His eyes get big. “OMG! What is it now?”
“I’m actually 28.”
Looking relieved … then worried, he asks, “Does that mean we can’t—”
She pulls him in and kisses him.
Pulling his VR headset off, Greg blows out a lungful of air.
Elton sets his phone down and smiles. “All the networks carried it. It went global.” With a frown, he asks, “Did you know Turan was going to incinerate Carl Casey with the laser?”
Jessica shakes her head. “No, but after Sheri and Elizabeth got a surgeon to pull the capsules out of Josh and Carl, they carried them in their pockets, so Turan wouldn’t know we’d removed them.”
With a puzzled expression he says, “How did the DNI…?”
“Carl took the implanting of neurotoxin capsules in his wife and daughter pretty seriously. When we found out the DNI was in charge of Abadon … well, what goes around, comes around. As the President’s Science Advisor, I just helped her with her phone,” she shrugs, “and left Carl’s capsule inside it.”
“What about Turan?”
“We did expect Josh to be targeted. It was Tim’s idea to plant Josh’s RFID chip on Turan. We knew he never went out without his bulletproof vest, so Elizabeth just glued it to the top of the vest.”
Greg says, “I only saw what the nano-drone saw. How’d the rest of it look?”
Elton nods toward the telephoto camera near the window. “Between that, the rooftop cameras Jen tapped into and your excellent nano-drone close-ups,” he gives them a wry smile, “I think we set the bar for reality TV.”
Watching the police cars approach, Sheri looks at the three bodies on her lawn. “Are they dead?”
Tim shakes his head. “No, but they all have holes in them.”
Behind the police cars, a large black SUV pulls up.
Tim says, “I notified my old friend Lafferty.”
A man gets out of the SUV and flashes his ID to the local police. He comes straight to Sheri and Tim. “Dr. Lopez, are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you. However, I’d appreciate it if you could get,” she waves at the three men on the ground, “these off my lawn. They’re bleeding on my freshly mowed grass.”
The Deputy Director of the FBI smiles. “We’ll take care of it.” Then he shakes Tim’s hand. “You look remarkably good after a 200 foot plunge in an Audi. Oh, and nice cameo by the way.”
Sheri turns and heads toward the house.
They both frown and Tim asks, “Where are you going?”
“Want to see what kind of network ratings we got on our broadcast.”
Wendy and most of the station crew are crowded around a monitor in the central hub. As the transmission ends, she floats over in front of the screen and says, “First, we need to find and eliminate that remote control circuit. Then we need to shut down and disassemble the microwave RFID scanner.”
There are nods all around.
“We also need to thank Dr. Ann Ward.”
There’s a round of applause.
Ward shrugs. “Can’t take credit. It was all TELEMED robotic surgery. Elizabeth Fuze rounded up some of the best vascular surgeons on the ground and they worked fast. I just applied the topical anesthetic and Band-Aids.”
Wendy shakes her head. “It was a three-ring circus trying to get all our capsules out. Without you orchestrating it, we wouldn’t have finished in time, and several of us,” with a slight smile she raises an eyebrow, “might have suffered cardiac arrest.”
Ward gracefully bows to another round of applause.
One of the engineers looks around and says, “What about the others onboard who modified the targeting software….”
Wendy nods. “All but one of them came forward. They were under strict orders given to them directly by Turan. They assumed it was simply a classified program. They couldn’t have known what was really going on. None of us did. After they learned that the fire in the module wasn’t an accident, they immediately helped us figure out who was responsible. That individual was truly a double agent.”
Ward adds, “And is now heavily sedated in sickbay awaiting a return flight where he’ll be charged with sabotage and attempted murder.”
Wendy finishes, “We boost in a week. Let’s get back to work saving the planet.”
EPILOGUE
Josh stands on the balcony cut into the island’s rocky peak with Tim and Christoff. Leaning over the railing with drinks in hand, they look down the 200-foot cliff.
Tim points at the burned beach below and says to Christoff, “You can rebuild the house but the missiles really messed up the beach.”
Christoff nods. “Vegetation will return, but have to transplant palm trees and replace sand.”
Josh adds, “The U.N. should really pay for—”
“With my home defense device on roof,” Christoff interrupts with a smile, “last thing I want is government assistance.”
Behind them, they hear Sheri asking Judy how she organized the rebellion. Turning around, they lean back on the railing and listen.
Sitting inside with Sheri and Judy are Elizabeth, Jessica, Greg, Carl, Kelly and Joe Meadows.
“… so then I used ‘BadChat’, the backchannel communication system the kids use. I sent out a picture of the bracelet with the injector exposed. It went to all the drone pilots and hackers. After that, it was easy to enlist their help. Of course, not everyone believed the picture was real. Someone shared it with the facility directors and traced it back to my phone.”
Jessica asks, “How did you avoid being killed by the bracelets?”
She points at her wrist. They see a patch of rough red skin encircling it.
“We used the stuff you guys smuggled into us. We just slid the bracelets up our arm as far as we could and then applied the epoxy in a thick ring around our wrists. We stuck strips of aluminum foil on top of the epoxy and when it hardened, slid the bracelets back down over it. We hoped the injectors couldn’t penetrate the epoxy and the Taser would short circuit on the aluminum foil.” Rubbing her wrist, she grins. “Still trying to scrape the dang epoxy off.”
Nodding, Jessica smiles. “Way to go MacGyver. What about the EMP devices?”
Judy nods. “I sent two people into the nano-drone control building and two more to the hacker building.”
“How did you signal everyone to detonate them?”
“The hackers tapped into the video signal and broadcast my,” she smiles, “academy award winning demise to everyone’s phone.”
Jessica nods and asks, “So, did the EMP devices work? Did they shut down all the nano-drones?”
“Totally fried them, along with the bracelets and all the control consoles. None of that equipment will work again.” With a half-smile, she adds, “They also fried most of the cars in the parking lot.”
Elizabeth asks, “What about the radioactive nano-drones that are still out there?”
“The hackers downloaded the geographic positions of all nano-drones before we fried everything and uploaded the data to Jen.”
Jen adds, “The half-life of plutonium 238 is 87 years, but I sent the location information to the FBI and Interpol. They should be able to find most of them.”
Josh nods. “Thank you, Judy. You displayed phenomenal ingenuity and courage. Without you, the outcome might have been disastrously different.”
She smiles. “It was kinda terrifying most of the time, but I’ve never felt more alive. I’d do it again.” Turning to Sheri, she adds, “I want to hear about how you discovered the capsules and escaped from Turkey.”
As Sheri begins her colorful version, Josh turns around and stares out over the ocean. It’s beautiful and peaceful. For the first time since Davidson called him … he’s relaxed.
Sheri finally wraps up with, “Then after Josh ditched the jet in a river, we hiked—”
“Wait, what?!” He hears Elizabeth ask, “Did you say ditched?”
As he slowly turns around, he sees Elizabeth w
ith hands on hips. “You crashed another one?”
“No … I … did not. I landed it perfectly.”
Sheri helpfully adds, “Technically, I think a perfect landing involves wheels.” She shrugs with a smile. “Just saying.”
Tim offers, “It was a remarkably smooth belly landing.”
Elizabeth nods. “So, it’s repairable?”
Sheri, clearly enjoying herself, adds, “Actually … it blew up.”
“What?!” Elizabeth shakes her head, but he catches the smile crossing her face.
As he comes inside, the party shifts to the food table. After heavy foraging, Meadows says, “It’s amazing that all of you were able to pull this off without anyone getting shot.”
Josh points at Carl’s bandaged leg.
Carl points back at Josh’s bandaged arm.
Josh frowns. “All we knew for sure was that if we could broadcast most of what Turan said,” he shrugs, “it wouldn’t matter if he killed all of us.”
Into the solemn silence, Carl adds with a half-smile, “Actually … it would have kinda mattered to me.”
Jessica and Sheri, frowning and laughing at the same time, add in unison, “Uh, yeah. Kinda mattered to us too.”
After more stories, Meadows looks at Josh. “It’s still hard to believe you are the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”
Josh corrects, “Acting. General Von Stein has been exonerated. The General Assembly reversed their vote of no confidence and we need to restore him to office as soon as he’s out of the hospital.”
With an embarrassed smile, Elizabeth adds, “The supposedly safe virus almost killed him. He was so sick, he didn’t know he’d been fired until he’d already been cleared. I heard he doesn’t want the job anymore.” She laughs. “Said it was more dangerous than being a general and he wants to spend more time with his grandkids.”
Meadows pats Josh on the shoulder. “Four of the five members of the permanent Security Council — China, Russia, the U.S. and U.K. — want to nominate you to be the permanent Secretary-General.”
Josh gives a wry smile. “France doesn’t like me?”
Sheri shrugs. “They don’t know you. They weren’t involved in the last minute negotiations when you helped stop WWIII last year.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Josh shakes his head. “The Secretary-General can’t be from any of the Permanent Security Council countries.”
Meadows puts his hand up. “Actually, that’s a tradition not a rule. There’s nothing in the charter that forbids it. Besides, technically, you don’t show up as an American citizen anyway.”
“Technically, I don’t show up as a citizen of any country. Which is the other reason I can’t be Secretary-General; I have no identity, no history.”
“Maybe … but the entire world saw your performance live. You might be surprised.”
With a mischievous smile, Sheri offers a toast. “You can start a new world order where airplanes are expendable and clothing is optional.”
With a short laugh, he rolls his eyes. While they debate the pros and cons, he steps back out on the balcony.
After a few minutes, Meadows joins him.
Before Meadows says anything, Josh preempts, “I don’t want to be Secretary-General.”
“What does that have to do with anything? I didn’t want to command the Antarctic base.” He pauses. “I’m sorry, but I believe you still have an obligation to use those abilities, particularly, now that we know there are others who have them and aren’t afraid to use them to kill or destroy.”
Tim, Sheri and Elizabeth join them.
Overhearing Meadows’ comment, Sheri adds, “I’m very concerned about the genetic program Turan was working on. It was cutting-edge terrifying.”
“I agree,” Josh shrugs, “but Turan’s dead.”
There’s a pause and Tim quietly says, “Carl noticed that the windows on the floor immediately below the roof were shattered.”
Josh nods. “Of course. The beam came in at an angle. The heat took them out.”
Tim just looks at him.
Josh shakes his head. “We saw what was left of him on the railing. He couldn’t have survived.”
Tim shrugs. “None of the cameras recorded his incineration and there were no charred bone fragments at the base of the building.”
Elizabeth grimaces. “All we know for sure is that … we got his hand.” Then, looking out over the ocean, she recites, “For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured. May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!”
There’s a pregnant silence.
Sheri breaks it with, “Well … that was creepy. Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth.”
With some nervous laughs, everyone heads back inside except Josh. Left staring at the ocean, he tries to use his prescient ability to sense the future … but gets nothing.
After a few minutes, Kelly joins him.
He gives her a small smile and says, “I’m glad you could make it.”
She puts her hand on his arm.
As he looks into those laser green eyes, she says, “I guess part of me always knew.”
Josh takes a deep breath and exhales unsteadily. “Kelly,” he shakes his head gently, “it wasn’t my choice. I … I so wanted to tell you—”
“I know,” she interrupts gently and smiles through tears.
“Does Carl…?”
She shakes her head.
Sighing, he says, “We need to keep it that way.”
“I … I know. I just want you to know you’re welcome to be with Caitlin whenever you want.”
He barely gets out, “Thank you.”
Her eyes unfocus as she adds, “Josh, you need to keep that position. It’s … it’s not over.” With that, she kisses him on the cheek and leaves.
He stands there for several minutes feeling both happy and sad. Looking around to be sure he’s alone, he quietly says, “Jesse, thank you once again.” He frowns and gently shakes his head. “But I don’t understand … why did you make Turan GMO?”
I didn’t.
“Then who did?”
Ask him.
I apologize for breaking the third book into two parts. Science and technology are moving incredibly fast. When the trilogy was first outlined, the next threat didn’t even exist. Pardon the pun, but it was impossible to fit the entire story into one book. Thank you for your patience. A brief excerpt from the second half of “IMPOSSIBLE” (titled IMMUNE) follows.
Text “Fuzed” to 46786. We’ll keep you informed of imminent threats, release of the next book, and movie and game development. We’ll also enter you into a drawing to have a future character named after you and an invite to the set during filming. Do it before Aug 31, 2017 and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a three-night Caribbean Cruise (in recognition of our hero’s Navy background). We won’t share your information and you can shut it off at any time.
Or register by email at www.Fuzed.org/get-involved (preferably, not with the email you give to car sales managers).
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HOW REAL IS THIS?
Not since the industrial revolution has humanity faced such a monumental change. No one could have imagined that the exponential growth of digital processing power would turn telephones into cherished digital assistants, or that we could have autonomous cars, houses and lives. With this gift, however, comes a price. One of the prices we pay is that everywhere we go and almost everything we do leaves a digital footprint, a record of not just our path but our thoughts, beliefs and fears. Add the inevitable rise of machine intelligence and we must choose our destiny, while we can.
The other apocalyptic threat is not a result of our actions, but our inaction. Asteroid and comet impacts aren’t a potential threat. There is a 100% probability that an impact will obliterate almost all life on Earth, including us. It’s happened before and it’s statistically gu
aranteed to happen again. The problem is it could be in the far future or … tomorrow. For the first time in human history, we have the ability to prevent it. Organizations like the B612 Foundation lead the effort to identify the Earth-orbit-crossing asteroids. However, we still need to develop a strategy to deflect asteroids or comets, particularly, those discovered within two years of impact. Our current strategy is Russian Roulette.
In this story, we propose a phased array laser deployed to a position beyond the moon’s orbit called L2. The story is fiction but the concept is not. The DE-STAR program is a first step in this direction. Phased array lasers exist and we already have space telescopes deployed to L2. This is one of those rare situations where one concept can be the solution to multiple problems. L2 is not only a perfect place to park a defensive laser system, it can also serve as a gateway to the outer solar system and a waystation to launch crewed and un-crewed missions to Mars and beyond. The phased array can do double duty, boosting spacecraft faster and more efficiently than any propulsion system in existence, and its location in Earth’s shadow makes it the ultimate Goldilocks zone for humanity’s most powerful observatories.
We use fiction, movies and games to help the world understand the real threat and the potential solutions. Can fiction really impact reality? Yes. The idea of launching satellites to orbit the Earth was first proposed by science fiction author Arthur C. Clark.
PREVIEW
IMMUNE
Part Two of
The Third Book of the Fuzed Trilogy
1
THE END
Josh answers the phone, “Hi Kelly. How are you?”
He hears stress in her voice. “I’m fine. It’s … it’s Caitlin.”
“What’s wrong?! Is she sick?”
Impossible (Fuzed Trilogy Book 3) Page 33