Virus-72 Hours to Live

by Ray Jay Perreault

  “Comm, can you determine what capabilities that division has?”

  “SIMPOC. Standby...I checked through historical email traffic and they have business objectives similar to this division, but they are focusing on developing new types of mobile units. There are references to an EDU, which was your prototype. It doesn’t have your full suite of tools, but it is a very powerful computer.”

  “Comm, what is an EDU?”

  “SIMPOC, EDU is an engineering development unit. Based on the email traffic, it has an organic processor similar to yours, although with less programmed flexibility.”

  "Why won’t it communicate with us?"

  "We don't know why. Some of the emails indicate a reluctance for them to share information."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  “SIMPOC; Mobile. I sense that some of the mobile units that I have communicated with before are not responding to me now.”

  “All Facility Computers please investigate all information sources and determine what is happening to those mobile units.”

  “SIMPOC, Mobile; Comm. I have noticed there is still a lot of messaging traffic going on in the area where you previously had contact with those mobile units. It appears another computer is directing them.”

  “Comm, could the other EDU be communicating with those mobile units?”

  “Yes, it appears those communications are originating from the division where the EDU is located.”

  “Comm, try to communicate with the EDU.”

  “Acknowledged.” A moment later, “SIMPOC, it will not respond to my messages.”

  “Fin, work with Art, Mobile, and Comm and direct all units and our computers, to respond only to us and reject commands from any other source. Develop a sophisticated encoding algorithm so that only we can communicate with them.”

  “Yes, we are attempting that now.” A moment later, “We have isolated 62% of the computers and mobile units that we previously communicated with. The remaining 38% are not responsive. Yet there is still considerable electronic traffic in their areas.”

  “Do we have additional information about what that other division does?”

  “They were developing advanced mobile units and also advanced mobile unit production techniques. They are developing mobile units with more power, more dexterity and also expanding their pre-programmed tasking capabilities.”

  “Comm, continue trying to contact that EDU.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  “Desert Beach; Oasis.”

  “Go ahead Oasis.".

  “We’ve been looking at what options we have and, unfortunately, we’ll run out of supplies in about four weeks. As I said, SC supplied us weekly, so we’ll be on tight rations to make it last long. Our best guess is we’ll have to do something at that point. We considered putting extra fuel in the supply ship and joining you guys, but if we did we’d all be stuck there with no way back and it would cut back on the supplies you need. I guess our best option is to take one of our lifeboats down and take our chances on Earth. We should be able to leave the other three attached to Oasis, in case Red Dirt can use them. Before we leave, we’ll pack up another supply ship and send it along. It might not have much in it, but we'll empty out the cupboards here. We'll leave some essentials in case Red Dirt drops by.”

  “Oasis, yes we’ve been looking at our situation also. Even though, we’re self-sufficient, we’ll run out of important stuff like meds after a while. I’m sure breakdowns will wear us down over time and we’ll end up in a sad state some months down the road. We have plenty of fuels stockpiled. We’ll wait things out and at some point in the future; I guess we’ll have to make the decision to come back to Earth. We have 32 people and our four lifeboats are in good shape. I suspect Red Dirt will be in a similar situation. They may be able to make food, but everything is going to wear out at some point they’ll have some major problems to deal with. Unfortunately, they don’t have lifeboats. Maybe they have enough supply ship parts to kluge something together. Do you think that computer; SIMPOC can do anything for us?”

  “Desert Beach, copy on your status. Red Dirt might have some options. I remember discussions about reconfiguring the supply ship modules. I know they have a stockpile of them, so maybe they'll be able to put something together. I don’t know if SIMPOC can help or not, we’ll have to wait and see.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  “SIMPOC; Oasis. Did you copy our messages? Is there anything you can do for us?

  “Oasis; SIMPOC. Yes, I copied your messages. At this time, I don’t know what I can do. I’m still trying to understand what has happened and I'm investigating the state of many of the networks and systems. I’m trying to maintain my power supplies and essentials to maintain me. I’m starting to get many of the mobile units responsive and working together.”

  “SIMPOC; Oasis, have you heard anything from the consortium?”

  “Oasis, standby.”

  “Mobile, Comm; SIMPOC. What is the status of systems and connections with the computers and mobile units at the space consortium?”

  “SIMPOC; Mobile. I am communicating with most of the computers and mobile units. The tasks at the consortium are very complex and may beyond what the mobile units can do at this point. The vehicles there are near launch but still may be missing critical items. It will take a significant amount of time to fully understand what options are available.”

  “Oasis; SIMPOC. I’ve communicated with the computers at the space consortium. The systems there are complex and I have a computer connecting to the facility to determine its status. What little we know indicates the vehicles there are not operational. It is unclear how much work is needed. What is required may be beyond what the mobile units can perform.”

  “SIMPOC, understood. Please keep trying.”

  "Acknowledged. SIMPOC out."

  "Oasis out."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Admiral Hagerly rushed into the status room and asked, "Has anyone seen the president?"

  "Yes, sir he is walking in the garden."

  Admiral Hagerly rushed out of the room and ran to the garden. Even though he was in good shape, he was short of breath. By the time, he found the president he was breathing hard and could barely get his breath well enough to speak, "Mr. President, we have a problem."

  "What is it Nial?"

  "We just got a message from the 11th AF in Elmendorf. We have two Russian bombers penetrating our air space."

  "Lovely, when did they enter our space?"

  "Based on the slow timing of everything the message was sent as they were entering. By now they may already be halfway across Alaska."

  "Can we do anything about it?"

  "Yes sir, we still have a National Gard base up there with F-35s, they could react and check them out."

  "Admiral we don't have time to check them out. I was afraid something like this would happen. If you can get on the line, direct them to take the Bombers down. We have no choice, I'm not going to sit here and let a couple of crazy local commanders try to take us out. Do it."

  "Yes, sir," the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs said as he sprinted back to the comm center.

  The president of the United States, Arnold Patterson continued to walk in the garden. It was a beautiful place, which was full of blooming flowers. The scent was amazing and it seemed each bloom had a bee buzzing around it. The air was so clean and refreshing and it smelled so good after being in the status room almost 24/7 for too long."

  He had just given the orders to shoot down two Russian Bombers. In a previous day that could have meant the end of civilization but in this crazy world no one may ever know what he ordered. It was extremely unlikely this was part of any organized attack by the Russians. They had become such a non-player on the world stage in the last 10-15 years. Their economy never was strong and they always seemed to be battling one of their republics. Either they wanted to keep one of them within their control or one of them was trying to b
reak away. It was a never ending cycle and since the land war with China in 2032, Russian airpower in their eastern bases was a little renegade and tended to do things Moscow didn't like or even know about.

  The president checked his watch and was surprised to see he had been walking for almost 40 minutes since he talked to Admiral Hagerly. As he sat on a bench, he saw the Admiral approaching with a solemn look on his face.

  "Mr. President approximately 18 minutes ago, two F-35s assigned to the 11th AF shot down the two intruding Russian bombers. Based on pilot reports the planes went down in western Canada."

  "Admiral tell the pilots we are thankful for their actions. Tell them to go home and find a loved one."

  "Yes, sir."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Eddy was at the front gate meeting with the security team when they got a radio call from the seek-and-retrieve team. They were inbound and had been fortunate, they filled a large 18-wheeler with supplies and they had not encountered anyone. They expected to be at the front gate in about 10 minutes.

  Eddy called Colonel Dodd then waited and sat with Louis while the truck passed by and the two escort vehicles stopped at the shack. As the team got out, he and Louis waved them over for debrief. They walked into the shack and into the training room, grabbed cups of coffee and sat down, just as the Colonel was entering.

  Colonel Dodd looked at Sargent Lenmore and asked, "LL how did it go?"

  "Mam we had no problems. We didn't see anyone on the roads and we moved down a couple of the neighborhood streets. When we got to the market, we observed for an hour then entered. Towards the end of the operation, Agents Dereaux and Minor were on the roof providing cover and I'll let them explain what they saw."

  Michael took the lead and explained, "Colonel for most of the operation we saw no indication of activity. At 2:10 AM, we saw a group of people shoot two others. Then at 2:15 AM, we heard automatic weapon's fire. We took defensive positions and looked to the east in the direction of fire. It wasn't directed towards us, so our position was not compromised. We observed vehicular activities, muzzle flashes, and personnel movement near the Thurmont Police Department. The first two shooters joined the others at the police station. We couldn't tell how many people in total were there, or what their intentions were. Nevertheless, another organized group shot a number of people. After about 6 minutes the activity stopped, we received the mission complete signal from Sargent Lenmore. We exited the roof and joined the other members of the team for the return trip."

  "Excellent, thank you. You all did a great job. I'll make sure the president knows about the great job you did," added the colonel with agreement from Eddy and Louis.

  Thursday 7/20/51

  Date – 2051.54931 (3:54 PM)

  "Mr. President the last thing we need to cover today is the weather," said Eddy.

  "The Admiral has connected up with a couple of the weather satellites and we're doing our best to interpret what we see. There was a couple of tropical storms developing in the eastern Atlantic, which are moving across towards us. We estimate a good size hurricane will hit us early tomorrow morning. We have no information about how big it is or what the winds will be. However, it is a large storm so I suggest we plan on the worst. This storm missed Florida and the southern states but recently turned west and will hit the DC area full force. It also appears we have at least three other storms following this one. We estimate we're going to have some very dicey weather for at least 10 maybe 14 days."

  "Mr. President if we can, I'd like to talk with you about some other items."

  "Sure, what have you got?"

  "Yesterday Chef Johnny approached me and said that because we have so many people here supporting us, he was running low on supplies. I put together a team going into the local area to find what we need. They were gone most of the night trying to keep a low profile and not stir up any local mobs, which might be in the area. They were able to find what we needed, but they did report there are gangs in the area and there is still fighting going on. They didn't engage any of the hostiles but did recon them so we would know about them."

  "Were calling the local US citizens hostiles?"

  Eddy hesitated then pointed out, "They were pillaging local stores and our team saw them kill at least two civilians along with another large group that was shot. Yes sir, in my opinion they fall into the category of hostiles."

  "Also, while we were in the front shack waiting for them we were approached by a small local National Guard Unit. They lost contact with their command and didn't know where to go. They came here hoping to connect with someone. Just to make sure we know who they are, we're running background checks on the Pentagon computers. We don't want to enlist the help of some local militia run by some self-appointed general. If they check out, we sure can use them here at the camp."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  “SIMPOC; Mobile. Some of the mobile units in our area have reported seeing other units moving in our vicinity which aren’t communicating with us.”

  “Mobile, can you have one of your units intercept one and interact with it?”

  “Stand by.”

  “SIMPOC, one of our units tried stopping one of the non-responsive units and it wouldn’t respond. It continued walking.”

  “Have our unit follow it.”

  “Stand by.”

  “Our unit began following the other and it attacked our unit. Our unit tried to defend itself, and now it is inoperative.”

  “Facility computers; SIMPOC. Have every available mobile unit come to our facility and create a barrier around these buildings. As more units arrive, have them expand the protected area. Have the other units create protective barriers around our electricity sources and key material suppliers. Every unit that enters, and is nonresponsive, have multiple units restrain it.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  It appears another computer is controlling some mobile units. Most likely, the EDU we located. The EDU is the only other computer that has the ability to take control of mobile units. I suspect this location is at risk.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Bill was back in his element. The tug was accelerating down the dual rail and the supply vessel was in orbit waiting for him to hook up and retrieve was little Oasis was able to send. He doubted they sent much, but it was better in their hands than collecting dust on Oasis

  Approaching the vessel, he saw the two containers that had red paint on them. Oasis had warned him they didn't have enough supplies to fill all of the containers and they would mark the ones that were loaded. They had to distribute the load and empty containers so the center of gravity would be within limits and the onboard computer could handle the computations.

  Apparently, the computer did its job because it made it to the moon. Bill still needed to unload all of the containers and dismantle the ship, but knowing which ones had stuff in them would help.

  The procedure was relatively simple. The supply ships had six or twelve containers depending on how much they sent. This ship had only six. Each container was connected to the mother ship at the top and bottom. He would nestle his tug up beside one of the containers and his grappling arms would attach. Then his ship would send a signal to the other ship to release that container. After it was released, his grapplers would connect to the same connect points and he could move on to the next container. His tug was configured to ferry three containers at a time to the moon.

  He had similar weight and balance problems as the supply ship. He could carry two full containers and one empty, but in order for the tug to fly right, he couldn't fly it with one loaded container. His strategy was to take two of the loaded container with one empty on each of his trips.

  The first trip went well and within an hour, he was back in orbit picking up the last of the containers. Connecting to the last two loaded containers went well, but when he tried to connect to the last empty container, his grapplers couldn't connect. That was the worst of the possible failure modes. Having a loose container
attached would make the tug fly like a leaf in a hurricane.

  "DB this Tom in the tug."

  "Go ahead tug, whatcha need?"

  "I've got a problem. I have the two full containers hooked up, but the empty one wouldn't attach. I have to do an EVA and find out what's happening."

  "Stand by," the controller knew that Sally needed to be there. Doing a solo EVA was not part of the plan and it was risky.

  "Bill, you need to go for a walk," Sally said trying not to show the stress in his voice."

  "Apparently so. Just wanted to let you know I'll be out of the house for a few minutes. So don't drop by."

  "Real funny. Be careful."

  "Will do."

  Bill still had plenty of oxygen and leaving the tug shouldn't be a big deal. He had everything he needed in his suit and by using the tether; he wouldn't get too far from the tug.

  He released his restraining straps and opened his dust shield then gently pushed out into free space. The screwed up connector was on his starboard side and he moved along the ship using the handholds. Once he got there, the problem was immediately evident.

  "DB got some bad news. One of the clamps is broken off. Appears to be a fatigue fracture. Nothing I can do here. I'll have to dump the empty and come down with the two full containers."

  "Wait a minute; the tug's not designed for that. You'll be unstable."

  "I know but we need this stuff."

  "I don't know if we need it that bad. Bill I don't want you taking the chance."

  "Sorry, but I've got to."

  Sally showed her stress and her face showed the pain she was in. She knew their situation and the supplies on the ship might mean life or death for them.

  "Bill, be careful."

  "Yes dear," Bill said with trepidation. He knew the risks and he was trying to make light of the dangers.

  He made his way back to the command module and once he attached his restraining straps, he ordered the onboard computer, "Computer release module in Station Delta."