Face of the Earth

by Doug Raber

  Her head swimming, Sarah followed the actions of the others and held up her ID card as the uniformed guard peered through the window that Jennings had rolled down. After a moment, the guard looked at Jennings and nodded. Then he stepped back, called “All clear!” to somebody, and saluted the car as it drove past him.

  They stopped beneath a covered portico, and another uniformed guard opened the door of the limousine. They climbed out and followed the guard through a maze of corridors to an elevator. Sarah couldn’t even tell whether they went up or down. Finally, they were delivered to a small room with several armchairs.

  Jennings finally broke the silence. “Please wait here. I’m not sure how my next meeting will go, so just be ready, in case I need you. Keep your computer turned on. If we need it, there won’t be time to wait for it to warm up.”

  * * *

  Day 34: Final Arguments

  After 15 minutes that seemed like an eternity, their wait was ended by a sharp knock. The door opened to reveal yet a different uniformed guard. “If you folks would please follow me …”

  The guard led them down a corridor and around a corner to a doorway that was flanked by two armed guards—Marines. “Showtime,” Sarah whispered to Jake.

  One of the Marines inspected the badges that Jake and Sarah had been instructed to clip onto their clothing. As he inspected each badge, he made a notation on a clipboard. “They’re clear.”

  The second Marine opened the door and waved Sarah and Jake into the room.

  They were stunned. Instead of the two or three people Jake had been expecting, there were probably two dozen people in the room. Most were sitting on chairs positioned around the periphery of the room. A smaller number were seated at a large conference table. At the far end of the room, seated at the head of the table was a face they recognized instantly. It was James Fallon Alexander—the President of the United States.

  Jake and Sarah reached the astonishing conclusion at the same instant. They weren’t giving Jennings and his boss arguments that they could take to the National Security Council. They were in the middle of the meeting he had told them about—a meeting of the National Security Council. Sarah looked around the table and recognized some of the other faces as well—Trevor Richards, the Vice President; Quentin Walker, Jr., the Secretary of Defense; Caroline Calebresi, the Secretary of State—it was the whole crew. Presumably the people around the periphery were key members of their staffs.

  “Jake, Sarah—please have a seat over here at the table.” It was Jennings speaking. “Mr. President, members of the Security Council, these are the two individuals that the Attorney General told you about. They came to me at great personal risk, and they have information that bears directly on the momentous decision you must make today.”

  As an aside to Jake, Jennings said, “Please give this Marine your flash drive and tell him the name of the file. He’ll put your presentation up on that screen over there according to your instructions.”

  Jennings turned back to the larger group. “Dr. Jake Overman, an M.D. with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, works for the Centers for Disease Control, where he directs one of their crisis intervention teams. As soon as the first report came into CDC in Atlanta that there was a possible case of smallpox in New Mexico, Dr. Overman was tasked to lead the medical and scientific response effort. He had been led to believe it was only a training exercise, but once his team arrived, they discovered it was not.

  Jennings looked around the table as he continued speaking, and his gaze locked on the Vice President.

  “Part of his team was assigned to finding and treating victims. But Dr. Overman’s first responsibility was to identify the actual pathogen and learn if it was indeed Variola. That’s smallpox. He confirmed that diagnosis.

  “Instead of following the longstanding federal policy for response to a smallpox outbreak, the Defense Department deployed a military unit, one of the Consequence Management Response Forces,* from Fort Bliss. They instituted a quarantine. In addition, they improperly—and, I am sorry to say, illegally—restricted communications in and out of Farmington.

  “We all know that official U.S. policy in the event of a smallpox outbreak is to assume that the disease resulted from a terrorist act. However, that is an assumption, not a fact. Dr. Overman obtained definitive evidence on the origins of the smallpox strain that caused the current outbreak, but he was prevented from delivering that information to his superiors. He was able to reach us only with the help of the woman seated next to him.

  Sarah Lockford is a highly respected journalist. She, in turn, was able to bring Dr. Overman key information only with the assistance of members of the Navajo Nation. Once again, our government caused grave injustice to those whose ancestors were here before ours, and it was only because those courageous people helped Ms. Lockford and Dr. Overman escape—to escape, Ladies and Gentlemen, as if they were common criminals—that they are now able to bring you the evidence they have assembled.

  “Today, you are about to make a final decision about whether to wage nuclear war against a country halfway around our globe. What Dr. Overman is about to tell you will answer any questions you may have about how that outbreak began. What you will hear from him will not be thoughts, nor will they be opinions. No, Ladies and Gentlemen, what he will give you are facts—scientific facts based on scientific evidence—the best science that our country has to offer.

  “Dr. Overman.” Jennings half turned and extended his arm in Jake’s direction.

  Sarah had been watching the others at the table during this remarkable speech by Jennings that sounded like a summation to a jury. She remembered that for many years the FBI recruited lawyers when they hired agents.

  She was riveted by the emotions she observed. The Vice President glared at Jennings with undisguised contempt the entire time, while the Secretary of Defense scowled at the Vice President. The President, while not looking at anyone other than Jennings, nevertheless seemed just barely to be controlling his anger. Clearly, whatever had preceded Sarah and Jake’s arrival had not been a pleasant conversation.

  Jake turned to the Marine seated at the computer console. “Would you initiate my presentation, please.”

  When the image appeared on the screen, there was a collective intake of breath—followed by nothing. Nobody in the room seemed able to exhale.

  “Mr. President, this is a photograph of Jack Redhouse. A Navajo man in Farmington, New Mexico. What you’re looking at is a full-blown case of smallpox. It’s not pretty. This picture was taken when he was found dead.”

  “Mr. President, Jack Redhouse died of smallpox, but he didn’t die because of a terrorist attack. I will show you incontrovertible proof that it was not terrorism, along with equally clear evidence of the actual origin.”

  Jake looked over at the Marine.

  “Next slide please.”

  * * *

  References

  Front matter first epigraph: Genesis 4:14, The Bible: Authorized King James Version; http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-4-14/.

  Front matter second epigraph: “Obama Limits When U.S. Would Use Nuclear Arms,” David E. Sanger and Peter Baker, The New York Times, April 6, 2010, p. A1. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/world/06arms.html.

  Prologue: S. P. Bedson, “The Laboratory Diagnosis of Virus Infections of Man: A Review,” Clinical Pathology, Vol. 1, 1947, p. 2.

  Chapter 1: “CDI Primer: Smallpox,” A. Keats, Center for Defense Information, Terrorism Project, Jan. 6, 2002. http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/smallpox.cfm.

  the disease had been eradicated completely: World Health Organization, Weekly Epidemiological Record, Vol. 55, No. 17, p. 121, April 25, 1980; http://whqlibdoc.who.int/wer/WHO_WER_1980/WER1980_55_121-128%20(N%C2%B017).pdf .

  smallpox virus for research: Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Bio/.

  Chapter 2: �
�Smallpox: Clinical and Epidemiologic Features,” D. A. Henderson, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Special Issue, Vol. 5, No. 4, 1999, p. 537; http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/4/99-0415_article.htm.

  vaccinations have really cut down on chickenpox: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Varicella Vaccine Q&A, http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/vac-faqs-clinic.htm.

  Chapter 3: “Modest Gains Against Ever-Present Bioterrorism Threat, An Attack Could Be Hard to Predict With Current Tools,” Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, Aug. 3, 2008; p. A10.

  Chapter 4: Kate Torgovnick, “Inside New York Chicken Pox Parties,” Page Six Magazine, New York Post, Jan. 11, 2009; http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20090111/Inside+New+York+Chicken+Pox+Parties.

  Chapter 5: “Chickenpox vaccine does a number on the number of cases,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, Sept. 1, 2008; http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-01-chickenpox_N.htm.

  Michael B. Gregg: Obituaries: Michael B. Gregg, 78; Journal Editor Led Coverage of Disease Outbreaks, Patricia Sullivan, Washington Post, Wednesday, July 23, 2008; p. B08; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072202797.html.

  Chapter 6: Quotation from an 1806 letter from President Thomas Jefferson to Edward Jenner, who recently had developed a vaccine against smallpox: D.R. Hopkins, “Princes and Peasants: Smallpox in History,” Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1983.

  smallpox response plan: Smallpox Response Plan and Guidelines (Version 3.0); http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/response-plan/index.asp.

  Dark Winter: “Shining Light on ‘Dark Winter,’” Tara O’Toole, Michael Mair, and Thomas V. Inglesby, Clinical Infections Diseases, Vol. 34, No. 7, pp. 972-983, 2002; http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/7/972.full.

  except for an article in the Post: “U.S. Called Vulnerable to Biological Attack; Smallpox Simulation Alarms Officials,” Reuters, The Washington Post, July 24, 2001, p. A05; http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40751-2001Jul23.

  The first bioterrorism attack: “America's First Bioterrorism Attack,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Time, Oct. 8, 2001; http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1000934,00.html.

  Iran holds some stocks of BW agents and weapons: “Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States and its Interests Abroad,” Central Intelligence Agency, written responses to questions before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate, Hearing, Feb. 22, 1996, U.S. Government Printing Office, response # 82; http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1996_hr/s960222c.htm.

  Chapter 7: Bill of Rights, Amendment IV to the Constitution of the United States, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html.

  accidental exposure from a research laboratory accident: “Smallpox,” Global Alert and Response, World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/csr/disease/smallpox/en/.

  Chapter 8: Department of Defense, Directive, No. 5143.01, Subject: Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD(I)), Nov. 23, 2005 (signed by Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense); http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/d5143_01.pdf.

  the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq: “U.S. protects Iranian opposition group in Iraq,” Michael Ware, CNN, posted: 11:53 a.m. EDT, April 6, 2007, http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/05/protected.terrorists/index.html.

  the FBI jumped the gun: “Amerithrax Investigative summary,” The United States Department of Justice, Released Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, Feb. 19, 2010; http://www.justice.gov/amerithrax/.

  Project Sapphire: “Project Sapphire,” John A. Tirpak, Air Force Magazine Online, Vol. 78, No. 8, Aug. 1995, http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1995/August%201995/0895sapphire.aspx.

  Chapter 9: U.S. Department of Justice, Oct. 23, 2001, Memorandum for Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President and William J. Haynes, II, General Counsel, Department of Defense; authored by John C. Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Robert L. Delahunty, Special Counsel, “Re: Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities within the United States,” p. 34; http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/memomilitaryforcecombatus10232001.pdf.

  Chapter 10: New Mexico Magazine, 1965, Santa Fe, New Mexico (ISSN 0028-6249).

  Chapter 11: “A rare peek at Homeland Security's files on travelers,” Sean O’Neill, Budget Travel Magazine, Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc., Dec. 22, 2008.

  Cortez Municipal Airport: http://www.cityofcortez.com/government/airport.

  Chapter 12: “‘Leetso,’ the Yellow Monster: Uranium Mining on the Colorado Plateau,” MaryLynn Quartaroli, http://cpluhna.nau.edu/Change/uranium.htm; “Canyons, cultures and environmental change: An introduction to the land-use history of the Colorado Plateau,” Grahame, John D. and Thomas D. Sisk, eds., 2002; http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu.

  high risk of getting lung cancer: “Lung Cancer in a Nonsmoking Underground Uranium Miner,” Karen B. Mulloy, David S. James, Kim Mohs, and Mario Kornfeld, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 109, No. 3, March 2001; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240251/pdf/ehp0109-000305.pdf.

  We use tradition to remove that curse: Derek Meurer, “Ancient ways go around the world,” The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona, Dec. 17, 2007; http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=50750.

  Chapter 13: J. S. Newberry, “Report of the Exploring Expedition, From Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Junction of the Grand and Green Rivers of the Great Colorado of the West, in 1859,” Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1876; http://books.google.com/books?id=8-q7j9WEbAMC.

  Chapter 14: James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, “Unclassified Statement for the Record on the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” Jan. 31, 2012, p. 5; http://intelligence.senate.gov/120131/clapper.pdf.

  Reference Laboratories: Reference Laboratories of Iran, http://www.reflabs.hbi.ir/en-site/en-intro.htm.

  brucellosis: “Isolation of Brucella from blood culture of hospitalized brucellosis patients,” Massoud Hajia and Mohamad Rahbar, Iranian Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2006, p. 63; http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/ijcid/article/viewFile/124/112

  from the State Department: “2005 Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments,” U.S. Department of State, http://www.state.gov/t/avc/rls/rpt/51977.htm.

  smallpox and the plague: Nuclear Threat Initiative, Iran Profile, Biological, http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Iran/Biological/index.html.

  Chapter 15: “F.B.I. Says It Obtained Reporters’ Phone Records,” New York Times, Aug. 9, 2008, p. A15; http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/washington/09inquire.html.

  Chapter 16: “Iraq’s Ton of Germs,” William Safire, Essay, New York Times, April 13, 1995; http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/13/opinion/essay-iraq-s-ton-of-germs.html.

  Smallpox Response Plan: Smallpox Response Plan and Guidelines (Version 3.0), http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/response-plan/.

  Biological Weapons Convention: The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) website, http://www.opbw.org/.

  American response to an attack with chemical or biological weapons: Federation of Atomic Scientists, National Security Presidential Directives, http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-17.html; Arms Control Association, “U.S. ‘Negative Security Assurances’ At a Glance,” http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/negsec.

  published it several months later: “Bush signs paper allowing nuclear response: White House makes option explicit to counter biological, chemical attacks,” Nicholas Kralev, The Washington Times, Jan. 31, 2003, p. A1, Article ID: 200301311255020010; “Bush Approves Nuclear Retaliation,” NewsMax.com Wires, Feb. 1, 2003, http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/31/112516.shtml.

  Chapter 17: U.S. Department of Justice, June 27, 2002, Memorandum for Daniel J. Bryant, Assistant Attorney General; authored by John C. Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of L
egislative Affairs, “Re: Applicability of 18 U.S.C.§ 4001(a) to Military Detention of United States Citizens,” p. 1; http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/memodetentionuscitizens06272002.pdf.

  when all the sheep died: “America’s Struggle with Chemical-Biological Warfare,” Albert J. Mauroni, p. 29ff, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, ISBN 0275967565, 9780275967567; Kindle Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Struggle-Chemical-Biological-Warfare-ebook/dp/B000PC6CQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325961222&sr=8-1.

  killing Indians: “Jeffrey Amherst and Smallpox Blankets: Lord Jeffrey Amherst’s letters discussing germ warfare against American Indians,” http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/amherst/lord_jeff.html; “Colonial Germ Warfare,” Harold B. Gill, Jr., Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Spring 2004, http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Spring04/warfare.cfm.

  Chapter 18: U.S. Department of Justice, Oct. 23, 2001, Memorandum for Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President and William J. Haynes, II, General Counsel, Department of Defense; authored by John C. Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Robert L. Delahunty, Special Counsel, “Re: Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities within the United States,” p. 37; http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/memomilitaryforcecombatus10232001.pdf.