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There is no tih channels The fewer people who know about the danger, the better"

Hutton motioned Sandecker to a chair as he walked over and closed the door to his office "Forgivecold and heartless, but I hear that story with frequent regularity"

"Here's one you haven't heard Sixteen days from now every man, woman and child in the city of Honolulu and on most of the island of Oahu will be dead"

Sandecker felt Hutton's eyes delving into the back of his head "Oh, come now, Jim What is this all about?"

"My scientists and data analysts at NUMA have cracked thepeople and devastating the sea life in the Pacific Ocean"

Sandecker opened his briefcase and

laid a folder on Hutton's desk "Here is a report on our findings

We call it the acoustic plague because the deaths are caused by high-intensity sound rays that are concentrated by refraction This extraordinary energy then propagates through the sea until it converges and surfaces, killing anyone and anything within a radius up to ninety kilometers"

Hutton said nothing for a fewfor a brief instant if the admiral had slipped off the deep end, but only for an instant He had known Sandecker too long not to take him as a serious, no-nonsense man dedicated to his job He opened the cover of the report and scanned the contents while the admiral sat patiently At last he looked up

"Your people are sure of this"

"Absolutely," Sandecker said flatly

"There is always the possibility of a mistake"'

"No mistake," Sandecker said firmly "My only concession is a less than five percent chance the convergence could take place a safe distance away from the island"

"I hear through the congressional grapevine that you've approached Senators Rayet their backing for a ainst Dorsett Consolidated property"

"I failed to convince them of the seriousness of the situation"