the World Council. They had butted heads more than once, usually over matters of communications policy and freedom of speech. Halleck wanted to control the solar system’s communications—for the good of the people, she maintained. For her own power, Otero knew.
    But now, this Jordan Kell, this man who has returned from the stars, he is a threat to us both. Until I can figure out how to use him against Halleck, I’ll have to work with the bitch to see to it that neither Kell nor anyone else can usurp my network again.
    *   *   *
    In Barcelona, Anita Halleck smiled thinly at Jordan Kell and the human-looking alien sitting beside him.
    â€œYou understand, of course, that it’s no trivial matter to build starships and send teams out to these civilizations that you claim are endangered.”
    Jordan nodded politely. “Not trivial, but well within the capabilities of the World Council, I should think.”
    â€œYou realize, I presume,” Halleck said evenly, “that our resources are already stretched close to the limit on damming the meltwater flow from Greenland. If the Gulf Stream is diverted, Western Europe’s climate will become Siberian.”
    â€œIncluding the British Isles,” Castiglione added, almost vindictively.
    Jordan nodded. “Still, we must build the starships and save those alien worlds. It would be inhuman to stand by and let them die.”
    â€œWhat you don’t seem to understand,” said Halleck, “is that we have our own problems to deal with. You can’t expect us to go out on an interstellar crusade.”
    Sitting on Aditi’s other side, Castiglione asked, “Why the urgency? You say that the death wave won’t reach their worlds for centuries.”
    â€œAnd won’t reach our vicinity for two thousand years,” Halleck added.
    Jordan stifled the reply that immediately leapt to his mind. He refrained from telling them what he thought of their kick-the-can-down-the-road attitude.
    Instead, he said, “I know that the World Council has worked very hard to alleviate the effects of the global climate warming.”
    â€œIt’s our number one priority,” said Halleck.
    â€œYet if the world’s governments had acted when the climate warming first became noticeable, nearly three hundred years ago, those effects could have been prevented.”
    â€œThere was no World Council then,” Castiglione pointed out. “No international government at all.”
    â€œBut the nations of the world were warned about the climate change. Scientists organized international meetings, put out detailed reports.”
    â€œWhich were not acted upon,” Halleck admitted. “Until it was too late. The main reason the World Council was established was to deal with the climate change and its effects.”
    â€œAnd in the meantime coastal cities were flooded. Farmlands parched. The very geography of planet Earth was drastically changed. Millions died. Tens of millions were displaced.”
    Her face grim, Halleck said, “That wasn’t our fault. We have worked very hard to alleviate the effects of the global warming. It hasn’t been easy—”
    â€œIf the world’s political leaders had acted when the scientists first warned of the consequences,” Jordan insisted, “most of those effects could have been prevented.”
    Castiglione got the point. “You’re saying that we should act now about the problem of the death wave. We shouldn’t wait, even though there’s plenty of time.”
    â€œIndeed,” said Jordan. “There’s much to be done.”
    Focusing on Aditi, Halleck asked, “You can communicate with your people on New Earth? Eight light-years away?”
    â€œEight point six,” Jordan muttered.
    â€œYes,” Aditi answered. “There is a