Page 12 (1/2)

Xhou shook his head “The Aanization known as NUMA The National Underwater and Marine Agency”

A roup, and Jinn sensed he had to control the situation quickly He needed the next installment of funds or the whole operation would collapse

“It could not be helped,” he said “We had no reason to suspect a sailboat with a crew of three They filed no permits, made no announcements By the tie of discovering the horde They had already sent data on the teradient back to their headquarters”

“What happened?” the Sheik asked

“The horde consumed them”

“Consumed them?”

Jinn nodded “In a foragingin its path It’s a part of their program, required for reproduction and self-protection In this case, it was activated from here”

Xhou see this “You are a fool, Jinn For each action taken, there is reaction In this case, NUMA will investigate They will be angered by the loss of their crew and highly motivated to discover what happened They have a reputation for being tenacious I fear you s”

Jinn fu questioned in this manner “We had little choice Now that the horde is concentrated, it is in a more vulnerable state If the Americans found it, it’s possible—however unlikely—that action could have been taken before we initiate the final part of our plan, here and now, in this crucial growing season If that had been allowed to happen, all our efforts would have been for nothing”

“What’s to stop that in the future?”

Jinn puffed out his chest “Once the weather pattern has been diverted, the horde can be dispersed again Through its natural reproduction process it will grow large enough and spread far enough that even a concerted effort by all the world’s nations will be insufficient to destroy it”

“Where will it go?” Mustafa asked

“Everywhere,” Jinn said “Eventually it will spread to all the oceans of the world We will be able to affect not only the weather over our continents but across every landmass in the world The rich countries of the world will pay us tribute to provide what they once received for free”

“And if they attack the horde?” Xhou asked

“They would have to burn the entire surface of the ocean just to danificant way And even if they did, the survivors would reproduce and the horde would come back to life like the forest after a fire”