by Ira Tabankin
Everett shrugged his shoulders, “If you don’t want me to know, then I trust you have a reason for me not knowing. Be safe, and I hope to see you soon.”
Kalteck had ordered his AI to communicate with the handful of people he’d already placed nanites in just in case he needed to use humans to carry out some of the darker sides of his plans. Kalteck stood in his ship’s command room, “AI, activate the subjects in Dallas, Texas. Run program alpha one oh seven with a modifier of seven, target Kennedy and then the shooter.”
“Kalteck, the nanites have been programmed. I have checked his travel schedule, he will be traveling to Dallas, where the plan will be activated.”
“What is the date of the activation?”
“November 23, the event will take place while he is in his motorcade.” The AI displayed the President’s motorcade through Dallas and marked where the shooting would take place.
“Acceptable. Execute.”
@@@@@
Everett thought this was going to be a perfect time to take a couple of days off after all Thanksgiving was only a couple of days away. Everett and Liane were enjoying lunch when his radio beeped, he looked at it and thought about ignoring it. Liane said, “Who is it?”
“The base.”
“You might as well call them. Otherwise, they’re bound to send the Air Police looking for their commanding officer who they can’t seem to function without.”
Everett’s face was flushed when he returned to their table. “Let’s go.”
“Why?”
“The President was shot.”
“What are you talking about? What do you mean the President, like in President Kennedy, was shot?”
“Yes, in Dallas a few minutes ago. Every U.S. Military base is placed on alert when this happens. However, due to the type of base I command, we have a little time before I have to report. My deputy has things on the base under control. Let’s finish and then we’ll head home and watch the news before I have to take the shuttle to the base. I will most likely have to spend the night there tonight. We might as well enjoy our time together before things turn crazy.”
Kalteck returned to the base where he was met by Everett. He told Everett, “I have to place a call to your new President.” Kalteck and Everett entered his ship, where he ordered his AI to place a secure call to the White House operator, where he used a top-secret command code to connect a call with the new President. Everett quickly explained to President Johnson why the call was so important.
President Johnson was shocked he hadn’t been read into the program. Kalteck made arrangements to meet with Johnson, who quickly agreed to keep his secret and sign on to the original agreement. Everett sat surprised in the ship’s command room, Everett asked, “How did you manage to get him to agree so quickly?”
“I told you he would be easy to manipulate, let’s go home, I don’t want to spend any more time with him then I have to.”
The meeting with President Johnson went very well, he was happy to learn some secrets about his opponents in Congress. When Everett joined Kalteck in his ship for the return, Everett asked, Where the hell did you get your hands on the command codes?”
“A little trick I learned from your people.”
“What’s next on the agenda?”
“We’ll discuss it when I return.”
“Where are you going now?”
“I believe you can manage the situation while I return to Mars and have a major upgrade done to my ship. I think you’ll be pleased with the results when the nanites are finished with the ship.”
“What are you going to have done to your ship? It seems pretty perfect to me. How long will it take you to return?”
“My AI informed me that we received a series of major updates from a relay station, the drive will be improved as will be my weapons. My ship is also being enlarged. I’ve never had a ship updated, so I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I asked the AI about the upgrade; all he could tell me was a lot depended on the condition of the ship when the nanites got unto the guts of the ship. It could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year. I’m sorry I can’t give you any other timeline. Major upgrades are usually handled in a shipyard, but since I don’t happen to have one in your system, I have to handle it with only the nanites and maybe a robot or two which could take a long time since they have to disassemble the ship before it’s rebuilt.”
“Well, I guess it is what it will be. Do you believe you will be able to work with President Johnson? Do you believe you can trust him?”
“Yes, he is a typical Earthling politician. All he wants is power and wealth. He has some major plans for your people. I don’t agree with any of them, but it’s none of my business what social programs your people have. I’m only concerned with saving your planet so you don’t fall to the enemy who uses the Earth as a new home, thus blocking my people from returning home. If I could tell you anything, it’s look past his words and project the impact of his programs fifty to a hundred years into the future. If you do, you’ll begin to understand the problem with sweeping social programs. Once you give beings things for free, they forget how to work for it and they lose respect for their living areas because they didn’t pay for what they took.
“They will next want everything for free. I’ve seen planets implode when the funds ran out to pay for the massive social programs. Remember, when the majority of a planet’s people demand everything for free, they became lazy. Their governments collapse when they run out of money. Planets reversed their progress, which leads to new wars. I would rather President Johnson was able to look forward instead of attempting to create what I will call sound bites for your media to repeat, making him look like he’s a good man when in fact, he’s evil. He’s creating these programs for power.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No, as a military officer, stay as far from your politics as possible. Since you change Presidents every four or eight years, you need to stand aside, so you’re not caught up in their garbage, or one will terminate your career.”
“Please try to stay in touch.”
“I will. Remember, if you need me, use the comms box I gave you. Everett be safe. Your country, your world is going to enter a phase of massive change.”
“I don’t understand what you mean?”
“You will very soon,” laughed Kalteck.
Chapter 10
As soon as Kalteck landed at the shrine on Mars, the nanites began work. The first thing they built was two androids to handle the large sections of the ship. The androids and nanites then began to disassemble most of the ship and begin changing the drive which was a very dangerous process since it operated on the power generated by matter/antimatter annihilation. The upgrade used smaller amounts of antimatter to generate a higher percentage of matter annihilation, generating an increased amount of energy, which allowed the ship to create a larger wormhole to transverse through. (Einstein wrote that the speed of light could not be broken, however later scientists have projected the speed of light might be able to exceed by generating a wormhole or an intergalactic shortcut. A tunnel through space-time that allows intrepid travelers to hop from star system to star system without ever coming close to the speed of light. Kalteck’s people had learned how to open artificial wormholes which enabled them to cross vast distances of space much quicker than it would have been possible if they were limited to traveling slower than the speed of light. It was how he managed to travel to Earth’s solar system from his current home.)
The upgraded ship would be able to travel at a quicker rate than before. The higher power of the reactor also provided additional energy to the ship’s weapons and shields. Kalteck’s military sent the upgrades through the relay station, a passing ship that traveled through Earth’s system sent the upgrade package to the shrine on Mars. Kalteck’s military wanted him to have his ship upgraded so he’d have a much better chance of fighting any enemy ships he had to fight.
The AI informed Kalt
eck, “The new drive should enable you to travel one light-year in three Earth hours. However, you will only be able to maintain this speed for two days, then you will have to reduce your speed, or the radiation will become too high for the nanites to handle. The excess radiation will require venting, which is something new.”
“Tell me about the new weapons systems.”
“Your shields will be improved. They will be able to deflect 65% additional energy. You will also have a new defensive system called reactive armor. If a ballistic object, missile, or solid rod fired by a railgun slug strikes the revised armor, it will first impact these small rectangles, which will explode outward, thus deflecting the incoming round away from the hull. The downside is, once the small reactive armor explodes, the nanites have to replace it, or a lucky second shot in the same area could damage the hull.
“Your offensive weapons will also be upgraded. The amount of energy carried by your energy weapons will be increased by one hundred percent. Their refresh rate will also be shortened by 83% I am not able to install the rain gun because your orders were not to remove the additional cabins.”
“That is correct. I hope I can make it without the railgun, hold on to the specifications for it and have the nanites manufacture the parts so you can have them installed before the battle happens.”
“I will do so, may I say that is an excellent plan.”
“What else is being updated?”
“The medical suite is being completely upgraded. There have been three upgrades issued for your medical suite since you departed. Most of these are due to the new aliens your people have encountered. There is now a set of medical nanites designed just for humans based on the data you returned to your home world. Since you have decided to share everything with a human, the decision was made to ensure your ship can care for them if one is badly damaged. A human will also be able to be supported in your suspension tubes.”
“Excellent. I am getting very excited about the upgrades. Do you have any news from home?”
“It is being downloaded to your implant.”
“Thank you. Any news from Earth?”
“Their space programs are moving forward, slowly, but both the Soviets and Americans are progressing towards landing a human on their moon. I project one of them will succeed with a landing on their moon by the end of the decade.”
“Excellent news. I didn’t really expect they’d actually make it this far. What else?”
“The war you ignited in their Southeast Asia is growing and consuming resources on both sides. The Americans are not learning how to adapt to guerrilla war. If their military can’t learn how to change, how will they handle hybrid war and then space war? Should I contact General Yahnig and offer him some advice on how his army can defeat their new enemy?”
Kalteck smiled, “No. They have to learn by themselves. If they can’t learn and adapt, then they have no hope of defeating the enemy, and I may decide to return home when my ship is completed.”
“How long do you want to give them before you make up your mind?”
Kalteck looked at a huge mural of how Mars used to look. He then walked one hundred feet to stare at 3D images of the wars. He walked into the virtual reality of the debris from the wars, he smelled the odor of decay, and he saw the suffering all around him. He heard the cries from the wounded and the children looking for their parents and the parents looking for their missing children in the smoking radioactive ruins. He knew most were going to die. No, they had died thousands of years ago.
He replied in a sad, soft voice, “I don’t know. I really don’t. I know I don’t want Earth to become another Mars. Look at what we did to a paradise. The Earthlings have a story called ‘Paradise Lost.’ Looking at the images of our wars, I understand what it must have been like when their angels fought and some were tossed out of heaven and sent to their Hell.”
“You know there is no proof of angels…”
“I know, I believe the story may have been based on legend and old tales of when we visited Earth. We fought a large battle on their planet, we left huge craters behind, most of these filled in and became massive lakes. The story of our battle most likely was told by father to son, and so on, the ancient peoples thought we were from their gods since we descended from the sky. It wouldn’t surprise me if their angels were really us and our battle was seen as the battle between good and bad angels.”
“An interesting thought. I will use some cycles (AIs measure time in computer cycles, they are able to calculate hundreds of times quicker than our latest supercomputers) to consider it.”
“You do that. I will be on level twelve if you need me.”
@@@@@
While Kalteck was away, Everett had been very busy. He had two major aviation projects that needed his assistance, really Kalteck’s assistance. The first was the F111 swing-wing fighter, which was really a better medium bomber than a fighter. Everett reviewed the design for the fiftieth time. One plane for all services, spread the development cost across more planes. This might work for automobiles, but Air Force and Navy planes are very different. The only plane that functioned for both services was the F4. It started as a naval design which the Air Force was so impressed with, they adopted it. This F111 is too large for a carrier, its engines aren’t powerful enough, it’s too heavy, this is a plane designed by committee, one that’s never been on a carrier. Oh well, here goes another Top-Secret memo to McNamara. He still hasn’t learned weapon systems aren’t cars.
He hates me, and this memo will only make him hate me more. I’m recommending in Kalteck’s name the Navy drop the F111. I know they’ll reject my report until they see for themselves that they’ve wasted millions and years we don’t have. The damn military industry has gotten too greedy. They’ve deviated from the plan Kalteck laid out for them; I remember what he told me. When they do this, I’m supposed to bypass them with the next advancements. Teach them a lesson they won’t forget.
I’m extremely proud of the input I had on the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. I never thought a plane that huge could exceed Mach 3 and not only exceed it but cruise at Mach 3. A few years ago, it was a plane in a pulp science fiction story, and now it’s real. Kalteck really outdid himself on this one. I think Kelly Johnson realized he was getting some strange assistance. At least he was smart enough not to ask too many questions where the assistance and knowledge working with titanium came from. Next on the list are ceramics and carbon fiber.
I wish he hadn’t started the damned quagmire which is what Vietnam is turning into. It’s sucking down men like quicksand. I know he set it up to teach us how to adapt to new types of warfare conditions. Unfortunately, he was correct that our senior military officers are trying to fight the last war in a new type of war, which is costing us the losses. Oh, well, back to work.
@@@@@
Kalteck was in meditation on the lower levels of the shrine when the AI broke his concentration, “Kalteck, you have received a message from home. It is marked as most urgent. I could read it to you, I could print it out, or I could transmit it to your neuro implant.”
“Please transmit it to my implant.”
“Sent.”
Kalteck heard a soft ping in his head, alerting him that he received an urgent message that needed his immediate attention. “Attention this message is for Kalteck 208. If you are not Kalteck 208, please delete this message without listening to it. If you are Kalteck 208, please open the message by using your implant to input your grandfathers’ name and rank.”
“My grandfather was Kalteck 206, rank, leader level 2 prime.”
“Accepted. Kalteck 208, the following message was sent from the military council. The fifth fleet has engaged the enemy in the Sirius system. We lost eighteen cruisers. The enemy lost twelve. One of the enemy’s major losses was their command ship which had the enemy’s sector commander and the commander of their largest fleet. In addition to losing their command ship and commander, they also lost the commander’s entire battle staff
and the commanders for their fifteen fleets whom the commander had called to a rare personal conference thinking he would have an easy time fighting our fleet. He wanted to plan their next steps of destroying us when we destroyed his ship.
“Our intelligence department reported there is an internal conflict going on inside their military command for who assumes what rank and who commands which fleet. The Emperor is attempting to hold his remaining senior military staff together while they backstab each other. We plan to strike their major shipyard which orbits the gas giant in their star system labeled Zeta 09X on our maps. If our raid is successful, we believe we will set their plans back by at least fifteen Earth years.
“The bad news is our losses are hard to replace since the enemy destroyed our two largest shipyards. This means we will not be able to replace your ship if you do anything to lose it. When the enemy reorganizes, we can count on them to come at Earth and us with blood in their eyes. We have also discovered the enemy has sent a series of heavily armed destroyers to various sectors. We assume one of them is our home system where you are. We have learned they have entered into a treaty with an unknown race to join the fight. We will update you as we learn more.