by R E Kearney
“Tena? Who is this Tena?”
“Pion is no longer alone and I’m no longer her only counselor. She’s adopted a new partner. A native girl she named Tena. In the beginning, I thought it was a good idea. Actually, I encouraged their relationship. Thought Pion would benefit from some human companionship. But, I underestimated Tena’s ability to grasp and adapt to SPEA technology and I definitely didn’t account for her talent to wreak havoc. She is a primitive possessing too much power.”
“Mugavus? How bad is it? You look upset.”
“Truthfully…yes…I’m concerned. I just know that it is all too easy for people to do harm when they are trying to do good.” Komfort returns to staring out the window at the drones.
Evoil appears ending her short-lived solitude. As usual, he is upset. First, he glances at the two Chinese passengers. Then, he glowers at Komfort. Although, she spies his reflection in the window, she acts as if she does not, attempting to ignore him. However, Evoil is not so easily dismissed this time.
“Why are those two here?” Evoil points angrily toward Jianshe Zhe and Ke Xuejia. “This is a mission of the highest national security importance for America. They should not be here. They are nothing but spies.”
With a look of exasperation, Komfort removes her headphones and after suppressing her frustration, she motions for Evoil and Robert to follow her forward into the plane’s galley.
She closes the galley door. “Our mission will only remain secret, if you don’t continue talking about it. We want this to look like a routine SPEA flight. And what could be more routine than transporting two Chinese workers to enjoy their holiday? Don’t you think they make good cover?”
“No, I do not think!” Evoil snaps. “They make good saboteurs, that’s what I know.”
“Have you never heard of subterfuge? Where were you trained? Didn’t they teach you anything?”
“I am an academy grad.” Evoil puffs out his chest, “then into the Marines. Semper Fi!”
“Oh, now I understand. You’re a product of an isolated, insulated, indoctrination institute instead of an actual educational institute. You make so much more sense to me now. You weren’t educated. You were inculcated. Nothing but non-thinking human clones and drones are manufactured through your military academies.”
Perceiving their discussion rapidly disintegrating into another argument, Robert attempts to change the subject. “Now remember. Sun Tzu said that the whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent. Mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy.”
Slowly, Komfort breaks into a grin. She knows Robert’s argument ending tactic well. Distract, disarm and defuse. He has calmed her more than once by using his technique of quoting her into aggravated silence. Opportunistically obnoxious.
Having heard their chatter, Dijaineo joins the trio in the galley. “So, who is hungry? I can print you some excellent meals.”
“More bug burgers? Please tell me you have some real meat,” Evoil grumbles before returning to the main cabin.
“I’ll take that as a no for him, then, and a yes for the rest of you. Return to your seats and the Service-bot will provide you momentarily.”
Jianshe Zhe and Ke Xuejia enthusiastically attack their meals when they arrive. First, they devour the fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and broccoli grown on Venus’ building roof gardens. They gobble them as if they fear never having any again. Pregnant Jianshe eats the majority of Ke’s fresh vegetables, as well as her own.
Twice, Komfort notices her rubbing her stomach and quietly burping, “When is your baby due?”
“Any day now,” she responds between bites and burps. “That’s why we’re returning to China.”
They eat their meal worm meals with less vigor. After consuming their cricket-flour, protein biscuits, they linger over their teas and dessert cakes. With their hunger sated, they crave conversation.
Comfortable chatting with another woman, Jianshe initiates a conversation with Komfort. “It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted fresh vegetables. So delicious. I’m from Beijing. Almost all of our vegetables are shipped into us from our farms in Africa. Never fresh. Not very tasty.”
“Three years ago, SPEA established prototype gardening projects in Beijing to grow GMO vegetables for distribution to the poor. What happened?”
Jianshe shakes her head, distressed. “The SPEA gardens are growing and producing. Just not enough. The desert is spreading and driving more and more farmers and poor people into Beijing. Mongolia is almost completely gone. Climate refugees are flooding every one of our cities. Only your GMO wheat produced any crop in the north. In the southwestern region of Chongqing and neighboring Sichuan province this is the worst drought of this century. Chongqing suffered more than seventy forest fires in the last two months, and the water level in that section of the Yangtze River is at its lowest in 100 years. Too many people are moving into the southeast. Guangdong and Shanghai are bursting. And the glaciers in the Himalayas have melted so small that those cities cannot sustain many more people, either.”
“Vietnam and Laos are in worse shape,” Ke Xuejia interjects. “To sustain Guangdong, we dammed and diverted the Mekong. We had to. It is all about China’s survival right now.”
“What about the people of Vietnam and Laos? How are they supposed to live?” Robert demands alarmed.
“We allow them as much water as we can spare. But the rivers start inside China, so the water belongs to us. Do you give Canadian water to US cities?” Ke indignantly argues.
“We don’t need their water!” Evoil shouts from his seat. “America takes care of itself.”
“Really, that’s not what I heard,” Robert counters. “I read not too long ago that your western states are begging for Canadian water. Not many potatoes or onions growing in Idaho these days without snow water. What if we dammed the Columbia River in British Columbia and cut you off?”
“We’d march into Canada and take it then.” Evoil joins Robert and Komfort, standing in the aisle between them and Ke and Jianshe.
“War for water? Do you really think the US will attack Canada for water?” Ke asks surprised.
“Do you really think we won’t? I rarely agree with any Chink, but when it is a choice of starvation or survival. America will take the necessary steps to survive. Besides, Canada has more than enough water and is willing to share when the price is right. Isn’t that correct Robert?” Evoil challenges.
“I’m not certain that you can afford our water anymore. Dollar’s not worth much right now. With Abaddon’s hyper-inflation and dollar devaluation. Anyway, I thought you said that America didn’t need our water. After all, there’s been no global warming or climate change according to you.” Robert taunts Evoil.
“Canada is lucky,” Ke adds. “You only have a parched and weak US on your border. China has India, Pakistan, Laos and Vietnam - hot, over-populated, armed and desperate for our water. We have already skirmished several times, you know. Every border is a highly militarized zone. It’s proved costly for all of us. Paying for water is less expensive than fighting for water, but we don’t have enough extra water and they don’t have enough extra money.”
“At least we still have some water to fight over Ke,” Jianshe interrupts, “I spent six months working to extract water from the sands of Jordan and Syria when I worked for the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East. We found some, but not enough. Mostly dry. Now, even some of their ancient oases are going dry. All they can do is leave, but nobody wants them.”
With a catch in her voice, Jianshe sniffles, “I watched mothers and babies begging and dying alongside the roads and inside bombed and burned buildings. I could do nothing. I found them no water. I had nothing to give them.”
Lovingly rubbing her stomach, she smiles slightly. “I feel so lucky, but I worry very much. I worry for my baby. We’ve had her genomes mapped and we’ve eliminated all her genetic weaknesses. Sh
e will be a wonder woman. But, will China survive? Will she and I be forced to wander looking for water and food? Could we become climate refugees too? It could happen.”
“Well SPEA is all about saving the world.” Evoil sneers, bending over Komfort attempting to assert dominance, “Why don’t you take them? You’re always preaching to us, so stop being hypocritical and take a few hundred thousand.”
Komfort stands, equaling Evoil and eliminating his effort to intimidate her. She steps forward, forcing him to back down. Giving her supremacy. “SPEA is trying to help, but SPEA cannot do it alone. The inhabitable parts of Earth just keep getting smaller and smaller while the number of people desperate to live there keeps increasing. It may be too late. US leaders denied it too long. You’re still denying it.”
She pushes forward again requiring him to retreat. “Years ago Pope Francis traveled to the US, especially to implore your Congress for a courageous and responsible effort to redirect our steps and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. But, Abaddon and his fellow Righteous Rightists disparaged him and ridiculed his message. Righteous Rightists treated him as a joke and did nothing. Now the bill has come due for you. Not us. SPEA is doing quite well, thank you, as long as you leave us alone.”
Komfort abruptly lurches forward sending Evoil stumbling and falling onto his seat. Having humiliated him, Komfort returns her attention to Ke and Jianshe. She smiles knowingly and points toward the aft compartment.
“When we alight and you deplane, we’re unloading a variety of recently developed SPEA developments: GMO seeds and fruit tree seedlings; some improved desalinization equipment; construction materials for desert-water extraction towers; and newly developed medical nanobots with nanoparticles to combat cancer and hepatitis. But, the jewel of SPEA’s donations is our newest water purification system, which acts as both filter and purifier and eliminates all biological threats from even the dirtiest of water without the use of chemicals, batteries, UV light, carbon or pre-filtering ... and it's self-cleaning. It can’t purify all of your contaminated water and make it drinkable, but it will help.”
“You’re giving all of that to China free, but you refuse to assist America?” Evoil barks from his seat. “SPEA is determined to undermine America whenever possible, aren’t you? You are not beyond our reach. You will fail. I guarantee it.”
Komfort immediately barks back, “Assist America? But you don’t believe in climate change and you deny global warming. How can we solve a problem you refuse to believe exists? The problem is not global warming. The problem is you.”
Turning to Ke and Jianshe, she continues, “Not all of this equipment and these materials are for China. All of the materials are equally divided between China, Vietnam, and Laos. SPEA is expecting Chinese authorities to distribute our contributions accordingly. Understood?”
“You’re expecting China to cooperate with Vietnam and Laos?” Evoil grouses. “Vietnam and Laos will follow our directions, not China’s.”
Looking first at Evoil and then at Ke and Jianshe, Komfort clarifies SPEA’s rules. “Not only does SPEA expect them to cooperate, we demand it. Climate change is a global challenge. Fighting it has to be coordinated at the international level and requires international cooperation. We are all in this together.”
Robert interrupts, “Or, as Steven Hawking said, ‘We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.”
Komfort nods her head in agreement and actually smiles at Robert’s quotable interruption. “But we cannot afford philanthropy without profits. SPEA is a small state. As we did here, we can provide some seeds and some other equipment and materials, but you must grow the crops. You must harvest the crops and you must rebuild the world’s food supply.”
“Do not think that we in China do not appreciate everything that SPEA is doing. Because we do. Am I not speaking the truth, Ke?”
“Yes, you are correct, Jianshe. I know only of the US, as not seeking partnerships with SPEA. Even Russia…”
Komfort holds up her hand, stopping Jianshe. “Please. SPEA is not unsullied in this. We certainly do not have clean hands. We’ve fought our own conflicts over water supplies. We still do. But, I would like to think that SPEA considers the greater good, at least.”
“God shall provide. Americans will not be misled by your atheistic theories and tales.” Evoil squawks from his seat.
“I don’t know how you can enter the future when you are always being consumed by the ignorance and myths of four to five thousand years in the past. How do three thousand year old superstitions have any relevance with our present or future?” Komfort questions. “Your Bible says beware of false prophets, I believe. Cannot you see that Abaddon and his cronies are false prophets? They espouse a particular brand of religion and bible that requires you to ignore reality and science, and live totally in the past.”
“In God we trust,” Evoil responds, and then turns away to stare out his window.
“Ignore him,” Komfort directs Ke and Jianshe, as she walks aft toward the Cargo compartment. “Why don’t you come with me and I’ll explain what SPEA is donating.”
With Komfort, Ke and Jianshe gone and not wanting to waste any time with Evoil, Robert wanders forward into the cockpit. He finds an extremely concerned Dijaineo poring over his gauges and searching for something outside the airplane. Robert quickly examines the gauges, himself. His piloting experience does not indicate a source for Dijaineo’s panic.
“What is wrong? I don’t see your problem.”
“That is my problem.” Dijaineo replies searching the night sky on the port side of his aircraft, “I don’t see them anymore. I know the Russian drone detached and probably returned to its base. But, I can’t find the two US drones. I think they’re still positioned beneath us.”
“So?”
“So?” Dijaineo repeats impatiently, “We have to begin descending soon for our landing. If the US drones are beneath us and we hit them, we could crash. I think the US is not going to allow us to land.”
Robert searches through the starboard window, while Dijaineo presses his nose against the port window. Robert thinks that he sees a small light below the starboard wing, but he is not certain. It is too dark and the wing blocks the moon light.
“I’m going to start our descent. I’ll just make it slower than normal.” Dijaineo feeds directions into the autopilot.
“Where are we? How far do we have to go?”
“We flew over Manila forty minutes ago and I’m planning to alight at Nansha Qundao in the Spratly Islands. We’re less than one hundred miles out now from the artificial island and military base China constructed there.”
“Request United States aircraft identify itself and alter current course away to one seven zero. You are entering Chinese airspace,” directs a Chinese accented voice transmitting through the cockpit’s speakers.
Dijaineo grabs his transmitter. “This is SPEA seven. Request permission to land and offload passengers and materials.”
“What is your location SPEA seven?” A second Chinese accented voice asks.
Dijaineo reads them his latitude, longitude and altitude. Then he waits through several seconds of uncomfortable silence.
“Request United States aircraft, identify yourself and alter current course away to one seven zero. You are entering Chinese airspace,” demands the first Chinese accented voice.
“Unable to locate you, SPEA seven. Say again your coordinates,” the second voice requests more urgently.
“United States aircraft, identify yourself immediately and alter current course away to one seven zero. You are entering Chinese airspace. If you continue on your current course and trajectory, you will force us to take defensive action.”
“The Chinese aren’t reading your identification signal, but they’re reading the US dron
es below you. Interesting.” Robert offers. “That tells me that the US drones are purposely blocking your identification signal and substituting their own. You’re being sabotaged.”
Dijaineo motions to Robert, “Go get our Chinese passengers. I need them to talk to the Nansha Qundao controllers. Maybe they can explain our situation. Keep them from blowing us out of the sky.”
As Robert rushes aft, he hears Dijaineo desperately continuing his attempts to communicate with the Chinese. As he passes Evoil, he notices that he seems suspiciously calm, as he continues staring out his window. Robert suspects that Evoil is smirking.
After a hurried explanation, Ke and Robert race to the cockpit. With nervous sweat pouring down his face, Dijaineo hastily updates them about their deteriorating situation.
Straight away, Ke starts explaining the situation to the Chinese in Chinese. After several minutes of arguing with them, Ke shakes his head in resignation.
“They will not allow you to land with those US drones. They will shoot you down. They already have their anti-aircraft lasers tracking and targeting you.”
“Can their lasers target just the US drones? Do they have drones or aircraft?” Dijaineo implores.
After a lengthy discussion with the Chinese, Ke smiles at Dijaineo. “Yes and yes.”
Komfort points at Ke. “Tell them we consider ourselves under duress and ask them to engage the two US drones. Also, you should tell them that we have a pregnant Chinese woman aboard who appears to be going into labor. So we must land. This is an emergency.”
Speaking carefully, Ke relays Komfort’s instructions. Silence. Robert stares into the darkness searching for the drones. Jianshe scours the sky from the other window.
After several minutes of tense, silent waiting, the speakers in the cockpit spark to life, speaking English. “Your aircraft and the two drones are too close together. Exploding the drones so close to your aircraft will damage your aircraft.”
Dijaineo pulls on his chin, searching his mind for a plan. He taps his left index finger on his nose. Then he turns to fellow pilot Robert with his proposal. “I am going to put the plane into a steep dive for twenty seconds. Then I am going into a steep climb. Try to separate us from the drones. What do you think?”