Element 94

by Kleiner Jeffries

  “Yes, he’s the only one who’s got a shot. He’s got the look, speaks the language, and is the best we've got.”

  “You want him to go in with me and the rest of the team?”

  “No, absolutely not. He’s to work alone on this – that’s the only way.”

  “Understood. When do you want him?”

  “As soon as possible. I’m on my way. I’ve got some issues to go over with our new scientist here. Get him cleared and on a plane ASAP.”

  “Sure. He can leave with us tonight.”

  “No Mack. He’s to go his own way. On a commercial flight that only you and I know about.”

  “Okay. Anything else?”

  “No…Mack, good luck in Africa.”

  “Thanks Bill.”

  Leo Koval waited patiently as Bill Kelly paced the Pentagon parking lot while talking on his mobile phone. The air was cool and crisp, the sky a magnificent shade of blue, with not a cloud in the sky. He stared out across the Potomac River at the nation’s capital just a stone’s throw away, with a pensive look on his face. His thoughts were inevitably guided by the implications of element 94 and the reactions from the Pentagon brass. The world was indeed a frightening place - probably more so than ever before. His earliest childhood memories were dominated by the cold war threat of the Soviet Union, when the mutually destructive capabilities of the two superpowers were well known. In retrospect even the Cuban missile crisis, with warheads located less than 90 miles off the United States coast, probably didn’t pose as existential a threat as they now faced, with easier access to weapons of mass destruction than ever before. But why did it have to be this way? Leo thought. Why was this picturesque, serene image before him in such danger of crumbling? Why did such a threat as he had just displayed to the Pentagon brass moments earlier exist at all?

  The answer was obvious, and rooted in the principles of atomic physics. The forces that held atoms and molecules together had to be as they were, and it was only a question of time until someone had figured out a way to harness that power. That this magnificent force was first and foremost directed towards destructive means was where things had broken down - where the world and its inhabitants had gone so terribly wrong. But the nuclear age was born of a time of war, and a time of hatred on a scale as had never been seen before. That the next Hitler could very well be armed with a nuclear weapon was a threat almost too unimaginable to contemplate – but one that was all too real.

  Curiously, Leo’s interactions with those nebulous forces in the intelligence world whose job it was to maintain national security did have some salutary effects. He began to feel a sense of purpose unlike ever before, a sense that he was on the cusp of being part of something larger - a higher calling of sorts. After all, unbeknownst to him, he had already been working for his government on element 94 in a most sensitive capacity. And the reactions his briefing had ignited were not lost upon the physicist. But there were still a number of issues that puzzled Leo. It was now clear his nation’s intelligence service had made sure the material found its way to his laboratory. But how did his government obtain the sample? More importantly, who else had access to this unusual and powerful substance?

  Leo was still not quite sure what his role might be, if any, in averting some cataclysmic threat that seemed to so greatly concern those present in the briefing. Surely element 94 was a danger to them all, but so was the presence of enriched uranium, plutonium, and every single nuclear device that littered the globe. The National Security Advisor had alluded to the fact that this new element was undetectable by some RDS system, but Leo was still a bit puzzled as to the significance of this revelation. He had never before heard of RDS.

  Leo's thoughts were interrupted as Kelly approached and motioned him into his car. They were headed to CIA headquarters - just a brief trip Northeast to McLean, Virginia. Kelly, whom Leo now appreciated was the man in charge of counter-terrorism in the nation, limited the discourse to superficial matters; small-talk as it were. But sitting in the CT director’s office at CIA headquarters, the conversation inevitably shifted towards more substantive matters. Leo was about to learn the magnitude and seriousness of why his services were so desperately needed.

  “So doctor…Leo”; Kelly paused for effect, smiled, then continued on, remembering the scientist had specifically asked to be called by his first name, “the radiodetection system, or RDS, is a multifaceted approach to bar any entry of potential nuclear threats from reaching sovereign US soil, internally and abroad. It all starts in space, with the great eye in the sky, our spy satellites.” They were sitting in Kelly’s large office on the top floor of the new headquarters building, which housed most of the CT group.

  “We just recently launched our 20th satellite dedicated to this task – 12 to scan our own hemisphere and borders, the rest for global coverage. It’s an ambitious and well orchestrated system, much like the 24 satellites that make up our GPS system, with constant coverage most anywhere on the planet, but of course in this case more focused domestically.”

  “You scan for radioactivity?” Leo could not help the skeptical tone in his voice. As a leader in his field, he had never imagined such technology existed.

  “Yes. We refined highly sensitive detectors long ago, so that's not the limiting factor. The daunting task is differentiating the good from the bad, deciphering the very many benign emitters of radiation that may masquerade as the real thing. So basically, we have to deal with a lot of false positives. But the system is designed that way – to maximize sensitivity at the expense of specificity and predictive value of a positive pickup… In other words, we can’t afford to miss one single bomb, and must therefore evaluate every signal, even if it means sifting through a lot of background noise.”

  “Thus the need for 20 satellites. Plenty of overlapping coverage”, Leo stated rather perceptively for someone not terribly acquainted with orbiting systems.

  “Yes. When there are particular hot spots, other covering satellites can be directed to focus in on these more closely, and verify most if not all as false-positives.”

  “Now how on earth”, Leo paused, cognizant of the pun in the making, for the detection systems were technically out in space, “can you possibly distinguish say radioactive cesium used to treat some patient with cancer from a nuclear explosive-type device? And what about shielding? How can satellites in orbit pick up low-level radiation from shielded materials? I’ve been a nuclear physicist the better part of my life, and I don’t see how that’s at all possible… “

  “Leo, I have neither the time nor the expertise to explain the details of the technology, but it’s doable - trust me. There are specific patterns that only highly enriched materials emit, that can then be amplified. Much like a fingerprint or voiceprint, nuclear-grade materials emit their radiation in a specific pattern that can then be amplified and recognized by our software.”

  “Unbelievable, I was never aware such telltale signs exist”

  “Leo, this stuff isn’t published, it’s classified. And it’s staying that way, understand?”

  “Understood”, Leo responded, meeting Kelly’s piercing gaze. “And shielding?”

  “Like I said, the technology is beyond me, but the signal can be amplified. And when only truly low-level signals are present, we have our spy planes and drones take a closer look. Most of our visual assets have now been upgraded with the radioactivity sensing equipment. RDS involves all of these components, coordinated centrally at the department of defense.”

  “Yet you have access to it.”

  “Yes. The CTG, that is, counter-terror group, has a direct feed to the system. That’s something I insisted on years earlier when I was given this post.”

  “One day, I’d like to learn how the science behind all this works?” Leo probed.

  “One day perhaps you will. My people were intimately involved with the design of the system, and it is in fact this system which we now seek your assistance in upgrading…but I’ll get back to that la
ter. First, for completeness, I should tell you RDS is programmed to pick up many radioactive compounds, not just enriched Uranium and Plutonium. We track cesium, P32, I125, you name it.” Kelly rattled off a list of some of the more commonly used radioactive isotopes of elements used in various commercial fields and medicine.

  A puzzled look crossed Leo’s face. “But those isoforms are ubiquitous?”

  “Unfortunately yes, so we can only target large emissions of these secondary radiation sources, those that can’t be used in an explosive-type device but can lead to widespread contamination, a ‘dirty bomb’ if you will. And these resources are focused mainly on urban centers, believed to be at greatest risk. So yes, we can’t pick up everything, everywhere, but we want to be able to detect any major such attack. And as for U235 and plutonium, the big guns - those we’ve got nailed down. One hundred percent”

  “I thought nothing was 100% except death and taxes”, Leo said slyly, a smile beginning to form on his face. After not receiving any initial reaction from Kelly, Leo added more seriously:

  “So why tell me all this?”

  “Because we need you. And not for your sense of humor, I might add”. Kelly winked as he spoke, a clear indication his words were enshrouded in sarcasm. Under different circumstances, he might enjoy a drink and causal conversation with this scientist, he thought.

  Leo smiled back, but continued in a deadpan tone “So why tell me all this? What possible help might I be in working on the RDS system? I am not a satellite engineer, and it seems, am not even up on the latest developments within my own field given what you just told me. So of what possible use am I in this capacity?”

  “I’ll get to that. But let me say, I do plan to tell you more than you need to know. I fought to be able to tell you about RDS. I had to get the okay from the DCI and defense, which was made incredibly easier due to input from the NSA – by the way, you made quite an impression on Samuel Weintraub this afternoon. I decided on extended disclosure because I think you may need to think outside the box on this one. You may need to integrate what you know about 94, and what you’re going to learn, into context. And any peripheral insight you might add may come in useful. You’re to be included on all high-level briefings. But if you want out, if you want a more limited role, let me know now.”

  Kelly felt the answer to this question was already a foregone conclusion. The scientist was tough-minded, courageous, and patriotic - not one to back down. But as a formality, he continued on: “Because you’re right, you really don’t need to know all that much– and the more you know, the greater your exposure”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, the more you know, the more valuable you are – both to us and our adversaries. And that means, you’re a greater risk, a more attractive target. Now we can and will keep your involvement classified, but these things have a way of becoming known, and our enemies, trust me, they have eyes and ears too”.

  Without hesitation, and with as much machismo as he could muster, Leo blurted out “To hell with that, lay it on me”

  “Okay tough guy”, Kelly responded, with a sarcastic raise of the eyebrows. He continued on in a more serious tone, “Until recently, we thought we had every single nuke on the planet tracked – no exaggeration. When and where they are moved, assembled, disassembled, hidden underground, aboveground, in the air, underwater, smuggled through mountains – everything. This was priority number one since nineleven, and congress gave us the resources. Do you remember the Russians accused us of spying about a year ago?” the question was rhetorical – Kelly rambled on “well, we confronted them about movements in their stockpiles. We had specific coordinates; they couldn’t believe it. They were convinced we had intel right under their noses at their Moscow-based defense headquarters. I think a whole batch of people got fired as a result”, Kelly boasted.

  That must have been a proud moment for all these spooks working through the drudgery of following every radioactive signal around the world, post-cold war notwithstanding thought Leo.

  “Of course, we have the major nuclear energy facilities, hospitals, research labs – anyone with any significant amount of radiation, we have them mapped on a computer somewhere. New facilities are screened thoroughly, with follow-up directed imaging, and if necessary by men on the ground. There is virtually a continuous cavalcade of spy planes and drones specially equipped with detection equipment dedicated to this task. The coordination of the system is really something quite remarkable”

  “Did you detect me when I got hold of 94?” asked Leo presciently. He already knew the answer. After all, why else was he here?

  “Wait – I’ll get to that”. Kelly wasn’t ready to have his bubble burst yet. He droned on: “We have detection towers, analogous to those used to create digital nets used for communications. We have sea-based detection systems in the Atlantic and Pacific guarding against submerged and maritime threats, much like our submarine detection systems, our sonar nets. Everything was upgraded after nine-eleven, including a newly devised RDS control center in the wing of the Pentagon that was rebuilt following the attacks. This is all, of course, ultimately backed by a dedicated force that can mobilize anywhere on the globe.” The cadence of Kelly’s monologue was picking up speed now. “We have billions poured into the system. Clandestine facilities to back up our main control center at DOD. Servers to back up the servers to back up the servers. All the backup files are stored in old nuclear silos, underground, highly protected, both physically and through advanced encryption.”

  “And now that’s all worthless”, interrupted Leo. “ 94 evades the system.”

  “Yes”, Kelly responded despondently. “We were actually getting quite comfortable, relaxed even. Do you know a classified national security briefing a year ago listed nuclear exposure risk to this country as minimal? Minimal”, Kelly emphasized, “far below biological and chemical devices. We thought we had decapitated the most devastating third of the chimerical beast of mass destruction. I mean, bio and chemical threats, however gruesome, pales in comparison, right? And shit, here we are, as exposed as ever, an Achilles heel with a big bullseye waiting to be struck.”

  “So I’m here to find a way to detect 94”

  “Exactly. We need to learn as much as we possibly can about this stuff.”

  “So why me? How did you pick me for this assignment? I mean, what if this is something I don’t think I can even do?”

  “I chose you because I think you’re the best man for the job. I made sure you and only you got a hold of this material.”

  “Why? Why did I get this honor? What do you know about me that makes me such a great and reliable candidate?”

  Kelly did not answer immediately, which prompted Leo to ask more pointed questions.

  “Have you guys been watching me or something? Is there anything I should know?”

  Boy, this guy is perceptive, thought Kelly. He would have to handle this delicately. “Leo, some things are best left unsaid”

  “Mr. Kelly, I certainly do not want to overstep my bounds here. But I do think I deserve an answer. Especially if I’m to spend the better part of my days now working on this project.”

  Of course Leo was right; Kelly had anticipated this moment - an old trick in the book. He would, albeit grudgingly, inform Leo of the surveillance. This would reinforce the trust between the two and also give Kelly some leverage when there were issues he really couldn’t disclose to the scientist. In the silent void, however, Leo started to become defensive.

  “Is my phone tapped? My apartment bugged? What…”

  Kelly interjected before Leo could finish. “Easy Leo, no, it’s not like that”

  “Well what’s it like then?” Leo proceeded more cautiously now. But he remained firm. “Of all the physicists in the world, why was I chosen Mr. Kelly?”

  “Remember a few years back. You were approached with a lucrative offer to work on a project abroad?” Leo pondered the question, thinking back to what Kelly might b
e alluding to.

  “Are you talking about…that was over 10 years ago. I turned the project down. I was in the middle of my post-doctoral work at the time.”

  “Of course you were. Just out of school, little in the way of money, no permanent position. You see, that’s their modus operandi Leo. They always try to lure people while they’re at their most vulnerable.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Leo, please, you knew there was something fishy going on. Assembling piles for uranium enrichment overseas, c’mon.”

  “But that’s not my area of expertise – it just didn’t make sense. What did I know from…”

  “You knew enough, trust me” Kelly interjected. “Converting a scientist with a proven track record in material production or bomb design was too risky. Scientists with such expertise are scrutinized closer than you might know. But you…you would not provoke the least bit of suspicion…or so they thought. They were thinking long-term. They just wanted you for your mind, Leo; a long-term project. You were identified as the most capable of the crop, potentially vulnerable, and that was that. These people do their homework, trust me.”

  “You know who it was that approached me?”

  “Of course I do. We had the restaurant bugged. One of my agents was sitting two tables away.”

  Kelly waited for that bit of information to sink in, then proceeded on.

  “You knew that deal stank. You were a struggling scientist, sitting next to a suitcase full of cash, and you turned it down. You knew to do the right thing, Leo. You’re a man of integrity and substance. That’s how you entered our radar screen. We”, Kelly paused, then changed the pronoun, “I’ve been interested in you ever since. I knew if the need arose, you were a person who could be trusted.”

  “Why didn’t you approach me sooner?”

  “Approach you for what? We had no need for you at the time. Approaching you would only put you in danger. Suspect elements were already staking you out. If anyone knew about our surveillance, you might not be here today… Besides, we were hoping never to need you. If not for 94, you might still be toiling away in a lab at Columbia, oblivious to the heat you generated.”