by Hylton Smith
*
Before Kolorov could grab some badly needed sleep, he had yet another visitor. Alexei Bondarenko was the man who’d helped him to identify the mole on Kepler, while inspecting archive footage on Brandt’s flight deck.
“Close the door behind you, for god’s sake.”
“You ok, Ivan? You look relieved.”
“Do not speak about me, you arsehole. I told you to shoot me in the arm, not my damned shoulder. I will be stuck in here for a few days now. I wanted a simple flesh wound to convince the cops that I could not possibly be a suspect. You made sure of that with your sloppy second shot.”
“Sorry, but you dived, I am not bloody Wyatt Earp, I am an I.T. guy. I tried to tell you this but you would not listen. Anyway, has anybody given the cops a description of the shooter?”
“Sure, I did, I also gave them your address and phone number, what do you think? Even the waiters ran away, and nobody could see your face under that stupid hat. Now listen carefully, I asked you to do this because if we had used our usual contacts to get rid of Malenkov, somebody would have squealed sooner or later. It would have been the end for both of us. However, we now have a new situation to deal with. Malenkov changed his will and left all his Soyuz shares to his eldest son. The kid has just been to see me and he is scared shitless about being next in line for termination. I told him to relax, but he just wants out. He will bring his lawyer to see me soon to offer me the shares at a crazy stupid low price. I want you to play the role of my lawyer so that we can do what the kid wants. We need only five million to take over the company. Talk to the bank and get them to set aside this amount.”
“Wait a minute, Ivan. This is ridiculous, and the tax people will be on it like a bunch of sharks. I want nothing to do with this.”
“Just shut up and hear me out, will you? After we get hold of the shares, we can contact what is left of our honourable government vultures and explain the unusual circumstances we face. They are more corrupt than Malenkov himself, and they will benefit substantially when we responsibly offer to pass the shares on to them for a very reasonable mark up. Think about it, the world might end in five years’ time and Soyuz is in prime position to change that prognosis, or get a few of our species to colonise Mars. We humbly offer to keep working for the company, but truly believe it should be state-owned once again. It is a selfless act on our part and also gets us out from under the threat of these damned personal anarchist attacks. The greedy bastards in the tax department will jump at this because it seems to put them in control of the Mars situation, particularly those who would be selected to go there if we fail to knock out the asteroid. This can be a win-win situation for us if we play the greater good card. And, we earn an apparently inconsequential fee, we will be seen to have declined obscene personal gain. This is a one-time chance for us to get ourselves out of the abyss, Alexei. Don’t overthink it, just go and set up the bank transfer, ready for me to authorise. I also need to know what is going on with Kuznetsov, she’s not to be underestimated, my friend. Bring me the latest coordinates for Laika and the missile fleet. Get them back to me within the hour.”
Chapter 24
In reality, the conundrum facing Kolorov was extremely complex. The launch time of the nuclear warheads was the one constant in his cosmic riddle. The position, trajectory and speed of the asteroid was known, but could change. Now that Malenkov had been deleted from the equation, tracking the fleet of missiles was optional, and of little concrete value in the greater scheme of events, in his mind. He was concerned by Kuznetsov’s actions; even if her alteration of course did make sense of some kind, in reality, it had only been precipitated by Malenkov’s ill-considered edict. Her initial flat refusal to follow orders had only been overturned by threats to the families of the crew. He needed to communicate with her, bring her up to date with the new situation, and determine the real reason for her suggesting course alteration rather than simply allowing the implied threats to make her comply.
He couldn’t risk delegating the maze of calculations to the people normally charged with such tasks, because some were mathematically quantifiable but others were more in the realms of political psychology. The visit of Grigori Malenkov had changed the entire landscape, at least for the present. He had to accept, albeit reluctantly, that only Bondarenko could be trusted implicitly at this moment in time. That could also change, as and when he was sure of Kuznetsov’s intent.
His thinking was also encumbered by being confined to hospital, with its attendant lack of privacy, constant need for medical tests, and no secure means of communication. Such a chaotic environment was conducive to making mistakes and hasty judgement. Unfortunately, it may have to get worse before it could get better. In a few hours he would be conducting a charade with Grigori Malenkov, his lawyer, and a pretend lawyer of his own. His thoughts flicked back to the fleet of missiles.
He’d been railroaded by Oleg Malenkov into launching them much earlier than his old friend Julien Delacroix intended to dispatch those of VB Aerospace. With less than five years to go until the asteroid could actually reach Earth, he had always felt that the more simplistic strategy of pinpointing where the fleet could intercept the asteroid by adhering to a single point in space-time was grossly flawed. Even if his current fleet required less sophisticated propulsion technology, it would take much longer to reach the asteroid, and consequently offered a poorer coefficient of accuracy. Malenkov’s insistence that it was better to know one’s fate than to wallow in uncertainty, now seemed so wrong. History had shown clearly that transfer orbits were a much better way of making such a rendezvous. Initially having decided that the best place to strike the asteroid was between the asteroid belt and Mars, Kolorov had drawn on the experience of the October 1989 launch of Galileo, which arrived in Jupiter space six years later, in December 1995. This was his first reference point, one of single orbit propulsion. In comparison, in January 2006, New Horizons was launched with its more efficient propulsion system. More importantly, it employed the Hohmann transfer orbit approach. This method required much more complex calculations to enlist the help of slingshot principles from other gravitational bodies. The staggering truth was that New Horizons reached Jupiter space in thirteen months. Considering that the average distance between Earth and Jupiter orbits is approximately 483 million miles, the payoff with transfer orbit rendezvous was obvious in both time to destination and accuracy, provided that the asteroid maintained it course at forty thousand miles per hour. This strategy would have allowed for a much later launch, especially as the fleet only had to travel to within ‘sight’ of the asteroid belt.
He cursed himself for bowing to Malenkov’s pressure, to be seen to be actually doing something now, rather than procrastinating for another few years, merely mimicking VB Aerospace. Malenkov had also insisted that simply waiting would risk losing the confidence of the public, as well as fuelling the fires of the anarchists.
In fact, Kolorov recalled Malenkov’s challenge to the accepted wisdom of interference with the monster’s journey before it encountered possible pinball in the heavily populated asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. Most respected cosmologists warned the oligarch that this could have dire consequences. Although Malenkov conceded to this view he was never going to back down on the launch date. Having any kind of salvation on its way would keep the proles happy. Deep down, Kolorov knew this had been driven by a combination of greed and fear. What a mess he had helped to create. He briefly contemplated speaking with Julien Delacroix, but decided against the notion, at least until he knew whether his scheme to acquire and sell on Soyuz to the state was indeed feasible.
*
Kolorov was becoming agitated because it was almost time for Grigori and his lawyer to make an appearance, yet Bondarenko had failed to arrive and wasn’t answering his phone. The patient had been reprimanded by the nursing staff several times and was repeatedly told to calm down. He was busy threatening to discharge himself when his fake lawyer burst into the room, red-f
aced and breathless.
“Where the hell have you been? I have tried to contact you all afternoon. Close the door and sit down. Now, before Grigori arrives, did you get confirmation of Kuznetsov’s coordinates?”
“No, well, not really, but that is of no importance now.”
“No importance! I asked you to do a simple job for me, one which I consider to be ultra-important. What the hell have you been doing? Why do you not follow my damned orders?”
“Ivan, just calm down. Kuznetsov’s coordinates are no longer important with respect to tracking the missiles. She sent a message to you, simply stating that Laika was returning to Earth. She obviously had no intention of complying with Malenkov’s instructions.”
“Shit. I suspected she wasn’t really being up-front when she suggested her new course alteration, she was just buying time. Well, I suppose it could be worse, for a while I thought she might be going to crash into the fleet in an act of martyrdom. At least we have no need to explain some disaster like that. Ok, now listen to me and do exactly as I say this time. When Grigori’s lawyer begins his bullshit about the problems with our scheme, I want you to whisper your advice in my ear. I want to do the talking, but make it appear that I am taking your advice. It makes no difference what you whisper to me, as long as only I hear it. The football scores or the weather forecast will do. Do you get the picture?”
“Yes, and I am relieved to hear I do not have to talk like a lawyer. Are you sure you can pull this off?”
“Of course, as long as you don’t ruin things by opening your mouth.”
The door opened and the nurse informed Kolorov that his visitors had arrived. Grigori’s lawyer declined to sit and began lecturing Kolorov, who nudged Bondarenko under the table. The whispering began and there was nodding of the head prior to any reply.
“I hear your objections Mr..?”
“Federov, Anatoly Federov.”
“Right. Anatoly, my legal friend here has reminded me that this is not a normal situation, and therefore normal regulations are less important than they used to be. In well under five years we may all be history, including the tax people. It would take at least that long for them to bring a case of fraudulent action, even if there was no threat to humanity on the horizon. Look at it this way, I have responded to a request from your client, a young man who wants to get the best out of what may be a very short life. I would do the same. I am suggesting using Soyuz funds to buy shares in itself, there is a lot of precedent to this kind of trading. The benefit to the government, including the tax lizards, is the gift of such a prestigious organisation to the people we are trying to save. It makes sense in terms of accountability, survival is simply not guaranteed, but it might just help to placate these damned anarchists as well. Grigori is right, if he hangs on to the ownership he could suffer the same fate as his father. I am only prepared to act as an intermediary. Of course I would like a small fee for surrendering my own stockholding in such a gesture. Grigori wants only five million for the company, and I would not want more than a paltry million as a facilitator. This total of six million wouldn’t even cover a couple of pieces of specialised analytical equipment in one of our laboratories, never mind the state of the art assembly lines and everything else. Look, nobody is interested in anything but whether we will succeed in stopping this planet-killer, so what is the big deal in Grigori making such a selfless gesture to mankind? I think you have to see the current situation in a wider context, Anatoly. Of course, I can understand it will require the appropriate choice of words in the transfer document, but I recognise your responsibility as Grigori’s legal ‘guardian’ and your fee should be appropriately set to reflect any risk to your reputation. Am I making sense of this in such a time of crumbling law enforcement?”
“Well, when you put it like that, I should at least discuss this again with my client in private. I can let you know what we decide in the coming days.”
After Grigori and his lawyer left and closed the door, Bondarenko visibly relaxed. He turned to Kolorov and managed a constrained smile.
“What is it that bothers you now, Alexei? We have had a good day. I may even forgive you for messing up the shooting. We can be confident that Grigori’s lawyer will not be able to resist a healthy kickback for doing almost nothing. We are then able to use this benevolent act to nationalise Soyuz once more as a means of overriding the late Oleg Malenkov’s death sentence on the crew of Laika, and order Kuznetzov back to Earth immediately. The nuclear fleet still has its part to play, but in truth, I am not making too many ten year plans until we have solid evidence that the asteroid has been neutralised. Of course we have a second chance with VB Aerospace still to decide on when their follow up strike is to be launched. They would be well-advised to wait until they know how our fleet fared. That should not be difficult considering Julien Delacroix is genetically over-cautious.”
*
Elise was now strong enough to enjoy short trips outside the hospital as long as they weren’t too taxing. She was so keen to see the plot of land which Julien had donated to her sister. The family gathering was appropriately marked by opening a magnum of expensive champagne and raising their glasses to an awesome sunset, with the promise of celestial drama on such a clear night. Meteor showers were expected and duly arrived, slightly elusive to the human eye in the fading half-light.
It was a major milestone for all of them, but particularly Julien, as the full impact of banishing any splintering of his loved ones helped to push other concerns into the background. He would have soldiered on if he’d lost Elise to kidney failure, but it would have been extremely difficult if neglect of her condition had been solely down to his own tunnel vision in dealing with an asteroid. Such introspection, had to be seen for what it was, a haunting luxury in the context of ‘life goes on’. It was to be savoured wholesomely, yet woven into a mosaic of pragmatic reality. A feeling which until now had eluded him for his entire married life. He experienced a strong urge to hold Elise tightly, but knew that had to wait, she was still too fragile.
Chapter 25
Part Three: Confluence
2037
As day zero relentlessly approached, there were many signs of change in the air. The clock was ticking louder as the VB Aerospace deflection launch was in final countdown phase. The agonising wait was almost over, but had curiously spawned both hope and resignation, even within families.
The Soyuz nuclear arsenal had failed spectacularly and the fallout had been handled in a less than transparent manner.
Ivan Kolorov was a born survivor, blessed with an ingenious ability to deflect culpability, but obviously not asteroids. The official explanation of the premature detonation of one warhead, and the immediate blackout of further data transmission, was a convenient means of self-preservation. He argued that the echelon formation of approach to the asteroid had never been challenged by so-called experts before the disaster. The echelon formation had been approved in order to produce optimal distribution of destruction and deflection force. The software analysis indicated that the third warhead in the echelon had been the source of such a monumental mishap. Independent I.T. experts had been drafted in to begin picking over the bones of the asteroid’s unhindered progress. Kolorov’s closest ally, Alexei Bondarenko became a willing sacrificial lamb, and with his mentor’s help, disappeared to some unknown remote location.
Such an ‘elementary’ error, in the eyes of the uneducated, shifted the odds of the planet continuing to support any form of life after 2039. Decades of diminishing religious faith suddenly saw a complete turnaround. The rush to anarchism, despite frequent atrocities still being screened on television, saw a significant fall in recruitment to their ranks. City strongholds were the grateful benefactors of this adverse publicity, as it fuelled a steady stream of desperate people, seeking a sense of belonging once more. Consequently, urban refuges swelled in roughly similar proportion to anarchic deserters for the first time in a decade. Life within these city limits was not free fro
m danger, but it was becoming by far the least threatening option as 2039 inexorably crept closer. The anarchist influence had come full circle, providing freedom from authoritarian rule, only to replace it with indiscriminate slaughter of innocents. The previously magnetic doctrine now offered little else, especially in the face of there being only about another seven hundred and thirty days to extinction. The total collapse of conventional paper currency had also undermined the recent march to anarchy, as it inadvertently created problems for an unregulated barter system outside of city society. Within urban enclaves, in which protection of infrastructure became the defining difference between the two ideologies, the tenet that all humans are not actually equal was gradually being rejuvenated. The human race was facing a common threat, and yet its entire population was dependent on just a few of these unequal individuals - conceiving, constructing, and implementing salvation - whether or not they were chosen by some omnipotent presence.
Julien Delacroix was one of them and decided it was the perfect time to contact Kolorov.
*
The past two years of finessing the fleet launch had been a mixture of frustration and patience for Julien in terms of preparing for the big day. In sharp contrast, his private life had been the happiest he’d known. Eugene’s research complex was a stunning testament to Julien’s foresight in authorising genetic analysis on such a scale. Sophie’s dream house creation became the bedrock of the new family, and Geraldine’s quirky little cottage provided the final touch. Sophie’s dedication to these projects had thrown her together with a multiplicity of construction personnel, one of whom was rather special. She still struggled with commitment, but conceded that he could be referred to as a boyfriend.
Elise was now fully recovered, and the prognosis going forward was positive. The life-giving kidney transplant had altered her perception of what was really important. She, more than the rest of the family, looked upon the next two years as a stay of execution rather than notice of termination. She had found a new strength to live every day to the full, often leaving her sister, with whom she spent most of her time, perennially exhausted. Geraldine did become homesick quite frequently, but this was offset to some degree by the continual news bulletins of terrorist acts in cities such as Lyon.
