by Paul Phipps
Because of the numbers and quite frankly some of the intelligence we’ve developed over the last few years indicate the Human Race has at present an 85% chance that there will be a major conflict that will eliminate close to 98% of all humans living at the time.
We are not going to let that happen if it is at all possible. If you have listened to my Earlier briefings to Admiral Crane or to Captain Johansson and the men he brought aboard the Lucky then you know that this is the first analogue with a Human Population that the Gho’ L’Gamesh has found over two hundred thousand years of exploring the various dimensional Analogues of the Sol System.
Let me make this as clear as possible Mr. President. They explored a total of 15,713 different Universes before they discovered us. And of all those Universes only 20 or so had a version of Earth that was near pristine and inhabitable yet had no Humans on it.
So yes, we ARE going to do our best to keep humanity alive sir.”
And the Verifier glowed a bright blue as long as Admiral Webster spoke. He looked around the room and on the faces of some he saw disbelief. He looked at President Richardson and then pointed to the verifier.
“The ceiling of this room is a bright Chartreuse, The Chairs are covered in a Blue fabric and the table is made out of particle board.”
And as he spoke the verifier turned red then blue and then red again.
“That was a little demonstration for you doubting Thomas’s that the verifier does work.” Admiral Webster said as he looked around again. Then he focused on the President once again. “Next question Sir?”
“How do you propose to protect humanity?” President Richardson said with a mild tone to his voice.
“A good question that deserves a clear answer, Mr. President.” Admiral Webster said with a smile. “Currently we have masked vessels near every known Nuclear Armed missile site and vessel carrying Nuclear Weapons. Not just the United States, EVERY Nation. If the weapons are deployed we will destroy the missiles and/or bombs before they hit their intended targets.”
There was an intake of breath from around the room but not quite a gasp. On some people’s faces there was disbelief on others anger. But on a few there was relief and approval.
“Now Biological Weapons are really what we fear. A missile or a bomb is obvious. But a germ? It could be released anywhere. And it could and probably would spread World Wide before it was detected in its final fatal phase. If we do detect Biological Warfare being conducted we will endeavor to save as many people as we can by evacuating them.
On the other hand, Conventional Warfare? We will not interfere. Millions might die in such conflicts but you won’t destroy the whole race. The TSN is not God and we are not your rulers. If you want to fight among yourselves. Well, have at it. Humans obviously still have a long ways to go before we are fully mature. We won’t stand in the way. We will only intervene if you are trying to wipe yourselves out of existence.”
This was all said in a factual non-aggressive manner.
The President had kept one eye on the verifier the whole time and was astounded that it had glowed and pulsed a blue color as the Admiral had spoken.
“I don’t know what to think of that.” President Richardson finally said slowly.
“Then let me continue, Mr. President.” Admiral pushed the holographic projector to the center of the table. “This is a fairly quick rehash of the various analogues of Earth where we believe the Human Race did NOT commit Racial Suicide. These were destroyed from External to the Solar System threats.”
For the next half hour there were scenes of the Earth that looked like it had been Eaten, Invaded by Insectoids, Von Neumann probes, and in one scene an Earth that had been blown up and was starting to turn into an Asteroid Belt. Admiral Webster stopped the projection at that point. And started to comment on the scene.
“This one was different.” He turned to Commander McAndrews and said. “Commander you were there, please tell us what you found.”
“Certainly Sir.” Commander McAndrews also known as Seeker said in her Scottish Brogue.
She stood up and turned to her left and then her right. Smiled and took a deep breath.
“This particular analogue was the fifth one we visited. As most of you know by now I have several Names. The one I’ve used for most of my existence has been Seeker. When the Gho ‘L’Gamesh was left a floating Hulk in our Home Analogue we, the crew that were still alive that is, knew we weren’t going to survive. So we took a desperate gamble in recording our brain engrams as a way of continuing to live.
It worked, sort of, I don’t remember my first life very well, I remember I was a Sensor Officer, which is how I came to have the name of Seeker. With that being said, we spent the majority of our time being shut down and only being re-activated to do our function and then being shut down again. I did bring a copy of the Gho L’Gamesh’s memory archives with me and by using those memories; I ‘remember’ each analogue that we explored.
This is E00005”, She said looking at the shattered world. “We spent approximately 150 Earth Years exploring both the remains of this version of Earth as well as the rest of the Solar System. This one was a mystery, why did it shatter? We spent time computing the trajectory of each piece and eventually we were able to come up with a model that showed how the planet broke apart.
In doing so we found something that just didn’t add up. The core was missing…. We believed from looking at the model that the planet broke apart. It didn’t explode it just sort of ‘Broke Apart’. We spent time analyzing the moon. After we found it anyway, it was slowly spiraling in toward the sun. In another thousand years or so it would burn up.
There we found several installations. They were built by humans. None survived though, not even by using the Engram recording method that we had used on ourselves. In one of the Installations was an projector that used light though a plastic film to project the images from that film onto a solid surface. In function I believe you could compare it to your own movie projectors that used a celluloid based film.
The record that was on the film was fantastic, unbelievable. We theorized that it was fiction used for some sort of strange entertainment. We were wrong, it was a true record of what had happened to this planet.”
She turned to the Holographic projector and brought up a different scene.
“This is what was on the film in that projector.”
An Earth that everyone could recognize was displayed. There were glints of lights surrounding it that they could assume came from satellites. Large portions of the night side of the Earth glowed with the lights of huge cities. Then an eerie luminous cloud appeared coming into the frame from the right side. It assumed a shape reminiscent of a butterfly only one thousands of miles across. The rear section of the shape penetrated the atmosphere and then the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
It stayed like that as a sort of clock sped up in the lower left of the frame. Then the shape withdrew the rear section and left the same way it had come.
Time passed as portrayed by the clock. Then the planet broke open, it was like watching an insect crawl out of its cocoon and pump it wings full. They watched it give a push off and in the process of doing so the planet started to crumple and just break apart.
“We thought that this was some sort of entertainment, strange though it was to us. Then … we saw that the same thing was happening to the planet sized moons of Jupiter and Saturn.”
The projector showed the same process repeatedly. She finally stopped it. A luminous insect like a butterfly shape was breaking open its cocoon world. Expanding its wings and then flying off into interstellar space.
“We have never seen this again in any of the other analogues we have visited.” She concluded.
“For which we should be very grateful.” Vice President Gruber said softly but in the silence it was as though he were shouting.
“I agree with you, Mr. Vice President.” Commander McAndrews told him. “Because even with the forces we command to
day. I do not believe this particular entity can be stopped.”
“So how would you protect the Human Race if such an entity were to come here?” Secretary of Defense Anderson asked with a slight tone of aggression in his voice.
“We have already constructed large city sized habitats. Mr. Secretary.” Admiral Webster said. “We wouldn’t be able to save everyone but certainly a couple of billion people and hopefully enough of an ecologic DNA Base to rebuild if the opportunity arose.
This is of course just one of many reasons why we are offering transport and assistance in setting up human populations on those Analogues of Earth where the planet is inhabitable but no Human Beings exist.”
“I believe I understand some of your motivations Admiral Webster and yours also Commander McAndrews. I have to ask this question because I am the President of the United States. I am not the Dictator of the United States. What if the Congress decides that they, as the people’s representatives want nothing to do with a Terran Space Navy. Especially one that doesn’t answer to any political entity here on Earth?”
Admiral Webster said very simply and the Verifier indicated that he was telling the truth. “If the Congress of the United States decides that they want nothing to do with us and your administration accedes to this then we will of course honor your decision. We will have no further contacts with your Government.”
“I see, you’ll just walk away?” President Richardson said incredulously.
“No, we just won’t have any further contacts with your Administration.” And the verifier still glowed blue.
“What will you do then?”, The Secretary of State asked.
“It doesn’t matter what we will do, Madame Secretary. We won’t be dealing with your administration any further once you’ve made your decision to break off contact.” Commander McAndrews said with a firm voice.
“Is that a threat I hear?” Secretary of Defense Anderson asked aggressively.
“Why no Secretary Anderson, not at all. We believe in free choice and free will, all real adults do. If you make a decision, you need to live with it. Life for a child is mostly like a game. Once that child grows up and assume the responsibilities of adulthood then they also realize that all decisions have consequences. Some are good, some are not so good and some …. Have negative consequences.” Admiral Webster said to him directly.
“Mr. Secretary Anderson?” President Richardson said sharply.
“Yes, Mr. President?”
“Drop it.” The President said in a flat voice.
The Secretary of Defense stared at The President with incredulity, and then nodded his head.
“I apologize for that question, Admiral Webster.” President Richardson said sincerely.
“Thank you, sir. But no apology is necessary. We consider it just another question on the part of your administration to try and figure us out.”
“Admiral Webster, I have question for you.”, General Owens asked.
“Go ahead, General.”
“I believe I understand why you contacted the Navy instead of my own service. But why did you give them an Aircraft Carrier?” He asked in a slightly hurt tone of voice.
“As you can imagine it was again for many reasons. A demonstration of what we can do in a short amount of time. It’s so big you’ll have a hard time hiding it or denying its existence. And in that vein its existence will protect the Men and Women of Task force 14. They have proof to back up what they saw in the solid tangible evidence of the Epiphany.”
“And yet you are willing to take it away if we tell you that we don’t want anything to do with the Terran Space Navy?”
“Yes we are.”
“Why?” asked the Secretary of State.
“Because The Chinese, the Russians and the Indians have now all had time to get accurate Satellite photos and radar mapping data of Task Force 14 and the Epiphany who is sailing with them. I expect that you will be receiving some sharp diplomatic questioning very soon from them and others.” Admiral Webster said with equanimity.
“You just love coming up with things like that don’t you?” The Secretary of State said as she massaged her temples.
“It might seem like that, but really, that’s what life is. And life throws curve balls on occasion. Would you have preferred having no advance knowledge?”
The Speaker of the House Thomas Paul indicated he had a question to ask of Admiral Webster. The President just waved his hand as an acknowledgement.
“Admiral Webster, if you were in our place what would you be doing after this meeting?”
“Mr. Paul, in your place what would I do? Hmmm, let me think for minute here.”
Admiral Webster/Comspeech Mode: “Well dear one, what do you think?”
Seeker/Comspeech Mode: “I think they are ready for Plan A.”
Admiral Webster/Comspeech Mode: “All right then Plan A it is.”
“If it were me making the decisions, hmmm, I would immediately contact the ambassadors of your allies. Inform them of events. I would then contact the remaining Ambassadors and also inform them. It’s up to you of course how much you want to say.
If you desire we can have a TSN Carrier come down over the Chesapeake Bay where it can be seen clearly from Washington. That is if you feel you need some proof of our existence.”
“Kind of pushing the envelope there aren’t you Admiral Webster?” The Secretary of State asked.
“The question was asked, what would I do, Madame Secretary. What you do is up to you. If you ask for our support you will get it. If you don’t then we will just stay out of the way for now.”
“For now?” Secretary of State Flynn asked.
“Of course for now, if circumstances change though. Well then, how we react to them depends on what occurs.” Stated Admiral Webster
President Richardson looked around the Secure Conference Room, nodded to himself and then said. “Admiral Webster, Commander McAndrews I want to thank you and most sincerely at that for coming here to meet us on such short notice. I think that now we here need to discuss this freely and come to a decision we can live with.
So with that ahead of us, it’s time to get to work. Is there a way of contacting you quickly?”
“We can leave you a communicator or you can contact us via the Epiphany. For the next week we will stay near Earth so that we can be available to you on short notice. Will that be satisfactory?” Admiral Webster asked.
“Yes that will be quite satisfactory. Please leave a communicator here. I’m not sure yet who I will assign to keep it. Maybe I’ll get a volunteer?” he said with a slight chuckle.
And with that the two TSN officers rose from their chairs and headed for the exit. Admiral Caparelli also stood up.
“Mr. President if you don’t mind I would like to escort Admiral Webster and Commander McAndrews out.”
“Certainly Admiral, I’m sure we will still be talking when you get back.” President Richardson said with a smile.
The three officers were quiet as they walked down the halls where attentive Soldiers and Marines stood at their posts. Soon though they were outside and walking toward the Helipad. Admiral Caparelli asked a question quietly to Admiral Webster and Commander McAndrews.
“What do you expect them to decide to do?”
“We are hoping that they will want to continue talks and eventually come up with a partnership with us.” Commander McAndrews said.
“And if they don’t? What if they decide to tell me to take my men and women off of the Epiphany?”
“We will do exactly as they want. However if anyone wants to enlist with us after their hitch is up? Well, we would be happy to talk to them and take them on if they can pass the entrance exams.” Admiral Webster stated.
“That’s good to hear. I may be approaching you for a job soon.” He laughed a small laugh.
“You would be welcome to our ranks, Admiral Caparelli.” Commander McAndrews stated simply. “Now here are two communicators.” She said opening her bri
efcase and pulling out two simple looking devices that resembled an old style flip phone.
“In one week there will be two new web sites up. It will be TerranSpaceNavy.ORG and TSN.ORG.” She said with a smile and then turned to the helipad as once again the stairway appeared. “Take care Admiral, keep in contact.” Then she and Admiral Webster left him at the helipad and went up the stairs and then disappeared.
Admiral Caparelli smiled to himself and stood there for a minute or so thinking and then made his back inside. It promised to be a very, very long evening.