by Saxon Andrew
“Why wouldn’t we be accepted?”
Salud smiled and touched the young man on his forehead and then on his chest, “It’s not what’s up here but what’s in here that will determine if you’re selected. Make sure you tell us in your essay why you want to be there.”
The young man stared at her and nodded. The young girl who had asked about the next presentation walked up from the shadows, “May I have one of those cards, please.” Salud smiled and handed it to her. She looked at the card, “You know, it’s not that I want to see ONE WORLD to prevent world destruction; I think the world would be a beautiful place if it could happen.”
Salud looked at the other four and smiled as she touched her chest, “Like I said, it’s what’s in here.” Jinks watched them and began to wonder if Lukas was right. These students looked intense.
• • •
“Sir, you’re not going to believe this.”
Jim looked up from his desk at his personal secretary, “What is that, Martha?”
“General Jekins is making a presentation at MIT tonight.”
Jim leaned back in his chair, “Say what?”
“Yes. He and Dr. Vazquez made one last night at UConn and he’s giving it again tonight.”
“What’s the topic?”
“ONE WORLD.”
Jim stared at her and she said, “I just learned about it so I don’t know what it means but I thought you might want to know.”
“Get me a helicopter.”
“Are you going?”
“Yes, I am. I need to talk with the good General, anyway. I genuinely hope he’s not revealing any top secrets during his talk. That could get him arrested.”
“I’ll have the helicopter here in an hour.”
“I’ll not leave until five. I have a meeting with the surveillance team.”
“Five it is, Sir. The chopper will be waiting on the roof.”
Jim swiveled his chair and looked out of his window. The cherry trees were blooming in Washington and they made a beautiful foreground to the Washington Monument in the distance. “What was Jinks up to? He decided not to contact General Amerson; he’d do that after he saw what Jekins was saying. If he mentioned one word about the aliens…well…he’d have some marines close by to make an arrest if necessary.”
• • •
“Are you sure about this launch?”
“The French have agreed to send it up with their next payload.”
“Will the thing fit?”
“Yes, it’s actually quite small. The technology is really simple once one understands the principles. If it works, we’ll announce it to the world.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Just another satellite failure. Oh well!”
“When is it scheduled?”
“We have more than enough time to get the circuits miniaturized. December of 2017 will be a great Christmas gift for the human race.”
“If it works.” The scientist smiled; there was always that tiny issue.
• • •
The presentation at MIT went far beyond Jinks’ wildest expectations. He was given a standing ovation and Salud let it continue as Jinks stood at the podium embarrassed by the ovation. Jim listened to the presentation in the audience and didn’t like what he was hearing. This crazy notion of doing away with national boundaries and borders was sheer insanity. The world would never come together; this was all a pipe dream. He saw Salud raise her arms for the audience to be quiet and when the noise had disappeared, he stood up and yelled, “GENERAL JEKINS, AREN’T YOU BEING HYPOCRITICAL STANDING THERE TALKING ABOUT PEACE WHEN YOU’VE DONE MORE THAN YOUR SHARE OF KILLING IN THE NAME OF A COUNTRY!”
The entire auditorium was shocked into silence. The students all stared at the man in a blue suit who had stood and made the accusation. A student sitting near him shouted, “Is this true?”
Jim nodded and yelled, “You’re looking at a former Navy Seal who led numerous actions in Iraq and a General in the United States Air Force. Oh yes, he has blood on his hands.”
Everyone in the audience turned toward the stage and Jinks stood up. Salud said, “I’ll handle this.” Her voice could be heard over the microphone and the huge gathering starting murmurings among themselves. They heard Steve Jekins say, “You will not! He was talking to me.” Salud didn’t want to pass the microphone to Jinks; there was no telling what he was going to say and the entire venture could be irreparably harmed if he wasn’t careful.
He looked her in the eyes and she saw his resolve. She knew if she fought him for control of the microphone that it would be seen as an attempt to hide the truth. She reluctantly passed him the microphone. Jinks took the microphone and walked down the steps and into the audience until he was standing next to the row Jim was seated. Jim was worried. He knew who Jekins was and that he was no match for the former Seal. Jinks lifted the microphone and said, “I believe if you’re going to confront someone it is common courtesy to do it while looking them in the eye. Jinks looked around and said, “What this gentleman said is absolutely true. I fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. My team was called upon to go out and carry out missions planned by my leaders and their commanders.” Jinks looked at Jim, “He’s right about me having done more than my share of killing. I’ve seen up close the depravity of what humans can to other humans.”
Jinks looked at Jim, “But this man is saying that anyone who has ever participated in war is eliminated from ever discussing it because they are tainted by the experience.” The auditorium was as quiet as a tomb. “I would suggest to you that it is those people that have participated in it that are the most qualified to discuss it. I’ve seen just how violent our species is capable of being to each other and until you actually see that violence directed at you, you really don’t understand what man is capable of being.” Jinks paused, “The warriors I fought against in the wars had much more in common with me than differences. They want to love and be loved. They want to raise a family in a loving environment where they will be safe from danger. They want to feed and clothe them and make life as good as they can for the ones they love.” Jinks looked around the room and said, “All of you want the same things. I can tell you that unless we create ONE WORLD where all of us are striving to meet those needs and help others as well as ourselves, we are moving toward an extinction that will be brought on by our differences. I would like to think that there is another way.”
Jinks walked out of the audience, back up to the stage, and looked at them before handing the microphone back to Salud, “I make no apologies for what I’ve done in the name of my country. I will also not apologize for the things I’m doing for all of mankind.” He handed her the microphone and the auditorium exploded in cheers. Jim knew what Jinks said was spoken rather simplistically without great technique. But it was spoken in such a way that everyone who heard him knew it was coming directly from his heart. It moved them.
• • •
Tommy Clarke looked at his cameraman, “Please tell me you got all that?” The cameraman nodded and Tommy kissed him on the mouth. This was what he needed to get his ticket punched to a TV anchor’s job. He looked at his cameraman and said, “Thank you so much for telling me about this.”
The cameraman leaned over and yelled in Tommy’s ear so he could hear, “An old girlfriend who goes to UConn called me and told me about it.”
Tommy nodded and stared at the two standing on the stage bowing to the adulations being given to them by the crowd. He went to the back wall and looked at the schedule of events. Tomorrow it would be Harvard and then Boston College. He stared at the former General and knew he was a believer. If the reaction of the audience was any indication, there were several thousand more converts joining him tonight. ONE WORLD; what a concept.
Salud tried to bring silence but finally gave up and she took Jinks’ hand and led him back into the audience to shake hands with the crowd. She passed out more than eight hundred cards before t
he night was over.
• • •
Jim stood up to go and as he stepped in the aisle and turned to go, he ran into a young woman. He said, “Excuse me!” The woman didn’t move and Jim looked up at her face…his heart froze…it was Sarah. His mouth fell open and he reached for his belt. His pager was gone. Sarah held it up in front of his face and smiled, “You really are getting careless, Jim. All of your backup is now unavailable for you.”
“Sarah, I didn’t…”
“Yes you did and denying it only pisses me off more!”
“What do you want?”
Sarah tossed him the pager, “Endanger us again and I won’t be giving it back.” Sarah smiled sweetly at him, “Have a nice day.” She stepped out of his way and he took two steps past her. He turned to tell her that he had a lot more clout than she did…but she was gone. He tried his best to find her and she was nowhere to be seen. He turned to go and bumped into Sarah again, “Don’t get so full of yourself that you start to think you’re invincible.” He stared at her and began to feel nervous. Changing the locks won’t slow the truly determined down. Taa, Taa.”
Jim froze. He had changed the locks on his house three days ago. He called his wife and when she answered he said, “Go and check the front door.”
“Hold on.” He waited and after a few moments he heard her say, “That’s odd. Both the front and back doors were unlocked. I was certain I locked them earlier.”
Jim knew that Sarah couldn’t have unlocked the doors to his house and be here with him. That meant that just getting rid of her wouldn’t remove the danger to him. He turned around and saw Sarah watching him. He stared at her and after a moment nodded. Sarah turned and walked away.
If the General wanted to go after Jinks, he could do it without him. He was done with chasing ghosts on that island. Sarah was one of his best-trained assassins and he had no desire to get her upset with him. McIntosh was enough. He got one bite and missed; that would be his only effort. He walked out of the auditorium and thought about what Jinks had said. He didn’t want to agree with him but he was forced to admit that his vision did resonate at a level below his consciousness. It was a shame it just wasn’t practical or possible. He climbed into the helicopter and immediately put the talk behind him. There were more important issues to handle. Getting the nuclear missiles of three superpowers organized was going to take time. Now the new bodies had to be completed with the thrusters before the new targeting system could become operational. So much to do; so little time.
Chapter Eighteen
“Jinks, where do we stand with Gold Stars?”
“We’ve given twelve hundred wrist units.”
“And they’ve bonded with the ship they’ll be flying?”
“They have. For the moment, they’re home working and spreading the gospel about One World.”
“It’s my understanding that the Chinese have outlawed the movement.”
“They have but they’ve made no arrests, yet. You know how it is; the Chinese outlaw a behavior and then don’t enforce the law until something serious happens or they wake up in a bad mood one day. The Gold Stars are not doing anything to draw attention. I can’t say the same for the Silver Stars; they are motivated to make a scene and don’t appear to be deterred by the possible consequences.”
“That’s why they’ll never be Gold Stars. You can’t impose your will on others. You must persuade others to your point of view and force will never work.”
Jinks was silent for a moment and sighed, “I never really thought two years ago that my going out and making presentations would amount to anything. Who would have thought that so many colleges would accept our classes here as full credits. Teaching year round has made a huge difference in finding those we’re going to need.”
“What about the second class of Gold Stars?”
“Lukas, there are more than five thousand that are going through the finals. Keeping them under wraps until they could come to terms with the massive numbers of alien warships waiting to attack Earth was not easy. Everyone’s initial impulse is to run to their families and loved ones.”
“That’s why we leased another island with no lines of outside communication. They are bright, intelligent people but this is something that can overwhelm you. Incidentally, have any of them cracked and want out?”
“That’s the most surprising part of this. The psych tests our graduates take really work to separate those that can handle the stress from the others. All of them eventually arrive at the same conclusion; if Earth is invaded, the only ones preventing those they love from being killed is them.”
“When will they bond with their ships?”
“In about another eight weeks. They’re working on the simulators to learn how to fly them.” Jinks shook his head, “Lukas, that simulator you and Willow built is amazing. It really does feel like the real thing.”
“Willow ran the program through the headbands directly into the pilot’s neural synapses. They actually do feel the sensation of high G acceleration and braking. The program that teaches how to target the disruptors was more difficult.”
“We’ve gotten approval on the delivery of the first vehicles into the United States. The EPA agreed to allow our graduates to bring one back with them to test and run trials on how it operates. It was a stroke of genius that you got them to agree to seal the engine compartments to prevent industrial espionage. They checked the exhausts and determined they exceeded the lowest levels needed to pass EPA certification.”
“Jinks, doesn’t that seem odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were so hot on stopping whatever was happening here initially…”
“But now they’re turning their backs and ignoring what we’re doing.”
“Exactly.”
“Lukas, I think someone high up the totem pole has decided that whatever they’re doing to handle this crisis might not succeed. I think they are genuinely hoping we are developing something in the event they fail.”
“That doesn’t sound like their style.”
Jinks paused and looked at Lukas, “No, it doesn’t, does it? What else do you think they’re up to?”
“I thought they might try to take the vehicles the Gold Stars took with them; but that hasn’t happened.”
“That could be Sarah’s doing.”
“Oh?”
“The current head of the EPA owes her big time for saving his son from a drug cartel. If he’s telling the Military to back off, they would have to get Presidential approval to interrupt this study and you know how this President needs an environmental success in the worst possible way.”
“That makes more sense than them just turning their backs on us.”
“By the way, I hear the French is launching some supplies to the I.S.S.”
“Yes, that’s the report.”
“That should be interesting.”
“Come over and we’ll watch it on the portable while we’re on the beach.”
“Great idea. See you this weekend.”
• • •
The table was full of fresh fruit and snacks to celebrate another step forward by mankind. It had become a tradition to celebrate every space launch on the planet. Willow would send the signal to a fifty inch portable television and interpret what the announcers were saying. It was three in the afternoon on the island and the launch was scheduled for nine fifteen pm in France. Just forty five more minutes until the huge rocket lifted.”
The group were all gathered and feeling festive. Stoney and Jinks were catching up on what was going on at the secret classes for the new Gold Stars. Sarah, Amanda, and Trevor were talking about redoing their hair. The dark roots were starting to show. Salud sat in front of the TV with margaritas in one hand and holding each other’s free hand. Seven of the Gold Star instructors had free time to come and join them before going back to the training facility. The mood was light hearted and laughter filled th
e afternoon air.
Lukas held Salud’s hand and smiled, “We are making progress at getting ready for them.”
“We’re still a long way from having the forces to confront them.”
“I know, but we’re making progress.”
Salud turned back to the TV as Lukas stood to get an orange. She listened to the translation Willow was providing and heard one of them say, “The Swiss have a satellite going up on this payload and are making a special announcement once it’s in orbit.”
Salud’s eyebrows came down when she saw the two Swiss scientists talking in the background behind the announcer. One was Joseph Kepler, who had become a naturalized Swiss citizen fifteen years earlier. He and Franz Kemp had won the Nobel Prize a year earlier for their work on black hole theory. She wondered what they were doing. Those two were two of the brightest minds on the planet.
The countdown finally arrived at the final ten seconds and everyone counted it down with the announcers. The rocket blast lit up the night sky and the giant lifted and started its journey into space. Salud looked at Lukas, “Joseph and Franz have a satellite going up with the shipment to the space station. They’re going to make a special announcement once it’s in orbit.”
Lukas stared at the TV screen and said, “Are they the two that won the Nobel Prize last year?”
“Yes.” Lukas’ eyes narrowed and Salud said, “What’s wrong?”
“I hope nothing.”
“Something has you spooked.”
Lukas shook his head, “Salud, the development of a stardrive requires the understanding of black hole mechanics. The void a stardrive enters is what is on the other side of a black hole. I read the paper they published and it hypothesized that a void exists inside a black hole.” Lukas looked at the screen. He began shaking his head and stood up, “Willow, can you scan that rocket?”
“Not without the Fellowship Probe detecting me. What’s going on?”
“Probably nothing, but the two Swiss Scientists who won the Nobel Prize have a satellite in the rocket’s payload.”