Excerpt from my speculative/historical novel Daughters of Time https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Time-Kaalii-Cargill/dp/1482616971
. . .Haleli frowned. “There is more to this than you know. The prophecy is a warning. Global warming, degradation of freshwater systems, food-producing systems; do you think this is all natural? Our world is being destroyed by greed, and we call it climate change!”
Paula’s head was spinning. She agreed that cutting down trees and burning fossil fuels was an environmental disaster, but was Haleli suggesting that the juggernaut of global consumerism was part of a conspiracy? How could any right-thinking academic believe in conspiracy theories?
Haleli turned to her computer. She entered a series of passwords that opened a virtual storage cache. Encrypted material appeared. More passwords. She moved the screen so they could see: lines of data, names, dates, documentation of meetings, correspondence, financial transactions.
“I have collected evidence.”
“I don’t understand,” said Lili.
“There are those who would erode the environment to the point of global collapse. The world will be saved by the same ones who destroy it, and they will have the power to do with it as they want. What do they care if millions die?”
Paula sighed. Conspiracy theories were always flawed: why did the richest people in the world need to invent elaborate schemes to have more?
“Wealth is nothing but a construct,” said Haleli as if she anticipated Paula’s objections. She spoke slowly, emphasising each word, as if talking to children. “A useful construct to disempower entire populaces. But I am not talking about a global coup. The same ones who would be capable of such a thing could not trust each other long enough to bring it about. No, I am talking about the misinformation and deliberate disregard that has allowed the situation to deteriorate to the point of no return; governments, multi-national companies, and thousands of smaller operators all benefit from it.”
Lili was biting her lip, her face pale.
Haleli sighed. “Let me show you one of the things I found.” She opened more files on her computer. “This is HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program.”
An emerald green cloud illuminated a field of huge antennae.
“What is it?’ asked Lili.
“It’s part of the Strategic Defence Initiative. Star Wars, some people call it. HAARP was constructed to investigate the ionosphere and establish whether some of its properties could be used for communication or surveillance purposes, but we now know it has the ability to trigger floods, droughts, hurricanes and earthquakes.”
“How?”
“HAARP intensively bombards the atmosphere with high-frequency rays. Low frequency electromagnetic waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate matter. These waves modify the World’s electro-magnetic field, affecting everything from people’s brains to tectonic movements.”
Lili whistled through her teeth. Paula sucked in air as if she had been winded.
“It’s like a gigantic heater,” said Haleli. “It slices away the protective layer of the ionosphere.”
“Can’t it be stopped?” asked Paula.
Haleli shook her head. “It has been presented to the public as a program of scientific and academic research. People believe what they are told.”
“But it’s a weapon!” said Paula.
“We only call them weapons when they are aimed at us,” said Haleli. “When they belong to us we call them protection, or defense, or research.”
(Meet Mago Contributor) Kaalii Cargill