—What sort of weakness?
—Let me show you … This is footage from last year in Regent’s Park. We can’t see the shield unless it rains or something flies into it, but look … here … when I zoom in on the feet. That’s as close as I can get.
—I do not see anything.
—That’s my point. That robot’s shield extends outwards about one foot. On the ground, you’d expect a hole around and under its feet. There isn’t any. The grass is still up right on the edge of its foot.
—Achilles’ heel.
—Yes. Wherever that shield ends, it doesn’t go all the way to the ground. I’m not sure how that helps us, but it’s all I have for now.
—Keep working, Dr. Franklin. We may not have much time.
—I’m trying, but I don’t even know what I’m looking for.
—If Mr. Couture were here, he would find an appropriate quote from a fictional character. As I do not share his enthusiasm for science fiction, I will simply tell you that “trying” suggests you lack confidence in your ability to succeed. Find Themis.
—What? I don’t get it. What would Vincent say?
—Find Themis and ask him.
—Where are you going?
—Goodbye, Dr. Franklin.
FILE NO. 1544
INTERVIEW WITH LIEUTENANT GENERAL ALAN A. SIMMS, COMMANDER, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (JSOC)
Location: Fort Bragg, NC
—I believe the president was very clear when he said this mission was of the outmost importance. I know, because I was standing next to him at the time.
—He was. He was very clear about it eight hours ago. I’m sure he would have said the same thing three hours ago. But two hours and fifty-five, no, fifty-six minutes ago, a giant alien robot appeared in London, again. The last time one of these things was here, it killed over a hundred thousand people, so you’ll understand when I tell you that things that were “of the outmost importance” not so long ago are a little farther down the list right now.
Now, I’m a Lieutenant General in the United States Army, which means I’m a pretty big shot in my world, but you probably don’t give a crap about what I have to say, so go ahead. I know you have the Office of the President on speed dial. I’ll wait.
—I do not need to call the president. If you are unwilling to proceed, I know other people who will.
—Not right now, you don’t. The CIA nut jobs at the Special Activities Division might be crazy enough to say yes, but they’ll find out very quickly there isn’t a single tier one unit available. No SEALs, no Marines, no Special Forces, no ISA, no STS. Everyone’s grounded. The only Delta you’re gonna get is Delta Airlines if you want to fly down there, but you’ll have to do it alone.
—Where is the Delta team right now?
—Here. They never left. Your assault troop was still prepping when that happened. I gave the abort order in person. We’re shutting down every live op we have until this clears.
—What about the civilian I sent you?
—We flew him back where he came from. He was pissed, said to tell you he would handle things himself if you didn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get some very unhappy people out of Syria.
—I must insist. It is imperative that they leave now and complete their mission. You can have them back in twenty-four hours.
—Insist all you want. Their mission, as I understand it, was to retrieve a child who may or may not be able to pilot the EDC robot when she grows up. Am I missing anything?
—That is a reasonably accurate, though somewhat simplistic, summary of the objective.
—Then no. The president agreed to this because having a team of American pilots would provide a strategic advantage to this country. That was then. If we’re on the brink of a global conflict with an alien species, there’s no point in even thinking about getting the robot for ourselves ten years from now. We follow the plan and put all our resources with the EDC. I’m not gonna waste a Delta team we might desperately need here and risk pissing off everyone else at the UN when we might be begging for Themis a few hours from now. Your Boogeyman op is NO GO.
—This mission is also important for the EDC.
—Is it? Then why haven’t you made the request through them? You’d have your team if the EDC requested it. Hell, you could have a platoon!
—Did you agree with the mission?
—You didn’t answer my question.
—Perhaps another time.
—Cute. And yes. I did agree, twelve hours ago. I agreed because it made strategic sense at the time. At peacetime. We cheat and we lie at peacetime because we know the other side does it too. This might be war, and in war, you don’t try to scam your allies. Except for you.
—What do you mean?
—Unless I’m mistaken, you’re the one who started the EDC.
—That would be an overstatement, but I did play a role in its creation.
—Then why are you trying to screw them out of a pilot now?
—I am trying to help this country.
—Nice try. Having one pilot would give us leverage with the EDC, but not enough to take control of it. I don’t know what you’re hiding from them, but at some point your secret will come out and we’ll get caught with our pants down. The more I think about this, the more I think we’re being played.
—You have a vivid imagination.
—That must be it. Look, you have your answer. We’re not going. If the Russians are stupid enough to go get her now, let them. They couldn’t do anything with just one pilot. We’ll sort this out … Excuse me one sec.
…
—What is it?
—Another giant robot just appeared on Scatarie Island.
—I am not familiar with the name.
—It’s a wilderness reserve near Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
—Is it attacking?
—There’s nothing to attack there. Besides, it’s ours … well, yours. Would you care to tell me what Themis is doing in Canada?
—I have to go.
—I guess not. It was a pleasure talking to you. Come back anytime …
FILE NO. 1547
INTERVIEW WITH BRIGADIER GENERAL EUGENE GOVENDER, COMMANDER, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS
Location: EDC Headquarters, New York, NY
—Damn robots are everywhere!
—I thought the second one was ours.
—Yeah, Themis is back. She’s on her way here, actually. Vincent insisted on … “beaming” her back, whatever that means. He’s OK. He said he should be here in an hour or so.
—Did he tell you where he was?
—In the ocean.
—Where?
—That’s what he said. I wish I could tell you more. I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to chat. There are robots showing up every ten minutes.
—There are more?
—Yeah. Eleven of them! Haven’t you heard? This is a goddamn invasion! We ran out of Titan names on the last one.
—Where are they?
—You already know about the one in London. The next one appeared on the tracks at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo around 4:00 A.M. About five minutes later, one popped up in Jakarta. There are two in India, one in Delhi, one in Calcutta.
—All at the same time?
—All of them showed up in the last hour. These guys are well coordinated. There is one in Cairo, taking a footbath in the middle of the Nile. It’s a hundred feet from the 6th October Bridge. You know what the bridge is named after?
—The start of the Yom Kippur War.
—Yeah. I think they’ll soon have a good reason to rename that one. There’s also one in Moscow.
—London and Moscow. Things will not go well at the Security Council.
—No they won’t. The French have theirs too. You should
see the pictures of that one. It’s on Place Charles de Gaulle, perfectly centered in front of the Arc de Triomphe. Whoever is piloting that one has a good sense of aesthetics and a huge flair for the dramatic.
—Have any appeared near us?
—Not yet. The closest one is in Mexico City. There’s another one in São Paulo. The one in Mexico didn’t even bother to find an open space. It just crushed a small art museum, appeared right on top of it. Maybe the pilots just aren’t any good. There’s a pretty large city park across the street.
—Finding good pilots is very difficult. You mentioned London, Tokyo, Jakarta, Delhi, Cairo, Moscow—
—You forgot Calcutta.
—Thank you. Paris, Mexico City, São Paulo. That makes ten. You said there were eleven.
—Johannesburg.
— …
—I know …
—Is your family in danger?
—They live a few miles from where it showed up. They are trying to leave the city. I just spoke to my sister. She says the roads are still open. I don’t know how long that’ll last. Some of my former men are with them. Things are gonna get ugly. Delhi and Calcutta are the worst right now. The roads were useless about five minutes in. People have to leave on foot. I wouldn’t wanna be in Tokyo either.
—We could—
—We could what? Save Johannesburg? Since when is Africa on anyone’s list of priorities? I appreciate the sentiment but you know that won’t happen.
—Probably not. I am sorry.
—Did you notice anything about where they chose to land?
—They appeared in some of the most populous cities on the planet.
—Yes they did. And what does that tell you?
—That they understand resource optimization very well. The cost of an eradication effort is, generally speaking, inversely proportional to the population density.
—That’s a nice way to put it. It’s cheaper to kill the rats if they’re all in one place …
—It is certainly less time-consuming than to kill us one at a time. If that is their intention, they can possibly exterminate one-quarter of all humans with a handful of robots in a very short amount of time. Once all major cities have been destroyed, there would be no government to speak of, no supply chains. A significant portion of the surviving population would die of disease or starvation within months. Whoever is left would offer little or no resistance. You have to admire what they can do with twenty-two people.
[I’m sorry to bother you, General, but you’ll want to read this.]
—Thank you Jamie … Make that twenty-four.
—Another one? Where?
—Beijing.
—There might still be another explanation. They have not attacked us.
—Not yet.
—It is entirely possible that they are using this tactic to scare us into submission.
—Then it’s working.
—Would you surrender if given the option?
—Wouldn’t you? I’ll put up a fight because I don’t think they give a crap whether we surrender or not. But you know Themis can’t fight them all. Hell, she can’t fight any of them right now.
—I was under the impression that Themis was recovered intact.
—Oh, Themis is fine, but she can’t fight a dozen of these.
—She can try.
—She’s not going anywhere, not with a pilot missing.
—You told me Mr. Couture was on his way here less than five minutes ago.
—Oh, Vincent’s fine. It’s Kara we’re missing.
—Ms. Resnik? She was here yesterday.
—She was. And now she’s not. Can you tell me where she is?
—I was completely unaware of her absence until a second ago. What makes you think I would know where she is?
—She left a note for you on my desk. It said: “Don’t know when I’ll be back. Please give this to him.” I’m assuming she meant you.
—Can I see it?
—I can tell you what it says. I memorized it.
—You opened it?
—Of course I goddamn opened it! The world is coming to an end. I’m missing a pilot. I don’t give a rat’s ass about your privacy! Wanna know what it said or not?
—Please.
—Fuck you!
— …
—That’s what it said!
—Anything else?
—Nope. Just fuck you. One exclamation point. Are you gonna tell me or do I need to ask?
—Ask what?
—What did you do, you conniving son of a bitch?
FILE NO. 1550
EMAIL FROM RYAN MITCHELL TO CAPTAIN KARA RESNIK, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS
Dear Kara,
I know I’m probably the last person you wanna hear from right now, and I know a drunken email is probably not the best way to mend a relationship. I would have sent a real letter but there isn’t enough time. They’ll send you and Vincent to fight again and I think there are things you should know before you go. As for the drinking, well, I was already drunk. I would have liked to sober up some first, but like I said, there isn’t enough time.
You have a child in Puerto Rico, a daughter. I think she’s about ten or eleven. She lives in San Juan, at 559 Concepción. Alyssa took out some of your ova (I think that’s what they’re called) while you were unconscious and put them inside some woman in Puerto Rico when she escaped. She used Vincent’s stuff, so he’s a father too.
I feel terrible because I’m the one who helped Alyssa put you out so she could do this, but I swear on my brother’s grave I had no idea what she planned to do. I thought she just wanted to do some tests. When I found out she was trying to make babies, I got you and Vincent out of there as fast as I could. I didn’t know she was going to put your child inside another woman. She said she wanted to try, but I thought I could stop her. I thought I did. I didn’t know she had actually done it until today.
That’s what I wanted to tell you. I was supposed to go to San Juan today with Delta Force to bring her back here, but we’re not going anymore. There might have been some Russians on their way to get her too. I don’t know if they’re still going after what happened tonight. Your daughter might be in danger if they are. My job was to knock on her door and try to convince her to come back with me so Delta wouldn’t have to take her by force. I think if anyone knocks on that little girl’s door, it should be you, not me or some Russian guy she doesn’t know. Of course, she doesn’t know you either, she has parents, but you’re her mother so she should meet you, not me.
I had it all planned in my head. I had a great story. She would have left with me and we would have gotten to know each other on the plane. Then I could have introduced her to you, you know. I think it would have been better for her if she already knew someone when she met you. I would have liked to see the smile on your face when you found out she was your child. I don’t know. Maybe you wouldn’t have smiled right away, it’s a lot to process, but I would have liked to be there.
I think you’d be a great mother. Well, you’re already a mother, but I think you’d be great with the kid. You can be a little rough sometimes, and you don’t always react well to change, so it might take a little while before you’re comfortable with her, but it’s OK. She’ll need time too because she’ll have lost the only parents she’s ever known if she comes here. Still, once you’ve both gotten used to your new life, I think you’ll be great.
I know what you’re going to say: I should have said something, but I didn’t know about the child. I only knew about the ova. When Alyssa escaped, our friend with no name said he wanted to wait until Alyssa got caught before he told you. I said you deserved to know, but he insisted, so it’s not my fault. I would have told you. In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t. You would have been worried for nothing all this time. Ten years
is a long time to wonder if someone is making your babies in a lab, somewhere.
I want you to know I’m not a bad person, even if you think I am. I made a mistake. Several mistakes, really. What I did to Vincent is awful. But after that, all I tried to do is help. I saved him after that. That should count for something. I saved you too. I’m not saying we should be best friends, but maybe we could.
When we were training together, all I could think about was you. I wanted you to open up to me. When you didn’t, I felt like I was the one with a problem, like I didn’t deserve you. Now I know it had nothing to do with me, that you just weren’t ready. I wish I had figured that out at the time. I would never have hurt Vincent if I had. I wouldn’t have sent you running into his arms by being so pushy. I realize that now. I know it’s too late for us to be together, especially now that you and Vincent have a child, but I think we’d be good together, even as friends.
Being a parent is a lot of work, and with everything that’s going on, you’re going to be really busy. You could probably use all the help you can get. I want you to know I’m here for you if you need anything. Your daughter isn’t a baby anymore, so I’m not offering to be your nanny, but I could be like a big brother to her. I can give you a shoulder to cry on when you need it. You know, I just want to be there for you.
Anyway, that’s what I wanted to tell you. I think I said that already. I wanted you to know before they sent you to fight again because, well, you could die there. I know you’re ready for that, but I thought you might wanna see your daughter before you do.
That’s it. I wish you all the best and I hope you will let me know how things turn out.
Your friend,
Ryan
PART THREE
FLESH AND BLOOD
FILE NO. 1554
INTERVIEW WITH VINCENT COUTURE, CONSULTANT, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS
Location: EDC Headquarters, New York, NY
—Where’s Kara?
—We will discuss her whereabouts in a moment. There is a lot we need to cover today, Mr. Couture. First, I would like you to tell me how you and Themis ended up in Canada.
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