Vapor by David Meyer Read Free Book Online

turn.”
    Hooper picked up his ball and walked to the lane. He rolled well, but left a split standing in the rear row.
    The president felt a sense of destiny rising within him. He could scarcely believe it. He was on the verge of pulling off the biggest comeback of his bowling career.
    While he waited for his ball, Hooper cleared his throat. “How’d it happen?”
    The president tapped his jaw. “Have you heard of the Columbus Project?”
    “No. Strange name, though.”
    “Strange, but meaningful. It reflected my hope that a single person could change the world.”
    Hooper nodded. “Like how Christopher Columbus discovered the New World?”
    “More like how he caused the Little Ice Age.”
    Hooper blinked. “What?”
    “It’s a long, roundabout story. Before Columbus, some forty to one hundred million people lived in the Americas. In order to farm crops, they burned huge tracts of land. Then Columbus made his voyage.” The president exhaled. “His arrival opened the floodgates for colonization. Ninety percent of the natives died within decades, mostly from war and disease.”
    “I didn’t know the number was that high.”
    “With fewer people farming the land, trees began to grow again. They absorbed at least two billion tons of carbon dioxide. The atmosphere was unable to trap as much heat as it had in the past. So, the entire planet cooled for about three hundred years. The result was crop failures, famine, hypothermia, and bread riots.”
    “You’re right about one thing.” Hooper chuckled. “That’s definitely a roundabout way to blame Columbus for the Little Ice Age.”
    “Don’t get me wrong. He didn’t directly cause it. But he set in motion events that drastically changed the environment.”
    “So, let me see if I understand this. You named your project after something that caused crop failures and famines. Doesn’t that seem a little, I don’t know, macabre?”
    “Perhaps. But when I proposed it to Congress, I took a more hopeful point of view. What if we could change the natural world, just as Columbus helped to do, but in a more positive way? What if we could take steps today that would impact the world three hundred years from now? What if our efforts resulted in a cleaner world, a better world?”
    “And the Columbus Project will do those things?”
    “The idea was to give clean energy a financial boost. Ideally, this would accelerate the deployment of innovative technology and help break America’s addiction to fossil fuels. Congress authorized my administration to provide financial support of eighty billion dollars in the form of loans, grants, and tax credits. According to official numbers, we doled out aid to about five hundred companies.”
    “So, the missing money came out of that eighty billion?”
    The president nodded. “Our records show over two hundred companies received grants totaling thirty-two billion. But those companies don’t actually exist. They’re phantoms.”
    Hooper shook his head. “How many people know about this?”
    “Besides you? Just my senior advisor and the analyst who discovered the crime.” The president paused. “If you agree to help me, I’ll provide you with more exacting details. But suffice it to say, I suspect an inside job.”
    “Who had access?”
    “The U.S. Department of Energy utilizes an in-house computer program to manage the Columbus Project. A small staff uses it to analyze applications, file paperwork, and track milestone progress. The members of my cabinet have full access to the program as well.”
    “Why?”
    “The DOE staff can only make funding recommendations. Full approval requires unanimous consent from my cabinet. But in order for the cabinet members to make informed votes, they need to be able to view all the necessary documentation.”
    Hooper nodded slowly. “I’ll need everything you have on the staff and your cabinet members. And not just the public stuff. Also, I need access to this computer program. Plus,