Michelle Dalir stated that it would be unwise to broadcast the summit live in order to avoid any possibility of the general public misinterpreting its content. The last thing world leaders needed while attending the summit was mass hysteria spreading across their nations, leading to breakdowns in civil society. The Principals agreed that this should be the case, with the only exception being the press conference on the fifth and final day, which would be broadcast live. The signing ceremony would be recorded and released for broadcast only after the press conference.
Dalir went on to recommend that the dignitary invitation’s terms include: the commitment to stay at the hotel for the full duration of the summit; no electronic devices in the summit venue; and no external communication throughout the summit. The majority of Principals agreed, but some expressed reservations that these exceptional stipulations might reduce the willingness of many dignitaries to attend.
The Indian Prime Minister followed by saying that every nation around the world should be advised to place their security forces on ‘high alert’, to deal with any social disorder that might arise during the summit. The whole world would know about the summit, but wouldn't know what its purpose was. The genuine risk existed that the ‘undisclosed agenda’ of the summit alone, could spark fear and violent demonstration.
Jamba Mabunda then suggested that ground rules be established at the very start of the summit to ensure that order, discipline and control be maintained throughout its duration. He raised concern that the highly contentious subject-matter could precipitate outbreaks of ill-discipline that could easily run away from them, especially when considering the number of dignitaries in attendance. Security would thus have to be close at hand to deal with any potential verbal attacks or physical altercations between the dignitaries.
Edward Payton raised the Supreme Beings’ stated intention to research Mars for three days. Prior to the meeting he had checked Mars’ position relative to Earth and by his calculation the world’s biggest telescopes might be able to spot a two kilometre long object in orbit around the planet. He proposed that at least one of them be employed in an effort to locate the spacecraft. Even though the chances of finding it were miniscule, it would be worth a try. President Jameson said that she would take personal ownership of the recommendation and have it followed up with NASA.
Payton then informed the other Principals that he had checked the encounter information on the storage device, and that the Ultimatum and all the environmental data presented to them, was there and fully usable with basic software. He confirmed that everything had been uploaded onto the IntraGlobe group’s knowledge exchange for their reference*.
[* The encounter data was like an entire library of the ‘never seen before 50 000-year history of the world’, and would surely be referenced and studied by people across the world when released into the public sphere – after the conference.]
Once every Principal had had an opportunity to put forward their thoughts, President Jameson made a few closing points. By this time it was nearing 3:00 p.m.
She spoke, “There is no doubt that we are moving in the right direction here; and I know that if we are able to gather a critical mass of support from the dignitaries and people around the world, then we will not fail in achieving the Ultimatum’s objectives. As agreed, we must all aim to arrive at the Dubai International Airport on Saturday, at four o’clock in the afternoon – Dubai time. That is 56 hours from now. Transport has been arranged for us to get from the airport to the hotel, compliments of President Zhuge.
“The IntraGlobe Global Unification Summit group will be open between us at all times. Post your progress updates on the knowledge exchange, so that we can cross reference one another’s work to avoid duplication and ensure both congruency and continuity. Use it to raise any questions or concerns you may have, to discuss ideas, and to keep everyone updated on the dignitary invitation acceptance progress.
“Our pre-summit meeting is scheduled for six o’clock on Sunday morning. Please ensure that your presentations and session structures are fully complete by then, so that we can perform a dry run and give each other feedback. This will be our only opportunity to streamline everything before the summit starts.”
They all acknowledged the President’s points.
“Thanks to all of you for your time and dedication … we can make this happen!”
The Principals then exchanged their goodbyes and closed their live feeds. The two hours had been well spent and now the Principals had a fully detailed, finalised Ultimatum Plan to work with.
President Jameson leaned back in her seat and stared at the blank screen. Everything appeared to be on track and she was starting to feel more confident about the summit. No matter what political lengths she had to go to, she would make sure that all 500 dignitaries attended.
After five minutes she returned to the Oval Office to make an important phone call to an old friend …
3:15 p.m. Earth: United States – Nashville, Tennessee
A former Vice President of the United States, whose term dated back to the previous century, was sitting on his veranda enjoying a mid-afternoon gin and tonic. Even though he was nearing a century in age, he was still in good health and of sound mind. He was admiring the serene view over his estate when his mobile phone rang.
He took some time to swipe the infuriatingly miniscule answer icon and then held the phone to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Mr Vice President, it’s President Jameson here. How are you?”
The former Vice President responded, speaking slowly, “President Jameson! My goodness, what a great pleasure to hear from you. I’m very well thank you. What’s going on in the life of our President?”
President Jameson answered, “Quite a lot actually, which is why I’m calling you. You remember that famous documentary you made back at the turn of the century?”
“Yes, how could I ever forget!” said the former Vice President with a chuckle.
Jameson spoke, “Well, I just wanted to let you know that the truth is actually a whole lot more inconvenient than we could ever have imagined!”
3:25 p.m. Earth: Oval Office / Roosevelt Room
President Jameson’s conversation with the former Vice President had been very informative and she had a resurgence of optimism. He had raised a number of useful recommendations that she would pass on to the other Principals. He did, however, also highlight the deep-rooted scepticism and opposition that he had faced while canvassing for environmental awareness in his day.
At 3:25 p.m. Jameson’s Chief of Staff escorted her to the Roosevelt Room where her Vice President and Joint Chiefs of Staff had convened. They all stood as she entered. She greeted them warmly and then took her seat. Everyone followed suit.
Vice President McKenzie spoke, “Madam President. We’re all very pleased to have you back.”
“I’m glad to be back myself, Zach. The circumstances around my disappearance are extraordinary to say the least,” she responded.
Her Joint Chiefs were intrigued to hear what had happened to her.
She looked at each of them as she spoke, “Now I need every one of you to step beyond your realms of conventional thinking while you listen to what I have to tell you …”
Jameson then summarised the entire encounter to them, detailing specifically the Galacian Supreme Beings, the Galactic Federation, Earth’s dire environmental situation, the Ultimatum and the proposed Global Unification Summit.
Their facial expressions spoke volumes. They were contorted in total disbelief at what they had just heard. She hoped they were not thinking that she had gone crazy. Various questions were then asked by the Joint Chiefs, all of which she addressed openly. She had nothing to hide.
The Vice President sat in a stunned state. He had never taken environmental affairs seriously, but now had to accept that he had been wrong all along. He spoke for the first time in the meeting, “Well, Madam President, the situation is astonishing to say the least. T
ell us what we can all do to assist.”
This was why she had chosen Zach McKenzie to be her Vice President: not only was he efficient, reliable and loyal, he also trusted her implicitly and supported her no matter what the situation.
Jameson spoke to her Secretary of State, Philippa Harvey, “Philippa, I have emailed you a list of 250 dignitaries that will need to be contacted and convinced to attend the summit. When formally inviting them, be sure to specify that the summit’s theme is of international significance and that the future existence of humankind is entirely dependent on their attendance. Under no circumstances mention that the summit has anything to do with the environment, as this will almost certainly detract from its appeal. We need to get moving on this immediately.”
“Understood, Madam President. My department will take care of this.”
Jameson then looked at her Secretary of Defence, Stuart Rendell and spoke, “Stuart, we have chosen to hold the summit in Dubai because of its political neutrality. I want you to inform the US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates of our plans. Arrange a meeting with him, the top Government Officials of the UAE and the Chinese Defence Minister, to discuss the security around the summit. China has offered full military and naval support, and we shall do the same – we cannot risk any incidents at this high-profile event.”
“Yes, Madam President. I will also contact the authorities at the Dubai and Abu Dhabi International Airports and ask them to prepare for an influx of private aircraft that will need to be accommodated for the duration of the summit,” said Rendell.
“Good thinking there, Stuart.”
Jameson then addressed her Secretary of Finance, Jill Montrose, “Jill, please inform Treasury that we shall be sharing all the costs of the summit with the Chinese Government. We will need to set sufficient funds aside for this expense.”
“No problem, Madam President.”
The President glanced at a written list in front of her and then spoke to Vice President McKenzie, “Zach, the Supreme Beings stated that they would be stopping to research the planet Mars for 72 hours before returning home. There is a remote possibility that we might be able to find their spacecraft using one of our ground or space-based telescopes. If we can capture images of the spacecraft, then these could be used as evidence to support the veracity of this encounter.”
She continued, “Speak with the Director of NASA and, without any direct reference to the spacecraft, spin some story to get him to focus our telescopes on Mars to look for and acquire photographic evidence of anything that appears to be of symmetrical shape and approximately two kilometres in length. Those are the only details that I have. I know it’s a long shot but I strongly believe that it warrants the effort.” She looked at her watch. “We have just over 66 hours left, so please get onto this right away. Treat this assignment as Top Secret.”
“Certainly, Madam President. I’ll organise this immediately,” said McKenzie with concealed apprehension.
She addressed a few other items, then looked sternly at her Joint Chiefs and spoke, “I state categorically that total confidentiality is required regarding this matter. The security of this nation and the world is at stake here, therefore we cannot risk anything going public prior to the end of the summit.”
The Vice President and Joint Chiefs of Staff all affirmed her statement.
Jameson closed, “Thank you all very much for your understanding and trust in me. We are going to need each other like never before to get this nation and the world through this unprecedented situation. Humanity’s fate is now wholly dependent on our leadership and this summit.”
5:45 p.m. Earth: NASA Headquarters – Director’s Office
The Director of NASA, Dr Bill Henderson, was sitting at his desk perfecting the art of pen-spinning with his fingers. Finding the precise centre of gravity of his Mont Blanc Calligraphy Pen had been the key to achieving consistently smooth 360 degree rotations and successful recaptures. It was a simple, yet surprisingly rewarding distraction.
His office was large and appropriately decorated with an extensive photographic history of NASA’s achievements. Beautifully detailed scale models of NASA’s numerous space exploration vehicles, including the Saturn rockets, Apollo lunar capsules, Space Shuttle orbiters, the International Space Station, Hubbel telescope, Voyager probes and many more, adorned a showpiece glass display cabinet that filled the entire wall opposite his desk. He found that simply staring at the models while daydreaming had inspired some of his most ingenious ideas.
The Director’s concentration was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of his landline telephone and he dropped his pen mid-spin. It was an offensive, piercing ring which he disliked intensely, but the phone had come with the office and he had been informed that he could only have it replaced at his personal expense, something he was loath to do. NASA’s annual budget cuts were now becoming ridiculous.
“Henderson here!” he boomed down the telephone in irritation.
The Vice President was taken aback by Henderson’s harsh tone, but that meant that he was probably busy with something important, rather than costing the American tax payer precious dollars to sit at his desk and daydream.
“Good afternoon, Director. It’s Vice President McKenzie here. How are you?”
The Director almost fell clean off his chair and had to recover swiftly. “Good afternoon, Mr Vice President. I’m well thank you … what can I help you with?
“Director, I am contacting you directly on behalf of President Jameson. The matter which I am about to discuss with you is Top Secret and must be treated as such.”
“Mr Vice President, you know better than anyone that my integrity is uncompromised when it comes to classified matters. The real story behind Area 51 is testament to that.”
“Area 51!” said the Vice President as his blood ran cold for the fourth time that day.
“Apologies, Mr Vice President. Please excuse my poor attempt at a joke.”
The Vice President shook his head in relief. Henderson was well known for his wry sense of humour and McKenzie now knew why.
“You had me there for a second, Director. But humour aside, the situation that I am about to discuss with you is extremely serious. We need NASA’s assistance in a government exercise of international importance. It has been brought to our attention that there is an object of interest currently in orbit around planet Mars and we would like it to be located as a matter of urgency.”
“Sounds very interesting, Mr Vice President. Can you give me a description of this object?” asked Henderson.
McKenzie replied, “Director, the only details I have at this stage are that it’s about two kilometres in length and symmetrical in shape. Hopefully it will be relatively easy to distinguish.”
Henderson was immediately concerned about its comparatively minute size given the considerable distance to Mars. But he was nonetheless fascinated by the details which suggested that the object was something non-natural, thus manmade. He refrained from pressing the Vice President’s deliberate vagueness.
“Mr Vice President, we need to keep our expectations in check here. I must be upfront and say that this is a tough assignment considering the object’s size and its vague description. There is only one telescope in existence that could realistically help us and even it will be stretched to the limits of its capability. This is our new WorldSeeker telescope – the one that’s been giving the Treasury Department all those grey hairs.
The Director continued, “It’s currently engaged in its final phase of commissioning and testing, but should be able to assist us with this task. However, permission would need to be granted for us to deviate from the project schedule and use it for this assignment.”
McKenzie responded, “Director, you have the President’s full authority to use whatever you have to. We have a 66 hour window period in which to find this object, so our time is short. I want you to personally manage this assignment and dedicate all your time, effort and resources to it.”
“I will do so, Mr Vice President.”
McKenzie spoke, “Thank you, Director. I remind you again of the highly classified nature of this assignment. Anyone working on this, including yourself, must sign a non-disclosure agreement, breach of which will mean immediate and lengthy jail time. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes. Understood 100%, Mr Vice President,” Henderson confirmed.
“Thank you, Director. Please contact me the moment you have anything.”
“Will do so, Mr Vice President,” said Henderson before the call was ended.
The Director was puzzled by the executive order and was looking forward to following it up. Especially intriguing was the re-emphasised confidentiality of the assignment. What could this object possibly be, that it was of such significant interest to the President of the United States herself? He picked up his note book and pen, locked his office and hurried towards the WorldSeeker Operations Room. He had to catch the team before they left at 6:00 p.m.
5:50 p.m. Earth: NASA – WorldSeeker
WorldSeeker* was NASA’s brand new Space-based Overwhelmingly Large Telescope that would define a new era in exoplanet, celestial object and deep field space observation. It was set to become the world’s biggest telescope, an honour held for over a decade by the ground-based European Extremely Large Telescope in Chile. Its 10-year construction project had been completed just five months before and the telescope was now nearing the end of its rigorous testing and commissioning phase. Official ‘first light’ was planned for the end of the month.
[*WorldSeeker’s telescope structure was a decagonal prism measuring 65 metres in both width and length. Over 1 000 separate sections of the telescope had been ‘mag-launched’ into geostationary orbit directly above Cape Canaveral’s new electromagnetic payload launcher. Once in position the sections were assembled by a specialised team of astronauts.
Wake-up Call: 2035 Page 22