Vince rode beside the climatologist in the other presidential car listening to Tamanna expand on the politics. The fact that five Sahel nations could synchronize national volcanoes together would send a clear signal, a powerful signal. And that those volcanoes all released then, in the early morning hours of influence, must be revealed strategically.
“On the plane, Vince, when you talk.” Tami’s voice was soft. “If you can, create a picture in their minds, so when we land, what they remember seeing out the window of the plane, was a string of volcanic explosions down there, all across the Sahara. And then a ring of fire around the world too. We want the color of conflict, of challenge, imprinted in their minds.”
Vince looked at her, nodding, then away. He couldn’t tell thrill from terror—so what was a terrorist anyway? He stared from the limo at that horizon, knowing the string of invisible-fire volcanoes blasting off must grab world attention. To start, the line of fire was not just here on the Niamey outskirts, not just in Niger, but on the urban edges of Bamako in next door Mali. Had the Malian president been out in the streets, with cheers and green flags? And others would be soaring high across the western deserts of Mauritania, then the sands of Chad to the east, and throughout the mountains of the Sudan.
His mind raced, forming all into a storybook picture. Tell it as you would a seven year old, but twist it into political pitch. Not one right here, but five, smoking holes in the planet, like gunshot wounds with the smell of gunpowder drifting. A short burst of gunfire. Five blossoming North Korean fire-bursting volcanoes. Then the other High Impact countries, an automatic gun burst of invisible smoke holes circling around the globe. But not North Koreas—not dictatorships with an isolationist obsession, but presidents democratically popular with their people, cooperating hand in hand…this must be his daughter’s best chance for a friendly future.
They sat in silence. Tami with her secret directives from Nishat. Vince, with his developing career. Personal policy came clear—he would take the global assumption to heart, face all fear, and do whatever it took.