Chapter 6
Destructive Shift
On board Air Force One, unknown location
Adrian knocked on Laura's door in her part of the cabin. "Dr. Wilson, may I come in?" he asked.
"I'm not very good company, I'm afraid, Dr...?" Laura replied. "Please, call me Adrian." Adrian replied.
"All those people we left behind, they don't stand a chance, do they?" Laura asked.
"I believe that nature will choose for itself from itself, what will survive. Just like you preserving those great artworks. Our culture is our soul, and that's not dying tonight." Adrian replied.
"Oh, come on, I contributed to this cover-up, and Da Vinci, Picasso, they're in. But if you're some nobody, you don't stand a chance." Laura replied.
"That's not- that's not necessarily true. You ever hear of a writer called Robert Lair? Wrote a book, Shadows of War. What do you think the chances are of an unknown writer who barely sold 2,000 copies, making it aboard this plane?" Adrian asked.
"I don't understand." Laura replied. "I mean, call it chance or fate or nature. It doesn't matter, this book is part of our legacy now. Why? Because I'm reading it." Adrian replied.
"Dr. Helmsley, please report to the Situation Room immediately." an announcement came over the intercom.
Tokyo, Japan...
Late at night, a phone was ringing, a little girl had woken up and rushed to the phone. "Hi!" the girl said as she answered the phone.
"Hello, I'm sorry, who is this?" Tony's voice on the other end said.
"This is Yoko Delgatto. Do you wanna speak to my daddy?" Yoko asked.
"Yes, please." Tony replied. "Who should I say is calling?" Yoko asked.
"Tell him it's his father." Tony replied. "You're my grandpa?" Yoko asked.
"Yes, sweetheart, I am." Tony replied. "Daddy, Daddy, Grandpa's on the phone." Yoko said as she rushed into her parents' room.
Will and his wife woke up immediately. Will went to the phone, but before he could respond, an earthquake shook the house violently.
Tony listened helplessly as the house collapsed, killing everyone inside. He hung up the phone, heartbroken.
Washington, D.C.
The entire area was covered with ash from Yellowstone. Refugees were carrying whatever they could to shelter themselves from the ash.
Inside the White House, President Wilson walked through, looking at the refugees inside. "Mr. President, sir." a medic said as she saluted him.
"Mr. President." a woman called out. "What's the matter, sweetie?" president Wilson asked.
"She can't find her daddy." the woman replied.
"Why don't you two get comfy on that couch? Sally, come help them out, OK? I'll find your daddy." President Wilson replied.
He went outside to the triage tents. "Who can help me with missing persons?" he called out.
"Sorry, man. I'm really busy right now." the medic replied without realizing who he was talking too. He looked up and immediately realized his mistake.
"I mean- Of course, sir. Sorry, Mr. President." he said.
"Don't worry about it. You're doing a great job, son." President Wilson replied.
Suddenly, the whole area shook violently as a powerful earthquake struck. President Wilson watched in shock as the Washington Monument collapsed.
Air Force One, Situation Room
The earthquake in D.C. was being tracked on the main display. "What's happening?" Adrian asked.
"The capital's been hit by a 9.4." one crew member said. "We've lost communications with the White House, sir." another crew member replied.
"Where's it centered?" Adrian asked. "North Chesapeake Bay." Scott replied.
"Mr. Anheuser, the Russian president's on the line, sir." an Air Force captain said. "Excuse me." Carl said.
"We just entered Chinese airspace." the captain said.
"That's affirmative, Mr. President. Until communication is restored, I suppose I am in command. It appears that all other heads of state are en-route, with the exception of the Italian prime minister, who has also decided to stay behind and trust in prayer." Carl said.
The Vatican, Rome, Italy
Thousands of people had gathered in the Vatican with the Pope in desperate prayer.
Suddenly, the structure began to crumble as an earthquake shook the area. The crowd began to disperse as the dome collapsed into the square, rolling into the crowd as it crumbled.
Air Force One, Situation Room
On the main display, the image showed that the Earth's crust was shifting.
"The Earth's crust has begun to shift, Dr. Helmsley." Scott called out. "By what degree?" Adrian asked.
"1.2 degrees, but it's still moving. "So, what happens next?" Carl asked.
"Once the movement of our land masses comes to a halt, let's see a simulation, Scotty, we expect the formation of gigantic tsunamis, proportional to the magnitude of the corresponding quakes." Adrian's partner replied.
"Pull up the Japanese seaboard, will you?" Adrian asked. "Yes, sir." the crewman replied as he pulled up the desired data.
"My dad's on a cruise ship out here." Adrian said. "But I guess you already knew that, huh?" Adrian added.
"Sir, we recorded two underwater quakes at 7.9 and 8.2." the crew member said.
Somewhere in the Yellow Sea
A massive tsunami wave was making its way towards the cruise ship Genesis. In the galley, everyone was crowded around a small TV.
"From what we have just learned, Tokyo seems to have taken the full force of the earthquake. At this point, unconfirmed reports indicate that large areas of land are underwater. Please stay tuned for further-" the news report continued until it was cut off.
"Tony." Harry said. "I called; I was too late." Tony replied.
"Maybe they got out in time, you never know, they-" Harry replied, but was cut off when he noticed that the rolling cart on which the TV was mounted was moving, seemingly on its own.
Other carts were moving as the ship began to tilt severely. Tony held on to a fixed table that was bolted to the deck as Harry went outside.
"Harry!" Tony called out before losing his grip and falling. At this point, the massive wave struck the ship, capsizing it and killing everyone on board.
Washington D.C.
Everything was covered with ash after the massive earthquake that hit the area. President Wilson looked up to see the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, swept up from Norfolk, being carried by a massive wall of water.
"I'm coming home, Dorothy." President Wilson said as the wave got close to the White House.
As the wave hit, the massive warship slammed upside down on top of the White House, crushing it under its massive weight.
The wall of water continued on to wash away the rest of Washington D.C.
In the 767, location unknown
Caleb was tuning through the stations on his pocket radio. "Anything?" Cornelia asked.
"No, just static, not even an emergency signal." Caleb replied. "Can't think about what's going on down there." Cornelia said.
Irma was in the cockpit with Robert and Nigel. "Tried to find our old spot at Yellowstone when I went camping with Jen's kids, but I couldn't find it." Robert said.
"That's when you met that crazy guy?" Irma asked.
"No, that was later, but he's the one that told me about what was going to happen in California, he's the one who enabled me to rescue you and everyone else in time. We owe him our lives, we would not have made it out without him." Robert said.
"How did you guys get out?" Nigel asked.
"Robert flew us out in a Cessna Grand Caravan after a rather scary drive through the city, literally as it crumbled around us. After seeing what happened, we didn't think anyone else that we knew was alive." Irma replied.
"Where were you and Taranee when Heatherfield was destroyed?" Robert asked.
"We were on a flight to Vegas, where we found you guys, when it happened. I guess we just got lucky." Nigel replied.
"Yeah, it's just too bad that Will, Hay Lin and their families, and even our families weren't as lucky." Irma replied as she wiped a tear off her face.
Air Force One, in Chinese airspace
The crew members had checked all communications and found absolutely no signal. "All global ground communication has ceased, sir." one crew member said.
"The only signals our satellites are picking up are coming from the vessels in Cho Ming." he added.
"Well, there's a piece of good news." Carl replied. "Any updates, Doctor?" he asked Adrian.
"We expect the tsunamis to reach landfall in every continent. The Cho Ming area will be impacted in approximately six hours. It looks like the crust has shifted by almost 23 degrees to the southwest. The data also shows the Earth's poles have reversed their magnetic fields. These are their new positions." Adrian said as the screen displayed the new positions of the Earth's poles.
"So you're telling me that the North Pole is now somewhere in Wisconsin?" Carl asked.
"Actually, that's the South Pole now." Adrian's partner replied.
In the 767, a few hours later
An alarm went off in the cockpit. "Oh no, this is not good!" Nigel said. "What's going on?" Irma asked.
"Engine failure, the right side engine is down." Robert replied as he flipped the APU switch to START and the APU GEN switch to ON.
"We must get ready." Nigel said. "How long do we have?" Irma asked. "Fifteen minutes, maybe." Nigel replied.
"I'd better wake the others up." Irma said as she went back into the cabin. She got out a set of life vests as Elyon woke up.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Well, we're gonna be landing soon, and it might be a bit bumpy and wet." Irma replied as the others woke up.
"What? I thought we were going to China!" she said. "We were, but we don't have enough fuel and we already lost power in one engine." Irma replied.
She handed the others life vests as Robert and Nigel put theirs on. "I'm not really a good swimmer." Bella said.
"Hey, it's okay, that's what this is for." Jennifer replied. She and Alex hugged their kids as the others looked on.
"Uh, Irma, Taranee, I think you better come in here!" Robert called out from the cockpit. The girls went up and were puzzled by what they saw: instead of open ocean like they saw just a few minutes before, they were over the Himalaya mountain range near Cho Ming, China.
"How in the hell did that happen?" Irma asked. "It's like the world shifted by about 1000 miles." Taranee replied.
"1578 miles to be exact." Nigel replied after checking the navigation system display. "It's called Earth Crust Displacement Theory by Professor Hapgood, 1958. Way to go, Charlie." Robert added.
Suddenly, the plane jolted as the other engine flamed out. "What was that?" Irma asked. "Oh no, we just lost the other engine!" Nigel replied.
Robert and Nigel managed to keep the now-gliding plane from crashing into the mountains below, scraping a pack of snow on one mountaintop.
A minute later, they saw an open glacier long enough for them to land on it. "I'm gonna shoot for that glacier, it's gonna get rocky!" Nigel said.
Robert lowered the flaps and deployed the air-brakes to control the plane's speed. Irma and Taranee rushed back to their seats and braced themselves for the inevitable impact.
"EVERYBODY BRACE!" Robert called out over the intercom as the plane got close.
Everyone braced themselves for the inevitable. Seconds later, the plane hit the icy ground hard, collapsing the landing gear.
"SHIT!" Robert exclaimed as the plane hit. The others screamed as the plane started scraping against the ground.
A minute later, the plane finally came to a grinding halt, a pile of snow built up on the bottom of the nose. Irma opened the emergency exit and deployed the emergency slide.
She got out and, as the others followed her, saw a group of Chinese military helicopters, Mi-17 "Hips", flying over the distant mountains.
"Can they see us?" Taranee asked. "I don't think so, they're too far away." Robert replied.
They just watched as the helicopters flew on, an animal slung underneath each one.
"Now what?" Elyon asked. "I think I saw a road a little ways back before we touched down, maybe we can hitch a ride there." Cornelia suggested.
"That just might work, let's do it." Robert replied as they started walking towards the road.
Cho Ming Airfield
"Dr. Wilson, I'm Captain Michaels, skipper of the American ship. Please accept my condolences for your father." Captain Michaels said.
"Thank you, Captain." Laura replied. Just then, Carl walked up.
"Mr. Anheuser, your party is the last to arrive." Captain Michaels said as they walked towards a Chinese CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
"There've been reports of severe damage, captain. What's the status of Ark Number Three?" Carl asked.
"We haven't done a complete assessment yet, but it looks like we lost it." Captain Michaels replied.
Their Chinook, and several others behind it, flew to the facility where the arks were located. "No toothbrush, only books." Laura said with a chuckle as she saw the contents of Adrian's bag, which were only books.
"Yeah, when I was a kid, my dad was on the road a lot. He would always leave me a box full of books, call me every night and quiz me. I'd get an ice cream cone for every book I read, so I was a fat kid." Adrian replied.
"I find that hard to believe." Laura replied.
"No, it's true, my high school career was 2000 books and zero girlfriends." Adrian replied.
"I didn't even kiss a boy until I was in college. They were all too scared of my dad." Laura replied.
The helicopters approached the facility, which was a row of massive hangars each containing an ark, which was also massive. The facility was in the side of a mountain, a set of anchor supports in front of each hangar.
Next to the first hangar was a heliport where the helicopters landed.
As Adrian and the others got off, he noticed a lot of people that looked like they were important getting off the other helicopters, including the Queen of England and the English Prime Minister.
The got onto a bus which shuttled them to the boarding area. They stared in awe at the size of the arks. "Leave it to the Chinese, I didn't think it was possible, not in the time we had." Carl said. "That's Ark Number Three, sir." Captain Michaels said. The ark had been damaged by debris from a hole in the roof. "The roof collapsed on it during the shifting of the Earth's crust." Captain Michaels added. "Jesus Christ!" Carl said. A large crowd was gathering in front of the boarding gate for the damaged ark. "Boarding of Ark Number 3 will be delayed due to technical difficulties." an announcement came over the intercom.
Icy glacier, near the crash site
Robert and the others were walking in search of the road Cornelia saw just before they landed. "I don't know, Cornelia, I'm not seeing a road." Irma said.
"Yeah, I'm not seeing anything either." Taranee added. "Come on, guys, it's around here somewhere, we can't give up, we got this far!" Cornelia replied.
"Yeah, and- wait, I hear something." Robert said as he heard a noise.
They stopped and listened to the sound, and realized that it was a truck. "Over there!" Elyon shouted as she spotted the vehicle.
Robert and the other started running towards the road, shouting to try and get the driver's attention. Robert rushed onto the road as the truck passed and threw a rock to try and get the occupants' attention.
On the truck, an elderly woman who was asleep woke up and saw Robert waving his arms and shouting.
She knocked on the cab's back window and the driver saw Robert in his rear-view mirror. The driver stopped the truck as Robert and the others approached.
Cho Ming Ark Facility, Ark # 4
Adrian and his group was crossing the brow to board Ark Number 4. Laura noted the other people that were boarding.
"How were all these people chosen?" she asked.
"Same way your art was: by experts from all over the world. We had geneticists determine the perfect gene pool to repopulate." Carl replied.
"These people were chosen by geneticists?" Adrian asked, pointing to a group of wealthy-looking people getting on board.
"All green-card holders, please proceed to Gallery D-4." the intercom announced. "Looks to me like their checkbooks got them aboard." Laura replied.
"That's right, Dr. Wilson, without billions of dollars from the private sector, this whole thing would have been impossible." Carl replied.
"So we sold tickets, and what about all these worker? Do they get passes?" Adrian asked.
"What, life isn't fair? Is that it? You wanna donate your passes to a couple of Chinese workers, be my guest." Carl replied as he began to walk away.
"Captain, I want a prelaunch briefing, all international teams present." he said.
Nampan, India
A large group of refugees were gathering on top of a plateau outside of a destroyed village.
In the distance, a siren began to sound as a massive wave approached. Satnam and his family were among the refugees.