by DiMirra
He dropped a red velvet sack on the table, which spilled some of its contents on the white lace tablecloth, startling us with the green contrast -- from hundreds of extremely fine, five-karat emeralds.
He modestly stated they were for Raffa's use in the China negotiations. "Nothing says 'I want to do business with you' more than a handful of emeralds."
"And for you, Sonny Boy," said Don Francisco to me, "I've got some good advice -- buy Russia and China. Sell Europe."
Breakfast was set for 11:00 hours in the formal dining room, which gave me time to sit and talk with the various early risers.
Uwishun, Sidney Field and Gary Dunn arrived next, just back from a morning run around the compound with an inspection of the area. We made small talk awaiting the call for breakfast from the staff.
We made our way to the dining room and joined the later arrivals for breakfast. Ana was the last to enter and made her usual grand appearance, to everyone's pleasure, especially mine. Miche gracefully seated her next to me. The chemistry was still there.
Breakfast was served immediately and the chatter ceased. Everyone must have been famished judging by the way they ate.
Miche said, "Since we're all here now, and events dictate we must act quickly, I suggest we start immediately after breakfast. Ali, please sweep the Card Room for bugs, initiate counter-measures, and lock it down for our meeting."
"Grandfather," Ali replied, "I'll have the room set up and send the staff into town with only security troops remaining on our grounds."
"Perfect! Make it so," Don Francisco commanded.
Chapter 8
Lugano, Switzerland: January 17th
The Family Meeting
"Papa," I said to Miche, "please bring us all up to date on what you have accomplished in your project at Applied Nano Biologics -- using laymen's terms, if you would."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Miche began, rising to his feet, "not only does the gathering around this table represent the crème de la crème of my family, you are also what I love most in this world."
"I think it appropriate to open this subject with a quote from Dickens' Tale of Two Cities --
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
"In short, Raffa's son, Zheng, and his team, have succeeded in producing what most will say is a miracle -- the cure for all human disease and the secret of great longevity. Yet some will think we are Doctor Frankenstein and must be destroyed. And this is why I called the meeting to make final preparations to protect the family and our people from what is coming.
"We have created, at an enormous cost of 11 billion dollars, and taking 10 years of research and trials, an adult stem cell with neonatal properties. It is a nano fab-bot, a basic building unit that can think, move independently, reproduce, that has memory, and can co-opt amino acids, enzymes and antibodies and just about anything else.
"It is the perfect Cellbot. It can guide and work with other cells, microbes and microorganisms. It can exist and actually thrive outside the human body for weeks on end in almost all environments. It has a splice for photosynthesis to power it and a splice for hibernation when there is no sun or warmth for energy. It carries genetic algorithms for self-optimization, with distributed agent properties and can create swarms of cells when necessary for the task at hand.
"It has the power to regenerate the body and mind from the inside out and can prevent or cure any illness. We can store all of the world's knowledge within its DNA, which we can then access consciously. In a few words, this is the greatest discovery since the beginning of time.
"Where mainstream science went wrong was they placed little value on human junk DNA which outnumbers human cells by 10 to 1. This is very similar to the Energy-Matter Science equation mistake. Where Dark Energy and Dark Matter account for 90% of everything in the Universe and they are completely unknown.
"I notice that all of you have been staring at Don Francisco and me and with good reason. Grandfather looks younger than I did and I look as young as Johnny. The answer is simple. We are results of our own research.
"It's been four months since you last saw us. Since then, we started our own gene therapy, now you see the results. You will also find us considerably smarter than we were as we can now access other peoples' memories and knowledge that have been stored in our own rejuvenated DNA.
"We have tested this discovery extensively on patients who were deemed terminal in the Amazon Basin. This covers everything from stage four-pancreatic cancer to total body trauma, ranging from accidents to multiple viper bites, with 97% success."
"I must say there is no sales pitch in these disclosures because all of you know I am apt to speak persuasively from time to time. We don't know the long term results yet. I am speaking about 5 to 20 years -- Hell, even 100 years from now. Think about what I've told you and the evidence you've seen here today. Think long and hard and if you're interested let's discuss it further. Enough said."
"When this current conflict that is beginning to engulf the world is a recent memory, we will release this new product to the world free of charge. That, my friends, will foment a real and vicious, all-out war against our family from big government, Big Pharma, doctors and hospitals. Also allied against us will be all religions, most trial lawyers, and any other power groups that are holding humanity hostage for their self-interested benefit.
"Mark my words -- governments will want to control this technology and use it as a revenue generator, a tool, and possibly as a weapon. We cannot and will not let that happen."
"Thank you Father, I will take it from here," I broke in.
"All of you know we have been planning for events such as these that Father described. We expect them to get much worse in the near future. We are launching three special operations under the code name 'Sustainability,' as I speak to you. One aims to protect family and position us for the future. Another will speak for the peoples and environment that cannot speak for themselves. The last is to settle old scores."
"First, let's discuss Operation Moses, which has actually been active for the last six years. Through intermediaries, my daughters Helene, Laura and I have been purchasing huge swaths of primary forest and farm land, along with river and lake frontage, in a sparsely populated area of Southern Chile and Argentina. This land amounts to almost 300,000 acres. It is contiguous and lies within two countries with a common border. The majority is southeast of Puerto Montt, Chile, and extends eastwards through the Andes mountain chain into Western Argentina just south of San Carlos de Bariloche."
"It is a superb piece of land, private, but not remote when you have planes and helicopters. The ranch has a 7,000-foot airstrip near the main lodge and two smaller strips, one in the east and the other in the west. The main strip at Estancia Tenorio has a full-time customs agency and can receive international flights at anytime by permission of the Governor, who is a frequent guest and a fisherman."
"The electric power is private, installed underground over the last five years. It is generated from the many rivers that traverse the property and connect the entire farm. Along with the land came three luxury fishing and hunting estancias -- one in Chile and two in Argentina. The land will accommodate our entire Family, if necessary, but in the beginning, there will only be a couple hundred us, who I will personally select."
"The land was purchased through a number of trusts and offshore companies that lead back to Elizabeth's Russian family but our Family ultimately owns it. We are not associated with the land in any manner. The property is being worked in a way that is consistent with its history. We have 20,000 acres of vineyards and orchards. There are 120,000 acres in cattle, sheep and goats. Estancia T
enorio contains 80,000 acres of land and another 80,000 acres in primary forest. We can grow truck crops and every manner of foodstuffs, for our own consumption and for the local communities from which we draw many of our employees, on only 1,000 acres.
"We have built and staffed three state-of-the-art medical clinics to serve us and the local communities. Nobody is more that an hour away from first-class medical care on these farms. Through one of our holding companies, we purchased two heirloom seed companies and have built a seed vault for future generations. This facility is set high in the Andes Mountains and is modeled after the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, which Elizabeth was privileged to see a couple of years ago. We also have just completed an alternate site for Applied Nano Biologics in half of the new winery building, which will be mostly underground.
"We have already started moving some of our youngsters and our parents to our facility. Given that things are fluid at this moment, we are beginning with about 250 people representative of our gene pool from Europe, Africa, China, North America and South America.
"Elizabeth, please move your family and Helene's within the next 24 hours. Charter a plane because we do not want our presence noticed.
"Ana, we will speak later, but I would like you take your extended family and stay there with them for a couple of months while we sort matters out.
"Now let's move on to Operation Rhino. Everyone here understands how I feel about rhino and elephant poaching, and I dare say that all of you agree with me. This operation is underway already, in the hands of Keny. If you want to know specifics, speak with me after the meeting. I will say this -- if you remember the recent massacre of the elephant family in Yankari, let it be known they were avenged as over 200 Boko Haram fighters met a grisly end. The Family has set aside one billion dollars for counter-poaching activities over the next five years.
"Now, on to the human suffering in Africa at the hands of cruel, corrupt, theological and ideological leaders on a scale as large as the Russian and Chinese pogroms of the last century. Since the supposedly 'civilized' countries will do nothing, in concert with the Chinese, we will bring it to an end within one year.
"It's not that China has become altruistic in her old age. She is grooming herself to take over the number one position on the world stage and has to start acting like it.
"We have code named this 'Operation Voting Machine.' Ali and I will co-manage this enterprise together. It is a simple plan and it will be unforgiving and swift. We have identified, and have under surveillance, 17 of the worst leaders and warlords on the continent. These are not in power at this time but have been responsible for over 5 million deaths.
These people are trouble waiting to happen. Nobody seems to know how to deal with them but we do and our assets are in place. We've also identified five leaders of the same ilk who are currently in power. All these despots will suffer the same fate within the next 72 hours.
"We will use our Sharp Sword drones, with their stealth technology and laser-guided, 1,000 pound bombs, on targeted locations of the leaders who are in power. There will be two bombs per target, three minutes apart. Each drone will stay on target for immediate bomb damage assessment.
"Through surrogates, we will paper these areas with leaflets that say -- 'Choose a new leader. They will have 30 days to prove they have the ability and the heart to care for their people. If not, they will suffer the wrath of God. He is watching.'
"I suspect there will be a few recalcitrant targets. In those cases, we will swiftly and firmly administer a second dose.
"For the renegade ex-leaders, we've chosen our elite forces and Flying Claymores -- the RQ-11 Ravens. These smaller, tactical, short-range drones were retooled to carry molded, 1.5 pound Claymore mines. We've used these before in small swarms. They are highly effective. You wouldn't want to be on the ground."
"These actions will breathe new life into the failed states that populate Africa and give the locals the opportunity they have been awaiting for so long. The rebirth of these nations will not happen overnight. More than likely, it will take a generation before they get it right but, for the first time since their independence, they will actually have that chance.
"Helene, I never understood the American condition, perhaps because I did not grow up there. They seem to self-flagellate. They seem to feel guilty about everything but rarely take action. They wring their hands and wail like children until the body count of innocents is in the millions. Like any country, they have big opportunities and enormous problems.
"I offer the following observation from a book I read by Randy Wayne White -- 'In any conflict, the boundaries of acceptable behavior are defined by the party who cares least about morality.'
Helene replied, "Father, you raised me so we think alike on this subject. Perhaps after this meeting I can shed some light, give you my insight on the matter."
"Next on the agenda, we have acquired a new type of soldier, thanks to Raffa's efforts with the Chinese, and I would ask Raffa to bring you all up to speed."
"Thank you Johnny," Raffa began. "Over the last 15 years, while the world was preoccupied with Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and terrorism in general, the Chinese jumped into cloning with both feet."
"They have developed the perfect soldier. They are about 5 feet 11 inches tall and weigh around 200 pounds. If a person could have a feline-looking face they would look like these soldiers, complete with yellow and green-flecked eyes. It is a handsome but dangerous looking face. They are covered with fine, feline hair that ranges in color from snow leopard white, to lion tawny, to panther black, depending on which of the Great Cat genes express in them as individuals. Some are even spotted. They are sinuous and have amazing physical abilities.
"We received the first generation clone team of twenty individuals two years ago. We've sent many of them on dangerous missions. Most recently, we sent five, without weapons, to retrieve two kidnapped Javaro girls. Our soldiers engaged and killed 14 villagers in hand to hand combat during their attack. They rescued the girls and the rest of the village fled.
"Two of these clone soldiers were slightly wounded in the fight. We retrieved the entire team including their natural human leader. Per rumors in the area, supernatural beings attacked the village. I suppose that was due to their appearance. It's not a bad outcome. Fear of the unknown can be a great weapon when used appropriately.
"The second generation, numbering twenty, has arrived. This includes two females. All are remarkably improved. They are completely trained but neither field nor battle tested yet. We now call our clone soldiers 'Guardians.'
"They now have the ability to change colors to match their environment thanks to the gene additions from the chameleon and the cuttlefish. They also look more human. The face is less angular, and the arm, leg, and muscle structures are not so grotesque. The original splice of Felidae Panthera, the big cats, was reduced without loss of full function.
"The time to produce a new clone to maturity has been greatly reduced, from eight years to four years, by adding a gene splice from Ursus Arctos, the Brown Bear. This also increased their heart size by 30 percent. New endurance trials show they can run 80 miles in a day, with a full pack, and still sprint 100 meters in under seven seconds and jump ten feet or more vertically from a standing position.
"All pain receptors have been removed. This allows them to endure almost any hardship or injury and remain combat effective.They require less food, and can eat almost anything and drink any kind of water without ill effects. In other words, they make the perfect soldier.
"The Chinese keep them separated from most human activity. I believe this has more negative than positive results. I also believe the key to our success with them will be to not lose sight of their humanity. We must treat them like people. To that end, they have spent the last year living with Shuar and Berbers, learning what it means to be human and part of a family, with all that entails. They came to us numbered. Now they all have Shuar or Berber names and identities.
/> "We use our Cellbot technology with them. It allows them to learn at incredible levels. They are well-educated and speak Chinese, English Spanish, Shuar, Arabic and Swahili.
"There is C-130 returning from Colombia tomorrow to Taroudant. I am sending an over-strength platoon of twenty-five clone soldiers, comprising members of the first group that remain uninjured plus the balance is of the latest generation. Sydney Field will command them for any mission, although they are best suited for solo, deep recon and assassination," Raffa concluded.
"Thank you Raffa," I said. "To quote a great America patriot, Thomas Paine, I believe the unfolding events are '. . . Times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their fellow humans; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.'
Then I ended with, "One last thought before I meet with each of you to discuss your individual roles. Because we are gathered here in the name of protecting our family, our fellow humans and the environment, there will be others working just as hard, and with more resources, to advance their goals of total conquest and subjugation. We would be wise to keep this in mind -- it doesn't get any more dangerous than this."
Chapter 9
Lugano, Switzerland: January 17th, 2016
I met briefly with Raffa, who was leaving for the airport because he needed to be in Beijing when Operation Rhino commenced in less than 24 hours. I asked him to make sure that the Chinese Premiere would know about the biological incident on his western border and to get an explanation on the recent migration of their naval assets.
Next, I had a few words with my wife's brother, Juanca. I asked him to fly immediately to Moscow with Elizabeth's father-in- law in tow, to meet with the foreign minister. He was our man in the Kremlin. Enlisting his material help in Tajikistan would give us another piece of the puzzle. Also on the agenda would be an explanation for the subtle and oblique movements of Russia's naval forces around the world.