A God in Ruins - Leon Uris [160]
Tomtree was almost overwhelmingly tempted to bring up the birth-control issue. But birth control and pro choice was a chancy subject. Most Americans, by a wide margin, favored and practiced both.
If somehow Thornton could drive a wedge between the issue and the fact that O’Connell was a Catholic. He caught a glimpse of Darnell, whose eyes told Thornton he might be setting a trap for himself.
Okay, then, the second part of the Mississippi address.
“Mr. O’Connell paints a brooding and grim assessment of the future of the earth’s resources. During my administration the United States has stood at the head of a consortium for the exploration of the seas. Using the great gift of computer science, we are in the process of mapping the bottom of every ocean, sea, bay, polar cap, and lake.
“Treaties have been concluded with most maritime nations in which America will do the searching and the mapping. Treaty nations will receive a share of the eventual profits.
“What have we found under our oceans? We have discovered hundreds of thousands of chimneys, maybe millions of them, spewing up a variety of basic metals and ores, from inner layers of the earth. If we keep exploration focused on our seas, I believe we will discover what we will need to sustain future life. So, let us drop our doom and our gloom. Our computer science is becoming so advanced, we know it will show us that the planet will continue to prosper.”
Carter Carpenter cleared his throat, sincerely. “Would you care to respond, Mr. O’Connell?”
“Yes, sir. I think that the intense underseas exploration may have some merit, but we cannot bank the future of the planet on it.”
Thornton’s bell rang as he sensed Quinn hesitating. “Do you have a position on this, Mr. O’Connell?”
“I sure do,” Quinn answered. “I’ve been briefed on this by Scripps Institute, Woods Hole, and Long Island University School of Oceanography. While we have gained enormous knowledge of the universe, we really don’t understand the lay of the land a few miles down. Space exploration feeds the human drive to explore, to learn, to have a romantic contact. Perhaps, in this century, we will make contact with intelligent life out there. But under any equation, we will never be able to replenish the earth’s shrinking resources. God does not run a trucking company from outer space. As for inner space, the chimneys on the ocean floors are truly God’s handiwork created over tens of millions of years. Heat from lower layers beneath the earth’s crust spouts from under the bottom of the sea, spewing minerals through the chimneys. Will we find infinite new sources of materials? If we tamper with these chimneys, which indicate fire below, then we are setting the table for underwater volcanos and the tidal waves they will create. We could be setting the table for a heating of our waters that would risk worldwide coastal flooding and a century-long El Niño.
“Does not this underwater exploration indicate a sense of desperation to replace what has been lost? Have we not done enough damage to our waters?”
Quinn went deeper into the perils of underwater mining. “Exploration is primitive. To take something from the bottom of the sea would cost a hundredfold more than surface mining.”
Thornton felt a surge of raw fear. O’Connell was explaining something in Thornton’s realm with utter clarity. Thornton could fire back with esoteric computer data, but it could well fail.
Thornton had believed himself incredible, close to godlike, the way he had fought his way back from the Four Corners. But more, the people believed their president had added a dimension to his character.
Thornton had toyed around to come up with a probe for the debate, one that would catch O’Connell cold. In actual fact, Thornton had grown a little sour on much of the underseas probing. Yet it was a good, tricky subject to show up his opponent’s ignorance.
Thornton glanced at the time-keeping apparatus. Quinn had built up a reserve