Arctic Gold by Stephen Coonts

little impact on such a large and complex system as global climate. And No, the oil companies are not
paying me for my opinion.
Look, I was out of line with that crack, Doc. And I apologize.
Spencer seemed somewhat mollified. Accepted.
So, this theory of yours. You’re saying global warming is from the sun becoming more active?
Essentially. You may know that the sun goes through an eleven- year cycle which oscillates between more and less activity. We’re coming up on the next solar maximum in the next year or two, and so there has been an increase in sunspots, which do
cause interference with communications here on Earth.
However, what I’ve been looking at are cycles of much greater magnitude hundreds, even thousands of years. According to the computer model I’ve developed, the warming we are experiencing now is perfectly natural, and not a product of human carbon dioxide production through industry or fossil fuel emissions. In fact, it demonstrates that much of the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past century is due to warming temperatures, which release CO2
from the oceans.
So the rising CO2 levels are caused by global warming, but global warming is not caused by rising CO2
.
Precisely.
The car swung around a gentle curve, threading its way through a major junction to pick up the M4 near Thorny, heading east toward the city. It was a gloriously clear late- spring day in apparent defiance of the tradition that British weather was always cold and wet.
Karr and Spencer chatted amiably for the next ten miles, discussing global climate change. Occasionally Karr turned in his seat, checking the traffic behind. There was one vehicle, a white Mazda, that was nagging at his awareness.
So, global warming might be a good
thing? Karr asked.
I know, Spencer said. He chuckled. Absolute heresy. People committed to the gloom- and- doom scenario really don’t like to hear about that part. But higher levels of carbon dioxide mean accelerated plant growth, worldwide. Bigger crops. Expanding forests. Longer growing seasons. Canada and Siberia, especially, could begin producing bumper crops of corn and wheat. But, somehow, the news media doesn’t seem to feel that good
news is worth broadcasting.
Tommy? Marie Telach voice said in his head. This is George.
cuse me, Karr said, holding his left hand up to touch his ear. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Gotta take a call.
I didn’t hear it ring.
on vibrate. George? Go ahead. He held the cell phone to his ear, pretending to talk on the phone. It was a useful fiction that avoided unnecessary explanations about high- tech and high- secret gadgetry.
You seen the white car on your tail? Telach asked.
The one that picked us up in the front of the hotel? Karr replied. The vehicle, a white Mazda, double- parked in front of the hotel entrance, had dropped in on the Lincoln tail as they’d pulled out of the parking garage. Yeah. I’ve been watching him.
Think you can give us a close- up?
Karr glanced back. Traffic was growing heavy as they entered the outskirts of Greater London. On the M4, the other vehicle had fallen back to a comfortable distance, but now, as they skirted a traffic circle and plunged into West London, the Mazda was following closer, only about thirty feet off their back bumper.
Sure thing. He turned and aimed the cell phone over the back of the Lincoln rear seat. The unit appeared to be an ordinary camera phone, but when he adjusted the lens and pressed the imaging key, the picture that came
up on the phone display was far sharper, with a much higher resolution, than ordinary commercial cell phone cameras. Karr touched another button on the keypad, and the image grew brighter, with higher contrast. The sky and the surrounding buildings were washed out in the glare, but the people in the Mazda were clearly visible.
What are
you doing? Spencer asked.
Getting some snaps for the family back home.
He touched another key, and the