The Geostorm Series (Book 2): Geostorm [The Pulse] Read online

  Aviation would probably need to be halted in order to take into account the pole shift, our satellites would need to be redesigned and repositioned, and the planet’s power grids could collapse under the weight of the solar particles that are ordinarily deflected, but allowed to pass through the weakened magnetic field.

  That being said, while scientists are unwilling to predict exactly when the next full reversal will occur, most don’t think it could lead to a mass extinction event unless humans have evolved to the point where they, literally, can’t live without their electronic devices.

  And we’re not there yet … right?

  Right?

  Thank you for reading the Geostorm series.

  Real-World News Excerpts

  Which Way to the North Pole?

  The north magnetic pole is moving eastward at an accelerating pace.

  ~ The New York Times Editorial Board, February 7, 2019

  The part that feeds their doomsday scenarios is the possibility that the poles are preparing for another polarity reversal, which would cause a compass to point south instead of north. The quirk is normal — over the past 20 million years, it has occurred, on average, every 200,000 to 300,000 years. The last one was about 780,000 years ago, so another may be overdue.

  That could lead to a temporary weakening of the magnetic field that protects Earth from cosmic radiation.

  “It’s time to wake up to the dangers and start preparing,” evoking a world in which a devastating stream of malevolent cosmic radiation would wreak havoc on lives and power grids…

  Solar Storms Can Devastate Entire Civilizations

  ~ Irina Slav, Contributor to Real Clear Energy, October 12, 2019

  Climate has inarguably become a hot topic of discussion in developed economies over the last decade, and it is getting hotter by the day as study after study warn we are close to doomed if we don’t change our ways urgently.

  Yet climate on Earth is not the only problem that humankind faces. There is another climate we need to pay attention to, and there is nothing we can do to change that.

  A geostorm, whose more scientific name is coronal mass ejections or geomagnetic storm, occur a lot more frequently than people think…

  “Take a moment and think about how you would function for weeks or months without electrical power, GPS, or air travel.”

  PG&E’s Big Blackout Is Only the Beginning

  ~ Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2019

  PG&E Corp.’s decision to shut off power to more than two million Californians this week represents a new reality: It now plans to pull the plug as a desperation measure whenever its equipment threatens to spark destructive and potentially deadly wildfires.

  The Wall Street Journal detailed in April how PG&E intended to use the outages, known as public safety power shut-offs, to reduce wildfire risk, a strategy that carries consequences for medically vulnerable populations who rely on electric devices to survive, and businesses that could lose customers and inventory.

  California officials say man using oxygen tank died within minutes of PG&E power shutoff

  ~ The Hill, October 12, 2019

  The deceased was one of 2 million residents across central and northern California left without electricity after PG&E shut power off in anticipation of high dry winds that create perfect environments for wildfires.

  The move has been highly controversial in the state.

  Denver hit 83 degrees on Wednesday afternoon. Eight hours later, it was snowing.

  ~ The Washington Post, October 10, 2019

  “That’s our largest one-day temperature change on record,” said Russell Danielson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder. “We’ve told people around here to dress in layers because sometimes you get summer and winter in the same day.”

  That chalks up to a 54-degree temperature drop within one day. It also marks a 40-degree plummet in four hours, the mercury diving from 81 degrees to 41 between 4 and 8 p.m. As the winds switched around from the north, gusts up to 55 miles per hour heralded the bone-chilling change.

  Terrifying scene plays out as 300 Birds ram into NASCAR Hall of Fame

  ~ The Charlotte Observer, October 16, 2019

  In a bizarre scene straight out of a horror movie, hundreds of birds flew into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte and crashed to the sidewalk.

  A video by an eyewitness shows the birds striking windows and doors near the main entrance. The videographer reported that this went on for more than an hour.

  “Don’t let them hit you. There’s something wrong with them,” someone says in the video. “It’s a whole flock. That’s odd.”

  The scene got stranger still, she reported, when some birds got up and tried “killing themselves again … running into different buildings.”

  “It’s unusual for Chimney Swifts to collide with windows. Audubon volunteers have documented this a few times in North Carolina cities, but only one bird at a time – not a large-scale event like this one,” said a statement issued by Kim Brand, senior network manager at Audubon North Carolina.

  “It’s also odd that these swifts were out last night after 9 p.m. Normally, even during migration, Chimney Swifts go to roost in a chimney for the night around dusk. Yesterday, the sun set around 7 p.m.”

  Magnetic pole shock: Radiation warning as scientists make worrying discovery

  ~ The Sean Martin, Science Reporter, UK Express Online, October 4, 2019

  In recent years, scientists have been gearing up for a potential flip in the magnetic field – a natural phenomena which had thought to occur every 200,000 to 300,000 years when the north and south poles switch. The poles attempted to swap 40,000 years ago but the process failed. As a result, the last time the poles switched place was 780,000 years ago, meaning we are long overdue a flip in the magnetic field. However, by analyzing a three-million-year period around 500 million years ago, researchers discovered there were 78 pole shifts, according to the research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

  Yves Gallet, of France’s Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and study lead, told National Geographic:

  “We expected a very high magnetic reversal frequency, but of course not with such a high value. However, all the effects we currently see during strong solar/geomagnetic storms would likely increase and occur during moderate solar activity.”

  Epigraph

  “When the switch happens, we will be exposed to solar winds capable of punching holes into the ozone layer. It’s likely to render some areas of the planet uninhabitable by knocking out power grids.”

  ~ Daniel Baker, Director, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder

  *****

  “This is serious business. Imagine for a moment your electrical power supply knocked out. No lights. No computers. No cell phones. Even flushing a toilet would be impossible. And that’s just for starters.”

  ~ Richard Holme, Professor of Earth, Ocean, and Ecological Sciences at Liverpool University

  *****

  “We have blithely built our civilization’s critical infrastructure during a time when the planet’s magnetic field was relatively strong, not accounting for the field’s bent for anarchy.”

  ~ Alanna Mitchell, Author, The Spinning Magnet

  *****

  “…this will be preceded by a solar eclipse more obscure and more dark…than any since the creation of the world except that after the death and passion of Jesus Christ.”

  ~ Nostradamus, The Epistle to Henry II, verse 87

  *****

  “Things will fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned. The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

  ~ William Butler Yeats, Irish Poet, 1929

  Prologue

  July 2020

  World Futurists Conference

  Wa
shington Hilton Hotel

  Washington, DC

  “At a time when people are fearful, and many dystopian scenarios lurk ahead, it’s up to us to collectively imagine and build the future we want. Humans are the only species on the planet that need not just accept or adapt to changing circumstances—we have the capacity to consciously evolve and engineer our surroundings. We have the ability to imagine, the drive to discover, and the power to come together to turn our greatest challenges into opportunities. A brighter future is possible for all of humanity!”

  Kimbal Brandt stood back from the podium and accepted the raucous applause of the attendees of the World Futurists Conference in Washington, DC, during the hot summer of 2020. The nation’s capital was experiencing a record heat wave, generated naturally in part due to shifting weather patterns, and politically, as the country was bitterly divided over an acrimonious presidential campaign coupled with impeachment proceedings of a sitting president, which were tearing America apart.

  Throughout his keynote address to his fellow futurists, Brandt initially tried to remain upbeat about the planet’s prospects for the future. But then, it was if a sense of reality swept over him, so he decided to remain true to his principles.

  “This week, our speakers have laid out a vision of the future that promised everything from driverless cars to eerily humanlike robots. The scientists among us have described a gradual transition from the internet to a brain-net, a network in which human thoughts, emotions, feelings, and even memories might be transmitted instantly around the globe.

  “By 2035, three-dimensional printers will print clothing at such a low cost that labor will no longer have to be exploited in developing nations. Shopping will reach a whole new level, as consumers will be able to download their clothing in the comfort of their home and print it on these magnificent new machines.

  “Artificial intelligence will become as smart as or, most likely, smarter than humans. AI will be embedded in every part of our lives, from homes to hospitals, vehicles to robots. Robo-surgeons will flawlessly perform complex surgeries, and robo-docs will even deliver babies. Predictive medicine will take place via a cell phone app, and payment for such services will be made digitally using digital currency like bitcoin.

  “To many, it sounds like exciting times ahead, and I don’t disagree.”

  Brandt paused and rubbed his temples. He had been chosen as the keynote speaker for a reason. He was highly respected for his work at Tesla and SpaceX. His visions from decades past had come to fruition. And he wasn’t considered too extreme in his prescience.

  Yet this group, no, the entire world needed to open their eyes. Brandt had a foresight, a clairvoyance, that he couldn’t explain, but one that had proved itself over and over again. It was time to shock his audience, mainly because they needed it.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, where one period in the history of humanity ends, another must begin unless, of course, we face extinction. Sixty-five million years ago marks the base of the Palaeocene period. Many of you know it as the K-T Boundary. This was a time characterized by a mass extinction of many forms of life on this planet, including the dinosaurs. The K-T extinction event was most likely caused by the massive asteroid that crashed into Earth at Chicxulub, which is now buried underneath the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

  “To some, this may seem off topic, but I bring it up for a reason. It’s fun for us to gather and discuss the extraordinary technological advances that will change daily life as we know it. On the other hand, it’s difficult to accept the reality that our days on this planet are numbered. Now, to be sure, there is disagreement as to when and how the next extinction of life on Earth will occur, but make no mistake, it is coming, and I believe it may be sooner than we all want to acknowledge.”

  Brandt paused and allowed the murmur of the futurists conversing with one another to roll through the conference hall. He’d put a damper on their evening, as his keynote speech of hope and excitement was turning to an apocalyptic view of humanity’s fate.

  “The K-T extinction was a geological epoch that lasted nearly ten million years, an unfathomable length of time when it is compared to our days on Earth. But as I said a few moments ago, when one period ends, another must begin. And it did. Some argue that the catastrophic events that followed the Chicxulub asteroid impact gave rise to life as we know it today. A new epoch, one that has produced the most technologically advanced species in the history of the world.

  “Will this new epoch end? My friends, the answer is yes. Throughout Earth’s four and a half billion years, extinction-level events have occurred that destroyed virtually all living organisms, only to replace them with others. To think it won’t happen again is naïve.

  “I stand before you today to say that we are entering the early stages of another epoch. Some refer to it as the Anthropocene, or new man, epoch. They maintain that recent human impacts, from environmental pollution to habitat destruction, has resulted in animal and plant extinctions so great that it’s changing the geological makeup of Earth.

  “My research goes beyond blaming man and the industrial revolution for the woes on Earth. To be sure, these advances over the last two centuries have had a profound impact on our environment. However, I’m referring to a greater threat, one that doesn’t have anything to do with what mankind inflicts upon the planet. I’m talking about a natural phenomenon that has the ability to destroy life as we know it, and change the face of the planet. I’m referring to a full reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field.”

  If Brandt hadn’t stirred them up with his earlier statements, then this certainly did. Several of the attendees voiced their displeasure with his statements. The concept of the wandering poles was accepted by all in the futurist and scientific community, but most adhered to the premise that the reversal of the magnetic field would take thousands of years to occur, allowing man to adjust accordingly. In the minds of the futurist community, a pole shift was hardly a scientific theory that would result in an extinction-level event.

  “Please, my friends, hear me out. The prospect of a pole shift is very plausible and entails more than the needle on a compass pointing in a direction different from the norm. It’s what happens during the magnetic field reversal that should concern everyone in this conference hall. We rely upon electronics and our glorious technological advances, yet we underestimate the natural phenomena that could erase two hundred years of scientific breakthroughs.”

  A member of the audience shouted, “An epoch doesn’t occur overnight!”

  “In most cases, that’s true, and we should be grateful for that. Other than the big ones, like eruptions of supervolcanos or massive impact events, an epoch is usually gradual. There are exceptions. The geologic record reflects that the planet’s magnetic field has wandered and reversed in the course of a human lifetime. Think of this for a moment, over the past several days, we have excitedly laid out our vision of future technologies in the years 2035, 2050, and beyond through the end of this century. Fifteen, thirty, or even fifty years from now, the pole shift could occur, resulting in a complete reversal of the magnetic field that protects us from the Sun.

  “Without that protective shield, all of our grand technologies will be rendered worthless, and moreover, what was once frozen will melt, and what was once barren will flood. It will be an environmental disaster of epic proportions, and we are wholly unprepared to accept this premise, much less adjust our visions of the future based upon this eventuality.”

  Brandt had thrown down the gauntlet, and he backed away from the podium, fully expecting that these would be his final words for the evening.

  Kimbal Brandt was right in two respects.

  First, they were his last words spoken at the World Futurists Conference on that occasion, as well as any other.

  Second, a pole shift and the resulting reversal of the planet’s magnetic field would occur within their lifetime, with catastrophic consequences.

  Chapter 1

  Brookfield Zo
o

  Chicago, Illinois

  In the blink of an eye—life can change. Scientists have studied the phenomena associated with how quickly the human brain can process information. Imagine seeing dozens of pictures flashing by in a fraction of a second. The brain can see these images, analyze them, reorder them, and even imagine scenarios in which they interact.

  This ability of rapid-fire processing helps direct the eyes, quickly shifting their gaze as much as three times per second to their next target of interest and then back again. The eyes’ job is simple—get information to the human brain, which must think rapidly enough to know what it should do next.

  “Tooommmyyy!”

  Tommy Bannon’s eyes responded to Kristi Boone’s voice before she’d finished screaming his name. His brain acted reflexively, sensing the fear and foreboding in her voice, calibrating his eyes so they moved around as quickly as possible, searching his surroundings for danger.

  He whipped his head to the right. His vision locked on an unexpected movement. It was imperceptible, fluid, and stealthy. The rustling of the tall grasses, the sound of gentle crunching on the ground, and the brief glimpses of white fur intermixed with the light green and tan hues of the landscape grabbed his undivided attention.

  His brain processed the shape, color, orientation, and sounds. Instinctively, a fight-or-flight response to a perceived threat to his survival was initiated. In animals, the reaction varied from escape to fight when cornered by an attacker. In humans, the consensus was that men were wired to fight while women tended to flee. It was simply human nature.