As the experiments in both countries continued, weather patterns began to change. As early as the 1980s, strange weather phenomena were being reported.
"A ridge of high pressure has hovered nearly 800 miles off the California coast for the past two months, blocking the usual flow of moist air from the Pacific."-Time magazine, January 1981.
"?the stagnant high-pressure season acted like a barrier, preventing the normal flow of weather patterns from west to east." -New York Times, July 29, 1993.
The weather catastrophes described in the body of this novel have all happened.
Weather is the most powerful force we know. Whoever controls it can disrupt world economies with perpetual rainstorms or tornadoes; wipe out crops in a drought; cause earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis; close world airports; and cause devastation on enemy battlefields.
We could all sleep better if a world leader said, "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." And it was the truth.