by Jack L Knapp
“How expensive, Mister Sneyd?”
“Well, between the two of them...maybe you should ask Mister Fuqua. He’s the man who built the company.”
“Mister Fuqua?”
“Between the two of them, right at three quarters of a billion US dollars.”
The doctor stepped in at that point. “The interview is finished. Leave now.”
The interview was finished, but not the fallout. People around the world watched it. A follow-up interview was conducted, this time with Frenchy.
“Mister Fuqua, I understand your company refuses to allow others to buy the space drive?”
“That is correct.”
“Certainly you have enough money; you can’t spend what you already have. Why would you not share the discovery with other nations?”
“We will, eventually. That’s no secret. But we...I speak for my son-in-law and my daughter...don’t want to see the same things in space that we see on Earth. The constant jockeying for profit, the envy, the hatred...”
“But your company has made huge profits!”
“We hope to make even more. But we provide a service that nations desperately need, and they often repay us in a similar fashion. We have exchanged space flights for manufactured goods, occasionally for commodities, other times for basing rights. We’ve done business with China as well as with Japan, so I don’t understand why that nation would turn on us and attack our ship.”
“The Chinese ambassador denies this, Mister Fuqua. He claims that China is a friend to NFI.”
“No. We have had independent confirmation.”
“Can you share this evidence with us, Mister Fuqua?”
“No. That’s enough, gentlemen. I have work to do.”
#
The president was livid.
“Goddammit, Mark! I’m facing reelection and suddenly I’m looking like a cheap villain. How the hell did this happen? Our own people suddenly see NFI not as the greedy bastards they are, but as heroes! I’ve got to turn this around quick or the White House door will hit me in the ass next January. I’ll need to meet with my campaign staff, not here, someplace neutral. You can’t be there either. Set it up, but tell them to keep it quiet. See what kind of a spin I can put on it. There must be something. Sneyd is in Japan, nothing I can do there. They’re pissed already.”
“Mister President, they have formally asked the United States to live up to the terms of their treaty. I have it on good authority that since they never got a reply, they’re rearming as fast as they can. They’ve got money now, a lot of it. They’re buying arms, the Iron Dome system and tanks from Israel, fighters from France...that Eurofighter is supposed to be a good plane...even planes from us.”
“I know it. I tried to stop it, but Congress forced my hand.”
“They don’t want to upset the Japanese any more than they have to. They need those small reactors. The states that already have them know they’ll need servicing and replacement, the ones that don’t have them yet want them. It’s that, or go back to burning coal and gas.”
“Yeah, yeah. Bastards. We could build our own, you know.”
“We could, but we’d start way behind. It’s cheaper to buy from the Japanese.”
“Yeah, it just gets better and better. What’s this about the Koreans?”
“The Japanese haven’t said anything, but our sources in South Korea say they’ve initiated contacts with South Korea. They want an alliance of small Asian nations. The Japanese expect they’ll have to go it alone. The UN won’t help, we stopped that, and you ordered that we not reply to the request for assistance.”
“The Koreans won’t go along with that, Mark. They hate the Japanese.”
“They might. They fear the Chinese more. Plus there’s that lunatic in North Korea, he’s rattling his saber again. That new missile...there’s really no place in the world that’s safe now. They claim they have a hydrogen bomb too, and this time they may not be bluffing.”
“It just gets better and better. What about the Chinese and the Russians? They try to hit NFI and blow it, now there’s not a peep from them. I’ve got to do something, something decisive. See if their ambassadors will meet with me. Maybe it’s time we struck back before NFI hands us our heads on a platter. You know, Mark, if I’m out of here next year, so are you. You like having your own private executive jet, meeting with admirals and generals. Come up with something, Mark.”
Mark understood the need. He searched, asking questions, often late in the evening. One of the people he talked to worked for Project Los Angeles.
“Mister President, I’ve got something. It may not be important.”
“Keep talking.”
“The lab in Nevada, the one you thought would never produce anything worthwhile? It looks like they might have. If my contact is right, that is. He claims they’ve discovered antigravity.”
“Goddamn, Mark! Antigravity? Is he sure? How soon can we expect a working space drive?”
“Not in time to help your election, Mister President,” said Mark dryly. The device is huge, and it only produces a small field. At least a year, more likely it will take them ten years. Depending on funding, of course.”
“Of course. Well, it’s Congress’ baby, so why don’t you leak this to a few of them? The Speaker, the majority and minority leaders, committee heads, people like that. Maybe a lobbyist or two, get them to light a fire under Congress. Call in some favors.”
The president paused for a moment.
“Mark, if NFI refuses to share their drive, maybe all we need to do is slow them down. We’re in position to catch up, maybe even leave them in the dust. Our new impellers will be better than anything they’ve got, and when you couple that with the antigravity generator, all we need is time. Get with the Russians and the Chinese. I want to issue a joint announcement. No more raids, not now. Maybe later on, so tell them to be ready. I want to send NFI a message. Make sure the public knows I’m doing it, the Russians and the Chinese are following my lead. I need to be the leader here.”
The president stood up and began to pace. Mark waited, then asked, “What should the announcement say, Mister President. The Chinese and the Russians will want to know.” His tone reflected none of the sarcasm he wanted to use.
“We’re going to declare war on NFI, Mark. If they won’t share space with us, and make sure you include as many nations as possible in this, we’ll shut the bastards off from Earth. No water, no food, no air, nothing. We’ll starve them out. If any of their ships land on Earth, it’s fair game. Fighters, missiles, we’ll shoot them down on sight.”
Chapter Thirty
The president was grumpy. He had not slept well, and it showed. He scowled at Mark and said, “So what did the Russians say?”
Mark was careful, but there was really no way to sugarcoat this. “They said no, Mister President. The Chinese too. Wars are between nations, not between national alliances and private companies. I asked if there was a partial solution, and they agreed tentatively to statements of disapproval about NFI not sharing the drive system. They’ve learned that we salvaged Tesla, and they want access to what we found. I told them we got nothing important, just wreckage. I don’t think they bought it. If we don’t give them something, they won’t even go for the statements of disapproval.”
The president drank his cooling coffee and poured another cup. “I won’t turn anything over to them. We found it, we’ll keep it. I’m going to have to take some risks, Mark. Have you looked at the national debt, the balance of payments, our gross national product? The economy has gone downhill, and don’t thing the opposition hasn’t noticed. My record stinks, and if I can’t turn this around, I’ll be another one-and-done president. I won’t have it!”
“It’s not that bad, Mister President,” Mark demurred. “There have been reverses, but you can always release the information about having impellers of our own. Antigravity, too.”
“Yeah, once. And maybe then the Russians and Chinese will declare wa
r on us. But not now, the election is too far ahead. In the meantime, I’ve even got the treehuggers on my back. Make no mistake, Mark, people are listening to them. We need more levees, higher ones, new pumps too, and we don’t have the money. The sea is rising. Drive along the Atlantic coast, the Gulf too, and you’ll notice something. Dead trees, Mark. Salt water killed them. It doesn’t have to happen every day, it only has to happen often enough to kill the trees and wipe out lawns and gardens. Billions won’t fix it, I need trillions, and Congress won’t authorize squat! I need to distract people, give them something else to focus on. I can’t even start a war! The only issue I’ve got is NFI, and they fucking ignore me!” The president’s expression alternated between gloom and anger as his voice rose.
Mark could think of nothing to say.
“Get out, Mark. Find me some good news. Get with my speechwriters and come up with a statement. Set up a press conference in the Rose Garden. On your way out, have someone send another pot of coffee.”
Mark nodded and left. “He wants more coffee, and look out. He’s not in a good mood.”
#
Chuck spent his first week catching up. Much had happened while he was in the hospital. Frenchy and Will joined forces to brief him on developments.
“Base Australia works. We’ve still got construction going on, primarily hangars and shops to take care of the new ships that are coming on line, but flights are happening. The major difference now is that we launch over Antarctica instead of the North Pole, but the distances are roughly the same. The last of the Japanese fuel rods are gone, transported to space. I approved purchase of four bulldiggers for Mars. They’ll be finished in about a month. Meantime, the one on Luna isn’t being used, just odds and ends jobs when the lifters are being used somewhere else, so I approved sending it to Mars. The Chinese are using it now, the ones we rescued from the moon, and their old base is abandoned.
“We’ve laid out the sites for four Mars bases for ourselves, and as soon as we have places to house them, I’ll send work crews up. Moonbase is down to less than half strength, most of our people are down here on Base Australia or working on one of the new ships.”
Chuck nodded. “What about the new ships? The Rovaniemi site is closed, right?”
“It’s dormant, but there’s a caretaker staff. We may need it for an emergency field, and anyway the lease runs for another ten years. There are a few flights in and out of Reykjavik, but everything else is flying out of Australia.”
“That sounds like what I would have done. What about the Saucers?”
“Progress, but Frisbee is still the only one that’s operational. Disco and Saucer are taking more time than expected. Some good news, though; Giant and Colossus have been salvaged. The external decontamination turned out to be easier than we expected, thanks to Dolph. We sprayed the hulls with water, then scraped off the ice. That cleaned the hulls, and unbolting the cargo bay liners took care of the rest. The ice was put into the bay liners, and we used Goliath to launch everything on an escape trajectory. The sun won’t mind.”
“Pretty smart. What else has Dolph been up to?”
“Writing up patent applications. We haven’t filed yet, but they’re ready.”
Chuck nodded. “Let’s hold on to them for now. As soon as someone else has an impeller, file everything. It probably won’t stop them, but it may slow them down. What about the space stations? Are we still servicing those?”
“Right, the Indian station is doing well, so is the Indonesian one. Japan wants one, bigger than either of the others. They also intend to put observation satellites in orbit, so I agreed. As soon as they’re ready, we’ll launch them. Meanwhile, they’re rebuilding Giant and Colossus.”
“Busy, busy. Okay, I’ve been thinking. I had a lot of time in the hospital, between puking my guts out. I think it’s time to lease impeller ships to the Japanese, the Indians, and the Indonesians.”
“Just them? Not the US?”
“Just them. They’ve done well by us. They also don’t have the capabilities that the US, Russia, and China have, which means they’re less likely to try building their own ships. I intend to explain that even if they try duplicating our impellers, it will take time. Add in the costs and time to develop a ship to use them and it’s cheaper to just use ours. It won’t happen immediately; they’ve got to send pilots and support people through the school in Zurich. Contact Martha Simms and let her know to expect them. I’ll do the meeting if you want. The pilots will have to be experienced and fluent in English. The mechanics and other crew will need to understand English, but not to the same degree as the pilots.”
“You do it, Chuck. We’ve had a follow-up request from the Saudis. Same answer?”
“Same answer, it’s still no. There’s a strain of fanaticism there, I won’t be the one to take them into space. If they want a station, they can contract with the Russians or the Americans.”
“I’ll let them know. They may not be able to afford it, now that oil is so cheap. That’s really all they had going for them, and the money is bleeding away.”
“Tough. It’s not our problem.”
“I’ll contact the Japanese and the other two. Which ships?”
“Six of the Farside class, two for each of them. As soon as they have the people to operate them and keep them going , I mean.”
“You know this is going to piss off the big three, don’t you?”
“That’s not my problem either,” said Chuck.
#
Life returned to routine. An uneasy, undeclared truce held between Japan and China. Meanwhile, China added land to the artificial islands in the South China Sea. The small airfield was being used occasionally, mostly by light aircraft. Vietnamese fishermen claimed to have seen fighters coming and going from there, doing touch and go landings. Whether any remained was not known. Commercial flights now avoided the area, and several military flights reported that their radar sensors had alerted, indicating the presence of air-defense radars. The talks between Japan and South Korea were ongoing, and had expanded; they now included a number of other south or southeast Asian nations. Australia had been approached, but was keeping her distance for the time being.
Lina no longer suffered from morning sickness. She often visited Base Australia now, suggesting improvements from time to time and spending the evenings with Chuck. The twins had visited on two occasions; the entourage had included not only Lina and the children, but two nannies, chauffeurs, and Bert, the silent security man. He appeared to enjoy the trip least; he had allergies, severe ones, and they flared up in the Outback. He used an inhaler whenever it happened, but insisted on making the trip. It was his job, he explained.
No public announcement was made, but locals in Zurich noticed the increase in Asian students at NFI’s academy. Pilots, being pilots, met some of the locals. The Indonesians avoided alcohol for the most part, but not the Indians and the Japanese. Russian, Chinese, and American intelligence agents connected the dots until a picture emerged.
“They don’t work for NFI. So why is NFI training these guys?”
“I can think of one reason. They’ve been tight with those NFI people, so I’m thinking they’re going to sell them spaceships. Probably the old ones.”
“You think?”
“What else?”
“Okay, add it to tomorrow morning’s intelligence summary.”
#
The president saw it and summoned Mark. As a result of the meeting, Mark met with representatives of China and Russia. Aides were directed to prepare a joint announcement, to be released in each country. While they worked, Mark chatted with the other officials.
“What’s this about the Saudis cozying up to you Americans?”
“They have concerns. They’re in the same boat we are, shut out of space. They don’t like it; they see themselves as leaders of the Islamic World and I suppose they are, part of it anyway. But the Indonesians are Islamic too for the most part, just more moderate than the Wahabi faction
in Saudi Arabia, and they’ve got a station in orbit. The Iranians don’t recognize the Saudis as leaders either. Anyway, they’ve got money and we need the alliance. It’s just that simple. What about you Chinese? I hear the North Koreans are back in your pocket.”
“An amusing turn of phrase. They are a client state, but no more than that. They serve a useful purpose as a buffer between our people and the South Koreans.”
The officials smiled at each other. Mark noticed that the smiles never reached their eyes. He suspected much the same could have been said of his own expression.
#
Frenchy traveled to Luna to observe the launch of Saucer. Will refused to fly in space and Chuck accepted his doctor’s opinion that he should avoid further radiation exposure. The three met when Frenchy returned.
“Saucer’s on her way to Mars. She’ll remain in orbit there for the next month. Frisbee’s there already. They’ll be habitat ships until people can move into the bases.”
“Shouldn’t take long. Look how far along the Chinese are. They’ve got a virtual town now, domes for living, a fuel-rod power plant operating, and a big supply dump. They’ve found water underground too. Their last shipment was soil, plain old dirt. We bought the topsoil from Argentina and they’re spreading it out, mixing it with dirt from Mars. They figure they’ll have full-scale farms in ten years or so. They’re harvesting dry ice from the south polar cap, so that gives them plenty of carbon dioxide to work with too. The power plant provides the energy, and they’re already getting a small amount of greenhouse effect from the carbon dioxide in the domes. The plants photosynthesize the carbon dioxide and release the oxygen. They figure that within ten years they’ll be collecting oxygen from the domes. It’s something for us to try too. There’s no shortage of carbon dioxide, not really. The ice cap is about eight meters thick on the south pole, only about a meter thick over the northern pole, but even so that’s a lot of carbon dioxide. More than we’ll need for the foreseeable future.”
“Dolph claims we can pick up all we want from Venus.”
“Really?”
