Newton's Ark (The Emulation Trilogy)

by D. A. Hill

  “I don’t envy your situation Mr. President. It must be very difficult, even when you know what you are doing is absolutely necessary.”

  “As one of my predecessors famously said, the buck stops here.” Paul Carlson could not help but note Newton’s use of the word necessary. The very word Harry Branston had used in defining what they had to do. Necessary, but maybe not moral; at best amoral. “The latest estimate is that the likelihood of impact is now ninety-nine percent.”

  James Newton did not question the President’s estimate; he assumed it came from those astrophysicists the administration had hidden away somewhere.

  “Barring a miracle, we are going to to get hit and hit hard. Yet we’re way behind on food production and falling further behind all the time. As you would know the preparation of the ark sites is also behind schedule.”

  James Newton had visited the Colorado ark site only a week earlier, and the President was right. He saw first hand that it was indeed behind schedule. Actually Newton thought that was looking at the situation through rose colored glasses. In absolute terms the project was not that far behind schedule—it had only been going three months so only so much time could have been lost—but the schedule was based on the assumption that they had more than two years to prepare. Newton simply did not believe that to be true. And nothing he had seen at the Colorado site gave him any reason to believe the other ark in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Reno would be progressing any faster. If anything, the geography of that location would make it harder to secure.

  “And the latest wonderful piece of news is that the Chinese are threatening strenuous measures—they know that we know that means military action—if we don’t resume our food exports to them.”

  “Screw the Chinese, they’re bluffing,” Secretary of Defense Harry Branston said defiantly. “They know we have fifty nuclear warheads for every one of theirs. They aren’t stupid enough to try anything.”

  “I know that Harry, but it’s still a very unwelcome distraction. We have to explain to the public, who are already skittish enough, that it’s all a bluff and then we have to deploy forces we sorely need elsewhere just in case it isn’t. Anyway James, as tough as things are, we’re not ready to give up on the plan to preserve our civilization just yet.” The President tried to sound more positive than he felt. “But we know your reservations about our plans haven’t diminished. We also hear that you are working on something of your own.”

  General Grimm would surely have reported back on his visit to the ark, and Lopez must have reported that he was working on his own plan, even if she did not yet have the full story. Time to explain his plan in detail, whether they were ready to hear it or not. “Mr. President, I’m not asking you to give up on your plan. What I am proposing is a very modest contingency plan to your contingency plan.”

  “Since the future of the human race is at stake, and things are not going as well as we would like, it does seem prudent that we have a backup plan,” the President said to Harry Branston with an almost British sense of understatement.

  Branston did not reply. He did not like the military’s shortcomings being aired in front of James Newton. He simply smiled awkwardly.

  James Newton remembered that Carlson had studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar; not surprising then that some of the British character had rubbed off on him. “I hoped you would see it that way sir,” Newton replied.

  “I’m listening,” the President began. “What do you need?”

  “Not much sir. There’s a few people I would like to reassign, less than fifty I would say, mostly already Newton Group employees. You have my personal guarantee that we will still be able to fulfill our contract on the ark preparations; these people have a different skill set to what is needed there.”

  “I don’t see any problem with that then. Do you Harry?”

  “Not at all Mr. President,” Secretary of Defense Harry Branston replied. Branston resented the idea of supporting what he saw as a rogue operation, but he figured that it was probably better to have James Newton off doing his own thing than continuing to stick his nose in where it was not wanted.

  “I could use your Major Lopez as well Mr. Secretary. Psychological factors are going to be very important to the success of my plan.” Major Lopez was too talented to be wasted working for Harry Branston, and too dangerous, but he could not tell Branston that. “Don’t worry, I’m happy for her to keep spying on me. I don’t have anything to hide.”

  Branston began to protest at the characterization of Major Lopez’s role as spying, even though that was exactly what it was; he had spent so long in the den of deceit that was Washington his natural inclination was to deny everything, even the truth.

  Carlson cut him off. “Well she is spying on him Harry,” he said with a slight chuckle. “You know it, I know it and clearly James knows it. No point in denying it. Go on James.”

  Branston decided against objecting further. Lopez had failed him and he did not need her now anyway. Maybe it was for the best to to have her stuck out in Denver working on whatever it was Newton was planning. Out of the way. Out of his way.

  “A fusion micro-reactor. I already have access to one at our Denver research facility but strictly speaking it belongs to the Department of Energy, so I need authorization to redeploy it.”

  “I’m sure that can be done.”

  “Thank you Mr. President.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Just one more thing. I need an intercontinental ballistic missile and launch facility.”

  Branston shot to his feet, his face red, his cheeks puffed and his eyes wide with anger. “What the hell are you playing at James?!” he shouted. “The President of the United States of America is not going to give you a goddamn nuclear missile!”

  James displayed his palms in a calming motion. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding Mr. Secretary. I don’t need the nuclear warhead, just the missile. And the launch facility. To minimize logistical difficulties, I’ve identified the missile silo in north-eastern Colorado closest to Denver as being my preferred location.”

  “Calm down Harry, let’s hear him out,” the President said. Branston resumed his seat. “I think you should tell us the details of your plan James.”

  “Of course Mr. President. I too plan to build an ark. A virtual ark.”

  Paul Carlson had no idea what James Newton meant by a virtual ark. “What does that mean James?” he asked.

  “Mr. President, what do you know about the virtual environment technology being used on the UAV program?”

  —o—

  “I appreciate the patience you’ve all shown over recent weeks. I know I’ve asked some of you to undertake seemingly inexplicable tasks,” James Newton began. “It’s now time I told all of you what I have in mind and for us to start working together as a team.”

  Cyrus Jones counted seven people in the room including himself and Newton; a man and a woman he did not recognize; Graham Blake and Elena Ivanov both of whom he had worked with on the drone program; and finally Major Lopez. He did not know why Newton had invited her. James was taking this line about not have any secrets too far if you asked him.

  “Yesterday I met with the President and the Secretary of Defense,” James Newton began. “As you are aware the government is working on a plan to deal with a possible asteroid strike. What some of you don’t know is that the asteroid’s impact with Earth is almost certain rather than just a possibility. It will cause destruction and a climate catastrophe beyond anything you can imagine. This asteroid is bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.”

  Graham Blake spoke. “You mean the government has been lying to everyone?” he asked disbelievingly.

  “That’s about the size of it,” Newton replied. Cyrus and Regina Lopez did not react—they already knew these things—but Newton could see the rest of them shared Blake’s anger. “Before you all express outrage, you should know that the administration has a very good reason for keeping the truth hi
dden. You can’t repeat any of this outside this room—if you do I won’t be able to protect you—but it isn’t possible to save everyone. If the administration announces that fact, the country will fall apart and they’ll be able to save no one.”

  Newton was not sure if they were satisfied but nobody responded. He took that as tacit acceptance, although he knew he would need to keep a close watch on them just in case. “More importantly, you should also know that the government’s plan is not going well, to put it politely. Accordingly, the President has agreed to support our project as what he called a backup measure—I’d call it perhaps the last hope for the survival of the human race.”

  Everyone listened in shock as Newton explained the impact of the asteroid strike on the climate, the challenge of surviving a twenty-year winter and finally the government’s plan and its problems. “I believe any strategy based on storing and securing food for that period of time is unworkable, doomed to failure. So I’ve come up with a plan where we don’t need food,” he concluded.

  Newton’s explanation of his Ark confirmed Lopez’s suspicions about his plans, the connection with the drone program and why Cyrus Jones was the first person Newton had recruited. But she could not understand what possessed the President and Defense Secretary to give their blessing to such a hair-brained scheme or why anyone would want to survive as an EM.

  Newton introduced each of the team members and explained their roles as he described his plan in detail. Cyrus Jones, responsible for the EM software and the virtual environment; Graham Blake, responsible for the computer hardware and the interface devices that would be used to load the EMs; Dr. Elena Ivanov, neuroscientist consulting on the emulation of the human brain; Dr. Margaret Lee, responsible for the fusion micro-reactor that would provide power to the computer; and Richard Johannson, responsible for the physical facility in which these systems would be housed for the duration. Newton mentioned the underground launch facility when he introduced Johannson, emphasizing its secure nature, but said nothing about the missile; that was his final and most desperate contingency, one he really hoped they would never need.

  Newton watched quietly as the team began to consider the plan. They were all problem solvers and each of them quickly began working through the implications of Newton’s plan, identifying problems, proposing and rejecting solutions, critiquing each other. Newton could see immediately that he had selected the right people. “There’s one final thing, before I leave you to get on with your work,” Newton said. “The schedule. The asteroid is not due until December 2047, twenty-seven months from now. I don’t believe we have anywhere near that long. Things are deteriorating even faster than I feared and I suspect they will get much worse very quickly.”

  “How much time do you think we have?” Dr. Lee asked.

  “I’d say less than a year,” Newton replied. “Maximum.”

  —o—

  “Sorry I’m late,” the man entering the room said just as James Newton was finishing. “I had a little trouble getting a flight from California, so I had to drive.”

  Cyrus had never seen someone’s jaw literally drop until he saw Lopez’s reaction to this man’s arrival. In his mid-fifties, he was dressed in civilian clothing but had the physique, bearing and haircut that said military or ex-military. Cyrus thought his face looked familiar but could not place him.

  “Dad, what the hell are you doing here?” Regina exclaimed in shock and anger. He was the last person she expected or wanted to see here.

  “May I introduce Air Force Colonel retired Emmanuel Smith,” Newton said.

  “Please call me Manny,” the man said with a wide friendly smile as his daughter glared at him.

  Jesus, Cyrus thought, Emmanuel Smith is her father? No wonder she reacted so badly when he had spoken about him as an EM. Great, another reason for her to dislike him. As if she did not already have a list.

  “Mr. Newton, I’ll ask again, what is my father doing here?” Her tone made it clear she was not happy with this development and that she expected a very good explanation.

  “We needed someone with experience as an EM so we can take baseline data from previous missions and compare it with data from our new environment. There really aren’t that many suitable candidates. Fortunately your father volunteered when I told him you were going to be part of our team.”

  “What do you mean part of your team?” It was news to her.

  “Sorry I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet Major. Secretary Branston agreed to assign you to our project. I assume you’ll receive formal orders to that effect soon. I was planning to wait for your orders to come through before announcing it, but it seems your father’s arrival has precipitated things.”

  Regina pulled out her pad. Sure enough, there was a message from Secretary Branston conveying her reassignment. She was used to being shuffled about like a pawn on a chessboard to suit the whims of the brass. She was not worried about being reassigned but she liked to understand the motivations so she could plan her response accordingly; she wondered if this was a clever strategy on Newton’s part to neutralize her or whether Branston had cut her loose. Or a bit of both maybe?

  “Major Lopez will be operating as our Chief of Security. In that capacity I would like her to undertake psychological screening of each of the Ark’s prospective occupants, including each of us. We can’t have people going nuts in there.”

  Newton had answered Regina’s question for her. Chief of Security was not a position you put someone in to neutralize them. Branston had cut her off. Well at least now she knew where she stood—out of the administration’s way and assigned to a project she considered completely crazy. Newton was right; the world was going to hell, and she was getting a head start.

  Cyrus was no more pleased about her assignment than she was. It had been bad enough when Lopez was an annoying outsider trying to get into his head. Now it was her role on the project! The drone program was highly classified—rigorous security screening had been a regular occurrence and he had gotten used to it—but something about this woman unnerved him beyond the prospect of her asking him intrusive, open-ended, repetitive questions. She had a self-confident, knowing attitude that just made him feel guilty without having done anything, like she knew more about him that he wanted her or anyone to know. He decided he would have to try to stay out of her way. As if that was going to be easy.

  —o—

  Manny Smith stayed with his daughter as the room emptied. “Gina, I thought you’d be pleased to see me.”

  “I am Dad,” she replied as she hugged her father. “Of course I’m glad to see you.”

  “Then what’s the matter?”

  “Dad I just don’t want you on this program.” She could not bear the thought of James Newton and Cyrus Jones doing to her father more of what had been done to him on the drone program.

  “I don’t understand Gina. Why wouldn’t you want me to come with you?”

  “Come where?” she asked confused.

  “Newton’s Ark. On it, or in it. I’m not sure which.”

  “I won’t be going,” she replied flatly.

  “What do you mean you won’t be going?” Manny asked disbelievingly.

  “Well first of all they haven’t asked.”

  “That’s got to be a misunderstanding Gina. Let’s go talk to Newton now and clear this up.”

  “There’s no point. Even if he did ask, I would refuse.”

  “What? Why the hell would you do that? You have to go.” His head knew that his daughter was a grown woman who was more than capable of making her own decisions and looking out for herself, but when Manny looked at her he still saw the girl he had spent so much of his life protecting. He was not going to stop now.

  “Dad I don’t have to do anything!” she replied angrily. Regina Lopez was not the type of woman you pushed around. “And you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Manny detected a hint of something other than anger in her last statement. He could not quite te
ll what—sadness? disgust?—but figured he should find out. “Take it easy sweetheart. Why don’t you tell me what’s really got you so upset.”

  “Dad, I did some research on the drone program—it’s the same technology they’re going to use here—and it’s awful what they’ve been doing to you, just awful.” Regina Lopez proceeded to tell her father everything she had learned about EMs. By the time she came to the fate of the EMs at the end of the missions she was close to tears. She could see her father was not moved. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

  “Newton explained a lot of that to me already—so I could understand what it was he wanted me to do here.”

  “And you don’t have a problem with it?” she asked incredulously.

  “Well it takes a bit of time to get your head around it, but no, not really.”

  “But Dad, if that really is your consciousness in there, switching it off is murder. Not once, but over and over and over again.”

  “Oh I don’t think so. Call me a country lawyer but I’m pretty sure that if the victim turns up alive and well the murder suspect has to be released,” he said with the hint of a grin.

  “Dad, don’t be so casual about it. I’m serious. When I found out what they’ve been doing to you all these years I was literally sick to my stomach.”

  “I’m sorry it upset you so. Really I am. All I’m saying is no harm, no foul.”

  “I’m still not going. Surviving as an EM isn’t surviving.”

  “Gina, you can’t have it both ways. If an EM is real enough that switching it off is murder, then it’s real enough that being an EM is being alive, which sure as hell beats being dead.”

  “That’s your opinion Dad,” she replied defiantly.