Battleship

THE HIMALAYAS

Doctor Nogrady had fantasized about moments like this. The notion of being face-to-face with high-ranking officials, and their hanging on his every word. Being accorded the importance that he felt a scientist of his status and achievement was due.

Never had he dreamed, even in his wildest imaginings, the circumstances that would lead him to this “achievement.” His mind flew back to the conversation he’d had with Cal Zapata about being wary over what you wish for, since you might well get it.

Zapata. Zapata, with whom they’d lost contact, along with the entire Honolulu base. Have they taken it over already? Have they destroyed it? And are we next?

He returned his attention to the image of the Secretary of Defense on the viewscreen in front of him. “And what,” the Secretary was saying, “is the update of the fragment that crashed in China?”

“Scientists have been scouring the debris field,” Nogrady said, consulting the latest updates. “And the pieces they’re recovering suggest they were designed for multi-spectrum data transmission across every electromagnetic wavelength from visible to x-ray.”

The Secretary nodded. Apparently he understood. Nogrady was impressed.

“What does that mean?” asked the Secretary.

Nogrady was less impressed.

Normally Chinese scientists weren’t quite so forthcoming with information they gathered, particularly with findings on their own shores. The Chinese government was relentlessly territorial with such things. But the Beacon Project was an international endeavor and all the scientists involved were sharing up everything they learned, whether the governments liked it or not. “It is the strong belief of the Chinese,” Nogrady said, “that what crashed down in Hong Kong was some sort of communications ship.”

“You’re saying a flying telephone cratered and took out two hundred and fifty people?”

“Like most death tolls, I’m sure that number will increase exponentially as they find bodies. My point is, what I’m saying is that our visitors appear extraordinarily concerned with establishing a line of communication home.”

“But if they lost their ship, how can they do that?”

“The same way we did. Our communication station on Hawaii has the ability to send a message to deep space through our LANDSAT 7 satellite. I believe it’s for that asset that they’ve domed the islands.”

“So if we can’t get into Hawaii, why don’t we just take out the satellite?” The question wasn’t being directed to Nogrady. There was doubtless some general or other army officer sitting just out of sight in whatever secured bunker they were communicating from. Maybe the Situation Room, maybe the Pentagon. It wasn’t Nogrady’s business to know; just provide information.

From nearby the Secretary, a gruff voice said, “Well, sir, that’s orbiting seventy-eight thousand miles out. We don’t have a weapon in our arsenal we can launch that distance at a moving target and be assured of hitting it. In fact, I can almost guarantee we won’t. It could take weeks of trial and error for our weapon to reach it.”

“Do we have a… I don’t know… some sort of self-destruct button we can push and just blow up the satellite from here?”

Nogrady didn’t quite trust himself to answer that question. Fortunately enough the unseen general did it for him. “Mr. Secretary,” and he was clearly trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice, “we’re not talking about a spy plane. We don’t build self-destruct mechanisms into everything.”

“Well, assuming we survive, we should look into that.”

“I’ll get right on it, Mr. Secretary.”

The Secretary shifted his attention back to Nogrady. “Speaking of survival… what happens if they establish communications?”

“Based upon the destruction we’ve seen them uncaringly rain down upon us…” He paused and then said, “In scientific terms: we’re looking at an ELE, an extinction level event.”

“Less scientific terms?”

“We’re history,” said Nogrady.

If Calvin is alive, thought Nogrady as he watched the Secretary of Defense contemplate the end of mankind’s time on this planet, then he’s doubtlessly coming to these same conclusions. At least he’s in a position to do something about it.

Although I wouldn’t hold my breath.