Tom approached the EOS nervously. He had no idea what he was going to say to the receptionist at the desk to allow him to see Dr Robby Hugh of the USGS. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Here we go, he thought. He walked nervously through the automatic door. He stopped at the receptionist and told her what he was here for. The receptionist looked at him as though he was crazy and said that all visits to the geologists working there needed to have appointments before people could see them. Tom pleaded to the receptionist but to no avail. Just as he was about to walk away, Dr Robby Hugh walked through the door with Sam, back from a routine check of sensors and detectors across the island.
"What's all the commotion here Laura? And what is this boy doing here?" Sam asked.
"I'm here to meet Dr Robby Hugh. I've got some questions to ask him," Tom said.
"Is that so? Fine then come on up and we can have a talk the office," Dr Robby said to Tom with a smile.
The three of them went up to Dr Robby's temporary office. Dr Robby poured some coffee for the three of them and started talking.
"So then, what does a young man like you want to ask me?" Dr Robby asked jokingly.
"I want to clarify on an article which you wrote recently," Tom said.
Dr Robby's smile disappeared, His expression became more serious. He looked at Sam and nodded. It was time to tell the public about this.
"What's your name young man?" Dr Robby asked.
"Tom sir," Tom replied
"Well then Tom, what you read in the article is true. Everything is true. Singapore IS going to erupt, and it is going to erupt soon," Dr Robby explained.
"Impossible. We're not located near any fault lines or tectonic plates," Tom protested.
"Come. Let me show you something son," Dr Robby said in a gentle yet serious tone.
He and Sam brought Tom to the earthquake research centre where Geologist Steve, Yui and Professor Ong were currently monitoring the situation. Tom saw all the seismograms and complicated data on the computer and his head whirled in confusion.
"Guys, this is Tom. He is a student and is interested in the current situation. Hence I brought him here to let him have a look at what's happening now," Dr Robby introduced Tom to his colleagues. He then proceeded to show Tom all the monitors, computers and sensors.
"My boy, if you're wondering what is going on, this is what is going on," Dr Robby told Tom as Tom looked around the room baffled by all the high-tech equipment.
Professor Ong stood up and went to Tom. He said in a serious tone," Tom, what you're looking at right now is very important. As you can see, there has been thousands of earthquakes that have struck Singapore over the past month or so. Plus, there has recently been uplift of the ground around the reservoirs and some parts of the island. Do you know what this means?"
"Yes. Singapore is going to erupt isn't it?" Tom asked.
"Unfortunately my boy, yes. Singapore is going to erupt. We don't know when, but we know that there's not much time left before she erupts. Maybe at best a month or so? Worse case is only a few weeks. A few weeks to evacuate more than a quarter of a billion people in South-East Asia," Professor Ong said with a sigh.
"What can I do then?" Tom asked.
"Tell your friends and family. Tell as many people as you can as to what is going to happen. Warn them that they have to evacuate now. YOU have to evacuate now Tom," Professor Ong warned.
"But what about you?" Tom asked again.
"We'll stay here until the eruption or just before the eruption to monitor the progress of events. Now go and warn anyone that you know," Dr Robby replied.
Tom looked around the room for a few more seconds. Then, he left the room and hurried back to his home.