“I understand,” said Terry, “but I can’t help thinking back to when I was a kid and I read a book called “The UFO Phenomenon.” It scared me stiff at the time. The cover page looked just like Delia with this huge array of lights underneath.”
“I get the same feelings,” said Judy “My mother back in China had a book by a guy called George Adamski with pictures of things that looked like Delia. At the time I thought they were all fake.”
“I have already been having talks with the Air Force,” said John. “We can absolutely rest assured that we are going to be getting a huge Air Force development contract to pay for all this – it will probably be so big that we will be hiring sub contractors to build important parts of the system for us.”
Judy then opened up with her burning question for Terry: “How can I get to be helicopter test pilot?”
“Well, it’s fairly straightforward really,” said Terry modestly. “First you go to a basic helicopter flight school. There is one fairly close by in Compton. Then once you are certified as a regular helicopter pilot you can go to a helicopter test pilot school. There is one up in Canada where they have a flying computer simulator that can replicate almost any variation on the theme of a helicopter. But why do you want to be a test pilot when you have just hired me?”
John explained: “Because Judy and I have pretty much given birth to these vehicles and we are so incredibly involved with the technology, we want so much to be able to legally fly them just sometimes. We obviously don’t want to do your job, but the gratification of being able to control a LeviStar even for a few minutes you just can’t imagine.”
Terry replied: “Well, in that case you can start at the Compton helicopter school next week. I know the chief instructor there and I can give you a recommendation. Once you have got a license all you need is fifteen years experience and you can do my job!”
Chapter 31
It was a cool fall day in Washington as Colonel James Harper drove towards the defense department. Boulevard trees were showing autumnal gold, yellow and red colors. On his mind was the report that he was going to make to the top levels of the administration concerning Electrolev. He had been preparing for this moment for the last two weeks, and had a collection of obligatory power points ready on the laptop in his briefcase. The story that he had to tell was so stunning that he was conflicted between wanting to keep his personal credibility on the one hand, and wanting to make sure that the government truly appreciated the threat that he perceived on the other hand.
James Harper had graduated from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and then after flight training he was a co-pilot and aircraft commander at March Air Force base in California. He had then worked as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force base, and after a stint as an analyst at the directorate for strategic plans and policy he was promoted into his present position as a technology coordinator at the Schriever Space Complex in Los Angeles– basically the eyes and ears of the Air Force in the scientific community. He normally reported to the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright –Patterson Air Force base, but on this occasion the main recipient of his report was to be the Director of Defense Research and Engineering at the Department of Defense.
He was fully aware that this was likely to be a pivotal moment in his career – for sure his life would never be the same again. On the other hand it seemed clear to him that the world was never going to be the same place again, either. As he strode through the Pentagon hallways James reflected upon the irony of his situation – he was normally involved with assessing incremental new techniques like nanotechnology, where he had to get his audience to use their imagination to think about subtle changes in technology that might emerge. In this case a grossly disruptive technology had emerged in Long Beach of all places, and he would have to work to minimize the embarrassment that it had not come out of any of the billions of dollars spent on Air Force research. It was clearly his job to correct this and to get Electrolev and its activity to become part of the establishment.
At the meeting was Joe Helman, the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Major General William Smith, the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, General Alfred Brooks from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Fred Thomson, Director of the National Security Operations Center, and Dr. Jim Lowman an SES level research manager from the NSA. The room was packed full of credentialed officials with medals and crisp blue uniforms.
“Electrolev first came to our attention last October, when they test flew a manned vehicle over populated areas around Long Beach,” started James. “They made local newspaper headlines and produced a panic concerning UFOs.”
“What were they doing test flying over a populated area?” came the sharp response from Al Brooks.
“Sir,” responded James, “This is not a conventional aerospace operation. Their set up is much more analogous to the Segway people mover company. They are just a bunch of enthusiastic young engineers who had no clue that what they were developing had national security implications. In fact the pilot of the vehicle did not even have a pilot’s license.” Some of the assembled luminaries rolled their eyes while others buried their face briefly in their hands.
“O.K. – go on!” commanded Joe.
“Let me explain briefly what they have discovered,” James commenced. “They have uncovered a force of nature which amazingly has lain hidden in full view for the last 150 years……” James went on for ten minutes, concisely explaining the fifth force and LeviStar technology.
“So you can see that the whole concept of needing orbital velocity to go into space has become obsolete. Our whole industry of satellite launchers is not needed any more! Now I have spent some time thinking out the implications of this new technology, which go like this,” he said as he started up his powerpoints.
Reconnaissance and law enforcement: It can hover at any altitude for indefinite time periods.
It makes our present surveillance satellites look obsolete.
A bomber version of a LeviStar could operate at 100,000 feet out of range of all anti-aircraft functions, and remain stationary over a target as long as needed.
A fighter version of a Levistar could take off from a helicopter pad. Aircraft carriers are obsolete.
Cost effectiveness: Levistar technology is cheap compared to a missile or conventional aircraft. Hence: a reusable way to transport stuff into space and to leave it there, without the phenomenal expense of putting things into orbit.
James turned off his power points and stared grimly at his audience.
“This has all been good news up to now, but I am afraid that we have some bad news to take. Last week, just two days after their unmanned vehicle went up into space, the Electrolev factory was broken into. An intruder shot the Chief Technologist who was working late alone there that evening, and while he took the body, he otherwise stole nothing but the backup tapes from their internal computer network. The obvious implication is that this was an agent from a hostile foreign power. Some other country, and I do not know who it is, presently knows as much as we do about LeviStar technology.”
The assembled group gasped and groaned. Joe Helman grimaced and pounded his fist on the table.
William Smith said one word: “Fuck!”
Muttered words like, “Oh shit,” could be heard as the group looked at each other for support. There was a period of agonized silence while all of them thought through the implications of this.
Finally Joe Helman spoke: “It is clear that the United States is now, against our will, going to be involved in a technology competition analogous to the space race in the middle of the 20th century. The key to that space race was the staff of the German rocket technology center at Peenemunde. I propose two immediate measures:
We relocate all the Electrolev staff plus anybody who has knowledge of what the LeviStar technology really consists of, to the security of the Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville, just as we did with the German rocket scientists in 1946.
There we have 2000 scientists and engineers who can make this thing happen in real time.
We need to start a no holds barred, all out program to develop and militarize the LeviStar technology. I will talk with the Secretary of Defense about a budget, but believe me; this project is going to get anything it needs to keep us ahead of our enemies.”
William Smith was quick to chip in: “I support that initiative, I don’t think we have any alternative. It will need at least a billion dollars.”
“Something else is going to have to be wound down to pay for all this – maybe that new bomber we were just funding yesterday?” said Fred Thompson.
“We are going to have some congressmen on our necks if we do that,” remarked William Smith.
“Don’t worry, I know how to handle that,” said Joe Helman, thoughtfully. Then he continued: “Al Brooks and Jim Lowman - I want you two to co-ordinate this whole thing and make sure it happens at light speed. Keep me briefed on the progress. I will make sure that the President is apprised of this situation. Thank you, gentlemen.” With that Joe stood up and left the room for his next appointment, his face grim. The remaining group looked at each other in silence, each realizing that they had become a part of history.
Chapter 32
It was just a few days later that James Harper came to visit Electrolev accompanied by General Alfred Brooks from the Air Force Research Laboratory. They sat down with John, Steve and Judy. Tim Hetherington was also present. The Electrolev staff sat around stony faced, not sure what to expect. After everybody was assembled and seated in the conference room, Alfred Brooks opened up the meeting. “You are probably aware by now that the product which Electrolev is developing at this location has national defense significance to an extreme degree. This is the reason why we have armed guards posted here 24/7. However, the United States Government is so concerned for the security of this technology and the people who are familiar with it that we are now convinced that two things are necessary:
We wish to place a development contract worth initially one billion dollars with Electrolev for the accelerated development of the LeviStar technology. I believe that you do not have the experience or resource to run such a huge project here, and so we are expecting you to subcontract the work to a team of companies that we shall provide for you. Even to do that you will need to hire some personnel experienced in management of giant projects, just to be able to work with these subcontractors effectively. Your function will be to advise and explain how it works, what is possible and what is impossible. We are still selecting who your subcontractors will be. You can rest assured that they will be chosen from the very best of the US aerospace industry.
As you have already discovered, unfortunately, being in possession of such potent secret technology without appropriate security precautions is personally dangerous for the participants. Normally such projects are classified as secret or top secret, and most people do not know that the project exists, let alone who is working on it. So safety comes from anonymity. We are going to have to get all the staff who actually know what LeviStar technology really is vetted for secret clearance, and instructed in handling secret information. Unfortunately, the outside exposure that has already taken place has “let the cat out of the bag” so to speak, and so it will not suffice to apply secrecy procedures retroactively. Instead what I want to do is to relocate Electrolev to the safety of the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. There you will be free to come and go, but for a few years you, your families and your whole company will live in the security of the base, where there is restricted access. While you are there, some of you principals of the company whose names have appeared in print publicly might like to have new identities for your own protection. We have a very special case with Judy Chen, because she is not a US citizen. But I have a solution for that if you will come and see me privately afterwards, Judy.”
Steve was the first to respond: “There are a lot of details to be worked out – what about people’s families and spouses?”
Alfred Brooks replied: “With a billion dollars to work with you can solve all those problems. The general idea is to make sure that nobody is harmed financially. For example, if spouses have to give up their jobs we should compensate them with the equivalent to what they were earning for a few years, until they can settle into the Alabama community. We may have to make all kinds of special arrangements. You may be aware that the United States did exactly the same thing in 1946 when all the rocket scientists from the Nazi war effort were relocated to Huntsville in very similar circumstances. We are already converting a block of offices in the Redstone Arsenal into apartments for thirty families. The accommodation will be provided completely free to the individuals at taxpayer expense, for about five years. After that it is to be expected that it will be safe for the people to move into regular residential areas around Huntsville. Quite apart from the security aspect, the big attraction of that city is that there are about 2000 scientists and engineers present who already know how to make an aerospace program move as fast as humanly possible. What you will have to do is to sort through the present employees of Electrolev for their level of knowledge and classify them according to how much they know, and therefore how much of a danger their knowledge represents to the USA and to themselves. For example, your receptionist who only knows people’s names may not need to move, but the purchasing person who knows exactly what materials were used to build a flying vehicle will likely need security vetting and to be moved.”
John and Judy were sitting there looking ashen. Steve was fidgeting uncomfortably: “How long have we got?” he asked.
“Well, I would like the security vetting people to start work tomorrow, and I would hope that one month from now everybody who is going to move will have been identified and will be ready to go. Obviously you will use third party relocation services so that people will be able to just walk away from their homes here. Some may need storage facilities, and some may need to buy new furnishings. Everything like this can be provided for. You can get a relocation contractor who will arrange all the details for you. We will have the closing for the contract in one week’s time, by the way.”
After the meeting, Alfred Brooks and James Harper sat down with Judy to talk about her citizenship issue. The problem was that the principals involved in the LeviStar project would all need to have a top secret clearance, which is not available to a non US citizen.
Alfred Brooks began: “Judy, would you like to become a US citizen?”
She replied without hesitation: “You bet I would!”
“Then that simplifies things,” said Alfred. “I propose that I simply recruit you into the United States Air Force as a second Lieutenant at the Los Angeles Air Force base. Your duties will be to do whatever I tell you, and I will tell you to work as the V.P. of Engineering for Electrolev. That will take a few days to put through. Then under executive order 13269, since you are a member of the US armed forces and there is a war on then you are eligible for essentially instantaneous naturalization as a US citizen. That way your path will be clear to get a top secret clearance.”
Chapter 33
The next four weeks were a time that everybody forgot about as quickly as they could because it was not at all a pleasant experience. Instead of thinking about their design work, all the technical staff were constantly preoccupied with the appraisals on their houses, what schools their children would be attending in Huntsville and a myriad of practical details. In Huntsville, at the Redstone Arsenal, a complementary high pressure project was underway as an office block in the Sparkman Center which had only recently been finished was torn apart again and hastily turned into thirty units of on-base apartment housing. A large hangar was being retrofitted with offices and laboratory space for the Electrolev staff to work in. Since the climate in Huntsville was much less benign than that in Long Beach and in any case a huge expansion of the activity was planned, a hundred thousand square feet of air conditioned space was prepared for labs and offices
.
As Colonel James Harper knew more about the project than anybody else, he was promoted to Brigadier General and given authority to manage making the LeviStar project work. He and his wife were among those moved to Huntsville. He was seconded to the Research and Development Evaluation Command at Huntsville, known as RDEC. His first task was to assemble a core group of scientists and engineers to interface between the Electrolev staff and the chosen contractors. He started by sending out a broad agency announcement to all the major candidates for subcontractors. He explained to them that an advanced vehicle capable of near space travel and atmospheric operation was to be developed under conditions of extreme urgency. He described all the relevant areas of expertise – power electronics, airframe construction, battery technology, software and system integration, and requested for suitably qualified individuals with a secret security clearance to volunteer for secondment to RDEC. He chose the most senior and experienced people first, and then used them to help assemble the specialized teams. In most cases a complete group came all together. Jim Lowman from the NSA, who was an SES level manager, helped structure the reporting lines. John and Judy flew in from California twice to brief the group on the new technology.
A Disruptive Invention Page 15