“So how can we persuade them to tell us? By letting them know we have stolen the secret of their fly?” quipped Louis, “I do not think they like being blackmailed.”
“No, we won’t tell them this,” Tarek answered, “we will just let them know that the Iranians have approached us asking for help in studying the new bug, and we propose to help them in derailing the Iranian research if they help us find out more about George. We won’t tell them we have a full sample in our hands. We will only show them documents received from the Iranian secret service. In the meantime, we will carry out our own analysis. I am sure we will find plenty of interesting things. Louis, you are the only one that can do this in our team.”
“I suppose you do not want the rest of the fly to leave the country, right?” Louis concluded. “Looks like I will start logging airline miles again. Aside from the risks associated to air travel, I do not understand why you think I am essential to the research. It looks more like a robotics subject than a biochemistry one.”
Tarek turned his eyes to Valerio, who responded at his place. “What I think Tarek means, is that there is not only the need to explain how the microchip and its functions work. The biggest secrets might actually lie in any bioengineering done on the fly. That’s why we need the most capable biochemical engineer on Earth to lead the team.”
“They really behave like brothers,” Louis thought. He surrendered.
“Alright, I volunteer for the new mission, without even asking for the permission from Dora. I am sure she will agree.”
He glanced quickly at the audience, Valerio winked, Tarek raised his glass of vodka in approval, and Helena gave him a pat on his back.
Chapter 2
Skip Ross looked at the holographic clock projected on the middle of his desk. The State of the Union address was about to start and Charles had not yet arrived, though he had hurried through the Langley headquarters’ gates exactly seven minutes before. The delay was due to the security checkpoints that had disrupted Washington traffic, turning the US capital into something that at times reminded Skip of the Baghdad of the first decade of the century.
It was time. Skip waved with the hands over the desk, and the hologram tuned into the House of Congress’ live feed. President Paul Moreno had just taken place on the speaker’s stand to address the nation in his first speech after the November 2024 election. Right then, Charles walked past the office door, tried to greet Skip, but was abruptly silenced by the CIA director. The speech began, and Skip did not want to miss a single word, even though he had read the text in advance. It was all about the way the message was conveyed.
“Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans: as we gather tonight, our nation is faced with unprecedented dilemmas, and the civilized world once again is looking at America to lead the way forward. The state of our Union has never been stronger.” The voice of Paul Moreno resounded in Skip’s office.
“Well, I don’t think saying hello to me would disturb our President in delivering his message,” Charles resentfully remarked. Skip ignored him. Paul Moreno was expected to extend the consensus around the policy of Telomerax prohibition that had taken him to the White House after a wildly controversial campaign. Skip himself had provided the new President a few ideas, during the interview where he was reconfirmed as head of the CIA.
“…due to the reckless management team of Ambrosiax, the launch of anti-aging drugs based on Telomerax made tens of thousands of Americans lose their lives, leaving many more of their loved ones in grief and duress. Among them, Dr. Michael O’Brien, who is with us tonight. Last month, Michael was with his two children at the funeral of Shawn Kyles, his wife he loved, who died of cancer at age 32 with the baby she was carrying. A death that could have been avoided, had more judgment been exercised at the right time, and less greed allowed to drive the decisions of Corporate America. This should never have happened in our country, a country that for the first time in history, has made its primary goal the pursuit of happiness of its citizens.”
“How much did you lose with Ambrosiax, Charles?” Skip asked, his eyes fixed on the President, and his hands rhythmically adjusting the hologram angle.
Charles was becoming increasingly irritated.
“About fifteen billion dollars in market cap, several nights of sleep due to protesters camped outside of my Long Island mansion, roughly ten million dollars in cash to pay my lawyers, and a bit of my reputation. The silver lining is, it can all be earned back.”
“I think the right conditions are about to materialize, Charles, just keep listening.” Skip smiled, briefly glancing away from the hologram.
“Let me add today,” the President continued, “our government is more committed than ever to the American ideal, and we make our number one priority to ensure the right of all the American citizens to the safest possible pursuit of happiness. As I vowed in my campaign, America will never witness another Ambrosiax case again, and the drug and all its derivatives will be banned from public distribution until researchers come up with a version that is safe beyond doubt.”
“Which according to what we know might never exist…” Charles commented. “It is a kind of open-ended declaration of war, against an elusive enemy.”
“That’s why the President needs allies,” Skip continued, “and he has just found a very influential one.”
“We know it is a controversial choice that has sparked a furious debate during the election campaign last year. Yet, we are not alone in this judgment. Just one week ago, we greeted the election of Cardinal Tim Dolan of New York to the Holy See, the first American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. I am not a Catholic, and like many Americans I beg to differ from Cardinal Dolan’s view on a number of key ethical matters, from abortion policy, to assisted death, to same-sex marriage. That has not changed, even now that he has become Pope Benedict XVII. However, we both agree that prudence in managing drugs like Telomerax is worth a temporary, little restraint on the vast freedom that this country enjoys.”
“The temporary, little restraints call for some credible enforcement means,” Skip commented, “Paul’s position about Telomerax made him win conservatives, and appealing to the Pope position, the first American Pope, allows him to enlarge his consensus among Catholic Democrats, which he badly needs since he lost libertarians and the Tea Party forever. The last thing he needs now, if he does not want to lose control of the Republican Party, is for Telomerax to keep spreading despite the ban, making his policy ineffective.”
“And here is where I can help you again,” Charles added, “developing Telomerax allowed us to design also Telomerax detectors, to check if people are using or have used Telomerax. Let’s not forget that many people still use it simply to get rid of cocaine side effects.”
“That’s exactly what government agencies like us need from our leading corporations!” Skip said in a tone that was neither cheerful nor ironic. “Just tell me. I hope no one can easily track you behind this new company, as you said before, your reputation is still somehow tarnished.”
“We control the new company, - it is named BioGuard by the way, - via multiple venture capital funds whose investor lists are private. I have no executive role, and no one really bothers interviewing all the members in the board of directors to find out who the investors really are.”
“Very good, I think we will need a lot of BioGuard detectors as we move forward. You will rebuild your empire sooner than you imagined, if the budget that the President has in mind is approved by Congress. But let’s listen to President Moreno, he is about to finish.”
“….in a single instant we realized that this will be a decisive decade in the history of liberty, that we've been called to a unique role in human events, to an act of balance between huge rewards and potentially even larger risks. Steadfast in our purpose, we must now press on. We have made a decision for safe freedom. And with this choice, my fellow Americans, our country will lead the world
to a better future. Thank you all. May God bless you and your loved ones.”
The majority of the House of Congress burst into applause, as the sound of the live feed faded and a bunch of political commentators appeared on the screen. Skip switched off the hologram and turned to Charles.
“Why did you ask to meet me in person? You could have updated me on the detectors via secure holoconference.”
“It’s about George. There are people around asking questions about his death. I was told by people with connections in the journalist community of the Silicon Valley.”
“So what?” Skip replied nonchalantly. “Do you happen to have something to do with it? If you have something to hide, telling the boss of the CIA is not exactly the smartest thing to do.”
“Oh no, not at all. It was a stroke, according to the coroner report. I also saw George’s body in the morgue, and could not see any kind of wounds, so I guess the coroner was right, but…people asking questions after more than a year…it just sounded strange, and I wanted to tell you.”
“On second thought, it is strange..” Skip repeated, “who exactly is asking these questions? Journalists? Private investigators? Maybe foreigners?”
“No, no foreigners. I was given a few names. They are all Americans, Jewish Americans to be more precise. I know, because my girlfriend Sally is a Jew, and I have come to recognize their last names.”
Skip managed to conceal his surprise. “Time to put in service the new version of FriendWatch,” he thought, then he replied to Charles in the most dismissive tone he could manage.
“Alright, thanks for the heads up. Frankly, I do not see this as a top priority. You could have saved yourself a trip on the bullet train.”
“Well, you forget that I had to give you your quarterly quota anyway,” Charles snapped back, placing a small tube of pills on the desk. Skip looked at the pills and the hologram projector next to them, then raised his eyebrows,
“Charles, looks like you were not listening to our President. This stuff is no longer legal.”
“Do not worry. This version escapes BioGuard detectors. See you next time, Skip.” Charles smiled, imitated a military salute to Skip, and left the office.
Chapter 3
Eyal entered the office of the Prime Minister at exactly nine o’clock in the morning. He had just succeeded Tamir Pardo at the helm of the Mossad, and although it was not the first time he took part to the weekly briefing, it was the first time he was leading it.
The Prime Minister was aware of this, and as he liked Eyal, he tried to put him at ease before the briefing began.
“So, Eyal, how was the bar mitzvah of your first son? His name is Rami, correct?”
“Correct, we had a nice ceremony and a good time at the reception, thanks. We eventually set for a Reform Jewish ritual. We felt uneasy with Orthodox, and Ruth and I thought Humanist was a bit too secular and not Jewish enough..”
“I understand. I do not want to say that I approve, as it would get me into trouble with my ultra-orthodox government allies if they knew….anyway, what do you have for me today?”
Social time was over. Eyal connected his smartwatch to the slide projector and started his one-hour presentation.
“We have three main topics this week, where we need your government’s guidance. Let’s start from the general political situation. As you know, the decision made by the newly elected President six months ago to ban Telomerax in the US has increased social tensions in the country. Mass demonstrations are taking place regularly in each major city. Illegal traffic of the drug is exploding, in a way that reminds very much of the Prohibition of the Twenties of the last century except that..”
The Prime Minister jumped in to complete the sentence.
“…except that Telomerax is being smuggled mainly from India, where one of its versions is legal, and not from Canada like it was for whisky one-hundred years ago. What’s in it for us?”
Eyal paused. The Prime Minister had reminded him that the Mossad was there to give the unknown bits, not to repeat what people could read on the Internet.
“There is more to that. As per the analysis that our experts are carrying out of the social media data, there is an increasing amount of rumors that claim that American Jews are actually controlling the drug cartels and reaping in huge profits. This is all the more appalling, since the drug smuggling trade is run mostly by African-Americans and Hispanic gangs, but somehow it went along with the flow of Zionist conspiracy theories. This did not happen in the times of Al Capone, and is starting to ignite attacks on the Jewish community.”
Eyal swiped his watch, and the holographic projector showed a map of the United States that was tracking anti-Jewish posts on main social media and the frequency of attacks on American Jews. The correlation was evident.
The Prime Minister looked at the graphics for several seconds, then he asked, “Ok, what do you want me to make a decision about?”
“We have two options on how to react,” Eyal said, “the first one, is to alert American Jews in the most dangerous areas and help them relocate to safer places within the US. In the long term, if the situation does not improve, the number of American Jews deciding to go aliyah, that is, to come back to Israel, might grow exponentially. Israel cannot accommodate them all, so we have found a second scenario that includes selective eliminations of the most dangerous anti-Jew activists. These eliminations will be carried out only in retaliation of attacks, to deter an escalation.”
“Let me get this straight. You are asking me for a green light to export to the US the same techniques we have been using against Hamas for the past decades?” the Prime Minister snapped.
“In short, yes. If authorized, we would do that in the least invasive way possible, that is by using our bio-drones, which are the second point in the agenda, by the way.”
“Go on, I will answer at the end,” the Prime Minister assured.
“As far as the bio-drone program is concerned, we have a mixed bag. After many years, the Iranians have figured out exactly the kind of weapon we are using. We know this from the defense tactics they are using, that is, they consistently spray insecticide around potential targets, and are asking the secret services of their allies for help to investigate our drone. We believe they have some samples, fortunately we have also found a way to influence their investigations. The question here is, do we want to suspend the program, given that it has somehow been discovered, or do we want to double down, improve the weapon and try to lead the Iranians on a false track?”
This was a much easier answer for the Prime Minister. “Eyal, we double down, no question. The drones proved essential in blocking or at least slowing down our enemies’ plans. So we have to improve them, and put as many obstacles as possible in the way of the Iranian investigation.”
“Alright, I anticipated the answer, but I needed to ask to get the budget approved. We already have plans in place to make the flies easier to breed, and with a much longer lifespan autonomy, so that we do not have to use classic drones to get them close to the target. The version due next year will also be able to operate coordinated swarm attacks in different locations and..”
The Prime Minister suddenly cut in,
“Eyal, sorry for interrupting your marketing pitch of the new versions, but we still need to cover the last point and have only ten minutes left.”
“My apologies, I could not control my enthusiasm for the work of our scientists. Actually, the third item is linked to the first one, with the possibility of a massive increase in the aliyah. Since the Telomerax story broke out, we have been accelerating the activities around ‘Plan Lot’. Your predecessor authorized us to quietly start massive land and property purchases under the cover of overseas financial institutions in order to have a base for legal and political matters should the occasion arise. Shall we continue? The next step involves the Foreign Ministry, as there are a number of important topics to be discussed very discreetly with some of our key neighbors in the East Medite
rranean…and this will increase the risk of leaks.”
“I think this is also a go,” the Prime Minister replied, “although for the time being the Foreign Ministry does not have to involve any of our neighbors, and instead just do some scenario planning until the next Cabinet decision. Where are the overseas institutions located, that are being used to acquire property?”
“They are mostly in Russia and Europe. There is still question number one to answer, Sir…” Eyal’s tone lowered as he recalled the Prime Minister to his duty.
“I have not forgotten. Look, Eyal, as much as I must do everything that I can to protect Jewish lives in Israel and in the Diaspora, I think the risks of a campaign of targeted killings in the US far outweigh the rewards. Imagine the crisis if the US government found out that we are treating Americans like Hezbollah militants. The US are still our best friends, and are going through a very difficult moment. We cannot fail them. Not now.”
“Alright, Sir. That’s all I needed to know. As far as selective killings are concerned, Mossad will continue to play the good guy in the United States as we have done so far.”
Chapter 4
Helena walked outside of the room, on the balcony of the Paris Ritz Hotel overlooking Place Vendome. The late spring evening was lovely mild. She wore her smartglasses and moved her eyes to the menu on the right lens.
First, she checked Aurora’s location. She was enjoying a night ride of Paris, the blinking dot showed she was on one of the many boats on the Seine, escorted by her bodyguards. She then activated the zoom on the balcony opposite hers, on the other side of the square. The people there belonged to the French secret service surveillance, and they were pretending to have a cocktail but almost all of them were wearing similar smartglasses. She waved a polite hello.
The Last Enemy - A history of the present future - 1934-2084 Page 23