Jack fished a bottle out of his pocket. “Just a multi-vitamin, same stuff you used to be able to get anywhere.”
Laura frowned. “I don’t know, it just seems helpless. There’s so much going on at work, we can barely monitor things. I heard they’re going to bring some of the ships back from New Guinea because they’re afraid of an attack here.”
“I think they’re worried about Hawaii.”
“Oh my God, you know what? I heard General Bailey mention Hawaii when he was on the phone. You really think there’s a chance of an attack?”
“You never know about China. They’re in worse shape than we are, but politicians the world over all love a distraction to get their people thinking of something other than the mess they created.”
“But we’d win, right?”
Jack shrugged. “Under normal circumstances, probably, but there’s nothing normal anymore.”
“I know, you remember Nancy? She’s married to Jeremy, who’s like fourth in command here.”
“Short brown hair, used to be kinda chunky?”
“Yeah, that’s her. Anyway, she told me that Jeremey’s brother’s wife is a research scientist, works with insects. I forget what they call them.”
“Pretty sure they’re called entomologists.”
“Yeah, I think so, but anyway, she said the government was working on something top secret—something to do with mosquitos.”
“Mosquitos? With all the crap going on, they’re screwing around with bugs? I mean, geez.” Jack shook his head as the lights dimmed and went dark before coming back on.
“We’re on generator power again.”
***
Jack threaded his way through the crowded sidewalk and into the lobby of New York’s Grand Hyatt. The Grand Central hotel was the site for this year’s Astronomy and Space Expo, and Jack enjoyed covering the event.
Jack slipped into a conference room where a roundtable discussion on magnetic fields and gravity was underway. He recognized Dr. Ricci as one of the panelists, though he was no longer muscular. Jack tried to make sense of the discussion, which was peppered with scientific phrases and equations.
He was about to give up when Dr. Ricci stated that the magnetic field around Earth was a protective force. Ricci explained that the geomagnetic force emanated from Earth’s core and extended all the way into space, where it met the solar wind. Jack had no idea what the solar wind was, other than surmising it was a hot wind from the sun.
Ricci continued to stress the importance of Earth’s ozone layer in keeping the solar wind from affecting Earth. Jack assumed it was more echoing of the warnings other scientists had made regarding the warming of the Earth and lost interest in the discussion.
He was checking the schedule of events when he heard another panelist say that he believed that both the cosmic waves and the solar wind affected the power of probes. Dr. Ricci agreed, saying the evidence showed that the solar wind and cosmic waves had an almost debilitating effect on probes as they were bombarded with highly charged particles. He referenced the Mars spacecraft whose systems had stopped working until it made it back to Earth.
Jack found that interesting and, after the room emptied, went up to the Adler astronomer.
“I have to say I enjoyed your discussion, the parts I could follow anyway.” Jack smiled. “I’d like to ask you some questions about what you were talking about.”
“Sure, fire away.”
“You mentioned the solar wind, and I want to clarify if that is a wind of heat coming from the sun.”
“Not quite. What we refer to as the solar wind is not really a wind but a stream of charged particles coming out of the sun’s corona. These particles, mostly electrons and protons, travel quickly, to say the least, about a thousand kilometers a second.”
“Is that faster than the speed of light?”
“No, but they move at a speed close to that.”
“And you said the Earth’s magnetic field protects us from these particles?”
“Yes, you see, when the solar wind intersects with a planet’s magnetic field the particles are deflected by the Lorentz Force.”
“What kinda force is that?”
Ricci smiled. “Now we’re going to be getting into the weeds a bit.”
“That’s okay, just keep it as simple as you can. I really find this fascinating.”
“Let’s say it’s an equation that accounts for the speed and electrical charge of a particle when it hits the magnetic field, causing them to travel around Earth rather than bombarding the surface, which would be disastrous.”
“So these particles are dangerous?”
“Absolutely. Besides the electrical charge they carry, they also emit high doses of radiation.”
“How high up is the Earth’s magnetic field?”
“It starts about seven hundred miles above Earth and extends for about twenty thousand miles into space.”
“Wow, it’s like the Earth has a thick helmet on.”
“If you prefer to think of it that way.”
“Uh, I like to find ways to explain things to our readers.”
“I see how that can helpful. These are complicated subjects.”
“This may sound crazy, but do you think any of this energy, and it is energy that these particulars have, right?”
Ricci nodded.
“So is it possible that Remedy’s power is some form of an electrical thing?”
“I highly doubt it is electric, though its power, as you say, is clearly an energy force of some kind.”
“Do you believe there is life out there somewhere?”
“There’s no question. The probabilities are simply too high.” Ricci checked his watch. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to miss the presentation from Dr. Bernard.”
“Thanks for your time, Doc. I don’t know how I’m going to use this, but if I do, I’ll be sure to quote you.”
***
Jack popped into two other seminars before meeting Professor Stringer in the lobby.
“Professor, you haven’t changed a bit since that first time up at St. Ambrose.”
“You’re kind, Jack. You look good, if a bit too thin.”
“Who isn’t these days? I remember that day up in your Davenport lab like it was yesterday. I mean, who would’ve thought nothing was ever going to be the same?”
Stringer shook his head. “Impossible to predict.”
“But you know, you had an inkling. I remember you saying there were some elements you couldn’t identify.”
“Sure, but I thought we just needed more research to understand where they came from.”
“So tell me, what are you up to since we met last year?”
“You mean you haven’t been reading my papers on black holes?” Stringer laughed.
“So what exactly are black holes? I remember you saying they were collapsed stars.”
“Yes, near the end of their life, massive stars reach a point where the fuel they have left is not sufficient to maintain the high temperatures needed to build the pressure to resist their own gravitational force, so they collapse into themselves.”
Jack scrunched his face.
“It’s a difficult concept to grasp. The heat a star generates produces a tremendous amount of pressure. That pressure counterbalances the star’s own gravity force. And when a star gets old, it produces less heat and, by default, pressure. The reduced pressure is overcome by the star’s gravitational pull, causing it to collapse.”
“I think I got it now. So these collapsed stars, are they really gateways into other universes?”
“Well, some think they may be entry points to other galaxies, but I’m not in that camp.”
“Oh?”
“It may just be that the failure of light to escape the gravitational pull of these holes makes seeing what is beyond them impossible.”
“In other words, it’s like a window painted black?”
Stringer laughed. “You always had a unique way of putt
ing things, Jack. But, yes, these collapsed stars have enormous gravitational pull, and it is my belief, and I’m far from alone on this, that this pull is so strong that even light cannot escape it.”
They chatted until the professor had to attend an organizational meeting. Jack bounced in and out of various sessions, deciding to write an article to give readers an overview of the Space Expo.
***
Jack waited by the entrance to the barrack where Laura worked. When she emerged with a group of co-workers, she knew something was wrong.
“What’s the matter, Jack?”
He cocked his head toward the barracks where they lived, and as they started walking he said, “It’s a real mess. We’re in trouble.”
“Who’s we? Me and you?”
He nodded as he drew his lips in. “Garland said he’d kick us off the base if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
“What’s changed?”
“Everything.” He lowered his voice. “They’re planning to kill millions of Americans each month.”
Laura’s head jerked back. “What? Who’s going to kill them?”
“The government. You remember telling me about that woman who worked at the CDC who said they were doing something secretive with mosquitos?”
Laura nodded.
“Well, that something is a crazy plot to infect mosquitos with a deadly virus and release them, killing millions of people to reduce the population.”
“But that’s crazy.”
“That’s what I told Garland. He’s such a prick.”
“Jack!”
“Sorry, but he’s such an a-hole. I know this plan is his, it has to be.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yeah, Garland even had the frigging nerve to ask me to write a couple of pieces before the release, saying that the Russians were doing it and there was evidence they would try to use it against us!”
“Hold on. Start from the beginning and calm down.”
“Okay, so Garland called me about a story he wanted about how hard the president and his administration were working, the usual BS, and he said something about a new initiative they were funding on agriculture, and I was kinda getting tired of all the propaganda, and I said it’s good you’re working on something bigger than mosquitos. When I said that, he went silent for a second, then he asked how’d I know about it? I was kinda dodgy. I knew I’d hit on something, so I just said I have a lot of sources, but I’d love to hear about it. It felt it was going to be big so I recorded it.”
“You recorded it?”
Yeah, kinda like an insurance policy.”
“So what’d he say?”
“That the government had modified mosquito genes to deliver a deadly virus and that they planned to release up to five million of the assassins each month.”
“He said assassins?”
He shook his head. “Nah, but that’s what they are.”
“But how can they control them. I mean, five million deadly mosquitos could get out of hand. If they bit five people each, that’d be twenty-five million . . .”
“If you can believe it, they monkeyed with the mosquitos’ DNA so they’d self-destruct after biting.” He wagged his head. “I guess the government clowns, who can’t get anything right, found their calling—killing their own citizens.”
Jack finished explaining the rest of the plan, then said, “I was stunned—shocked—I didn’t know what to say. Then that pompous ass asks me to help cover it up and I lost it. I told him not only would I not help, but I would get the word out about his sinister plot to kill Americans.”
“What did he say?”
“He blew a gasket. All the stuff I’ve been through with Garland, he never really lost it, but right away he threatened me. Said he’d kick our asses out of here and couldn’t give a crap about what happened to us.”
The color drained out of Laura’s face. “He said that?”
Jack nodded. “I know, it’s tough to believe.”
“Maybe he’s under a lot of pressure . . .”
“That’s bull, Laura. If they’re gonna kill millions of Americans, you think they give a rat’s ass about us?”
“But Jack, we can’t leave the base. We have nowhere to go. How’re we going to find a place to live? We’ll be on the streets. We’ll never survive . . .”
“Take it easy. You don’t think I didn’t think about all this?”
“Oh, Jack, what are we going to do?”
“Only two choices—protect ourselves by selling what’s left of my integrity to help cover up their despicable plan, or spread the word and fend for ourselves out there.” Jack pointed to the road that led out of the base.
“How much time we got?”
“Couple of days, max.”
Chapter Forty-Five
There was a rapid knock on the door, interrupting another of Garland’s strategy sessions with the president. When the door swung open, the stone-faced Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff filled the doorway.
“Excuse me, sir, but this is an emergency.”
Garland waved the nation’s highest-ranking military officer into the room.
The president shifted in his chair. “Have a seat, Frank.”
“Thank you, sir, but I’ll stand. This will be brief.”
Garland asked, “What’s the problem, Frank?”
“The Chinese have invaded Papua New Guinea, sir.”
The president said, “God damn them bastards.”
Garland said, “What do we know?”
“The fleet that the PLA had sitting there moved against the islands as soon as our deterrent forces arrived back in Pearl Harbor. At the moment, we’re monitoring a contingent of commercial vessels, ostensibly to transport and or process the citizenry, which are en route from Australia. Communications have been shut down, but satellite feeds confirm the People’s Liberation Army quickly overwhelmed New Guinea’s meager security forces, with limited bloodshed.”
Garland asked, “Don’t they have a security agreement with the Aussies?”
“Yes, sir. However, PACOM has confirmed that Australia’s minister of defense has advised the prime minister not to act as it would impede their ability to protect their homeland.”
“We were no better,” the president mumbled.
“Excuse me, sir?”
“I was asking about Hawaii. How confident are we that we can repel any attempt by the Chinese to take the islands?”
“That would depend on the force they’d attack with, but I’m reasonably certain we’d be in a good position to defend the islands. Though we have to keep in mind they’re twenty-five hundred miles from Los Angeles, which could make air defense problematic.”
“Do you see any reason to take any protective action at this time, Frank?”
“We’ll keep our eyes and ears on it, but I’m reasonably comfortable with the islands’ defense formation.”
Garland said, “Anything else, Mr. Chairman?”
“No, sir.”
The president thanked the chairman as he marched out.
Garland leaned an elbow on the armchair and pawed his chin, saying, “Didn’t think this through, but what about releasing the mosquitos over Hawaii? There’s a couple million people out there. It’s costly to keep them supplied, and we’d be able to bring the fleet in to protect—”
“Have you lost your mind, Pete? The Hawaiian Islands are not only militarily strategic, but the abandonment or loss of a state, an iconic one, no less, would devastate the morale of all Americans.”
“Maybe. Most Americans like Hawaii but don’t really think it’s America.”
“Look, we’re not abandoning the islands, so let’s move on.”
“Sorry, sir, like I said, I didn’t think it through.”
The president said, “So you’re absolutely certain there’s nothing that’s going to connect this bug thing to me?”
“Not one scintilla.”
“What about cover?”
&nbs
p; “We’ll pin it on the Russians and the Chinese. I’m going to get a few advance articles planted pointing to them.”
The president nodded. “When’s all this going to happen?”
“I’d rather not have you know exactly.”
“Gimme a rough idea.”
“I’d really rather it be a genuine surprise, sir.”
The president glared at Garland, who caved. “A week or two.”
***
Jack tossed the blanket off the bed, waking Laura.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s too hot.”
“Hot? It’s freezing in here.”
“I can’t sleep. I keep trying to think of a way out of this mess.” Jack got out of bed and covered his wife.
“I know, honey, I’m scared. Whatever you decide, to help them or not, I’ll support you.”
“Thanks. Look, go back to sleep. I’m gonna go for a walk.”
Jack pulled on a jacket as he made his way past other sleeping quarters to the door. He shuddered as the January air hit him and zipped his jacket. Jack plunged his hands into his pockets and glanced side to side. He spied an apostrophe of a moon hanging to the right and headed in its direction.
Jack walked past a steady stream of people he assumed were heading for their shifts. He quickened his pace as he approached the barracks that the president and his staff called home. Sidewalk cordoned off, Jack stepped into the street as he acknowledged the dozen soldiers standing guard.
The sight of soldiers protecting a building inside a heavily fortified military base raised an alarm bell. Jack doubled back and asked a soldier what was going on and was told there was a credible threat that China was going to launch an electromagnetic pulse attack against the United States. Jack broke into a trot as the base began to stir.
***
“Laura, get up!”
“What’s the matter?”
“China’s launching some kind of electrical attack against us.”
“Oh my God. What’s going to happen?”
Jack tapped away at his keyboard. “I think it disables all the computers and systems. Here it is, it’s called an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP for short.”
The Final Enemy Page 26