his men ever opened up with their weapons, Leviathan would come out of hibernation like a rocket. You don't know what you're dealing with, Adler.” Frank purposefully dropped the mister. “There is nothing in this cavern that can stop Leviathan except the fail-safe.”
Adler rose to his feet. “I will not sanction the nuclear vaporization of a billion-dollar experiment! Particularly since Leviathan is still asleep in the Containment Cavern, and we have no means whatsoever of knowing with any certainty that it is in this so-called Hunter-killer Mode!” He placed his knuckles on the desk, leaning into it. “That is the end of this discussion!”
Silence.
“I’m going over your head, Adler,” Frank replied finally. “I’m going to Stygian Enterprises on this, and I'm going to tell them your judgment is unsound. I'm going to tell them that you are unsound, that you're being criminally irresponsible! I'm going to tell them that you're unnecessarily putting the lives of everyone in this installation at stake—the project itself at stake—because you can't realize the danger we're in!”
Unexpectedly, Adler smiled.
Air in the doorway shifted and Frank turned, realizing instantly. He saw the host of implacable and disciplined faces staring knowingly at the contest of wills. He recognized men who presumed themselves to be far more responsible and far more advanced in this arena of science. There were at least ten of them in the room already. More were gathered outside. And their focus on Frank was condemning. Disappointed.
“As you can probably guess,” Adler said, leaning back from his aggressive position, “I had anticipated this on your part, Doctor. So after our meeting this morning I placed calls to the United States Government and Stygian Enterprises. As of this moment we have a new science team, Doctor. And Colonel Chesterton has also received orders to be relieved of command.''
“ I want to talk to the company myself,” Frank said coldly.
“ I'm afraid the lines of communication have now been encrypted,” Adler responded. “So there will be no civilian or military communications from this facility without the proper code, which only myself and Colonel Chesterton's replacement possess. I informed the company that the sensitivity of the project at this critical moment mandated additional security measures.”
Frank's head tilted. “So you're saying I can't talk to the company?”
“ What I'm saying, Doctor”—Adler moved around the desk, distinctly pugilistic despite his age—”is that I am now singly in charge of this facility's communications. Please understand, this is a sensitive situation. We stand on the brink of a brilliant triumph. And I know even better than you why we must follow through as soon as possible.”
Frank glanced at the faces behind him, at Adler. “What are you going to do?”
“ I'm going to complete the tests,” Adler replied, smiling. “And I am going to complete them on schedule, just as I've been ordered to do. Rest assured, Doctor, they will all be done with adequate safety measures. But they will, indeed, be done. Then we will finally see what kind of power Leviathan truly possesses.”
Frank felt himself surrendering to the situation. He shook his head dismally, nothing else that he could feel.
If you wake that thing up it's going to kill you, Adler,” he said. “It's going to kill every one of us.”
* * *
“ All ancient civilizations documented encounters between man and leviathans,” Thor said in the patient tone of a scholar.
“Early historians record that leviathans were beasts of unequaled power and rage, supreme on the earth in strength.”
Connor frowned, silent.
“First,” Thor began, “I’ll you what Job, the oldest book in the world, says about Leviathan. Then we will proceed from one text to another, examining the evidence.”
With a smile Connor said, “You sound like a scientist, Thor. You're talking about this leviathan,
Adler rose to his feet. “I will not sanction the nuclear vaporization of a billion-dollar experiment! Particularly since Leviathan is still asleep in the Containment Cavern, and we have no means whatsoever of knowing with any certainty that it is in this so-called Hunter-killer Mode!” He placed his knuckles on the desk, leaning into it. “That is the end of this discussion!”
Silence.
“I’m going over your head, Adler,” Frank replied finally. “I’m going to Stygian Enterprises on this, and I'm going to tell them your judgment is unsound. I'm going to tell them that you are unsound, that you're being criminally irresponsible! I'm going to tell them that you're unnecessarily putting the lives of everyone in this installation at stake—the project itself at stake—because you can't realize the danger we're in!”
Unexpectedly, Adler smiled.
Air in the doorway shifted and Frank turned, realizing instantly. He saw the host of implacable and disciplined faces staring knowingly at the contest of wills. He recognized men who presumed themselves to be far more responsible and far more advanced in this arena of science. There were at least ten of them in the room already. More were gathered outside. And their focus on Frank was condemning. Disappointed.
“As you can probably guess,” Adler said, leaning back from his aggressive position, “I had anticipated this on your part, Doctor. So after our meeting this morning I placed calls to the United States Government and Stygian Enterprises. As of this moment we have a new science team, Doctor. And Colonel Chesterton has also received orders to be relieved of command.''
“ I want to talk to the company myself,” Frank said coldly.
“ I'm afraid the lines of communication have now been encrypted,” Adler responded. “So there will be no civilian or military communications from this facility without the proper code, which only myself and Colonel Chesterton's replacement possess. I informed the company that the sensitivity of the project at this critical moment mandated additional security measures.”
Frank's head tilted. “So you're saying I can't talk to the company?”
“ What I'm saying, Doctor”—Adler moved around the desk, distinctly pugilistic despite his age—”is that I am now singly in charge of this facility's communications. Please understand, this is a sensitive situation. We stand on the brink of a brilliant triumph. And I know even better than you why we must follow through as soon as possible.”
Frank glanced at the faces behind him, at Adler. “What are you going to do?”
“ I'm going to complete the tests,” Adler replied, smiling. “And I am going to complete them on schedule, just as I've been ordered to do. Rest assured, Doctor, they will all be done with adequate safety measures. But they will, indeed, be done. Then we will finally see what kind of power Leviathan truly possesses.”
Frank felt himself surrendering to the situation. He shook his head dismally, nothing else that he could feel.
If you wake that thing up it's going to kill you, Adler,” he said. “It's going to kill every one of us.”
* * *
“ All ancient civilizations documented encounters between man and leviathans,” Thor said in the patient tone of a scholar.
“Early historians record that leviathans were beasts of unequaled power and rage, supreme on the earth in strength.”
Connor frowned, silent.
“First,” Thor began, “I’ll you what Job, the oldest book in the world, says about Leviathan. Then we will proceed from one text to another, examining the evidence.”
With a smile Connor said, “You sound like a scientist, Thor. You're talking about this leviathan,
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