Professor Eisenhaus asked, "Why do you insist that widespread nuclear proliferation is inevitable in the near future? Why do you believe enriched uranium or significant amounts of plutonium will become available to barely developed nations and even radical factions within the next ten years? The Manhattan Project cost America two billion dollars during the nineteen-forties – that's equivalent to a staggering twenty-four billion dollars today. That sort of ticket-price is way out-of-reach of all but a small number of countries and there aren't any short-cuts."
“Technical innovation will present ways to produce the raw materials in cost-efficient processes. I'm not an expert in the physics but every other branch of technology has followed a path of miniaturisation, efficiency and availability. It is unreasonable to assert otherwise for nuclear technology. The restrictions on nations developing the technology are sanctions imposed by those nations that have attained a nuclear capability. While a minority possess it, others are excluded as a means of holding a monopoly of power. However, this will only work while it benefits non-nuclear nations to remain non-nuclear. The need to preserve access to commodities – especially food production – will necessitate nations to develop more aggressive types of military force. It is really quite simple. As the global population increases, even a democratic nation such as the US will first intimidate, then directly apply military force to control the means of food production in other countries. It will come down to the survival of your children or someone else's – and you will always choose your own. The only means of protecting themselves that is open to nations and factions is to seek to develop an effective deterrent to the use of overwhelming military force. Nations that have nuclear weapons need to be treated differently – treated with respect. They can no longer be intimidated. They can no longer be exploited. They no longer feel shame.”
“What you say is outrageous. Your portrayal of America is most ... contentious.”
“Unlike you, Professor Eisenhaus, I have had the pleasure of living in such countries that have faced the persuasion of military force as a means of protecting the interests of the democratic world. The experience did not make me a moralist. None of your human rights, your constitutional God-given rights are worth the paper they are written on unless they are backed up by the threat of military action to enforce them. Developing nations want to acquire a nuclear capability, can acquire it and will acquire it. This is the global future. We cannot ignore it; we must grapple with this. The result we obtained by applying observed human behaviour to this situation was the end of humanity as we know it. Either our modelling of human nature is in error or human nature needs a paradigm shift.”
“Human nature is inherently fickle,” countered Professor Eisenhaus.
“Indeed. Individually it may seem this way but the core philosophy of your methodology is otherwise. The collective behaviour of a society can be analysed, modelled and predicted to a reasonable level of certainty. You have spent your academic career formulating this pragmatism.”
“Look, Zarina.” Professor Eisenhaus found himself holding up his hands. “What you say may well be true. Time will tell but right now no one is gives this any credence. As your supervisor, I have to give you advice that will progress your career and preserve the reputation of this university. I recommend that you withdraw the paper or substantially rewrite the rationale for the hypothesis.”
“You mean I should tell people what they want to hear?”
“That is one way to look at it. Another way of expressing it might be conformance with an established and respected point of view.”
“Thank you for your time and suggestion.” Zarina left the meeting and Professor Eisenhaus breathed a sigh of relief. He genuinely wanted to do the best for all his students but it was not easy in Zarina's case. She had a markedly different world view compared to all his other students – and contemporary culture. Sometimes he wondered if she were actually human – there were television shows, comedies admittedly, about aliens living incognito, observing humanity – perhaps she was one of them. While frustrating at times, such meetings with Zarina were exceedingly stimulating. She often called into question the axioms of social convention. In defending his own opinions against such cross-examination, he was often able to obtain greater clarity. Sometimes he worried that his opinions were being eroded and replaced by those of Zarina. More than once he had found himself applying her logic and arguments in discussions with his fellow academics. Wryly, he found them very effective. Professor Eisenhaus shook his head to dispel the anxiety generated by the meeting. A colleague was waiting in the academic club and a glass of wine beckoned. Professor Eisenhaus hurried to make the appointment.
Chapter 18
Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
Gary was well-tanned. Six weeks in Africa had worked wonders on his formerly pallid complexion, the limited – and sometimes non-existent – cuisine had trimmed off his excess body fat leaving him lean and, having been to the brink of death and survived, his confidence was supercharged. Mandy was holding onto his arm as they walked past the Lincoln Memorial to the Pool of Reflection. The first hints of fall placed a chill in the air which Gary felt more acutely than normal. However, tonight Gary gave no consideration to the cold. Mandy had borne the abrupt desertion at Giuseppe’s with admiral grace and understanding. She was as beautiful as ever this evening. Gary had called her a few days after he returned and insisted on making it up. At first Mandy was reticent but agreed to coffee. Gary met her outside work with twelve red roses and a wide smile accompanied by an ostentatious embrace. He wanted Mandy's colleagues to know that she was romantically involved. She had not resisted. Over coffee, Mandy started plying him with questions about his abrupt departure. She was checking out his story! Obviously, you stand a girl up during dinner: she wants to find out where she stands.
“You told me that you didn't travel with work,” Mandy challenged.
“I don't!” protested Gary. “Before last month I hadn't gone anywhere. Okay, there was once a team-building weekend in Buffalo but that was it. We spent most of the time freezing in a damp forest so nothing to be envious about.”
“Not true this time though. I can see you had a bit of sun.”
“It's true. It never rained the whole time. But to make up for it there were the biggest cockroaches you can imagine.”
“I can imagine quite large cockroaches. We have some South American varieties in the zoo and they are enormous. Where were you exactly?”
“I'm afraid I can't discuss certain aspects about my trip.”
“You told me your work concerned Southern African countries – was it one of them?”
“I can't say,” replied Gary knowing full well that his reaction had given the affirmative answer.
“Well that must have been quite exotic – I'm jealous. Perhaps one day I'll get to travel with my work – all expenses paid business class.”
“So what have you been up to? Seen any more of the city? Met any new friends while I was away? No boyfriends?” teased Gary.
“Not much to say. I am finding my way around better. Work at the zoo has kept me busy and I went back to Ohio for a long weekend. I had to pick up a few things and I brought them over to Washington. My mother asked me pretty much the same question actually. I have to admit I said I hadn't met anyone. In my opinion, being left in a restaurant after half-an-hour does not constitute something serious enough to tell mom.”
“I'm sorry about that. Really, I am.” Gary's mind was working to change the subject. From out of nowhere, he hit on the right words for the moment. “Say, would you like to come up to my apartment? I need some advice on redecorating – I have this massive Zulu shield to put on the wall – and two spears to go with it!”
“A Zulu shield?”
“Six feet tall. I bartered it down from two hundred dollars to just sixty. You know, I've never bartered before. It felt really great to get something so much cheaper...”
“I
can give you advice right now. Put the shield in the attic … or in the bin. That would be the best place for it.” Mandy smiled and they both laughed.
The conversation flowed along quite nicely. They strolled further and turned up toward Gary's apartment block in the downtown area. As they approached the apartment entrance, Gary noticed a couple of suit-clad men get out a large black SUV. It was unusual and slightly unnerved him. He went silent mid-sentence and his arm stiffened. He hoped Mandy hadn't noticed. The men waited as they walked up.
“Good evening, Mister Sanders. I'm Agent Thompson with the CIA. I'm very sorry to disturb you this evening but, Mister Sanders, you have to attend an urgent appointment on Capitol Hill. Agent Greg, here, will escort you home this evening, ma'am. Please go with Agent Greg, Miss Hamilton.” The tone was polite yet forceful. There was little room for argument. Mandy looked almost terrified and clung to Gary's arm more tightly.
“What's going on Gary? If this is some kind of a joke, you'd better stop it,” pleaded Mandy. Gary looked at Mandy. He saw the hurt and desperation in her eyes. He wished he knew what was happening. He recognised Agent Thompson though he had no idea which department he worked for.
“Agent Thompson, what is this about? Can't you see that I'm … not available. Surely, this can wait until the morning?”
“I'm sorry to inform you, Mister Sanders, that a situation has arisen and you've been called in to answer questions from the committee.”
“Which committee?”
“I'm not at liberty to say, sir. I've been tasked to bring you in. I can give you two minutes if you require some personal time, then we'll need to be going. You'll have a more comfortable ride if I don't have to cuff you.” Gary felt the threat all too well. Agent Thompson was not an unpredictable, psychotic murderer like Escobar but Gary was sure he knew how to hurt people. He painfully felt the irony of his work whisking him away from the most beautiful girl he had ever gotten anywhere with – not once but twice. God gives and God takes away – only in this case he did not want to give in the first place. He had two minutes to mend this. He would need a miracle.
“Yes, two minutes please.” Gary turned to Mandy. “Mandy, look at me. I hate what is happening here tonight. More than anything, I want to be with you but I have to go to work. It's important. I don't know why. Look, I'll make this up.” It was a flurry of ill-conceived mush that, even as he spoke, Gary realised was meaningless and ineffectual. Mandy would never speak to him again. Then he heard the verdict.
“Gary, I don't know what's happening but it's weird and I'm scared. I don't want to see or hear from you ever again.” Mandy's voice was low but she was on the verge of losing control. The words pierced Gary’s heart and anger and frustration and disappointment rose up within. His parting words were as much as to save face as anything else.
“Goodnight Mandy. I'll call you.” Gary turned and went with Agent Thompson. They entered the SUV. Agent Thompson drove. About one hundred yards down the road Agent Thompson leaned over.
“One of the surveillance satellites detected a nuclear detonation in the Southern India Ocean. Early analysis estimates a two-hundred kiloton yield. The data is unconfirmed but the Pentagon are treating it as the real deal at this stage.” Gary stretched to get comfortable. The car was much bigger than he was used to.
“Two hundred kilotons? That's not a big yield.” Gary's mind raced to try to work out who might have detonated the device and, more urgently, where he fitted into this. Sure, any nuclear detonation provoked questions. There would be reports to write. But surely all that could wait until morning – surely it could wait.
“My orders are to take you to the White House. The National Security Council are meeting to discuss it. It's scheduled to start at eleven. You'll sit in on the briefing.”
Chapter 19
Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
Gary watched the lights of Capitol Hill scrawl past. They turned onto Pennsylvania Avenue and approached the White House. The car stopped. Agent Thompson disappeared. There were security checks, pat downs and Gary was whisked into a conference room at five minutes to eleven. He spent the next five minutes looking round trying to find his place in this whole new ballgame. The room was panelled in oak in much the same way as courtrooms up and down the country. There were few familiar faces. He saw his department boss but he was engrossed in documents. They exchanged a nod and then he was back to reading files. There was a buzz filling the room as more people entered, about twenty in all. At eleven o'clock in the evening, the National Security Advisor entered and the meeting was brought to order. Lieutenant Colonel Peters of the US Air Force gave a presentation.
“At fourteen twenty-three today, our surveillance satellite, Vela Juliet, detected a suspected nuclear detonation over the Southern Indian Ocean. The analysis indicates a location approximately five hundred miles south-east of Cape Town. The Vela Juliet satellite recorded a double-flash event: a short, initial flash followed by a less intense but longer duration one. This signal has no known natural explanation but is a precise indication of a nuclear detonation at altitudes below thirty kilometres. The flash intensity indicates a yield of around one-hundred kilotons TNT equivalent.”
“The weather at the event location and time was almost full cloud cover at high altitude. We were fortunate to sight the event in these conditions. It is highly likely that these weather conditions were chosen to mask the detonation and avoid detection. None of our other satellites were in suitable orbit locations to observe this event. Wind was westerly twenty knots at the detonation altitude. There are no reliable radiation meters downwind until Australia. We have already mobilised a reconnaissance aircraft with radiation meters to fly through the region. It is en route, currently mid-Atlantic. There is a fuel stop scheduled in Cape Town, South Africa and it will fly onwards arriving eight hours from now – that will be approximately seventeen hours after the event. We would have an extremely high probability of obtaining corroboration of a nuclear detonation within twenty-four hours.”
There was a furious rush of questions which the Lieutenant Colonel handled expertly. Was this definitely a nuclear device? Independent corroboration was required but confidence levels were high – this was being treated as a nuclear event. Was this a large explosion? No, not really – a small tactical device perhaps – the US had warheads up to twenty megatons, two hundred times larger yield. Were there any casualties? None reported as yet – the location was well away from flight paths and shipping routes.
The big question was who was responsible? The discussion was chaired by the National Security Advisor.
“Right now, all we know for sure is that it wasn't us.” The National Security Advisor looked at the admiral. “I am right that it wasn't one of ours?”
“Absolutely, not one of ours.” The admiral was adamant.
“Good. So who could have performed this test? I should say, we are working on the assumption that it was a test. Top of the list is Russia. However, they have ratified the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and we have no intelligence indicator of any new technology necessitating a test detonation. So unlikely. As a matter of procedure we will push diplomatic channels to get assurances. Our European allies, both England and France have denied any test. While we aren't going to take their word for it, we are not anticipating any new threat to arise from either Russia, England or France. So we move to more worrying nations: China, India and Pakistan. Let's get assessments from the National Security Bureau.” The National Security Advisor retreated and made way for the Bureaux Chief.
“I do not think China is behind this test. China has conducted all tests to date at its Lop Lake facility. Why the change? Why risk testing new technology so far from the mainland? The only scenario would be to perform a secret test while still in the public view being a signatory of the Test Ban Treaty – but it doesn't fit.”
The National Security Advisor acknowledged the position. A few challenges were made but to Gary it seemed Chin
a was unlikely to be behind the detonation. He began to piece together why he was here. The usual suspects for nuclear tests had been exhausted and no one had a clue and it worried everyone.
The proximity to India and Pakistan placed them under suspicion, more so Pakistan but it was by no means anything a of certainty. Iran was also added to the list. The Security Chief assured the meeting that they had comprehensive intelligence coverage in all three countries and they were not at the point of testing a device. If any of these proved to be behind the detonation, it would be a huge surprise and the intelligence community would be caught with their pants down. Gary had long been suspicious of the intelligence community as being a bunch of charlatans who knew nothing but passed off their opinions as fact and thus shaped the policy that kept them in a position to do double-deals and inflate their Swiss bank accounts.
South Africa was mentioned due to its location. This caused a stir. Politically, it did not seem plausible but, as a nation having previously given up its infant nuclear weapons program, they had a lot to gain scientifically from testing. They simply had no motive for restarting the program.
North Korea was identified by some and general hostility prejudiced people towards them. With only a few tests performed, further testing was inevitable. The mystery was why do it in the Indian Ocean? It made no sense. They did not have the naval power to protect such a mission – and no flotilla had been observed – and they were so insular that they would be loath to test out of country.
The Nephilim Protocol Page 10