The starchild compact, p.35
The Starchild Compact, page 35
Five minutes later someone tried to topple the Washington Monument.
#
After receiving a detailed report from Rod, Jon did his best to explain the situation to the Founders. "Apparently, the Caliphate has sleeper cells located around the world, ready to be activated on the whim of the Caliph."
"Do you think they have all been activated?" Arpachshad asked.
"It's possible, but there have not been any other sleeper attacks since Washington and that was nearly a half-hour ago."
"Where do the sleeper orders come from?" Eber asked.
Jon queried Rod, but his link communication was interrupted. "This is the National Security Advisor. You'll be dealing directly with me from now on. To answer your question, we believe the orders come directly from Teheran." He paused while his image appeared to be listening to something off camera. "Your friends need to stand down while we sort things out. It's getting pretty confusing and messy down here."
#
Saeed continued to whimper in pain as Lud dressed his bleeding stump. Vesta cradled his head and asked quietly while her Link translator put her words into English, "Why? What did we ever do to you? We are your ancestors – why do you hate us?"
Saeed recoiled from her, gathered his strength, and spit in her face. "Infidel…Satan's spawn," he growled through his pain. This arrogant female and her companions were spoiling everything. Saeed had been so sure of Allah's path, so certain that this Jihad was Allah's will. Only very powerful forces could challenge the chosen path, and while they might succeed temporarily, Allah would never allow them to prevail.
Saeed spied the fallen dagger on the deck beyond the blasphemous female, near his severed hand. Whispering the words from the holy Qur'an: "Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him we shall bestow a vast reward," Saeed lunged for the dagger with every bit of his remaining strength.
The words "Allahu Akbar!" strangled on his lips as Arpachshad slammed the butt of his sword into the back of Saeed's head.
#
Eber was having significant difficulty understanding the pure evil that Saeed represented. He looked at Ari. "Can you explain what drives such a man?'
Ari shook his head. "We have been asking the same question for several hundred years, if not a thousand or more." He reached into his satchel, coming up with an extra belt and some plastic ties. "Let's make sure the little bastard can't try anything else." He tied Saeed's left hand and both feet together, and then used the belt to secure him to a stanchion. "Although many Muslims are peaceful, decent people, there appears to be an undercurrent of violence that stems from a strict interpretation of their holy book by Imams – that is, ordained religious teachers and leaders – who broadcast their views every week in mosques across the planet. So long as the Imams continue this, the Islamic world will be ruled by violence and chaos. There are many in my country who believe the only way to stop Islamic violence is to eliminate the leaders who espouse the violence."
"And that is much easier to say than to do," Jon added.
Eber pondered the implications of what he had just heard. So long as Muslim Imams continued to teach violence, the mindless violence would continue, and Israel would be under imminent threat of destruction. Although he was unschooled in the subtleties of both diplomacy and war, one thing was clear to him. In the short-term the only way to stop the violence was to eliminate the teachers of violence within Islam, and in the long-term, he could see no solution but to eliminate the religion altogether. He made a mental note to discuss these things with Jon later, and then brought his focus to the moment.
"Jon, it looks like a general order to the sleeper cells has not gone out," Eber said.
"I agree, but it's only a matter of time before it happens. Two times now, we've been lucky. The Eifel Tower and Washington Monument both still stand, although the Eifel Towed did sustain some superficial damage." Jon queried the National Security Advisor: "What is the likelihood that some sleeper cells are sitting on small nukes?"
"It's possible. When Pakistan was incorporated into the Caliphate, an unknown number of nuclear warheads fell into the Caliph's hands. We have been unable to account for at least a dozen of the warheads."
Eber listened to the exchange with total astonishment. "You don't have neutrino detectors?"
"Well…yes, but what do you mean?"
"I mean that nuclear bombs are a source of concentrated neutrinos. They stand out like bright spots against the general neutrino background. So are nuclear reactors, but the ratio of the three neutrinos and their anti-neutrinos are different for reactors than for bombs. Look, I'll show you." Eber gave the Resident some instructions, and one of the monitors displayed a regional image of several hundred square kilometers around Teheran. Four clusters of bright spots appeared on the image. Upon Eber's instruction, the image expanded so that the clusters became separate spots. "Those," Eber said, "are nuclear bombs."
Chapter 31
"So you're telling me that these Founder friends of yours took out all but the first few missiles launched toward Israel, and then they destroyed the launch sites?" The National Security Advisor's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "And just how did they do that? With ray guns?"
"Actually," Jon answered quietly, "yes, they used ray guns – sort of." He proceeded to explain how it went down, ending with a description of the neutrino bomb detector.
"So, now you're telling me that these guys can pinpoint every atom bomb on the planet?" The National Security Advisor's voice carried more incredulity than sarcasm this time.
"Basically, yes. Right now, they're sympathetic with our side in this, although they have expressed a willingness to step in only to protect Israel."
"So, they've taken sides already?"
"Not really. They are outraged by the anti-Israeli attitude from the Caliphate, and stepped in when it became apparent that the Israeli position was hopeless. As I said, right now they favor us – they are predisposed to stop the Caliphate's actions, if necessary.
"I introduced the Founders to our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Although I have received no feedback yet, I can tell that the Founders are impressed by our framework. They are way too sophisticated to believe that we really represent the image in those documents, but they seem predisposed to give us the benefit of the doubt." Jon held up his hand when the National Security Advisor started to interrupt him. "So long as we don't do something stupid – and that's a big if – I think the Founders will come down on our side in any confrontation."
"What do you mean 'a big if'?"
"Sir!" Jon was growing tired of the National Security Advisor's officiousness. "I'm a guest on an interstellar craft that just traveled from Saturn to the Earth in a fraction of a second, and that just nullified virtually the entire Caliphate missile armament. Do you really want to piss these guys off?"
Jon's Link image blanked, but the connection remained open. The extended silence was deafening. Eber smiled at Jon and gave him a thumb's-up sign. Jon wondered if the sign was historically universal, or if Eber had learned it from one of his crew. Nevertheless, he grinned back. The Link image shimmered; the face that now appeared in the holoimage was Marc Bowles, the President of the United States. Jon came to attention.
"At ease, Captain Stock." The President's voice was calm and his demeanor appeared relaxed.
"Yes Sir!" Jon relaxed and motioned for Eber to join him. "Mr. President, this is Eber, the leader of the Founders, and, for all practical purposes, their spokesman."
"How do you do, Sir?" The President nodded with a slight smile.
"Thank you, Mr. President," Eber answered, taking his cue from Jon.
"I want to thank you, cautiously, for your intervention against the recent unprovoked attack on Israel by the Persian Caliphate." The President paused for a moment, but it was clear that he had more to say. "I understand that you have technological capabilities that significantly exceed ours, and…" a small smile escaped the President's lips, "…that should we misbehave from your perspective, you have the ability to teach us a stern lesson." The President paused again. "Although I am the President of the United States, I am certain that I speak for all our allies when I say to you that we are a peaceful people who seek peaceful solutions when we disagree. I imply absolutely nothing about your intentions, and I presume that your motivations are righteous. Nevertheless, you must understand that we will never submit to intimidation or threat."
"Mr. President, for my fellow clan members, my family, I accept your gratitude."
For a non-diplomat, he's sounding pretty good! Jon thought as he listened to the conversation.
"Furthermore, Mr. President, you should know that my people, the people of Ectaris, who came to this solar system so very long ago, had lived on our home planet for nearly two thousand years without war. We learned long ago to solve our problems peacefully, and will so continue now. As with your people, Mr. President, we will not be intimidated, and will do whatever is necessary to protect our families, our homes, and our way of life.
"Having said that, Jon – er…Captain Stock – introduced me to your founding documents. I am most impressed, Sir, with both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Your basic values and ours are very similar, so that we feel a kinship not unlike that we feel with the Israelis."
The President smiled broadly. "I am gladdened by your comments, Eber – since you offered no titles, I will address you thus."
Eber nodded acquiescence.
"As you have seen, we – you and us – have a looming problem. Your presence and the facts of your existence triggered the Caliphate preemptive attack."
Eber started to say something, but the President held up his hand. "A moment, please!" Eber stood silently with a polite nod.
"There is no way you could be held responsible for what the Persian Caliphate did, and what it attempted to do. In fact, you deserve the highest praise for taking what actions you did to stabilize the situation. We are all in your debt. Unfortunately, the problem still continues. As you saw, the Caliphate activated two sleeper cells in an aborted attempt to topple both the Eifel Tower and the Washington Monument. There are countless numbers of other cells. My intelligence sources tell me that many of these cells have a nuclear bomb that they will detonate when so ordered. This will cause the loss of millions of innocent lives – and there is nothing we, the United States and its allies – can do about it." The President paused again, his face grave with genuine worry.
"We can do nothing," he continued, "but you can. I appeal to you in the name of everything that is fine and good in this Universe, do what you must to stop these nuclear bombs from detonating! We can ferret out and eventually stop the non nuclear cells, but we need your help to stop a worldwide nuclear holocaust." The President's face said he was done talking.
Jon muted his link and looked at Eber. "Can you do it?"
"Sure. There will be consequences: civilian casualties near the sites, some radioactivity, unpredictable consequences, even. This is something I know how to do, but have never done. These bombs are located in population centers, right? An anti-matter blast would cause as much damage as a nuclear blast."
"All you need," Ari piped up, "is to disrupt the firing mechanism a bit. Without exact precision, these bombs will not detonate. You can focus the neutrino beam so that it will just blow apart the mechanism without any further detonations, right?"
"In principle, yes. There won't be an explosion; it just won't detonate any more."
Jon unmuted his Link. "Mr. President, I think we have a possible solution to this problem." He then outlined what he had discussed with Eber, and finished by saying, "Once we have neutralized all the nuclear bombs, we can pinpoint their locations so you can have cleanup teams take care of what is left."
"One more thing," the President said. "Eber, may I speak with you again?"
Eber acknowledged, and the President continued, "Well over a hundred years ago the World was embroiled in what we now call the Second World War. Three nations ruled by despots attacked the United States and its allies, which consisted of most of the remainder of the World. Ultimately, the Allies prevailed. We did not allow the enemy nations to negotiate anything. We required, and eventually got, absolute, unconditional surrender. After trial and punishment of those who actually started and waged the war, we rebuilt those countries so that, today, they form vital parts of our global alliance.
"We harbor no ill will toward the innocent people who live under the iron rule of the Caliph. We recognize that they will need reeducation and redirection, but believe they can become valuable, contributing members of the global community.
"I am saying that we need to force the Persian Caliphate into an unconditional surrender. Its leaders must be brought to justice, and its peoples freed from the harsh control of the despotic religion that rules their lives."
"Mr. President, we will immediately commence the identification and destruction of every isolated nuclear bomb on the planet. But we know from our initial analysis that virtually every major nation on Earth possesses a nuclear arsenal. We will assume that an isolated bomb is terrorist related and needs to be destroyed, but will leave untouched – for the time being – all bombs grouped together. Those weapons we will leave for a future discussion." Eber stepped to the console to commence the operation.
"Captain Stock," the President said.
"Yes Sir!"
"I herewith accept your retirement request from the Navy with the permanent rank of Vice Admiral, and appoint you as Ambassador-at-Large to represent the United States and its allies to the Founders. You will assume your post immediately, and have the broadest powers to negotiate treaties, commit this country and its allies to agreements with the Founders, and to interact in whatever way seems, in your opinion, to serve the best interests of the United States and its allies."
"Uh…Mr. President…"
"Raise your right hand!" the President ordered.
#
Eber was more than a little amused by Jon's demeanor before the President. He had to admit to himself, however, that the President was impressive. He seemed to exude an aura of authority without seeming to flaunt it. He almost came across as humble – as a man who served, and who took the responsibility of his job seriously.
The first thing he did was to brief the rest of the family on what had happened. Most of them had followed the conversation with their Link translators, but he wanted to be sure everyone knew that came next.
"Asshur, you and Aram please set up the particle beam to the lowest possible detonation, and rig the neutrino beam for a soft focus of thirty cubits." The Link translator called this twenty meters.
Eber entered a set of instructions for the Resident, and then stepped back to watch the action. The Resident set up a complicated series of polar circumnavigations that gave Merkavah a one hundred percent sweep of every landmass on Earth over a five-minute period. The neutrino detector mapped the individual bombs on the fly, and immediately thereafter the neutrino beam hit the location, silently, invisibly, and with deadly efficiency.
Eber looked at Jon. "I have the bomb site locations. They're on your Link."
#
Rod had not communicated with Jon since the National Security Advisor had peremptorily replaced him. He was, therefore, more than a little surprised when his Link announced a secure call from the White House. He was even more surprised when the caller turned out to be, not the National Security Advisor, but the President himself. Rod straightened in his chair and pushed some paperwork out of range of the Link pickup.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Zakes." The President's voice was pleasant, with the slightest hint of his mid-west origins. His eyes twinkled with amusement at Rod's obvious consternation upon receiving a personal call from the most powerful man on Earth. "I hope I haven't caught you at an inconvenient time?"
"N…n…no, Sir! You have my full attention." I didn't really say that to the President, did I? Rod thought.
"Glad to hear it…I know you've been pretty busy. From where I sit, you've pulled the bacon from the fire several times during this historic voyage." The President paused, smiling quietly. "This administration needs men like you, Rod…I'm not suggesting you leave your position as Mission Director. Obviously, Captain Stock and his crew depend on you, and clearly you have developed a close relationship with the Captain. I would like you to assume an additional role with a related job description: U.S. Liaison for Extraterrestrial Matters – LEM for short – with full ambassadorial rank and privileges. Your primary contact will be Ambassador Jon Stock – yes, he's been promoted (well, retired as an Admiral, and promoted to Ambassador-at-Large to represent the United States and its allies to the Founders) – and you will report directly to me.
"Do you have any questions?"
"A million, Sir, but they can wait. I'm honored that you think I have what it will take for this job."
"Nonsense! You possess brass cojones and excellent judgment – just what I need." The President stood up and approached his Link pickup so that his face appeared larger than life in the air above Rod's desk.
"Rod Zakes…Stand and raise your right hand…"
#
The Ayatollah sat in his throne-like chair on the raised dais centered in his meeting chamber. Arrayed before him on the intricately tiled floor, his counsel of advisors did their individual best to keep as far away from him as possible. The Caliph had just been informed that, apparently, every one of his carefully positioned nuclear devices had somehow been put out of commission.
"How can this happen?" he screamed. "One of you fools tell me!"
His wizened science advisor sat cross-legged on the floor to his left. His Master's eyes burned into his soul. He leaned forward to place his forehead on the cool tiles.
"Sahib – we believe it was the Infidel Founders who did this. We do not know how, Blessed One, but it happened within a five minute period all across the globe."
The Caliph turned to his Senior Advisor, directly on the floor in front of him. The old man touched his forehead to the floor and then rose to his knees, head bowed.
