Howl of the Seismologist

by Carl Frederick

Alex rolled the flimsy plastic bishop between his fingers for a few seconds before placing it on king’s knight two. Then, while his opponent thought, he idly dropped his hand to scratch Wegener between the ears.

After another ten minutes or so, the battle, heated yet silent, drew an observer—a youngish woman who by standing next to the picnic table shaded the board from the glare of the Sun.

Alex’s opponent, an Asian man of aristocratic mien, glanced up at her. “Guten Tag, Katchen,” he said.

“Konnichi wa, Wakabayashi-sama,” she answered.

The man nodded, then returned his eyes to the chessboard.

Several moves later, the man shook his head almost imperceptibly. “A draw is offered.”

“A draw?” Alex thought he had a marginally better position but felt it would be impolite not to accept. “All right. Fine.”

The man leaned back. “One is new at the village?”

“One is.” Alex nodded. “I’ve just moved into an apartment here.” He extended his hand over the board. “I’m Alex Prendergast. Summer postdoc.”

The man shook the proffered hand through an arc of a few centimeters, then set up the pieces again. “Takeo Wakabayashi—on staff here—particle physics.”

Wegener scrambled to his feet and howled.

“Oh, no, Wegener,” said Alex. “Not another one!”

“Is something wrong?” said the woman.

“No,” said Alex, taking a little notebook from his pocket and logging the howl. “Probably not.”

“Probably?” The woman slid onto the picnic table’s bench. “And I’m Katerina Schneider.” She threw a glance off to the looming Wilson Hall. “I’m afraid I’m something of an alien here… being a neurobiologist.”

Alex laughed. “Then I’m an alien as well.” He pocketed his notebook. “I’m a seismologist.”

With a slow, deliberate motion, Takeo made his first move, then cupped his chin in his hands. Alex noticed that he had fingers pushing against his ears.

“What’s a seismologist doing at Fermilab?” said Katerina.

Alex made his move. “I applied for a grant to see if Fermilab laser micro-position detection technology might be applied to earthquake sensing.” He spoke softly out of consideration for Takeo. “The Large Hadron Collider has sucked up all the particle physics money. But there’s still earth science money to be had.”

Takeo made his second move—a book opening. Alex also stayed with the book. “Since the Tevatron will be obsolete when the LHC goes up,” he said, eyes on the board, “Fermilab is looking for other things to do.” He looked up from the board. “And since you brought it up, what’s a neurobiologist doing here?”

“I’m here on leave from The University of Berlin, researching the possible detection of cosmic ray burst particles by living organisms.”

“Interesting.”

Takeo made his move and Alex returned his attention to the game.

For the next ten minutes or so, no one spoke. Takeo had taken his fingers away from his ears. Then, as Takeo reached for a chess piece, the ground began to vibrate. A second or two later, a low rumble filled the air and the ground shook. Several of the chess pieces fell over.

“Ach Du heilige…” Katerina grabbed on to the table.

Takeo sat frozen, holding his chess piece as if by having lifted it, he had caused the shaking.

“Not to worry,” said Alex, throwing a quick glance at his dog. “I think it’s only a minor quake. Should be over in a few seconds.”

They sat in silence until, about fifteen seconds later, the ground went still.

“Well, that was certainly fun,” said Katerina, releasing her death grip on the picnic table.

“I bet we’re close to the epicenter. The P and S waves felt as if they came almost on top of each other.” Alex reached into his pocket. “There’s never a seismograph when you need one.” He pulled out his cell phone. “I have the Lamont Observatory on rapid-dial.”

He connected to Lamont, gave a report, then said, “Three point one. Interesting.” He hung up, checked his watch, then pulled out his howl notebook and logged the quake.

“It is hoped the Tevatron has not been damaged,” said Takeo.

“At 3.1 on the Richter Scale,” said Alex, “the Tevatron’s probably safe.” He slipped the phone into his pocket. “On the Mercalli Scale, it’s probably only a four.” He glanced down at the scattered chess pieces. “Or maybe a five.” He looked across to Takeo. “How ’bout we call this game a draw as well.”

Takeo nodded, then set up the pieces again.

Alex saw other people coming from the buildings in the village. They seemed drawn toward Wilson Hall, the nerve center of Fermilab.

Alex and Katerina stood from the picnic table.

“Let’s see what news there is,” said Alex, glancing down at the still-seated Takeo.

“Perhaps another game first?”

Alex smiled. The man was clearly an addict. “Thank you, but perhaps later.”

Takeo nodded and then, with a sigh, he stood. The three of them, along with Wegener, headed toward Wilson Hall.

“Professionally,” said Alex as they ambled in the late summer sun, “this is very embarrassing.” He looked back at Wegener. “My dog is better at my job than I am. He saw this quake coming.”

Katerina raised her eyebrows.

“Really,” said Alex. “He predicted it. I’m sort of in competition with him.”

“You really feel you’re in competition with… with your dog?”

Alex gave a quick, tight smile. “Actually, I’m a better seismologist than my dog because… because, these days, real seismologists can actually prevent some quakes.”

Katerina stared at him in silence.

“Yeah. I know,” said Alex, made nervous by her gaze. “But it’s true. We are beginning to be able to avert quakes in some cases—by drilling and blasting in unpopulated parts of a fault to release pressure.”

“That’s not the issue,” said Katerina, softly.

“Oh, you mean my competing with my dog.” Alex gave a short, high-pitched laugh. “Yeah, I know. But it’s a comfort that Wegener can’t prevent quakes—considering that he predicts them a lot better than I do.”

“One might wonder,” said Takeo, “if it can truly be called prediction.” He sounded bored with the discussion. “Perhaps the dog, through his paws, is just very sensitive to vibrations—and can feel them before humans are able to.”

“My dog has detected quakes even when I’ve been sitting at a bank of seismographs, tiltmeters, low-frequency vibration sensors, strain meters, and ultrasonic detectors. I found nothing while he sensed a quake.”

“Indeed,” said Takeo, skepticism clear in his voice.

“I don’t understand it, either,” said Alex. “But it’s not vibrations. It’s… it’s something else.”

Takeo’s lips formed a cold smile. “One might entertain doubts as to whether there is anything else.”

“Look,” said Alex, with more heat than he’d intended. “Everything we know about in the physical world is just an amplification of the human senses. And pigeon and shark senses, too, if we include static electromagnetic fields.”

“The strong nuclear force?” said Takeo.

“All right,” said Alex. “Make that everything we know about the macro world. What if there are other phenomena that we don’t have senses for?”

“Such as ESP,” said Takeo. “Pseudoscience?”

“Sure. Why not?” Alex threw up his hands. “Precognition violates causality. Telekinesis violates conservation of energy. But perhaps telepathy does exist. It doesn’t violate any law of physics.”

“But telepathy wouldn’t explain predicting earthquakes,” said Katerina, her eyes more on Takeo than on Alex.

“Maybe some creatures can detect other physical phenomena,” said Alex.

Katerina gave a quick, furtive smile.

“Physical,” said Takeo. “What physical phenomenon is it, then? If there is another sense, it must be addressable by physics.” He smiled. “It is regrettable, but ghosts and spirits don’t come under science.”

From the corner of his eye, Alex noted Katerina scowling at Takeo. Clearly there was some negative chemistry between them.

“My dog does predict earthquakes,” said Alex, firmly.

“One suggests it is otherwise,” said Takeo, equally firmly. “And why then cannot all dogs predict quakes?”

“I wondered about that myself.” Alex paused, feeling exposed and foolish, before daring to tell them his speculation. “I got Wegener from a German Shepherd rescue organization. He was a drug-sniffing dog put out of work by the new electronic noses.”

“But one does not understand what relevance this has to—”

“During his training, Wegener probably had to sniff a lot of drugs.”

Takeo laughed. “Is it suggested that your dog acquired this alleged earthquake ability during a drug high?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not an expert on canine brain chemistry.”

“Ridiculous,” said Takeo under his breath.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Katerina said, “I didn’t think we were in danger of quakes here in Illinois.”

“Actually,” said Alex, “this part of the country is the second most active for quakes. In fact, Batavia sits over an extension of the New Madrid Fault.”

“Seismology sounds like a very interesting and satisfying discipline,” said Takeo in a tone of voice suggesting an apology for his previous discourtesy.

Alex nodded. He hoped Takeo would interpret it as “apology accepted.”

They walked again in silence until, out of the blue, Katerina asked, “What’s your dog’s howl duty cycle?”

“His what?”

“I mean, what percent of his howls—howls for unknown reasons, that is. What percent actually…”—Katerina seemed to be carefully choosing her words—”actually correlate with earthquakes?”

“I don’t really know.” Alex glanced at Wegener. “But my dog can predict a Richter 3.0 or greater quake anywhere within five or six hundred miles.”

“Five hundred miles.” said Katerina. “Impressive.” She seemed momentarily distant. Then her expression changed to one of resolve. “Perhaps we could have lunch tomorrow. To talk about earthquakes—and your dog.”

“I’d like that,” said Alex. “And his name’s Wegener. Named after Alfred Wegener, the father of plate tectonics.” Alex patted the dog. “Du bist ein braver Hund,” he said softly into the dog’s ear.

“You speak to your dog in German?” said Katerina.

“He’s a German Shepherd.”

The next day, Alex, with Wegener running alongside, bicycled to the User’s Center where he’d meet Katerina for lunch. He swung off his bicycle, locked it, and then pulled his pants cuff free of his sock.

“Stay!” he said, pointing to Wegener.

Wegener howled.

“Stay!” said Alex again. As there was a perfectly understandable reason for the howl, there was no reason to log it. He looked absently at his dog. She wants to talk about earthquakes. And about you, Wegener. I wonder why.

He shrugged, then hand-brushed his hair, turned, and padded into the User’s Center.

Walking into the dining room, he saw that Katerina had already arrived, and had gotten coffee. She waved him over to her table.

“My dog’s outside,” he said as he sat. “Do you want to talk to him, too?”

She laughed. “You’ll do, for the moment.”

They gave the waiter their lunch orders and then, rather like the appetizer to a meal, they started with small talk.

“I gather you knew Takeo before you came here,” said Alex.

“I studied under Dr. Wakabayashi in Berlin, before I switched from physics to biology.” She toyed with her coffee, stirring it despite having taken it black. “I don’t think he’s quite forgiven me.”

“He called you Katchen,” said Alex, reacting to her sorrowful expression. “That’s an indication of, well, endearment.”

Her lips formed a sad smile. “In this case, I think it’s more an indication of status… an adult addressing a child. Just as I call him Wakabayashi sama, a term of respect for his much higher status.” She wrapped her hands around her coffee cup, and stared at the black ripples on the surface. “Takeo has a theory,” she said, abruptly.

“Oh?”

“He believes that heavy particles, hadrons, moving at high speed loosen the binding of spacetime.”

“Huh?” said Alex under his breath.

“In the absence of mass,” said Katerina, pointing a teaspoon at Alex, “what is the nature of space-time?”

“Well… according to Einstein,” said Alex, proud of himself that he was conversant with modern physics, “it is flat.”

“But what use is space if there is nothing to put into it?” Katerina paused a few seconds and continued. “Takeo’s studies suggest—suggest strongly—that in the absence of mass, space-time becomes stochastic—essentially undefined.”

Alex leaned forward and tried to look intelligent.

“Takeo believes,” Katerina went on, “that mass binds space-time. It holds space-time together. And high-speed hadrons loosen that binding.”

“Hadrons from the Tevatron, I assume.”

“Yes,” said Katerina, “but mostly from cosmic ray bursts.”

Alex chuckled. “And what does all that have to do with my dog?”

Katerina smiled in return. “The loosening of space-time would be a new physics phenomenon—a phenomenon that I think some creatures might possibly sense.”

“What?” Alex narrowed his eyes in puzzlement. “But yesterday, Takeo seemed to be arguing against just that.”

Katerina nodded. “Oh, he was really arguing with me, over my theory.”

“Please.” Alex rubbed a hand across his forehead. “One theory at a time.”

“Yes. Yes, you’re right.” Katerina paused for a moment. “In his theory, the effect would manifest in massive objects—the Earth, for instance. He believes this loosening, these little rents in space-time, could be the cause of some earthquakes.”

“Ah,” said Alex.

“And my theory is that if there’s a macroscopic physics phenomenon, nature would have provided some creatures with a sense for it.” Katerina pursed her lips. “Wakabayashi sama thinks my theory is nonsense.”

“So that’s why you need a seismologist and a… a canine seismologist.”

Katerina nodded. “I’ve been looking for someone, a seismologist, preferably, with an animal that predicts quakes. But every seismologist I’ve talked to about it has said I should stick to biology.”

Alex brought a hand to cover his shirt pocket, as if about to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. “Wegener and I… our hands and paws are at your service. How can we help?”

“Do you record all of your dog’s howls,” said Katerina, pointing at his shirt pocket, “in that notebook?”

“All the howls that I can’t explain. Yes.”

“Do you know about the ConneXion software package?” said Katerina.

“What?” Alex, surprised by the change of subject, shook his head.

“It correlates as well as anti-correlates just about everything accessible over the Web. It correlates against a set of inputted data and restrictions on the scope of the search.” She toyed with a table knife. “I’d like to see if Wegener’s howls really do correlate to quakes, and if those quakes correlate with cosmic ray bursts… or even with the Tevatron being active.”

“You’d like to borrow my howl-log.”

“Only for tonight.”

Alex withdrew the notebook and handed it over. “Maybe we could meet here for breakfast tomorrow,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound too eager.

Katerina flipped through the pages. “I think I’m going to have a long night.” She closed the notebook. “How about a late breakfast or early lunch? Say at eleven?”

“Great!”

Late that night, Alex checked his e-mail.

Lieber Alex,

I have exciting news.

If you do not object, I’d like to invite Dr. Wakabayashi to our early lunch.

Viele liebe Grusse,

Katerina

The place was almost empty when, at ten of eleven, Alex walked into the restaurant. But at a table near a window sat Takeo. A leather-bound notebook and an open pocket chess set lay in front of him.

Alex, walking over, saw that no pieces had been moved.

Takeo gestured to a chair. “A game perhaps?”

Alex sat. “Sure.” He saw a flurry at the door. “Wait. No. Later, perhaps. There’s Katerina.” Katerina swept up to the table. She greeted Takeo as she sat, then without further preamble, she withdrew a file folder from her handbag and faced Alex. “Wegener’s howls correlate to earthquakes—and with a five-sigma figure of merit!”

“Hey, that’s great,” said Alex.

“And,” said Katerina, “most of the howls that associate with quakes also are correlated with cosmic ray bursts.”

“Are you serious?” said Takeo.

“I’m only reporting the data.” Katerina flourished the file folder.

“Might one examine those data?”

“Certainly.” She passed the folder to Takeo.

Alex and Katerina sat in silence as Takeo, head down, riffled through the folder. After about a minute, Takeo looked up. “These data are… strong.”

“Then you believe my dog really can predict earthquakes?” said Alex, trying to keep the sound of victory out of his voice.

“It is so—if these data are accurate.” Takeo’s expression clouded. “But one would like to understand what stimulus the dogs are responding to.”

“A… new… sense,” said Katerina, stressing each word. “Your binding-of-spacetime idea.”

Takeo nodded. “Just so.”

“But,” Katerina went on, “the quake we felt here had a strange correlation.”

“Oh?” said Alex. “Stranger than the dog correlation?”

“This quake correlated with both the Tevatron and also the LHC being on.”

Alex saw Takeo stiffen. “Dr. Wakabayashi,” said Alex, sensing it was not a time for first names, “what’s wrong?”

“The LHC storing particles in the ring and also the LHC,” said Takeo, as if to himself. “One must think.” He took a notebook from his briefcase and started scribbling.

“What do the Tevatron and LHC have to do with it?” said Alex after a decent interval.

Takeo nodded, then closed his notebook. “High-energy particles moving at near light-speed weaken the bonding of the space-time through which they move,” he said. “Or so one believes.”

“What does it mean, weaken the bonding?” said Alex.

Takeo moved his hand as if drawing a horizontal line across a blackboard. “An ultra high-energy particle leaves a wake of micro-discontinuities, rents, in the fabric of space-time. And as for the Tevatron and LHC, if the wakes intersect, a surface of discontinuity, a 2-D surface, occurs.”

“Wouldn’t it be worse near the Large Hadron Collider?” said Alex. “It’s many times more powerful than the Tevatron, isn’t it?”

“Four times,” said Takeo.

“At the moment,” said Katerina.

“It would be much worse here,” said Takeo. “Here one is in the LHC’s wake.” Takeo gave a worried smile. “It is good the LHC was only running at four Tev. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise?” Alex prompted.

“There might possibly have been much bigger discontinuities. One could imagine a worse earthquake.”

Alex saw that Katerina seemed worried. “What did you mean ‘at the moment’?”

“It was on the morning news,” said Katerina. “Sometime this evening, they said. The LHC is expected to go online with seven, or perhaps even nine Tev.”

“Aree!” said Takeo from deep in his throat.

Alex swiveled to look at him. “What?”

“One must do a back-of-the-envelope calculation.”

Over the next five minutes, Takeo filled many pages of his notebook with equations and numbers.

Alex watched impatiently. Some envelope!

Then Takeo withdrew a calculator from his briefcase and did a more concrete calculation. He slid the calculator over to Alex. “This is the energy ratio… from seven teravolts as against four.”

Alex looked at the number. “Jeez! Are you saying that if the LHC at seven teravolts were operating at the same time as the Tevatron”—he tapped the calculator display—”this could happen?”

“It is so,” said Takeo.

“What… what are we going to do about it?” said Alex. “This really could be a global disaster.”

“Do?” said Takeo with a smile obviously pasted on. “Theoreticians don’t do. They theorize. And this theory is just that—a theory.”

“Don’t you believe in your theory, Professor Wakabayashi?” said Alex.

“Believe the theory? Intellectually, yes.” Takeo gave a slight shake of his head. “Emotionally… one doesn’t know. The theory does imply earthquakes. It’s just that the quality of the implication is uncertain.” He seemed to deflate. “And in any case, what can be done?”

“Well…” Alex bit his lip. “We can’t stop the LHC from turning on with seven teravolts, but… but maybe we can get them to shut down the Tevatron.”

“That would stop it, wouldn’t it?” said Katerina.

Takeo nodded. “Both machines must be running for there to be a 2-D contour.”

“Then,” said Alex. “Then I think we should go to the director and ask him to turn off the Tevatron.”

“He’ll laugh at us,” said Katerina.

“And if there is error,” said Takeo, “which is likely, then careers will be at risk.”

“When exactly is the LHC powering up?” said Alex, now very conscious of time.

“If I remember…” Katerina bit her lip. “I think they said seven p.m.”

“An odd time,” said Alex.

“If it is like the Tevatron,” said Takeo, “pre-paring takes many hours. One can not merely throw a switch.”

“Wait a minute!” Alex gripped the table. “That’s Geneva time, isn’t it? What’s the time difference between the Fermilab and CERN?”

“Seven hours, I think,” said Katerina.

Alex checked his watch. “Oh my god! That gives us just over an hour.” He slid his chair back. “We’ve got to try to convince the Director to shut it down.” He stood. “Please. Let’s go.”

Takeo looked down at the table and stayed put. “It could be injudicious for a staff member to confront the director.”

“You mean you think he might fire you,” said Katerina.

“The thought did occur.”

“Well, I have a safe university position.” Katerina stood. “I’ll go.”

“Professor Wakabayashi?” said Alex.

Takeo toyed with his pocket chess set and did not raise his head. “With regret.”

“I understand,” said Alex, softly. “We’ll come back after our meeting and let you know what happened.”

“Thank you.” Takeo paused. “Perhaps, though, one should not mention the dog to the director.”

The director’s secretary informed them that the director was unavailable. And she would not reveal where he was at the moment. No amount of pleading and arguing from Alex and Katerina resulted in the director becoming less unavailable.

Alex checked his watch. “Come on, Katerina. Let’s get out of here.”

They stormed out of the office. On a door across the hall, Alex saw the sign,

Michael Decker

Deputy Director

“Maybe he can do something,” said Alex.

“Let’s hope,” said Katerina.

They walked in to confront Deputy Director Decker. Alex was prepared for a fight but he didn’t get one. Decker was relaxed and casual, not even wearing a tie. Apparently, he did not have a secretary.

After Alex explained who they were and why they were there, Katerina showed Decker the data.

Alex, painfully aware of the passage of time, waited impatiently as Decker unhurriedly perused Katerina’s folder.

“I’m not sure that I believe these data,” said Decker.

Alex suppressed a grimace. Damn.

“But I think they justify shutting down the Tevetron while the LHC is live,” Decker continued, “until we can do a thorough analysis.”

Great!

“But unfortunately, I don’t have the authority. The Director will have to approve.”

Damn!

“The director’s not in his office,” said Katerina. “And his secretary wouldn’t tell us where he is.”

Decker scowled. “He’s probably in his not-to-disturb hideaway deep in the Tevatron facility.” He leaned in over his computer keyboard. “But I’d say this is important enough to disturb him—via videoconference.”

The computer monitor came live with the image of a man sitting at his desk. And he seemed angry. Alex couldn’t help noticing the man’s dilated pupils and sweat-glistening forehead.

Decker explained the situation and, without waiting for a response, aimed the camera at Katerina and Alex and had them give the details. As they laid out the arguments, the director fidgeted, almost as if afflicted with a neurological condition.

“You’re sure all this is going to happen?” said the director when they’d finished.

“No. We’re not sure,” said Katerina, “not even half sure. But the risk is there.”

“A very theoretical risk, I assume.” The director crossed his hands on his desk. “I am sorry, but I can’t justify bringing down the Tevatron on such… theoretical grounds.”

“We’re sitting on an extension of the New Madrid fault,” said Alex, hoping his voice would imply an urgency that Katerina’s did not. “There could well be another quake right here—this time a big one.”

“Again,” said the director, imperiously, “are you sure?”

“Well, no.” Alex paused. “But I know what a Richter nine earthquake can do.”

“If it happens.”

Alex blew out a breath. “With the Tevatron up and running, especially with the two-Tev upgrade and with the LHC above seven—”

“The LHC,” said the director, scornfully. “If we had just one-tenth their funding, we could replace our magnets with lutetium-doped units and be almost at their power.” He uttered a laugh without humor. “If by some miracle we did have some damage from this quake of yours, then, damn it, we’d take the insurance money and we would buy those magnets.”

“Please,” said Alex. “This could be a real danger to the world.” He glanced at his watch. “And we are almost out of time.”

The director gave a mirthless smile. “When you first came here, only last month,”—the director straightened one finger and pointed it at Alex—”weren’t you the one who applied Rapid-Grow in a circle on the grass above the accelerator ring?”

“I didn’t know anyone knew about that.”

“Well,” said the director, “what’s the joke this time?”

“This is no joke,” said Alex, weakly, the wind now out of his sails.

“We can show,” said Katerina, “that the earthquakes correlate strongly with the Tevatron and LHC running.”

“But you can’t say it’s causal, can you?” said the director. “Correlation doesn’t mean causation.”

“In this case, though,” said Katerina, “it’s very suggestive.”

The director looked away. “Some thought the first atomic bomb test might ignite the atmosphere.”

“Meaning?” said Alex, impatiently.

“Meaning…” The director swiveled sharply, directing his gaze at Alex. “I’m not ordering the Tevatron shut down on the recommendation of a postdoc.” The director tapped his desk with a balled fist. “I’d be laughed out of my director’s appointment if I did.”

Katerina made calming motions with her hands. “Look. The idea was to close down the Tevatron when the LHC came online. And it has. So why not shut it down now?”

“Not a chance. We’ve got funding to the end of the year.”

Alex saw the director move his hand forward, and then the screen went black. “As the saying goes,” said Alex under his breath, “there but for the grace of God goes God.”

“You noticed,” said Decker, his eyes also on the now blank screen. He turned his attention to Alex and Katerina. “Can’t promise anything,”—he stood, bringing the meeting to a close—”but I’ll see what I can do.”

“There’s not much time,” said Katerina.

“I know.”

Takeo glanced up from his chess set as Alex and Katerina came back into the cafeteria. It looked as if he’d been playing a game with himself.

Alex threw himself down into a chair.

“It appears the director did not agree with the proposal,” said Takeo.

“Closed-minded idiot.”

Katerina sat. “I wonder,” she said, distantly. “Once the earthquake starts, is there any way to stop it?”

Takeo stroked his chin. After a moment, he said, “If the Tevatron were shut down, the Earth should re-seal and the quake should stop.”

“Then I’m going to try to turn off the Tevatron myself.” Alex sprang to his feet. “Before the LHC powers up.”

Katerina appeared startled. “But the deputy director said he’d—”

“We can’t rely on that,” said Alex.

“Injudicious,” said Takeo. “One would not be able to gain entry to the Tevatron.”

“We’ll see.” Alex spun around, but before he’d taken two steps away, Takeo cleared his throat. Alex stopped, looked around, and saw Takeo beckoning him with his forefinger. Alex walked back to the table. “Yes?”

“How much time would there be between your dog’s howl and the possible earthquake?”

“About ten minutes.”

“So long?” said Takeo.

“The Earth reacts slowly.” Alex wanted to get on with it but was curious what Takeo had in mind.

“Might not a better plan be to wait near the Tevatron and wait for the dog to howl? And only then to attempt a shut-down?”

“You’ll come with me?”

Takeo shook his head. “Regrettably not.”

Alex narrowed his eyes.

“Should the dog howl, go to the D-zero entrance,” said Takeo. “If entry is possible, and one goes inside, there is a wooden door about twenty meters in—on the left.” Takeo spoke softly. “The door opens to a corridor leading to a room where there once was an experiment. Inside is an inner room where a beam from the accelerator impacted geological samples. The beam no longer goes to that room. The room is empty now. All equipment has been removed. Go there.”

“Why? What good is it if there’s nothing running there anymore?”

“Ah. Although the equipment has been removed, the inner room is still there.” Takeo leaned forward. “And so is the emergency dead-button inside that room.” He leaned further toward Alex. “Push that button,” he said at a whisper, “and the Tevatron will immediately shut down.”

“Really?”

“And it will take two days to start it up again.”

“That would give us time to take our case higher than the director.”

Takeo nodded.

“Thank you.” Alex turned again to go.

“Wait!” said Katerina at a shouted whisper. “I’m coming with you.”

Alex spun around, paused a second or two, then said, “I really appreciate that, but there’s no way your visitor ID would get you anywhere near the Tevatron.” He took a quick swig from his water glass, the ice having long since melted. “And I’m traveling by bicycle. And I don’t know exactly where on the ring the D-Zero experiment is.” He put down the glass.

Katerina turned sharply. “Professor Wakabayashi,” she said, “drive us, please.”

Takeo gave a throaty sigh. He paused. “All right. Fine. One has been there before.”

“You will?” said Alex.

“The Tevatron has a four-mile circumference,” said Takeo, “and the D-Zero experiment is halfway around.” He stood. “Come.” He headed for the door. Alex and Katerina followed.

As they hurried down the front steps of the building, Wegener fell in behind.

Sitting in Takeo’s car, parked in a lot near the D-Zero entrance, Alex watched anxiously as the dashboard clock inexorably crept toward noon. No one spoke. Even Wegener stayed silent.

Finally, noon came.

Alex held his breath, his arm around Wegener.

“He’s not howling,” said Katerina, almost at a whisper.

Alex checked his watch. It read the same as the dashboard clock.

For minutes, they sat as if frozen.

Then Wegener did howl—a loud howl that Alex knew portended a huge quake. He flung open the car door and sprang out. Wegener followed.

Alex pointed at his dog. “Stay! Wegener, stay!” Alex turned and headed away from the parking area. He forced himself to move at a casual pace, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Hearing the car door open again, he stopped and swiveled around.

Katerina had stepped out. “I’m coming with you,” she announced.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Don’t argue,” said Katerina. “We don’t have the time.”

Alex knew she was right. He turned again toward the Tevatron entrance and heard Katerina coming up beside him. “Walk as if we belong here,” he whispered from the side of his mouth.

“Look,” Katerina whispered, nodding toward a person far ahead of them striding toward the entrance. “Let’s see if we can follow him in.”

They increased their pace until, at the entrance, they were only a step behind. The man in front swiped his card, and as he opened the door, looked behind him.

Katerina, seeming to hunt for her card, smiled at him. He gave a nod that could have almost been a small bow, and held the door open for her and Alex.

Alex feigned a twist of the ankle as he started down the stairs. He uttered a mild oath with what he hoped was an expression of annoyance and mild pain. He grasped at the handrail for support.

“Are you all right?” said the man.

“I’m fine. Just turned my ankle a bit.” Alex flexed his ankle. “I always seem to trip over my feet when I come in here out of a bright sun.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean.”

Alex flexed his ankle as the man first nodded, then continued down the stairs and disappeared into the bowels of the Tevatron tunnel system.

Compact fluorescents set into recesses in the tunnel wall provided a cold, white light as Alex and Katerina descended the steps to a high-arched corridor. The smell of grass and fresh outdoor air gradually gave way to a technological odor—like the scent of distant burnt electronics. A soft thrum of air conditioning and the combined susurrus of numerous machines resonated off the concrete walls—along with the sound of receding footsteps.

“Looks pretty deserted, doesn’t it?” said Alex softly, as he and Katerina padded lightly down the corridor.

“There it is,” said Katerina, pointing ahead and to the left.

They stopped in front of a door. It was where Takeo said it would be. The door was clearly old. It had an actual keyhole rather than a card reader.

Alex tried the handle. “Damn! Locked.”

“What now?” said Katerina.

Alex regarded the door. It seemed more a notice of disuse than a conditional barrier to entry. “Looks pretty flimsy.” He put his shoulder against it and pushed. But the door held. “Damn!” he said again. He took a quick look up and down the passageway, then, with a grunt, threw himself against the door. The wood around the lock split, the sound harsh and loud in the empty corridor. He pushed again. The lock tongue stayed in the door jam while the door itself ripped away and flew open. With a loud clang, the inside handle struck the concrete wall.

“Okay,” Alex whispered as he stepped inside. He felt silly for whispering while the sound of the break-in still reverberated off the hard walls.

The opening revealed another corridor, musty-smelling and dark. There were no working lights set in the walls.

By the dim illumination from behind, Alex and Katerina made their way forward. After ten or fifteen meters, the passageway widened, becoming another room. In the darkness, it looked more like a grotto than a place for science.

At the far end of the room, a sliding door dominated the wall, a massive protection against particle radiation.

“I think the emergency shutoff is on the other side of that.” Alex glanced above the door. “As long as that sign isn’t flashing ‘Danger,’ everything’s okay.”

He saw a recessed handle. “With no power in this lab, we should be able to use this.” He pulled hard and the door, creaking and complaining, opened enough to admit them.

“I hope the shutoff button still has power,” said Katerina.

“Yeah!” Alex looked inside—or tried to. The meager illumination from the corridor only allowed him to see a meter or so into the experiment room, and only straight ahead. “I’ll have to feel around for it. On the left, Takeo said.”

“I’ll try the right side,” said Katerina. “Maybe Takeo didn’t—”

A low rumble interrupted her words.

“I thought we had time,” Katerina called out, her voice quavering.

The ground began to tremble. The shaking grew and Alex heard crashing noises in the distance. He pushed himself against a wall to keep from falling. “Katchen,” he shouted over the increasingly loud groaning of the Earth. “Get out! Get out, now!” He grabbed the door jam to keep his balance. “I’ve got to find that shutoff button.”

“You come, too,” Katerina shouted. “This could collapse. You could die.”

“Go!” Alex shouted as he staggered into the room.

“No!” Katerina, on her knees, crawled into the room and then, clawing at the metal door, pulled herself to her feet. As she did so, the door groaned and slid closed, leaving the experiment room in absolute darkness.

“Oh, no,” said Katerina. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about… Hey!” Alex called out. “Here it is, I think. It feels like a button.”

“Push it!”

“Done!”

“Nothing’s happening!”

His hand still on the button, Alex’s mind was fully engulfed in the fearful magnificence of the quake. He was both thrilled to experience a high-Richter quake firsthand and also irrationally afraid it would go on forever.

“Alex?” Katerina called in the darkness.

“Sorry. I’m here. Wait! The quake. It’s weakening—I think.”

A few seconds later, the shaking stopped and room went silent.

“Takeo was right,” said Katerina, relief apparent in her voice.

“Yeah.” Alex released his grip on the shutoff button’s box and pawed around until he found the door handle. “Uh-oh!”

“What’s the matter?”

Alex braced himself and strained against the handle. “The door. It… it won’t move.”

“I’ll come and help. Maybe the two of us—”

“No, stay put,” said Alex in grunts, pulling with all his strength at the depressed handle. He released his grip. “This doesn’t have room for two hands—much less four.”

“What’ll we do?” Katerina’s words reverberated in the silent room.

Alex noted the silence. He could hear neither the sounds of machinery, nor of the air-conditioners. My god! That means there’s no air circulating. He shuddered. Maybe it means that we’ll just be breathing stale air. Or maybe—

“Alex?”

“We’ll be all right.” Alex didn’t know if he should try the door again or sit still to conserve oxygen.

“I must admit,” said Katerina with obviously forced brightness, “that I’m beginning to be just a little frightened.”

Alex backed against the wall and slid to a sitting position. “We’ll be okay,” he said again, hoping Katerina couldn’t hear the insincerity in his voice. “Let’s just sit quietly and wait to be rescued.” He sought and found her hand, and pressed it.

“Maybe Takeo will come,” she said.

Alex pictured the diminutive Takeo. We don’t need a particle physicist. We need a sumo wrestler.

“Oh, wait!” Abruptly, Katerina pulled her hand away, and a moment later there came light—from the display of Katrina’s mobile phone.

“No service down here,” she said, “but at least we have some light.”

Alex, chagrined that he’d not thought of it, reached for his own phone. But he stopped as Katerina snapped hers closed. “Better not to have light,” she said, softly. “I’d rather you’d not see how frightened I am.”

“We’ll be all right,” said Alex for the third time, feeling unoriginal as well as insincere. He thought to change the subject. “You know,” he said, “I bet the director actually accepts our data and wants an earthquake—so Fermilab can collect the insurance to pay for the new magnets.” He shook his head, an invisible gesture in the darkness. “Sounds like insurance fraud to me.”

“I did not realize,” said Katerina in a voice more amused than frightened, “that you were a forensic seismologist—or indeed that there even was such a field of study.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Alex forced a laugh. “I’m being silly.”

“Wait a minute.Shouldn’t there be air circulation blowers down here?” Katerina now sounded frightened. “I don’t hear them.”

“You noticed,” said Alex.

“Yes.”

In the silent room, Alex didn’t know whether to try to cheer Katerina up or to just keep quiet. He kept quiet.

After a few silent minutes, there came a muffled pounding at the door.

Katerina flipped her phone open, illuminating the massive door with a feeble light.

Alex bolted to his feet and pounded back with both hands. He saw the door move a millimeter or two. Someone was trying to open it from outside. Alex grabbed the handle and pulled. His shoulder ached and it felt as if his fingers were being ripped from his hand. From the corner of his eye, he saw Katerina stand and move her hands to the door. But there was no purchase, not even the slightest deviation from smoothness where she could grab on. Alex closed his eyes, throwing all his strength and concentration to the depressed handle.

The door gave a shudder and, groaning, stuttered open a bit.

Wegener, with happy barking, squeezed in. Alex dropped to the ground and hugged him. Then, strangely embarrassed, he waved Katerina toward the narrow opening. “Ladies first.”

She smiled as she slid through the gap. Alex forced the opening larger and, sideways, he went through. Outside the chamber, the darkness was relieved by an array of amber, electroluminescent arrows set in the floor pointing to a way out.

Wegener padded through the gap—and then headed further into the facility, a direction delineated by softly glowing arrows receding into the distance. Alex, wondering what had gotten into the dog, called him back.

Takeo stood waiting near the door. “Is there injury?” he said.

“We’re fine,” said Alex.

“That was very brave of you,” said Katerina, “coming after us.”

“Alex’s dog insisted.”

Alex glanced at Wegener. The dog, muzzle pointed toward the interior of the facility, was making whining noises.

“What is the matter with the dog?” said Takeo.

“I don’t know.” Alex patted Wegener, but that didn’t calm the animal. “He was a drug sniffer dog, but who knows? He might have also been trained as a disaster rescue dog.”

“You think there are people trapped in here?” said Katerina.

“What?” Alex was puzzled. Katerina sounded different. Her voice was thinner and higher pitched. Then he understood. “Crouch down,” he said almost at a shout, “and breathe close to the ground. We’re breathing a lot of helium.” He crouched. Katerina and Takeo did so as well. Low to the ground, they made their way slowly toward the exit.

“If the liquid helium line has ruptured,” said Takeo, “then the magnets are destroyed. The Tevatron is dead.”

“Such a lot of destruction,” said Katerina.

“It would have been much worse had it not been shut down when it did.” Takeo looked back at Alex. “One assumes it was you who annealed the tear in the spacetime fabric.”

“I did hit the button.”

As they neared the entrance, a shaft of sunlight shone down the staircase. Alex blinked in the brightness, and he noticed that their voices had returned to normal. “I guess the helium’s dissipated.” He stood upright. Katerina and Takeo did as well.

They’d taken a few more steps when the shaft of light vanished, replaced by animated shadows from the entrance. They stopped as another beam of light, this time from a flashlight, found them.

As the light grew close, Alex saw that it was wielded by a police officer. Behind him walked another individual.

“Is that the deputy director?” Katerina whispered.

“Decker?” said Alex, squinting past the beam. “Yeah. I think so.”

At about the same time, Decker seemed to recognize them. “Have you seen the director?” he called out, without preamble.

“No,” Alex called back. “Why?”

“I was on the phone with him.” Decker stopped as he reached Alex and the others. “The line went dead. He might be trapped in his hideaway down here.” He glanced over at the police officer. “I didn’t know what to do. I called 911.”

“Where is that hideaway?” said Katerina.

Decker stared down the corridor. “Don’t really know. I’ve never been there.”

“Well, come on,” said the police officer. “We’d better hunt him down.”

Again, Wegener whined, and pointed his muzzle towards the interior.

Alex glanced at him. “My dog seems to want to hunt him down as well.”

Katerina cocked her head. “How could Wegener have possibly gotten to know the director’s scent?”

“I don’t know,” said Alex, letting Wegener have his way. “I just don’t know.”

Nose to the ground, Wegener padded down the corridor. The officer, his flashlight serving as the headlight of a locomotive, followed—and the others followed him.

A few minutes later, after running a convoluted route through many corridors, Wegener stopped at a door. Opening outward, the door was made non-functional by an equipment rack overturned in front of it.

The officer pounded on the door. “Anyone in there?”

“Get me out of here,” came a voice, the director’s, from inside.

Alex and Decker lifted the rack upright and shoved it out of the way. The door opened and the director, seeming unsteady on his feet, came out. Wegener, though, darted inside and started barking.

Alex, puzzled, followed his dog into the room. The room lay completely in darkness. “Excuse me,” Alex called over his shoulder to the police officer. “Could you shine your light in here?”

“Yeah. Sure.” The officer directed his beam into the room and then he took a couple of steps inside.

Alex saw Wegener on-point, his muzzle aimed at a small glassine envelope and a strawlike tube next to it on a table.

Staring at the items, Alex shrugged. “I have no idea what this stuff is.”

Decker walked into the room, glanced at the table, and scowled.

“I’m afraid I know what it is,” said the officer in a grave voice. He stepped up to the table, shined his light on the items and, almost in the way Wegener would, sniffed at the envelope. Then he stood erect, swiveled around, walked out and up to the director, urging him away from the others.

“Wonder what’s going on,” said Alex as he and Wegener left the room.

“I imagine,” said Decker, following behind, “that our esteemed director is about to be arrested for drug possession.”

Alex swiveled around. “What?”

“No surprise,” said Decker, including Katerina and Takeo in the conversation. “The board’s suspected it for some time. But there’s been no proof.” He glanced forward at the police officer, who seemed in a heavy dispute with the director—”Until now.”

The officer and the director walked toward the entrance. Alex and the others followed at a respectful distance.

“This isn’t exactly good publicity for Fermilab,” Alex whispered.

“No, it isn’t,” said Decker, softly.

As they emerged into the sunlight, Alex saw the officer ushering the director into a police car.

“What do you think will happen with Fermilab?” said Katerina.

“I suspect the board will replace the director,” said Decker, his eyes on the police car, “with me, I suppose.” He looked back toward the entrance. “I don’t know if we will rebuild with the new magnets,” he said, almost to himself. “The baton is passed to CERN.” He swiveled around and smiled at Alex and Katerina. “But I assure you,” he said, “I’ll make certain that the LHC and the Tevatron are never powered up at the same time.”

“Wonderful,” said Katerina. She also looked back at the entrance. “I wonder if everyone’s gotten out safely.”

“It is likely,” said Takeo.

Alex, though, was preoccupied with worry. “I can’t tell,” he said, softly, thinking aloud to himself. “I can’t tell if there’ll be aftershocks.”

“There is nothing to be gained here,” said Takeo, abruptly. He turned to Alex. “Better might be a return to the picnic table.”

Alex waited for more.

Takeo smiled. “Perhaps now, that nice game of chess?”

“Now? You want to play chess now?”

“If one worries about aftershocks, a weighted chess set can be provided.”

Alex marveled at the man’s monomania. “Later, perhaps.”

Takeo nodded at Alex and then to Katerina, and then walked away toward the village.

Katerina leaned down and ruffled Wegener’s fur. “I guess there is such a thing as a forensic seismologist.” She stood upright and laughed.

“What?” said Alex.

“Oh… Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“I was just thinking.” Katerina pursed her lips. “Wegener sort of fits your definition of a good seismologist.”

“Oh?”

“By getting rid of the director,” said Katerina with a sly smile, “Wegener has actually averted a big quake.”

Alex threw a glance at his dog—at his competitor.

“So the dog is a seismologist,” said Katerina with a dismissive wave of a hand. “So what?” She touched Alex gently on the upper arm. “One doubts, as Takeo might say, if the dog can play a good game of chess.” She paused. “Do you understand my meaning?”

For a moment, Alex stood there, puzzled. Then he smiled with the revelation that he himself was as monomaniacal as was Takeo. “Yes,” he said. “I think I do.” Alex bent and scratched Wegener between the ears.

Content

Howl of the Seismologist
by Carl Frederick