'Hallelujah,' Weaver murmured.

Li allowed the room to fall silent.

Then she smiled. Time for a sweetener. 'We're all on edge,' she said. 'I understand how you must be feeling, Ms Weaver. Major Peak, if you could continue…'

For a moment Peak had felt flustered. Soldiers never expressed criticism or doubt in that tone. He didn't have anything against criticism or doubt per se, but right now, when he couldn't reassert his authority with an order, he resented being challenged. He felt a wave of dull hatred towards the journalist. How the hell was he going to keep a check on all those damn scientists?

'What we just witnessed,' he said, 'was the release of large quantities of methane from the seabed. Now, much as I regret the death of those on board the boat, the escape of the gas poses much wider problems. In the course of the underwater slide, the amount of gas released into the atmosphere was a million times greater than it was during the sinking of the Juno. We've seen case scenarios for what would happen if the remainder of the world's underwater methane reserves were to escape in a similar way. It amounts to a death sentence. The equilibrium of the atmosphere would be fatally unbalanced.'

He paused. Peak was a tough character, but even he was scared as hell by what came next. 'I have to tell you,' he said slowly, 'that worms have been found in the Atlantic and Pacific. To be more specific, they're present on the continental slopes off the coasts of North and South America, western Canada and Japan.'

No one breathed.

'That was the bad news.'

A cough shook the room like a minor explosion.

'The good news is that the infestations haven't reached anything like the levels that were recorded near Norway. The organisms are clustered in isolated patches. For the time being there's no risk of serious damage occurring. However, we have to assume that somehow, at some point, the assault will intensify. Our sources indicate that smaller groups of worms were found last year near Norway, on a site earmarked by Statoil for the construction of a processor.'

'My government has been unable to verify that claim,' a Norwegian politician called from the back.

'Sure,' Peak sneered. 'Conveniently enough, almost everyone involved in the project is dead. We've had to rely entirely on Dr Johanson and the scientists in Kiel for information. But this time we've got a head start. And it's our responsibility to use it. We've got to fight those goddamn worms.'

He stopped short. Goddamn worms. That didn't sound good. Too emotional. He'd tripped at the final hurdle, so to speak.

'God help us but you're right,' a voice thundered.

A man of startling appearance had risen to his feet. He towered up like a rock, tall and solid. He was clad in orange overalls, and wiry black hair spiralled out from his baseball cap. A pair of oversized shades balanced precariously on his small nose, which curled up sharply in an attempt to avoid his wide frog-like mouth. As his broad mouth opened and his colossal chin sank down, it was impossible not to be reminded of The Muppet Show.

Dr Stanley Frost, said the giant's name badge. Volcanologist.

'I read through the documents beforehand,' he boomed, as though he was preaching, 'and I don't like what I see. You're interested in continental slopes near highly populated areas.'

'Sure, it replicates the Norwegian pattern. In the beginning a few worms, then hordes.'

'It's a mistake to focus on those regions.'

'Do you want another Europe?'

'Oh, please, Major Peak! Did I say you should stop monitoring those areas? Lord, no. All I'm saying is that focusing on those areas would be an almighty mistake. It's too obvious. The devil's ways are more sinister.'

Peak scratched his head. 'Could you be a little more precise, Dr Frost?'

The volcanologist took a deep breath. His chest expanded. 'No.'

'Have I understood you correctly?'

'I sincerely hope so. I need to look into it some more. I don't suppose you'd want me to cause unnecessary alarm…Just remember what I said.'

His chin jutted out purposefully at his audience. Then he plumped down again.

Perfect, thought Peak. One darned idiot after another.

VANDERBILT WOBBLED OVER to the lectern. Li watched him through narrowed eyes. The deputy director of the CIA placed a ridiculously small pair of glasses on his nose, filling her with amusement and disgust. 'Goddamn worms is just how I'd describe them, Sal,' Vanderbilt said cheerily. He beamed at his audience as though he were the bearer of glad tidings. 'But, believe you me, we're going to fry those shits until their sorry ass starts smoking. OK, then, what have we got? Very little, so far. Our precious oil – all kaput. Not great news for junkies like us. In economic terms, it means that world production's going to dive. Not that the OPEC camel will mind, of course. As for international shipping, well, you know all the details from Peak – nature's dirty tricks campaign has been taking its toll. And you know what? The reign of terror's working! Between you and me – aggressive whales and sharks, that kind of shit's just for kids. A glorified prank, if you like. OK, so it's a darned shame when decent American families can't go fishing off the coast, but humanity in general won't be losing any sleep. And, sure, it's regrettable if some poor fisherman in a third-world country, who feeds his seventeen kids and six wives on a single sardine, has to sit on the beach because he's scared of getting eaten. That sucks. But all the pity in the world won't help them. Humanity's got other problems. Rich countries have been hit. The badass fish don't want to get caught, so they're filling the nets with poison and trying to sink trawlers. Call them isolated cases, if you like, but there's a whole darned lot of them. And that's bad news for developing countries because there won't be any handouts.'

Vanderbilt looked at them craftily over the rim of his glasses.

You know, folks, if you wanted to annihilate the world, you could kill off two-thirds of it just by giving the biggest, richest states a good run for their money – and by that I mean pressurising them so badly that they run out of time to deal with their problems. The third world only survives because the rich states prop it up. It depends on the wrath of America – you know, all those handy little regime changes that get negotiated with the drugs tsars, and that come with economic aid. Well, those days are over. You and I might snigger at the thought of whales attacking ships – after all, the state of our economy doesn't depend on bark canoes or little reed boats – but when you're chomping your way through the buffet tonight, just remember: the Western standard of living is far from representative. Anomalies spell the end for the third world. El Niño spells the end. La Niña spells the end. And compared to the delights that Nature's been throwing at us lately, one of those old-fashioned disasters would suit us just fine. Hey, maybe El Niño could stop by for a beer. No frigging chance. We've got other guests to entertain. Parts of Europe are under martial law. Do you know what that means? It's not to stop folks wandering out at night and getting their feet wet, oh, no. Martial law means Europe can't handle the humanitarian crisis. It means that all those aid agencies – the Red Cross, the disaster relief organisations, UNES(X) – can't keep up with the need for tents and food. It means people in civilised Europe are going to starve to death or die of infection.

Plagues are raging through Europe. Europe! As if Pfiesteria cells and bacterial consortia weren't already wreaking havoc. But, oh, no, Norway's ravaged by cholera. Martial law means the injured won't be treated, and honest Europeans – people who spend their Saturday nights watching quiz shows on TV – will be covered with maggot-infested sores, while flies spread disease. Feeling queasy already? That's nothing. Things can't get much wetter than a tsunami, I know, but what happens when it's over? Stuff starts exploding. The fire service can't keep up. First the coastline gets drenched, and then it bursts into flames. Oh, yeah, and another thing – the retreating tsunami messed up the cooling systems in a couple of power stations, nuclear installations that some jerk had built by the sea. So now we've got a nuclear disaster in Norway, and another in England. Is that enough, or is there anything else I can get you? Did I mention that the electricity was down? I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but for the moment you'll have to do without Europe. And the third world too. Europe's screwed.'