by Andrew Watts
Henry couldn’t believe this guy. It was almost like people couldn’t see how inherently evil these plans were. Everyone needed to wake up.
Natesh reached down to the podium and took a sip from his bottled water. “Okay, so once again—this would allow the US populace to believe that the Chinese are actually there to help?”
Dr. Creighton said, “Right. Because when communication was cut off, the American people wouldn’t know any better. After the ARES cyberattacks and the subsequent communications and infrastructure attacks, all the American people would know is that the electricity, gas, and food has run out. They wouldn’t know who did it, and there would be no way of finding out. Riots and starvation would occur pretty quickly. If this happens in the summer or winter months, the effects would be magnified. Because of how hard and quick this stage would hit, we recommend a pre-staging of invasion personnel and assets as a first wave. They would be the ones with the UN uniforms. On the other side of this equation, we would also recommend giving consideration to having the Chinese soldiers actually believe that they are there to help unless that becomes impractical.”
Natesh said, “Right. That’s the part that Tess was talking about.”
Tess said, “Yes, it would be quite a challenge in today’s climate for the Chinese government to convince their people that they need to make war with the US. For the most part, the Chinese love Americans. So that is going to have to be a major variable in this equation that the Chinese string-pullers are going to have to solve. How are they going to get one point three billion Chinese to want to invade America?”
Norman said, “Wait, I thought we were just talking about the first wave of Chinese troops thinking that they were there to help America?”
Dr. Creighton said, “Those troops would, potentially, think that. But realistically, that won’t work in every situation. The Chinese will have to control the information very carefully—”
Tess said, “Something they are very good at.”
Creighton said, “We haven’t talked about all of the details today, but we are designing our plan so that different Chinese groups would get different bits of information. The submarine commanders that are tasked with sinking American naval vessels will be told one thing. And the Chinese troops going in with UN stickers on their helmets will be told another. But this is just for the first stage of the invasion. Eventually, the bigger piece of communication to the Chinese people will focus on something else entirely. And that message will gain consistency during the post-invasion phase.”
Norman said, “And what will that be?”
Tess said, “We’ve talked about this at length. It’s a big problem—how do you motivate a nation of Chinese that, relatively speaking, love Americans to suddenly pick up arms and invade them? The Defense team has coordinated with us and they call for even larger numbers of troops than are currently in the Chinese standing army.”
Dr. Creighton said, “Simply put—we make religion the enemy. Lena actually helped us with this one. But it makes sense. Chinese Muslim terrorists have made a lot of headlines already. You probably have read about the Uygur terrorist attacks in China over the past few years. Our idea is that we link these attacks to a Muslim-Christian war. We then create a series of very public attacks in China by both Christian and Muslim groups.”
Henry said, “Wait. You’re saying that China should attack its own citizens? Fake terrorist attacks?”
Dr. Creighton said, “Why not? That’s what we’re advocating that we plan for in Iran and the US. Every politician needs a scapegoat. And over the years, religious groups and ethnicities have served wonderfully in this capacity. The message will be that religion is the source of all war and terrorist violence. The Chinese government will call upon its citizens to enter into a crusade, if you will appreciate the irony, to root out religious extremism. This includes Christian extremists in the US that want to hurt China. The exact message track needs some work, but you get the point.”
Norman said, “Do you really think the Chinese government would kill some of its own citizens just to motivate the rest?”
Henry heard someone in the back say, “That’s a good idea—a little scary—but good.”
Natesh continued, “Okay, I’m sorry but I must insist we move on. Objective two: our Chinese invaders want the economy to still be vibrant and capable within a few years of the initial occupation. For this, the team looked at East and West Germany and how different their long-term economic conditions were compared to how the Soviets and the Allies allowed the nations to develop. So we recommended that the invading force help the occupied nation to set up their own government that they put in place, but allow them to flourish within limits. This means that the rebuilding nation would have restrictions on their military as it is rebuilt. The invading force shouldn’t hit any of the moneymaking economic centers, only military targets and utilities. This one is hard due to the Communications team’s need to cut the Internet and the American economic reliance on telecommunications, so we’ve agreed that only power will be taken out, not the submarine cables. There will still be global economic collapse—but we aren’t creating any mortal wounds here, just flesh wounds that will heal over time.”
Natesh took another sip from his water bottle and continued. “Okay, almost done…”
Henry saw on the outline that he too had made strong contributions to the plans. During day two, Henry had designed how the Chinese would solve one of their biggest problems: how to get tens of millions of troops and all of their equipment across the Pacific Ocean. The answer was pretty simple—shipping containers. Henry had drawn out loose plans for how to create a fleet of makeshift troop transports out of the countless container ships that were in and out of Chinese ports each day. Many had argued that the scale of such a project would surely attract the attention of US intelligence. But Henry had pointed out that they only needed the first few ships to reach Panama when the attack began. The rest could be loaded up after the blackout, when the US wouldn’t know what was happening.
Henry looked at the outline and saw how valuable Natesh must have been to the companies he worked for. He had integrated all of the project pieces in such a way that they came together perfectly in a terrible and efficient plot. One ship would be loaded and sent. It would have to leave one month earlier than the others. But its preparation would have to be kept secret. The US blackout would be executed just before the first ship left port. It would capture the Panama Canal and hold it while the rest of the fleet was formed. The psychological operations would then ensue. The Chinese people would be made to believe some story that would call them into action. A massive military buildup would begin in China and troops would begin ferrying across the Pacific in container ship after container ship.
The US, meanwhile, would be going through weeks without electricity, transportation, or communication. The nation would be thrown into a very scary month of chaos and uncertainty. Grocery stores would go barren. Gas stations would run dry. Small elite teams of Chinese special ops would be inserted into key areas to make sure that things stayed chaotic. Orchestrated events just prior to the blackout would mean that the US was blaming Iranians or Middle Eastern terrorists. The blackout would make the US populace thankful for any help they could get. When the Chinese rolled in posing as UN aid workers, handing out food and water, the Americans would be grateful. But as the lights were turned back on, the Chinese would be controlling communication. During the blackout, the Chinese special ops units would have taken out US leadership. A new puppet government would be installed. The military would be turned mostly into an unarmed rebuilding organization, cleaning up the rubble. There would be a tense few months as Chinese law was implemented and the Americans had to adjust to new rules and censorships. But the Chinese troops would continue to pour in. And so would their families. They would be there to stay.
One of the main objectives was to capture and hold the United States. The only way to do that, the team had agreed, was to get as
much of the Chinese population over there as possible. It had to be a new way of life for everyone. The influx of Chinese children would give the new government an excuse to reshuffle the courses they were taking. Subjects had to be standardized across the nation. All children would learn both English and Mandarin. There would be years of social transformation.
Henry had heard rumors about these plans over the past few days. Seeing them now, however, scared him half to death. If this was all really going to be used…
He needed to talk to David.
9
It only stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.
—Ayn Rand
14 years earlier
Sweat poured off Lena’s forehead and onto the hard-packed dirt that surrounded Burke Lake in Northern Virginia. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath, recovering from the five-mile run. She wore a tank top and runner’s shorts that were one step up from a bathing suit. She turned as she heard the footsteps pounding pavement behind her.
“You were really kicking out there,” said Greg.
“Yeah. Had some extra energy that last mile. How long a head start did you give me?”
“Maybe thirty seconds. I may have lost count.” He smiled a cute, boyish grin. She felt that tug at her heartstrings that she was trying so hard to ignore. She must ignore those feelings today. Sacrifice was a virtue.
“I’m sure.” She smiled.
They sat down on the grass median next to their parked car and stretched. It was the only one left in the lot. The sun had set almost a half hour ago and dusk was quickly fading into night.
“Wow. Did you see the moon over there?” Greg pointed over toward the lake. Beyond the boathouse, just above the tree line, an enormous red moon began its ascent.
“Oh, I heard something about this on the radio. They call it a blood moon. There will be a lunar eclipse. The red is from all of the sunrises and sunsets that reflect off of it.”
Greg leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. “Sounds romantic.”
She turned to face him and they kissed a deeply. When they separated, they stared into each other’s eyes. His held a hunger in them. Hers held back a flow of tears.
“What’s wrong?” Greg asked.
“Nothing.” She looked away, back towards the moon…then down to the boathouse. She could see the reflection of the moon in the lake. “I have a…fun idea. I think you are going to like it.”
Greg raised his eyebrows, “Oh? This sounds exciting.”
“Follow me.” She raced up and began jogging down to where the rowboats were stacked up on the shore. She didn’t need to look. She knew he would be running behind her, his strong legs propelling him with ease. She would miss their runs together.
Lena arrived at the boats and took another look around. No one in sight.
“Come on, let’s go for a private row.” She winked.
Greg grinned and began sliding one of the bottom boats off its holder. The low-pitched echoes of wood sliding on metal sounded throughout the inlet, but no one heard. They were alone.
Together they slid the boat across the gravel shore and into the water. Greg grabbed two large wooden oars that looked like they had seen better days. They slid the metal rings into the locks and pushed off, bobbing and rocking as they began to float.
They both giggled as Greg almost lost his balance. Then he slid into the rower’s seat and took long, strong pulls.
Stroke.
He stopped one arm and pulled with only the other, turning them towards the center of the large lake. It was getting darker. The blood moon cast red light across the water and onto the faces of the two young lovers.
Stroke.
Lena sat in the front of the boat, gazing into that copper-red orb. The sounds of water bubbling by were relaxing.
But she wasn’t relaxed.
She was fighting a strange mix of emotions inside her. Sadness. Nervousness. And a third, stirring feeling that shouldn’t be there but strangely was…excitement.
Stroke.
They looked at each other as he rowed, a knowing gaze passing between them. She watched his body as he moved and felt his eyes on hers. He wanted her. Out here in the cool fall air where they were completely alone, surrounded by crimson moonlit water.
Stroke.
It took about ten minutes for the rowboat to reach a darker part of the lake, shadowed by tall pines. When he stopped rowing, they drifted, silent ripples following in their wake. Lena crept to his middle bench. He reached for her and they kissed. It started off slow. A few romantic pecks gradually became more intense. Then she straddled him and wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands were moving up and down her back. Her heart was beating faster. He started to reach a hand up the front of her shirt and she stopped him.
“Wait,” Lena whispered.
“What?”
“I thought I heard something.” They were near the other side of the lake, where the running path cut through the forest and followed the winding shoreline.
“What is it?” Greg asked. He leaned forward, looking in the same direction.
They both peered into the dark shadows of the woods.
Lena slipped her hand under her shirt and up to her damp sports bra. She reached until she felt the small hard plastic device that had been resting there for the past two hours.
“I thought I saw someone. Over there,” Lena said.
She held it behind her back, where Greg couldn’t see. She removed the plastic cap, careful not to touch the needle.
“I don’t see anything,” Greg said. He turned back to her, smiling.
She said, “Kiss me.”
They each leaned forward, careful not to lose their balance as they kissed.
Her hands were behind his head. He only felt a pinprick on his neck. But he must have heard the sound. The phssstt as the CO2-pressurized container shot a dose of paralyzing liquid into his body that would take down a four-hundred-pound man almost instantly.
Greg’s face contorted. And Lena’s heart raced with euphoria.
Her eyes were wide with anticipation. She had never killed anyone before. She hadn’t been sure how she would feel. She’d assumed sadness, given who it was and the relationship they had. But the excitement that filled her now was better than any high she had ever had. Greg’s neck muscles tensed. Then the rest of his body seized and his face turned beet red, the veins on his neck bulging. She still had her legs wrapped around him. She didn’t know why, but she found herself caressing his back. But she didn’t kiss him. She wanted to watch his face as the life drained from his eyes. She was torn between losing one of the only romantic relationships she had ever had and the excitement of finally using her training. Or was the excitement something deeper? Did she like killing?
“Shhhh…shhhhh…” Lena whispered.
He was looking at her, not comprehending. His convulsions were getting stronger now. And the boat began to rock. She put her feet on the deck for stability. Then she grabbed his arm and knee, and lifted up with all of her strength. Cool water splashed her face as his stiff, unresponsive body plummeted into the lake. She could hear incomprehensible noises coming out of his gritted teeth. He floated for a moment, still facing up…until she reached in and turned him over. After that, there was a grotesque gurgling for a few moments, and then…silence.
She watched with wide eyes. When it was over, a single tear streaked down her face. She had a strange taste in her mouth. Adrenaline. For a moment, she wanted to sob. Then to scream…then she was calm. This was a heavy sacrifice, but she had done her duty. An enormous sense of pride washed over her. She had proven herself. And now she would become one of Jinshan’s rising stars.
Lena picked up the oars and began to row back the way they’d come, away from the floating corpse. Halfway back t
o the boathouse, she threw the small plastic syringe into the lake.
Present Day
* * *
Lena walked out of the Classroom building and into the humid wind. It was truly blowing now. The tropical storm was here. By the looks of the soaked ground, she had just missed a band of torrential rain. She hurried down the gravel path.
A minute later, she typed her code into the digital keyset and opened the Comms building door. Once in, she felt a rush of cool air as she walked down a dark and narrow concrete hallway. The two desktop computer fans whirred.
“Hello?”
No answer. Natesh Chaudry and Major Combs were the only two people she had given access to this room, and they were both in the classroom. She walked to the back of the room, where the other door was. She typed another, longer code into that digital keypad and entered the back room of the Communications building.
The walls of the back room were covered with charts and de-energized computer screens. There were also radios and radar screens. This would eventually serve as an air traffic control center once more people got here. But for now, while Jinshan had her on this island, it was her living quarters. There was a weapons locker, a shelf for her clothes, a bathroom with a shower, and a small kitchen that she seldom used. On the concrete floor she had a small mat slightly thicker than a yoga mat. That was her mattress. Each day she did forty-five minutes of calisthenics on the concrete floor, then another forty-five minutes of martial arts practice. She lived a Spartan life.
