The Illuminati by Larry Burkett Read Free Book Online Page A

tsunami by the time the wave was three hundred miles from the coast.

    In the weather radar tower at Point Magoo, California, Frances Akins was taking her hourly check of the Pacific weather conditions, prior to transmitting the marine report. The sky showed no appreciable accumulation of cumulonimbus, or thunder boomers, as Bill Frank, the local TV weather man, insisted on calling them. I wonder why they always seem to pick the buffoon types to do the weather on TV , Frances thought to herself as she checked weather scopes. I’m sure he flunked the third grade twice . Then, as she viewed the radar sweep one more time, something began to appear on her scope.
    â€œWhat the . . . ?” she exclaimed as the image on the screen began to develop into what looked like a mountain to the west.
    â€œWhat’s the trouble, Frances?” Andy Maury, the station supervisor, asked. Andy had taken over operation of the Magoo weather station after the Navy decided to shut the facility down as part of an economy move during the Kilborne administration. He had thirty years of forecasting experience, including his twenty-three-year stint with the navy, mostly aboard the big carriers. Not only was he the director, but he was also part owner of the now-private forecasting station, which sold information to the local television stations as well as various marine groups.
    â€œYou’d better look at this, Andy,” Frances said as she thumped the screen in a characteristic reaction left over from the days of CRT monitors. With LCD displays, thumping did little but serve to relieve frustrations. Refraining from a second thump, Frances said, “I think the Doppler must be conking out. It shows the ocean is growing a mountain.” Even as she spoke the image grew larger; it looked like Mount Rushmore had been transplanted to the Pacific and was headed toward the California coast.
    â€œWell, I’ll be . . .” Andy Maury said. “What do we have here?” As he spoke his mind signaled an alarm. He had seen a similar image somewhere in his past. “Have you recalibrated the scope image lately?” he asked, knowing that Frances would have done so earlier.
    â€œOf course!” she answered indignantly. “I do it before every scan.”
    â€œI knew you had, Frances, but I still had to ask,” Andy said. He knew she was a competent meteorologist and was more than slightly sensitive about being the only woman in a crew of ten men.
    â€œI know, Andy,” she said in a more contrite tone. “But everything was fine when I started the noon sweep.”
    In addition to the normal array of meteorological radar gear, the Magoo station had the newest laser equipment, dubbed the Weather Wizard. Although still relatively new equipment, a trained operator, which Frances was, could track a Pacific storm to within a few feet as it approached the mainland. It was this equipment to which they now turned.
    â€œCrank up the laser and point it at the mountain,”Maury suggested. “It’s probably just a false echo, but I’d like to be sure.”
    Inside, the station director wasn’t nearly as calm as he appeared outside. I know I’ve seen this before , he thought as his mind raced, seeking the answer. Come on, bring it up , he chastened his struggling memory. I know this pattern from somewhere . . . Secretly he was praying it was just a simple equipment failure, but deep inside he felt uneasy.
    Frances quickly cycled the laser “Weather Wizard” through its self-tests. The system was designed to verify squalls and other weather conditions containing solid or liquid particles, such as rain and hail. Its use in tracking rain storms, thunder clouds, tornadoes, and the like was unparalleled in meteorology.
    â€œIt’s calibrated and ready to go,” Frances announced as she flipped the scan indicator to long range.
    Suddenly the display screen was filled with the same image