Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [56]
"Wow."
"Yeah," Sharps said. "That bad."
"But if only part hits—"
"Atlantic Ocean, for sure," Sharps said.
"Which means Washington … " Jellison let his voice trail off.
"Washington will be under water. The entire East Coast up to the mountains," Sharps said. "Tidal waves. But it's long odds, Art. Very long. Best guess is still that we get a spectacular light show and nothing more."
"Sure. Sure. Okay, Charlie, I'll let you get back to work. By the way, where'll you be on That Day?"
"At JPL."
"Elevation?"
"About a thousand feet, Senator. About a thousand feet. Goodbye."
The connection went before Jellison could switch off the phone. Jellison and Hardy looked at the dead instrument for a moment. "Al, I think we want to be at the ranch. Good place to watch comets from," Jellison said.
"Yes, sir—"
"But we want to be careful. No panic. If this gets a big play the whole country could go up in flames. I expect Congress will find a good reason for a recess that week, we won't have to do anything about that, but I want my family out at the ranch, too. I'll take care of Maureen. You see that Jack and Charlotte get there."
Al Hardy winced. Senator Jellison had no use for his son-in-law. Neither did Al. It wouldn't be pleasant, persuading Jack Turner to take his wife and children out to the Jellison ranch in California.
"May as well be hung for a sheep," Jellison said. "You're coming out with us, of course. We'll need equipment. End-of-the-world equipment. Couple of four-wheel-drive vehicles—"
"Land Rovers," Al said.
"Hell no, not Land Rovers," Jellison said. He poured another two-finger drink. "Buy American, dammit. That comet probably won't hit, and we sure as hell don't want to be owning foreign cars after it goes by. Jeeps, maybe, or something from GMC."
"I'll look into it," Al said.
"And the rest of it. Camping gear. Batteries. Razor blades. Pocket computers. Rifles. Sleeping bags. All the crap you can't buy if—"
"It's going to be expensive, Senator."
"So what? I'm not broke. Get it wholesale, but be quiet about it. Anybody asks, you're … what? You're going along on a junket to Africa. There must be some National Science Foundation project in Africa—"
"Yes, sir—"
"Good. That's what all this is for, if anybody asks. You can let Rasmussen in on the plot. Nobody else on the staff. Got a girl you want to take along?"
He really doesn't know, Al thought. He really doesn't know how I feel about Maureen. "No, sir."
"Okay. I'll leave it to you, then. You realize this is damn foolishness and we're goin' to feel awful silly when that thing has passed by."
"Yes, sir." I hope we are. Sharps called it the Hammer!
"There is absolutely no danger. The asteroid Apollo came within two million miles, very close as cosmic distances go, back in 1932. No damage. Adonis passed within a million miles in 1936. So what? Remember the panic in 1968? People, especially in California, took to the hills. Everyone forgot about it a day later—that is, everyone who hadn't gone broke buying survival equipment that wasn't needed.
"Hamner-Brown Comet is a marvelous opportunity to study a new kind of extraterrestrial body at comparatively—and I emphasize comparatively—close range, and that's all it is."
"Thank you, Dr. Treece. You have heard an interview with Dr. Henry Treece of the United States Geological Survey. Now back to our regularly scheduled program."
The road ran north through groves of oranges and almond trees, skirting the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley. Sometimes it climbed over low hills or wound among them, but for most of the way the view to the left was of a vast flatland, dotted with farm buildings and croplands, crossed by canals, and stretching all the way to the horizon. The only large buildings visible were the uncompleted San Joaquin Nuclear Plant.
Harvey Randall turned right at Porterville and wound eastward