SUED FOR PEACE (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 11)

by Michael Anderle

  I know that, ADAM. What have we talked about when being exact with humans?

  >>That to always be precise points to you not being human.<<

  If an AI could sound miffed mentally, ADAM was accomplishing the feat pretty well, she thought. Yes, so while you are an Entity, and you are working to accomplish the most incredible feats ever for me, I need you to understand that if you grease the wheels, it will help reduce trouble. Make sure you update the EVE project for me with that understanding. She thought quickly, Except in battle, you don’t fudge anything during battles.

  >>I understand and will make the adjustments.<<

  The President eyed the USB drive, “I’m not going to like what is on that, am I?” He reached to take the small device, “Pandora’s box?”

  “Some, not all of it. Some of the people on that drive are just family, people who can be used to blackmail other people to get them to do what the Black Cabal need them to do.” When he raised his eyes to her, she explained further, “My name for them.”

  He nodded his understanding, “What should I do about General George Thourbourah?”

  “Well, his boss is out of the equation. Don’t ask about him if you want plausible deniability. George believes I was seriously hurt, but that will go by the wayside the next time I’m photographed.”

  “Oh, earlier than that,” he assured her. He shrugged at her raised eyebrow, “We have assets that track all important people. That could mean important for any number of reasons; you just happen to trip a few of them including financial, technological and security.”

  ADAM.

  >>Yes?<<

  Find out how many countries are tracking me, and start placing information that shows me everywhere so that they can never tell what is the right answer.

  >>When do you want this to occur?<<

  Can you make it happen retroactively so that the information seemed like it happened before this conversation?”

  >>Not easily, no. Countries will have a paper trail.<<

  Damn. Ok, figure out the countries’ data feed and start adding additional false positives if you can. I suppose changing their data would flag them that you are in the system.

  >>Not to mention it might be too risky unless you believe this must occur?<<

  No, it isn’t that big of a deal. I just didn’t realize I’m on various countries’ morning reports, and it bugs the shit out of me.

  TOM?

  Yes?

  What are you working on at the moment?

  Still on the gravitic issues with Marcus.

  Please add a request to your queue about considering what it would take to change someone to look like me.

  I can answer that question already. The Pod doc can’t do it. It works on the person’s DNA, so it isn’t going to change another person to look like you.

  But I thought since you can change the structure of the materials in a body, this might be possible?

  That was changing the design, not how you look. The Pod Doc hasn’t been set up to change a person.

  Wait a minute, TOM - you paused! I sense you thinking about something, ‘fess up.

  Well, if a patient is considerably messed up physically or their DNA has been corrupted, the Pod Doc can use a super-set of DNA to try and fix these issues. Doing it this way would certainly change the person as they heal.

  So, it’s feasible?

  Yes, but not very recommended.

  Ok, I’ll push that idea off to the side.

  Are we good?

  Yes, sorry. I don’t like being the target, and I figured if there were copies, it would be hard to confirm which version is me.

  It would be the version with four large guards walking around her, he quipped.

  Did you just zing me… again? she asked, amused.

  Yes and here’s your sign, he told her in a southern drawl.

  You ass!

  She heard his version of a chuckle as he withdrew from their conversation.

  That’s another one I owe you, she thought privately.

  Bethany Anne returned to the President’s conversation. Her conversations with ADAM and TOM were over so quickly he didn’t register a pause, “When you find a suitably safe computer to review the contents of the USB drive, you will find incriminating evidence for a lot of powerful and influential people. I have also included general information on critical people in your allies’ governments and significant industries. You can distribute it as you think best.”

  The President looked down at the USB drive he was holding, “Truly Pandora’s box, then. I can’t say I’m happy with the present you’ve delivered.”

  Bethany Anne shrugged, “Well, you could destroy it and go blithely on your way.”

  “No,” he sighed, “I can’t. I have a duty and however distasteful it is, I’ll see it done.” He looked at her, “How do you handle stuff like this?” He asked as he lifted the USB drive and waved it a little.

  “I have a group responsible for tracking down the truth and bringing those guilty to justice,” She admitted, wondering what the President would say.

  “What about juries, judges, and the rest?”

  Her grim face told him the answer, “Mr. President, in the harshness of space, you don’t allow stupidity.” She wasn’t about to fess up regarding Barnabas and Tabitha. “So, we have a strict policy. While we aren’t a hundred percent effective, almost all of the people we have are focused on a bigger goal than just working for their own ends. So, there is a significant amount of self-policing. Those that we miss?” She paused, “They are warned, and they are adults. We treat them as such.”

  “You don’t have a positive opinion about our court system?”

  “Do you?” She countered.

  “Well, I think it is the best thing we have going at the moment.”

  “Let me ask you a question. What are the two things that drive people?”

  “Fear and greed, usually,” he answered.

  “So, take that to the logical conclusion. At a certain age, an adult will be driven by fear, greed, or a challenge - something bigger than themselves. Fear of repercussions for actions they have taken is a strong motivator for not committing punishable offenses. If the system for punishment is broken, then the power of fear in stopping activities diminishes, and you have more and more people shrugging off the threats and acting anyway. However, people learn, quickly. Greed can be considered in a good light. I’m not talking about wanting more money, or power, I’m talking about being greedy or desiring something good in your life that benefits yourself and others. What about the person who is greedy about wanting to be in space? They have to prove themselves capable of deserving that position, of protecting not only themselves but others. Everyone depends on what a person is willing to do to save everyone else.”

  “That works when you take the best of society that wants to get ahead,” the President stated.

  “No, it works when you stop supporting those who do nothing.”

  “That isn’t a very Christian attitude.”

  She smiled at him, like a cat looking at a mouse. “Christian? I’ll give you a few things to ponder, Mr. President. Look them up when you have time. ‘The appetite of the laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.’” She continued, “And the best yet. A quote by the Apostle Paul, who said to those in Thessalonica, ‘We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you… For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’”

  She leaned back in her chair, “Do you have some idle hands? Then dream bigger for your country. Give them something to use their minds, their strength, their abilities and stretch your people. Make them earn their keep, and then they will have pride in themselves. If some don’t? Well, be a man and strap a pair on - if you need a pair you can borrow my ovaries. Your infrastructure needs fixing
! You have the ability to create work centers by the thousands. You need to fucking dream bigger. We are human beings. Every one of us has worth, talents and skills. Fucking put them to use! Stop taking the easy way out and punting the problem to the next generation. Don’t support a nation of people sitting on their ass and taking money from those who work without trying to make it better. Make a change, even if it is starting the change before you step out of office.”

  The President had nothing to say in response. While he didn’t doubt she knew the difficulties of making this happen, she also wouldn’t care that it was a challenge. He pursed his lips and nodded his head sharply.

  She stood up and faced him, both hands held up as if in supplication, “Don’t give up, don’t accept mediocrity, don’t accept the status quo. You’re the most powerful man on this planet. Now, fucking act like it.” She stepped backward and disappeared right in front of his eyes.

  It took the President a few moments to come to grip with someone disappearing like that. He pondered her comments, her challenge. Standing up, he turned towards the door. Stopping briefly, he looked over his shoulder and whispered.

  “I may be the most powerful man on earth, but you are certainly the most powerful woman.”

  With that, the President turned back to open the door. Once he stepped outside, he sighed dramatically before admitting to David that he owed him a steak dinner.

  Washington D.C., USA

  “Congressman Richards!” Mark Billingsly called out. The tall man with shocking blond hair turned to see who had called him on the street outside of his office building.

  A man smiled at him. Terry Richards thought he looked familiar and the two woman behind him, one with a camera, were certainly attractive enough. Congressman Richards decided to stop and turn around to speak with these three. Maybe he had seen the Hispanic-looking reporter before? They certainly weren’t here on the Hill very often.

  The cute short woman lifted a camera up, first pointed away from him, and he acknowledged the camera. When he did that, she turned it back around towards him. That was an unexpected courtesy, and he felt pleased with the consideration.

  Terry turned on his million dollar smile. Well, at least it should be a million dollars, as he had well over fifty-thousand dollars of dental work to make it pretty damned perfect. The male reporter stepped closer to him and looked a little towards the camera, so Terry stepped slightly sideways and joined the reporter looking into the camera.

  “Hello! My name is Mark Billingsly, and I have with me Congressman Terry Richards from the great state of New York.” Terry smiled at the audience and wondered if this was going to be a conversation about his solar energy initiative, or the pollution issues and cleanup they were accomplishing around New York City water pollution.

  Mark turned just slightly in towards Terry, who looked down a little at the man, “Congressman Richards, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to answer just two questions for us. The first, of course, is a question related to the use of Solar Energy and the advancement of the funds to implement such a system in today's climate.”

  “Certainly, Mark,” Terry aimed his mouth a little towards the microphone on the camera, but kept his eyes on Mark except for a couple of glances to the camera, “Right now is the time we all have to focus on the ability to expand our renewable energy usage. With oil such a highly volatile product and the use of oil in manufacturing harmful to the environment, we need renewables such as solar energy to become a viable alternative. As long as we have the sun above us, we will be able to depend on solar power to help us achieve an ongoing energy independence.” Terry waited for the softball follow-up question, and the reporter provided it.

  “So ... everyone agrees that solar energy is pretty inefficient right now. Yet you believe that we as a country, and specifically New York, should fund the development and manufacturing of solar installations as a way to create energy independence from foreign countries?”

  Well, this wasn’t the softball question Terry expected, but he could handle this easily enough. “Certainly, when you only depend on the sun which is up above your own nation, not oil drilled out of the ground thousands and thousands of miles away, we have options. The option to continue to depend on the sun above us. Or the political and military expedients that continue to infect the machinations of countries who are oil rich. They’re constantly trying to involve the US in their problems, as we are so heavily dependent on oil at this time. Right now, I’m fighting for a future of energy independence. We might have to pay for implementations that require an investment by the government. It may take twenty years to recoup the investment, but I believe we need to focus on the long view. A long view that is sorely lacking in Congress and only slightly better in the Senate.”

  Damn, he was on a roll! He was going to ask for a copy of this interview.

  “Right now, Congressman Richards, of the top solar component manufacturers, five are Chinese, two are Korean, two are here in the US using parts from which country - we don’t know, and one is Canadian. I’m curious, Congressman Richards, if the use of so many manufactured panels from a foreign country concerns you in any way?”

  Terry smiled, not sure where the reporter was heading, but who cared? “Certainly not Mark, when the solar panels are accumulating the sun,” Terry pointed up and winked at the camera, “above our own heads, I’m not sure I worry about a foreign country turning off the lights, so to speak, in our part of the world.”

  Mark nodded sagely in agreement with everything Terry said. When the Congressman finished, he asked, “So, the fact that the foreign-made components inside the majority of solar energy products could have a kill switch in them, easily controlled by a foreign country, and possibly rendering them useless as an energy provider doesn’t bother you?” Mark took the surprised look on the congressman’s face as an opportunity to nail him. “And in this future,” Mark mimicked the man’s previous gesture by pointing up, “where we only have to depend on the sun above us, we should trust that no kill-switches were put in place by any of the solar component manufacturers. Even when these organizations include those from governments that have not demonstrated any care for our country’s well-being?”

  The congressman’s smile seemed a little strained, “Well, I don’t think we need to look behind every bush and find an evil plan to take over America, Mark,” Terry answered, in an effort to defuse the conversation.

  “But Congressman Richards,” Mark now set him up for the final comment, “when you take over $232,532 in donations from lobbyists who have themselves been hired by these same Chinese solar component manufacturers, does it not cause a conflict of interest? Many of your donations having been received the very same day you had meetings with those lobbyists, interestingly enough. You do not believe that these companies, these solar-based manufacturing companies, have ulterior motives?”

  “Of course not!” Terry exclaimed, smiling for everything he had, “the use of donations to facilitate an independent energy effort should be applauded.” Terry turned towards the camera, “I want to thank you both for such an excellent opportunity to continue the discussion of how solar power will support the energy independence of the American people, good day!” With that, he waved and continued down the street, making his escape.

  Mark turned towards the camera, “We appreciate the good Congressman Richards, himself a recipient of almost a quarter of a million dollars from lobbyists’ money, providing his views on the switch to solar energy. Money focused on the continued implementation of solar panels and solar products manufactured in China. That in itself is not a bad thing, but when almost all of the core infrastructure which makes this country work can have concealed kill commands inside them, it puts America at risk. These commands could fry the component circuitry based on an internet attack, instantly destroying all energy acquisition and distribution without the option of physical replacement. Well, it seems a little concerning that no one is considering the ability of a fo
reign country to wreak havoc with our needed and necessary infrastructure without one bomb being dropped.”