The Moho Proviso

In the late 1960's, a government-sponsored expedition is sent to investigate a mysterious region of the earth called the Mohorovicic discontinuity. After several attempts, it finds the source of all oil fields in the earth. Some few key people agree to keep silent about the discovery. It was not politically or economically expedient to find an unlimited source of oil available to any who could drill to that depth. With falsified records and a conspiracy of silence, the secret would be safe forever. Mackenzie Haber, as the young chief geologist, had been in on the conspiracy and had kept silent because he was the company’s fair-haired boy. Then in 1980, when Israel is threatened as a consequence of another embargo from OPEC, Mac feels compelled to release the news of the oil find at the Moho. But he is thwarted by his boss who refuses to cooperate. Mac confides in a friend, an Israeli woman who is working on her doctorate in astro-physics. But when he attempts to find proofs of the original expedition, danger threatens Mac from all directions, notably from government watch dogs and a Mid-eastern terrorist organization. He finally gets the proof he needs and he finds inspiration and a solution to his quandary. A brief Epilogue informs the reader that to this day, Israel has not had to fight any wars with their oil-rich neighbors, as was the case prior to 1980. Further, the price of oil, though temorarily spiking from inflationary conditions or other causes, almost immediately returns to reasonable rates. So the conspiracy continues.