Accelerant- Sixth Extinction

by James Morris Robinson

  “This is Mary Sullivan, Miami New Channel 7. Today, two leading U.S. science agencies jointly declared that last year was the hottest year ever recorded by humankind. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA announced that the average temperature across the world’s land and ocean surfaces not only set a record for this year but global temperatures have now successively been broken five times over the last five years. There is an undeniable truth that the pattern of record warmth in the lower atmosphere, coupled with record cold in the stratosphere will lead to dangerous greenhouse gases trapping heat in the lower atmosphere instead of letting it escape to the stratosphere, and then to space. We are cooking the planet. The Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies indicated that an on-going long-term warming trend is clear. Two other global agencies, the Japan Meteorological Agency and Britain’s Hadley Center, who also track global temperatures concurred.”

  Kyle and Jeff both worked in the maritime trades as part of the southeastern cell of Genesis in the United States. Kyle was a port captain in historical Charleston, South Carolina. Jeff was a seaman, living and working for a large shipping company in Shanghai, China. Jeff ‘s company ran cargo mainly from China to the United States. Jeff and Kyle had come to trust and admire each other. They had a common bond. Both were upset and disgruntled with the American government and corporations. They both believed that America, the United Kingdom, and their allies wasted and squandered the world’s resources while third-world countries suffered.

  Jeff decided to meet Kyle while he was in town on holiday in Savannah. Kyle had a very nice apartment very close to both Port Charleston and downtown Charleston. Jeff made it a point to always connect with Kyle when his container ship docked at Port Charleston to pick up or deliver containerized freight. The timing was right and they could catch the action of the April Broughton Street International Festival across the river in Savannah.

  "I hope Daniel and mother don’t find out I am in town…I am just here for a few days and I need some ‘me’ time. I will see them on my next trip, next month when we return,"' Jeff thought.

  It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Savannah. Jeff met Kyle for breakfast at the Marshall House on historic Broughton Street where Kyle was lodging. They jumped in Jeff ’s car and drove to a local Gullah Restaurant for shrimp and grits.

  Kyle dug his fork into the piping hot yellow stone-ground grits and fresh cooked shrimp. He savored his food. “Now that’s some good eating.”

  “Yeah, it’s sinfully good. Speaking of sin, brother, you really like staying at these expensive hotels, don’t you?”

  Kyle looked at Jeff with an endearing look. “Well, I have learned that you live to the fullest when you can; you never know when Allah will call on you to do his bidding.”

  Jeff looked around cautiously. “Not here, not now. Let’s enjoy the moment.”

  Kyle nodded. “Ok then, let’s enjoy our meal”

  Jeff watched Kyle as he dug into his plate. “For a boy from New England, you really love Gullah food.”

  Kyle laughed. “New Englanders can go for shrimp and grits. We eat more than fish and lobsters!”

  Jeff finished his breakfast and pulled his wallet out. Kyle stopped him. “Go start the car, while I take care of this. We need to head back.”

  About a mile down the road, Kyle punched Jeff. “We got new orders.”

  “Really?”

  “High Command issued orders for us to report to certain coordinates in Burkina Faso. We will be there for several weeks.”

  “Who is the target?”

  “Don’t know. We are to meet with several high commanders of Genesis. The actual date, location, and time will be given at a time closer to the meeting, just to keep everyone safe and give a certain plausible deniability.”

  “I know that look Kyle...there is more isn’t there?”

  “Yep, China. We are due in Shanghai after we leave Burkina Faso.”

  Jeff stopped the car as the traffic light turned red. He gave Kyle a serious look. “So what are we doing there?”

  “Bro, all I can tell you is that Genesis has secured jobs for us at the largest shipyard in Shanghai. Once there, we will be briefed on our assignments.” Kyle reached over and held Jeff’s shoulder firmly. “I have been given directives to inform you that you need to terminate your employment with the shipping companies.”

  Jeff looked sad and then smiled.

  “What is it, little brother?”

  Jeff gave Kyle a worried look, “This is it, isn’t it? We are approaching the end of days.”

  Kyle shook his head. “No! No! We are approaching the period of time where we set things right.”

  Jeff spotted free parking as they drove through the Historic District. Jeff pulled over on the south of Gaston Street on the side streets adjacent to Forsyth Park.

  “Let’s take a walk Kyle...while we talk.”

  “Yeah, let’s burn this breakfast off.”

  Forsyth Park was the largest park in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. It would be a nice walk today on its paths lined with beautiful trees, covered in Spanish moss.

  As they walked, Kyle stopped. He grabbed Jeff by the shoulder.

  “Hey Bro. What troubles you.”

  “Kyle, maybe I am not cut out for this. Maybe…—”

  “Jeff, stop right there. Am I talking to Jeff, who saved my life twice?”

  Jeff solemn face turned to laughter, “Actually, those guys needed killing anyhow.”

  “Now that is the Jeff I know. That is the warrior I know that have my back.”

  “Ok, Kyle...when do we leave?”

  “Jeff, you take care of your business. I will let you know when I know.”

  Days later, Kyle was enjoying the view as the Airbus descended. The airport in Burkina Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou handled 98 percent of commercial air traffic to the West African country. The pilot radioed from the cockpit, “Attendants, please prepare the cabins for landing in Ouagadougou. The weather is a hot 86°F with an easterly wind blowing at 13 miles per hours. The humidity is 14%.”

  As Jeff looked out the windows he remembered what he learned about Africa and Burkina Faso from the dossier prior to his trip. Many are fascinated with Africa’s places and people. Africa has fifty-four countries, over a thousand languages, and over a billion people. Some believe Africa’s freestanding mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, as the tallest in the world, although it wasn’t. Many speak of the Sahara Desert, which spans over 3.5 million square miles, almost the size of the United States. Jeff has always been intrigued by rivers and their origins. He particularly liked the information about the Nile River being the second longest in the world. Africa is known for many atrocities as well as being the cradle of humankind, a breathtaking heritage site. For Jeff and Kyle though, Africa meant adventure and male-bonding time. In the past, Kyle had completed several missions in this area and developed a love for the region, not just Burkina Faso on the west coast, but also Cote D’Ivoire and Togo. Geographically it was on the same longitudinal line as Trinidad and Tobago, which sat near the top of South America’s northern coastline. Burkina Faso was a French colony that achieved independence from France in 1960.

  “Kyle, if this is not paradise…what is it?”

  “A hot paradise.”

  Jeff laughed. “Look down; you can see the landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers, the Black, Red, and White Voltas.”

  Jeff loved it there because the country melted away the stereotypes the western world had of Africa. Here, the emphasis was on tourism and conservation, not hunting and trophies. Burkina Faso was a poor country, rich in forestry and rare species of mammals and birds. It had developed wildlife reserves across an extensive land area and twelve national parks to protect against illegal wildlife hunting and deforestation. Tourists from around the world enjoyed the wildlife safely and peacefully.

  After they landed, they caught a shuttle to southwestern Burkina Faso to spend
some time with the chief of the secretive Lobi people. The Lobi migrated in the 1770s from present-day Ghana, south of Burkina Faso.

  The name Lobi originated from two Lobiri words, lou, which meant ‘forest,’ and bi, which together meant ‘children of the forest.’

  The chief invited them to stay in their remote village for a couple of days. Genesis supplied food and other necessities to this aggressive tribe as they built their following across Africa. It was Kyle’s opinion that the western world had shunned many of these small tribes because they were different.

  “Yes, they live in mud huts with narrow doors and windows. The huts have pointed roofs and remind you of small castles. And yes, they still use poison arrow weapons, but I would stand by them in any battle.”

  After settling in, Kyle and Jeff discussed Islam with the chief over the single daily meal and freshly brewed millet beer. Kyle poured a millet beer for a young Lobiri man who spoke English. The young Lobiri thanked him.

  Kyle cautiously asked, “Could you ask the chief a question for me? I want to know, why is it that more than one-half of his countrymen are Muslim, but not the Lobi? Why hasn’t the chief given thought to Islam conversion, to unite the Lobi tribe with them?”

  The chief laughed loudly and took a deep gulp of his beer. “Most of them speak French also. I guess you suppose I be Frenchman?”

  The young interpreter also laughed as he translated.

  The chief continued with a story. “An elderly man in a Lobi village once renounced the spirits in favor of Islam by discarding the very beliefs in spirits and mystical inanimate objects that have held our societies together for more than three centuries. He threw his fetishes in a nearby lake. Sadly, he turned and walked away from the lake and the traditions. As the elder walked away, the fetishes leaped out of the lake onto his back again to reclaim him.”

  Kyle enlightened said, “I think I understand. Sometimes, the old ways will not give you up.”

  The Chief nodded and smiled with approval. The boys enjoyed their evening with the chief and headed to their hut for bed as they needed to start early in the morning.

  The next morning Kyle and Jeff headed out towards Genesis officer training. They took off from Ouagadougou City on Uganda Airways. Upon arrival, a car located them by a GPS signal from Kyle’s burner phone. Once inside the car, he tossed the phone.

  The driver greeted them. Kyle and Jeff did not understand a word he said. They looked at each other as Jeff rode shotgun and Kyle sat in the backseat.

  Kyle whispered, “Whatever dude.”

  Jeff said sarcastically, “Kyle, that was not soldier like.”

  “Jeff, he is not a soldier.”

  Jeff played with buttons on the dashboard. “This is an American Jeep Renegade SUV, right?”

  The driver did not even look at Jeff.

  “Oh, I forget that Mr. Driving Mrs. Daisy does not speak English.”

  Kyle laughed. “Now, Jeff, that was not soldier like.”

  “You are right, Kyle. He is no soldier or I would punch him.” Both laughed.

  Suddenly the driver spoke...in perfect English. “Actually boys, this Jeep is made entirely in Italy. Also, I am honored to be mistaken for that American, Morgan Freeman. By the way, I am a soldier and it would be a fatal mistake to punch me.”

  Kyle and Jeff look at each other sheepishly. The car came to an abrupt stop.

  “Get out. Your ride is here.”

  They looked out the window and a huge Scania Streamline tractor-trailer was parked alongside them. The driver barked in perfect English, “Get out now.”

  The cab door swung open as Kyle yelled “Shotgun!”

  As Kyle settled into the front seat, the driver yelled, “Touch nothing.”

  Jeff and Kyle understood this loud and clear. Kyle noticed the driver plotting a course through the truck’s encrypted Fleet Management Portal. The driver winked at Kyle. “This lets High Command know we picked up our freight. Welcome aboard boys.”

  As the tractor-trailer sped down the barren highway, Kyle asked, “I heard you guys were out here. I thought it was another legend.”

  “No soldier, we are real. Go through the door and meet the rest of the legend.”

  “What door?” Jeff asked.

  “Hit that small lever on the headrest.”

  Jeff did and light appeared around a three-foot passage door at the back of the cab.

  “Well...what are you waiting on? Go meet the rest of the gang.”

  Jeff and Kyle crawled through the portal into a huge spacious mobile communications command center. Jeff looked in awe at twenty people busy at work at different workstations.

  A beautiful Somali woman walked up to them. “I am Samiira. I welcome you. You are now aboard the flagship mobile communications command center for Genesis. We enable communication and command options that allow High Command to respond to any disaster or threat to our causes. We are well equipped with the capacity to execute terrorist attacks and damage or overwhelm an existing communications infrastructure of the enemy. Our single seamless network of satellite links provides High Command with situational awareness and access to vital databases on local or global area information and assets.”

  Kyle shook Samiira’s hand as he replied. “So, this is the communication center that uncovered the CIA’s secret prison buried in the basement of Somalia’s National Security Agency headquarters where prisoners suspected of being Genesis members were taken and interrogated?”

  Samira pointed to a workstation where a team of her people worked. “This is the team you speak of. We successfully field tested Apophis today. This system can intercept global telephone systems including all of the large cellular companies as well as smaller cable and wireless providers. This allows us to weave a shadow military single-channel ground and airborne radio system and communicate directly with any local or national civil emergency radio systems. We can manipulate real-time data to disseminate misinformation.”

  Jeff looked around, intrigued. “Sounds interesting enough. Will we be trained on this?”

  “Yes. In fact, I will facilitate your session.”

  Kyle piped in, “Wonderful. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  Samiira bowed gracefully and said, “Enjoy your visit. By the way, your luggage has been taken into our care for screening. It will follow you soon.”

  Moments later, Kyle and Jeff felt the huge mobile communications center gracefully come to a stop, and the back of the trailer opened to an enclosed underground entrance.

  After a good meal and a good night sleep, Kyle and Jeff reported for duty on the third level of the underground complex, to the great hall. The field commander leading the first training session waited until all Genesis soldiers were seated. He looked out over the audience with a cold piercing look. “What we will share with you commanders and soldiers today is classified under penalty of death to you and your families. If you leak this information, we will destroy you and anyone related to you. Understood?”

  There was a loud echo in the room as all commanders barked back, “Understood...sir!”

  “Before I get to mission details, let’s have a conversation about Fireships and harbor tsunamis. I am a fan of the History Channel. A lot of the world’s history is told through a European lens, but this American organization seems to get it right most of the time without bias. They tell the story of The Great Halifax Explosion perfectly.” The Field Commander scanned the room. “Ethan is our recruiter that hails from Nova Scotia. He will tell the story.”

  Ethan walked to the front of the great hall. He bowed humbly with greetings. “Many of you know that Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest urban area in this Atlantic province, which looks out over one of the world's largest natural harbors and is an important seaport. The world was at war and it raged in Europe. Halifax bustled with ships carrying troops, relief supplies, and munitions across the Atlantic Ocean. On the morning of December 6th, 1917, in the harbor, the most devastating
man-made explosion in the pre-atomic age occurred. SS Mont-Blac, a French cargo ship, carrying highly volatile explosives en route to join a military convoy collided with a Norwegian vessel SS Imo which was en route to New York City for relief supplies. The collision occurred in the narrows, which is a strait that provides protection of sorts to Halifax Harbor. The Mont Blanc cargo holds were packed with highly explosive munitions—2,300 tons of picric acid, 200 tons of trinitrotoluene which is commonly called TNT, 35 tons of high-octane gasoline known as benzol, and 10 tons of gun-cotton. At approximately 8:45 a.m., the two ships collided, the collusion barrels of benzol were spilled which ran into the hold. When Imo attempted to back away from the Mont-Blanc it’s engines sparked. Some of those sparks ignited benzol vapors. The Mont Blanc was propelled toward the shore by its collision with the Imo, and the crew rapidly abandoned the ship, attempting without success to alert the harbor of the peril of the burning ship. Spectators gathered along the waterfront to witness the spectacle of the blazing ship, and minutes later it brushed by a harbor pier, setting it ablaze. The Mont Blanc exploded at 9:05 a.m. in a blinding white flash. The explosion sent a white cloud billowing 20,000 feet above the city. The massive explosion killed more than 1,900 people, injured another 9,000, including blinding 200, and destroyed almost the entire north end of the city of Halifax. More than 1,600 homes were destroyed...with people in them. The resulting shock wave shattered windows 50 miles away, and the sound of the explosion could be heard hundreds of miles away.”

  Jeff stood up. “If I may comment sir, by my measures, the force of the blast triggered a six-story-tall seawall traveling at 350 to 450 miles an hour. That jet-speed water displacement actually created a pressure wave of air that could bend iron rails and knock down buildings.”

  “Soldier, you are correct. You just described the power of a harbor tsunami.”

  Jeff looked around, absorbing the praise as the soldiers clapped. The next instructor was High Commander Roble. He was from the Port of Djibouti. He spoke with a slight English accent that reminded Jeff and Kyle of the British. He was the highest-ranking intelligence officer for Genesis. He was called affectionately Secretary Bird, which is a bird of prey from Djibouti in Africa. Roble used this name as his code name in all stealth communications and missions. He was loyal and intelligent and he would kill on Genesis’ command.