The Swarm

by Frank Schätzing

  Peak was the first to desert from Vanderbilt's team. Frost, Shankar and Roche followed suit.

  In the end, an exhausted Vanderbilt suggested they take a break.

  They left the room and headed for the buffet, where fresh juice, coffee and cake awaited them. Weaver squeezed in next to Anawak. 'You didn't take much persuading,' she said. 'How come?'

  Anawak looked at her and smiled. 'Coffee?'

  'Yes, please. And milk.'

  He poured it and handed her the cup. Weaver was only marginally smaller than him. Suddenly it struck him that he'd liked her ever since he'd set eyes on her, when he'd seen her on the forecourt of the Chateau.

  'I suppose not,' he said. 'It's a well-reasoned theory.'

  'Is that all? Or does it have something to do with you believing in animal intelligence?'

  'I don't I just believe in intelligence in general. Animals are animals and people are people. If we could prove that dolphins are as intelligent as we are then, logically, they wouldn't be animals.'

  'Do you think that's so?'

  'No. And if we judge them by human criteria we'll never know. Do you think humans are intelligent?'

  Weaver laughed. 'If you're talking about one human, yes… but lots of them together make an unenlightened mob.'

  That was his kind of answer. 'Exactly! And the same applies to-'

  'Dr Anawak?' One of the intelligence agents was hurrying towards him. 'You're Dr Anawak, aren't you?'

  'Yes.'

  'You're wanted on the phone.'

  Anawak frowned. They weren't directly contactable in the Chateau, but there was a number for relatives to call in case of emergencies. Li had asked the delegates to distribute it with caution. Shoemaker had the number. Did anyone else?

  It's in the lobby,' said the man. 'Or would you like me to have the call transferred to your room?'

  'No, that's fine. I can come right away.'

  'See you later,' Weaver called after him.

  He followed the man through the lobby. A row of makeshift telephone booths had been erected in a side aisle.

  'Take this one, right here,' said the man. 'I'll get the call put through to you. The phone will ring. Answer it, and you'll be connected with Tofino.'

  Shoemaker.

  Anawak waited. It rang. He picked up. 'Leon,' said Shoemaker, 'sorry to disturb you. I know you've got important stuff to do but-'

  'No problem. Thanks for dinner last night. It was great.'

  'Oh, yes… Right. . . Well, I'm afraid this is important too. It's, urn…' Shoemaker sighed. 'Leon, I've got some sad news. We had a call from Cape Dorset.'

  It was as though someone had pulled the carpet from under his feet. He knew what was coming.

  'Leon, your father's died.'

  He stood motionless in the phone booth.

  'Leon?'

  'It's OK, I…'

  But it wasn't OK at all.

  LI

  'Extra-terrestrials?' The President seemed remarkably composed.

  'Not exactly,' said Li. They'd been through this countless times already. 'Not extra-terrestrials, inhabitants of our planet. A rival species, if you like.'

  The Chateau was hooked up via satellite link to Offutt Air Force Base. In addition to the President, the delegation in Offutt was made up of the defense secretary, the assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the secretary of Homeland Security, the secretary of state and the director of the CIA. There could no longer he any doubt that Washington would suffer the same fate as New York. The city had been evacuated, and practically the entire cabinet had decamped to Nebraska. The retreat inland had gone largely to plan: this time they'd been prepared for it.

  Li, Vanderbilt and Peak were participating in the briefing from the Chateau. Li could tell that the Offutt contingent loathed being stuck at the air base. The CIA director longed to be back in his office on the sixth floor of the agency's headquarters on the Potomac River. He secretly envied the director of Counter-terrorism who had flatly refused to evacuate his staff.

  'Get your people to safety,' he'd ordered him.

  'This isn't a natural disaster, this is a planned attack,' the reply had come. 'A terrorist attack. We need those guys in the Global Response Center to stay at their computers and keep working. Their role is crucial. They're our window on terrorism, and they're not going anywhere.'

  'New York is under siege from biological killers,' the CIA director had countered. 'Don't you know what's happening there? Washington won't be any different.'

  'The Global Response Center wasn't created so that it could close its doors at the critical moment.'

  'Sure, but those guys could die.'

  'Then they'll die.'

  The defense secretary was also wishing himself back in his spacious office at the Pentagon, and the President was by nature the sort of person who had to be held down to prevent him commandeering a plane and flying back to the White House. People could say what they liked about him, but he wasn't a coward. In fact, he was so unflinching that some of his critics suspected he was simply too stupid to experience fear.

  Offutt Air Force Base had all the facilities to serve as a seat of government, but they'd had to flee there. And that, Li figured, was why the idea of intelligent oceanic beings had met with instant approbation. The thought of fleeing from a human adversary, whose offensive had left them stymied, was too much of a humiliation for the administration to bear. Johanson's theory cast events in a different light. Retrospectively it cleared the intelligence agents, the Department of Defense and the President of blame.

  'So what do you think,' the President asked the council, 'is this possible or not?'

  'What I personally believe doesn't matter either way,' the defense secretary said tersely. 'The scientists at the Chateau are the experts. If they think this is the explanation, then we need to take it seriously and consider our next step.'

  'Take it seriously?' Vanderbilt echoed incredulously. 'Aliens? Little green men?'

  'They're not aliens as such,' Li put in patiently.

  'I guess it presents us with an entirely new dilemma,' said the secretary of state. 'Supposing the theory's right. How much do we divulge to the public?'

  'To the public?' the CIA director queried. 'Nothing. The whole world would be plunged into chaos.'

  'It already is in chaos.'

  'That's not the point. The media would hang us out to dry. They'd say we'd gone nuts. They'd never believe us. They wouldn't want to believe us. The existence of another intelligent species would shake the foundations of what it means to be human.'

  'That's a religious issue.' The defense secretary made a dismissive gesture. 'Politically speaking, it's irrelevant.'

  'Politics are irrelevant,' said Peak. 'There's nothing out there but suffering and fear. You should take a trip to Manhattan and see for yourself. People who've never been to church are praying on their knees.'

  The President gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling. 'We need to reflect,' he said, 'on what the Lord's intention might be.'

  'With all due respect, sir, I wasn't aware He was part of this council,' said Vanderbilt. 'He isn't even on our side.'

  'That's a pretty bad attitude, Jack.' The President frowned.

  'Good, bad, what does it matter? I judge an opinion on whether it makes sense. Everyone here seems to think there's some truth to this theory. Which makes me wonder if I'm the dope or-'

  'Jack,' the CIA director warned him.

  'Oh, I'd be happy to concede that it's me – once I've seen some proof. I'm not going to believe in this gang of bad guys in the water until I've spoken to the little schmucks in person. But until then you need to think seriously before you dismiss the possibility of a large-scale terrorist attack. We can't afford to let down our guard.'

  Li laid a hand on his arm. 'Jack, why would terrorists attack us from the depths?'

  'To make people like you believe we're being bullied by E.T. And it's working, for Christ's sake – it's actually work
ing.'

  'We're not stupid, you know,' the national security adviser said irritably. 'No one's going to let down their guard. Frankly, Vanderbilt, your terrorism obsession isn't going to get us anywhere. We can search all we like for crazed mullahs and stinking rich arch-villains, but in the meantime the continental slope's going to cave in, our cities will be flooded and innocent Americans will die. So what do you suggest we do?

  Vanderbilt crossed his arms. He looked like a smoldering Buddha.

  'You know what, Jack?' Li said slowly. 'I think you just made a suggestion.'

  'Namely?'

  'To talk to the little schmucks. Make contact.'

  The President pressed his fingertips together. His voice was measured. 'This is a test for all humanity. Perhaps God intended two powerful races to inhabit this planet – maybe the Good Book was right about the horned beast that comes up from the water. "Replenish the Earth, and subdue it." Those were the Lord's instructions, and He didn't give them to any kind of monster in the sea.'

  'Hell, no,' grumbled Vanderbilt. 'He preached it to America directly.'

  'This could be the final battle in the fight against evil.' The President straightened in his chair. 'And we've been appointed by God to fight for Him – and win.'

  'Perhaps,' said Li, seizing on the idea, 'whoever wins this battle will govern the earth.'

  Peak gave her a sideways look and said nothing.

  'I think we should have a frank discussion with the other NATO states and the EU,' said the secretary of state, 'after which, we'll have to put the UN in the picture.'

  Li jumped in: 'Of course, the UN won't be capable of handling this kind of operation, and we'll need to make that clear. Sure, they'll have people with know-how and ideas, and there's no reason why we shouldn't pick their brains. Let's enlist the help of our Asian and African allies as well – that sends out the right kind of message. But this is our chance to position ourselves at the head of the international community. Mankind isn't about to be wiped from the face of the Earth by a meteorite. This is a terrible threat we're facing, but we're going to overcome it – provided we get things right.'

  'Have your counter-measures proven successful?' asked the national security adviser.

  'We're running an international campaign to find an anti-serum that will protect against the toxins. Initiatives are under way to stop the advance of the crabs, bring a halt to the whale attacks and get rid of the worms – which is proving trickier than expected. We've taken all kinds of measures to contain the risks, but conventional solutions won't be enough. There's nothing we can do about the Gulf Stream, and the methane crisis is beyond our control. We could keep fishing worms out of the ocean in their millions, but if we can't see where they're coming from, there'll always be fresh plagues. Without the capacity to send down divers, probes or subs, we're as good as blind. Anything could be going on down there. In the course of this afternoon I was informed that two large drag nets have been lost near Georges Bank. In addition to that, there's no sign of the three trawlers that we'd dispatched to the Laurentian valley to sweep the seabed. Recon planes are out looking for them, but conditions are terrible. The Grand Banks are to the east of there, and the fog never lifts. Besides, a storm's been raging for the past two days.' She paused. 'There are thousands of other examples I could give you. All the reports coming in bear witness to our failure. OK, so the drone surveillance is working well, and troops with flame-throwers are beating back the crabs – but it's only temporary. They just crawl ashore elsewhere. The fact is, as far as the oceans are concerned, we don't call the shots. We never really called them in the first place, but now…'

  'What about the sonar offensive?'

  'We're still pressing ahead with it, but we're not anticipating any significant success. The only way we can get it to work is by killing the whales. They don't flee from the noise, as any creature with healthy instincts would do. I guess they're in horrible pain, but they don't have a choice – they're not in control. They're still terrorising the waters.'

  'Speaking of control,' said the defense secretary, 'have you identified a strategy?'

  I'd say we're looking at a five-point plan. The first step is to clear the waters of all human presence, whether on the surface or in the depths. Step two is to expel or annihilate the coastal population, as with northern Europe. Step three aims to destroy our infrastructure – the offshore industry in northern Europe would he a case in point. The disruption of the fishing industry also falls into this category – it's going to cause us some serious issues with malnutrition, especially in third-world countries. Step four targets the major cities, the pillars of our civilisation – urban populations are forced to retreat inland. And, finally, step five, the climate shifts, and the Earth becomes uninhabitable for our species. It either freezes or floods, warms up or cools down, or maybe all of those – we don't know the details.'

  'But wouldn't that make it uninhabitable for the entire animal kingdom?' asked the national security adviser.

  'On land, yes. It's fair to say it would wipe out most species of flora and fauna. I've been reliably informed, though, that the same thing happened fifty-five million years ago, with the net result that large numbers of animals and plants died out, making way for other species. They're bound to have thought very carefully about their own survival before precipitating a crisis like this.'

  'Such destruction. It's…' The secretary of Homeland Security struggled for words. 'It's so extreme. It's inhuman…'

  'Well, they're not human,' Li reminded him.

  'What hope do we have of stopping them?'

  'We've got to find out who they are,' said Vanderbilt.

  Li turned to him. 'Don't tell me you're finally coming round?'

  'Oh, I haven't changed my view,' Vanderbilt said evenly, 'but if you identify the purpose of an action, you'll identify the culprit. In this particular instance, I have to admit that the five-point strategy is the most convincing explanation I've heard. Now we need to find out more. Who exactly are they? Where are they? How can we see inside their minds?'

  'And how are we going to stop them?' the defense secretary added.

  'Evil,' muttered the President, his eyes narrowing. 'How best to vanquish evil?'

  'We talk to them,' said Li.

  'We make contact?'

  'Even the devil's been known to bargain. I don't see any alternative.

  Johanson reckons they're trying to keep us busy so we don't have time to think. We're not going to let that happen. We're still in a position to act, so let's find them and make contact. Then we'll strike.'

  'You want to launch an offensive against deep-sea organisms?' The secretary of Homeland Security shook his head. 'Dear God.'

  'Hold on. Are we all in agreement that we should take this theory seriously?' the director of the CIA asked. 'We're talking about it as though it were fact. Are we really prepared to believe that we share the planet with another intelligent species?'

  'Only one species was made in the image of God,' the President said firmly, 'and that was mankind. These creatures may be intelligent, but just how intelligent remains to be seen. And I very much doubt that they've got any intrinsic right to inhabit this planet like we have. There's certainly no mention of them in the scriptures. But the fact that an alien life-form is to blame for all this chaos sounds logical to me.'

  'So, going back to my question,' said the secretary of state, 'what are we going to tell the world?'

  'It's too early.'

  'People are going to ask questions.'

  'Then make up some answers. You're a politician, aren't you? If we come right out and tell them there's another intelligent species at the bottom of the sea, we're going to kill them with shock.'

  'Incidentally,' said the CIA director, turning to Li, 'how would you like us to refer to these deep-sea deviants?'

  Li smiled. 'Johanson had a suggestion. Yrr!

  'Yrr?'

  'He came up with it by accident. His fingers slipped on the
keyboard. He says it's as good a name as any, and I agree.'

  'OK, Jude.' The President nodded. 'We'll see how this theory shapes up. We have to keep considering all the possibilities, all the options. And if it turns out that we're fighting a battle against these aliens – yrr or whatever you want to call them – we'll fight them and win. We'll declare war on the yrr.' He looked at the others. This is an opportunity for us. A big opportunity. I want you to use it.'

  'With God's blessing,' said Li.

  'Amen,' mumbled Vanderbilt.

  WEAVER

  One of the benefits of staying at the Chateau under military occupation was that nothing was ever closed. None of the usual conventions of the catering trade applied. Li had made it clear that everybody, especially the scientists, would be working day and night, and a T-bone steak at four in the morning might be exactly what they needed.

  For the past thirty minutes Weaver had been ploughing up and down the pool. It was well past one in the morning. Now, wrapped in a soft towelling bathrobe, with bare feet and wet hair, she padded across the lobby on her way towards the elevators. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Leon Anawak sitting at the hotel bar, which struck her as an unlikely place to find him. Perched forlornly on a stool and eyeing an untouched glass of Coke, he was dipping into a bowl of peanuts, picking one up, then letting it drop.

  There'd been no sign of him since their conversation that morning. Maybe he didn't want to be disturbed. A bustle of activity filled the lobby and the adjoining rooms, but the bar was virtually empty. Two men in dark suits were sitting in a corner, talking in hushed tones, while a woman in combats stared at a screen. The west-coast music in the background gave the scene an air of inconsequential ordinariness.

  Anawak looked unhappy.

  She was just thinking that it might be best to go back to her suite when she found herself walking towards him. Her damp feet left tracks on the parquet floor. 'Hi.'

  Anawak turned, his eyes empty.