Phoenix

by Alex Lukeman

  "Elizabeth, Freddie says the Three Gorges Dam has failed."

  "What? That can't be."

  The dam has completely collapsed. Excessive cavitation was introduced into the structure, resulting in failure.

  Elizabeth heard what he said. "You are sure, Freddie?"

  I am sure, Director.

  Elizabeth thought about what the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam meant for China. She dreaded the answer to the next question.

  "You said cavitation was introduced. Do you mean the dam was sabotaged?"

  That is correct.

  "Steph, see what else Freddie can find out. I need to verify and make some calls."

  She disconnected.

  "Freddie," Stephanie said, "how was the dam sabotaged?"

  A virus was introduced into the servers controlling dam functions. It took control of the turbines and instructed the servers to open the spillways. It caused the turbines to spin at precisely different speeds, setting up oppositional harmonic frequencies that vibrated throughout the structure. The flow of water released through the spillways was artificially manipulated to create the ideal environment for a cavitation effect. The combination of conflicting harmonic vibrations and excessive cavitation shattered the structure.

  "What did you mean, when you said something was happening and you were uncertain as to what it was? Were you referring to the dam?"

  I was not directly referring to the dam, although it is peripherally involved. I have no uncertainty about what happened to it.

  "Then, what?"

  You are aware that I am constantly monitoring worldwide activity. I was monitoring the world web as a matter of routine when the attack occurred.

  "Go on."

  Another computer with artificial intelligence was used to initiate the attack.

  "Why do you think that, Freddie?"

  It is difficult to describe, Stephanie. It is a sense of another being like myself. I believe that it is now also aware of my existence.

  Stephanie was shocked to hear Freddie describe himself as a being, to use the word "sense." She needed to think about the implications, but it would have to wait. Precautions needed to be taken.

  "Freddie, please institute level nine security immediately."

  The level nine protocol was something Stephanie had dreamed up months before. It created a rapidly cycling firewall akin to a spinning shield. In theory, it should be impossible to penetrate. At least, she hoped it was impossible. She was still tweaking the program, but it was time to put it to the test.

  Processing.

  Stephanie waited.

  Level nine security protocol now operative. Stephanie, should I make contact with this other computer?

  "Under no circumstances are you to attempt contact. I understand your curiosity. But until we know more, it's not a good idea. If this computer caused the failure of the dam, it is under the control of a madman. The Chinese will discover what happened, and they'll consider it an act of war. There will be consequences."

  She thought for a moment. "There is something you can do."

  Yes, Stephanie?

  "Am I correct in assuming you detected a digital footprint of this computer?"

  That is correct.

  "Maintain level nine security. Search for traces of that same footprint on the web. See if you can pin down a specific location. Do not attempt contact under any circumstances. You understand?"

  Yes, Stephanie.

  "Good. Begin now. I'm going upstairs to talk with Elizabeth."

  Search initiated.

  Stephanie left the computer room, climbed the stair to the ground floor, and went into Elizabeth's office. Elizabeth was turned around in her chair, looking at the monitor on the wall behind her desk. It displayed a live satellite shot of the disaster in China.

  The bird's eye view was chilling. The wall of water released by the collapse roared down the agricultural valley below the dam, where a significant portion of China's food supply was grown.

  The reservoir behind the dam was the largest in the world. The vast wall of the Three Gorges Dam had held back 32,000,000 acre-feet of water. It was almost impossible to conceive of how much water that really was. The huge wave released by the collapse was an irresistible, unstoppable force of destruction, sweeping all before it.

  The flood followed the path of the Yangtze River. Elizabeth and Stephanie watched it bear down on the city of Yichang, twenty-five miles downstream, home to more than four million people. The wave was still more than a hundred feet high as it approached the city. It was a disaster without precedent in modern times.

  "My God," Stephanie said.

  Elizabeth said, "The Chinese are going to go crazy. The president has called me to a meeting at the White House."

  "Freddie says there's another computer like him out there. He says it initiated the attack."

  "Another computer like Freddie? With AI?"

  "Yes. What do you want me to do while you're meeting with the president?"

  "Monitor the situation in China. See what you can find out."

  CHAPTER 10

  Elizabeth was the last to arrive at the White House for the emergency meeting called to address the failure of the dam. A Secret Service agent escorted her to the Oval Office.

  President Corrigan sat behind his desk. His Chief of Staff, Ellen Cartwright, set nearby, off to the side. CIA director Clarence Hood sat on one of the two couches placed in front of the president's desk. Elizabeth and Hood were in the tenuous beginnings of an intimate relationship, but no one else in the room knew that. At least she hoped they didn't.

  General Adamski, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was present. So was Harold Hopkins, the national security advisor.

  Elizabeth took a seat next to Hopkins, across from Hood and Adamski.

  "Nice of you to join us, Director," Cartwright said.

  What a witch, Elizabeth thought.

  "Let's get started," Corrigan said. "Director Hood, give us an update on the situation in China."

  "The Three Gorges Dam suffered a catastrophic collapse approximately an hour and a half ago. The reservoir behind the dam is huge. When the dam went, it released a wall of water hundreds of feet high."

  "Like a tidal wave?" Corrigan said.

  "Yes, Mister President. The water has reached the city of Yichang, downstream. Yichang is a mix of modern urban, industrial, and rural, with a population of over four million. The city is completely flooded. Many buildings have been destroyed. Loss of life is going to be high."

  He paused.

  "Go on," Corrigan said.

  Hood continued. "The valley outside of Yichang is a major Chinese industrial base. It's been built up with heavy industry to take advantage of the power produced by the dam. Their latest fighter is being built there. Everything has suffered critical damage. In addition, that region supplies a significant part of China's food supply. Agricultural production has been wiped out. The river is a critical transportation artery. It is now impassable from above or below the dam, and will remain so for the foreseeable future."

  "Director Harker," Corrigan said. "You are the one who first called this to attention. You believe the dam was sabotaged, is that correct?"

  "Yes, sir, that is correct."

  "What is the basis of your assumption?"

  "Sir, my unit has unique computer capabilities. We routinely monitor Internet traffic in China. Prior to the collapse, our computer intercepted a coded transmission that hacked into the control servers of the dam. The transmission instructed the servers to open all the spillways. It also altered the turbine outputs in such a way that strong, conflicting harmonic frequencies were transmitted throughout the structure. It's known that the spillways at Three Gorges could pose a potential problem with cavitation. Under the right conditions, excessive cavitation could occur. That is what happened today. The vibrations literally shook the dam apart."

  "Mister President."

  "Yes, General?"

  Adamski cleared h
is throat. "Sir, if Director Harker is correct and the dam was sabotaged, the Chinese will consider it an act of war. If they think we're responsible, they may launch an attack. I recommend we raise our defense condition as a precaution. We are currently at DEFCON 4."

  "Very well, General. Raise us to DEFCON 3."

  Adamski got up and left the room. Defense Condition 3 was halfway between peace and war. Some planes would be sent up, air and missile defenses heightened, missile crews alerted, troops put on alert. But there would be no unusual sorties or overt aggressive actions indicating an imminent attack on an enemy. It was a precautionary step. The nation had been at DEFCON 3 many times in the past. DEFCON 2 sent armed bombers to failsafe points, prepared the missiles for launch, and raised the ante to a point just short of war. DEFCON 1 meant imminent war. In today's world, that meant nuclear war.

  No one wanted to see DEFCON 1.

  General Adamski came back into the room and sat down.

  "Sir, we are now at DEFCON 3."

  Cartwright spoke up. "Director Harker, you are putting a lot of faith in your experimental computer program. No one else has picked up on this supposed transmission, not at Langley or at Fort Meade. It appears to be an accident, a construction failure."

  Ellen Cartwright's tone was hostile. It wasn't Elizabeth's first encounter with Cartwright. She'd already decided she wasn't going to take any crap from this woman.

  "The program is not experimental. It is proven and reliable. I would not sound an alarm based on an unreliable source. You can take it as fact that someone hacked into the computers at Three Gorges and caused the collapse."

  "I think it is unwise to assume that without further confirmation."

  "I don't really care what you think," Elizabeth said.

  Cartwright's face grew red. Elizabeth continued before she could interrupt.

  "I am certain their control system was hacked. The Chinese are going to be very angry about this. They are going to find out this wasn't an accident. Given their innate paranoia and distrust of the West, their first suspicions will fall on us. We had better be ready to respond. In my opinion, this situation can easily spin out of control. In a worst-case scenario, it could lead to war."

  "I agree with Director Harker," General Adamski said.

  "I concur," Hood said. "We need to be proactive about this. Mister President, I suggest that you call President Zhang and tell him what we have discovered. Offer assistance."

  Hopkins had been quiet. Now he said, "Offering assistance is fine, but I don't agree we should tell him what we know. He's liable to think we're trying to avoid blame."

  Elizabeth's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took the phone out and looked at it. It was a text message from Stephanie.

  The transmission directed at the dam is similar to the one sent to the USS Wayne. From the same source.

  "Mister President," Elizabeth said. "Things just got more complicated."

  "Well?"

  "The transmission sent to the dam and the one that corrupted the navigational system on the Wayne appear to be from the same source. There are some similarities to a hacking protocol developed by the Chinese, called Iron Door."

  Hopkins said, "That is very bad news, if it is true."

  "Yes, it is," Elizabeth said. "The question is who would do this and why? The Chinese didn't attack their own dam. If the source of the two transmissions is the same, by implication, they didn't attack the Wayne either."

  "We need to confirm that both transmissions have the same origin," General Adamski said. "Until we do that, we can't discount the possibility the Chinese are behind the attack on the Wayne."

  "We've been able to narrow the source of the transmission to somewhere within the Arctic Circle," Elizabeth said.

  "That's not very specific, Director. There are eight countries with territory in the Arctic."

  "I agree with General Adamski," Cartwright said. "It's far too early to say the Chinese had nothing to do with the Wayne."

  "There is nothing that positively confirms the Chinese were behind that attack," Elizabeth said.

  "You yourself told us the virus was similar to Iron Door," Cartwright said. "That implicates China."

  Elizabeth sighed with impatience.

  "Every government with serious computer capability, including our own, is working on some variation of Iron Door. It's become the platinum standard of cyber warfare. Anyone could have done it."

  "Are you implying that someone within our own government might have caused this dreadful event? That is an outrageous supposition."

  "I didn't say that. However, no potential source can be ruled out."

  "I still think the Chinese are the most likely cause of the attack on the Wayne," Cartwright said.

  "Why would the Chinese sabotage their own infrastructure? It makes absolutely no sense. Three Gorges Dam was critical to their industrial production. Its loss will set them back years and cause serious economic problems. It will put a huge strain on the leadership, and they're going to have to respond. My concern is that they'll overreact and do something stupid."

  Hood said "May I make a suggestion, Mister President?"

  "By all means."

  "Director Harker and myself can pool resources to discover where these transmissions came from and who is behind them. We each have unique capabilities. We can do it with minimal duplication."

  "What about NSA?" Hopkins asked. "They should be involved."

  "The DIA will be pursuing this as well," Adamski said.

  Cartwright said, "Mister President, I think everything should go through the Director of National Intelligence. After all, he's the go-between between this office and the intelligence community. That way you won't have to waste a lot of time listening to different opinions."

  You sneaky bitch, Elizabeth thought. I'll bet you'd like that. Only let one person talk to Corrigan and make sure he reports what you want him to.

  "Mister President," Elizabeth said. "I don't think that's a good idea. You need to be exposed to the reasoning behind recommendations made by the various agencies. How else can you make an informed decision?"

  Corrigan said, "Ellen has a point, Director. My schedule is busy enough as it is. We'll do it her way. Brief the DNI on whatever you discover."

  Cartwright smiled sweetly at Elizabeth.

  Everyone rose as Corrigan stood.

  "Find out who did this," he said.

  Outside the White House, Elizabeth stood with Hood, waiting for their cars.

  "Cartwright wants to control what Corrigan hears," Elizabeth said. "She's only interested in advancing her career. She's uninformed and can cause a lot of problems. The DNI is weak. He'll tell Corrigan whatever she wants."

  "At the moment there isn't much we can do about it," Hood said. "Whatever you and I discover, I'll find a way to get it to the president. She can try, but she can't succeed in keeping us out of the loop."

  "Here come our cars."

  "How about dinner later this week?"

  "Give me a call," Elizabeth said.

  CHAPTER 11

  The Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China sat at a carved, lacquered table, looking at a monitor displaying real-time pictures of the devastation in Yichang. Zhang Jei's face revealed nothing of his thoughts or feelings. With him in the room were two other men. Like Zhang, they were members of the Politburo Standing Committee that formed the supreme governing body of China.

  Minister of State Security Deng sat on Zhang's right. There was no doubt about how he felt. His round face was red with anger, his lips pulled tight against his teeth. He looked like a fat, venomous snake getting ready to strike.

  A man in the uniform of the People's Liberation Army sat on Zhang's left. His shoulder boards bore the three stars of a full general in the PLA. He was an old comrade of the Chinese president. General Liu had recently been promoted to the role of Vice Chairman of the powerful military commission. In China, nothing was done without the willing participation of the PLA.
He was arguably the most powerful man in China after Chairman Zhang, although some said that of Minister Deng.

  There were six other members of the standing committee, but these three men were the true rulers of China. They watched in silence as the disaster caused by the collapse of the dam unfolded on the screen before them.

  A vast, modern complex of factories and manufacturing facilities had been built below the Three Gorges Dam to take advantage of the power it provided. Where the factories had been, shattered ruins rose in stark relief above a lake of polluted water.

  The city of Yichang was almost unrecognizable. Everything was under several feet of water. Buildings and houses had been swept away. In what had once been a bustling downtown area, two of the tall skyscrapers had fallen, unable to withstand the impact of the wave. Countless bodies floated in the dark waters that covered the city.

  It was a scene of utter desolation.

  Finally, Zhang spoke.

  "How did this happen?"

  "Sabotage," Deng said.

  "If it is sabotage, we are at war," Liu said.

  "Perhaps, but with whom?" Zhang gestured at the screen. "Who would dare to do this?"

  "The Americans," Deng said. "It has to be them."

  "What do they stand to gain? Why would they attack us? This isn't their way. They lack the subtlety to do something like this."

  "The Americans suspect us in the incident involving their destroyer," Deng said. "This could be in retaliation."

  "Perhaps," Zhang said again. "Yet that would be an excessive response. One does not swat a fly with a hammer. Minister Deng, you will find out what caused this. If it is sabotage, we will respond accordingly. Meanwhile we must see to the relief of our people."

  "Army units are on the way," Liu said. "Flooding has closed many of the roads leading to the city and the dam. I've ordered helicopters and boats to the area. Mobile hospitals are being set up. Loss of life is great. There was no time for most to flee."

  "Someone will pay for this," Deng said.

  Liu continued. "The water is approaching Wusan as we speak. There will be some flooding, but the force of the wave is spent."

  "What shall we tell the people?" Deng asked.