by William Lee
Nox was uncomfortable in his hand-tailored suit and silk shirt. The suit was more than fine, it was superb. Nox still preferred his armor. The lesson that Dale Matthews’ squad taught to him in the Vosges Mountains still stuck with him. But today was an exception. Today’s events had been in the planning stages for almost 10 years. Today he was going to meet, in person, for the first time, the Council of Three Hundred.
Until now, the number of living humans that had seen Nox were fewer than one hundred. In a few hours, Nox would be transported from his deep underground bunker to the classified Russian Air Force base, where he would speak to 300 of the world’s most powerful people.
Many members of the Council of Three Hundred had heard of Nox Bellator, but less than a dozen had ever met him. The Circle of Ten were the ten sitting members on the Council of Three Hundred that Nox had personally chosen to be in his inner circle. The Circle of Ten was a secret group within the Council, chosen by Nox because he felt they would do his bidding. Ten members in his pocket was not enough to sway a Council vote, but it was enough to have trusted eyes and ears in the Council. The Circle of Ten came in very handy when he needed points made, favors requested or a whisper campaign started. All 10 of his inner circle sat on the best committees, though only two were chairmen.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Nox bestowed upon himself the title: Marshal of the Russian Federation. He outranked every flag officer in Russia. He answered only to the President of the Russian Federation. Only one person had held this rank in the past. Most of the Russian people did not even know the position existed. There were over 1,000 flag officers in the Russian military. Of those, only a handful knew of Nox. He gave his orders to the generals under his command and they directed the rest of the military. The rank-and-file officers and enlisted just assumed the orders originated from a three or four-star general.
“Have all of our guests arrived?” Nox asked.
“The last guest’s plane touched down 20 minutes ago. They are gathering in the Grand Hall as we speak. It will take 15 minutes to transport you to the conference center,” General Ivanov said.
The three-day conference was taking place on Nox’s secret air base, just outside Moscow. Nox had a conference center and hotel built specially for this occasion. After all, when you are hosting 300 billionaires, security and luxury are absolute requirements. The conference hall was a negotiated compromise. Nox insisted on no weapons, but the billionaires insisted on bringing their private security details. The hotel and conference halls were divided into two sections: one for the world leaders and another for their security details. The leaders would all pass through several layers of security, but their bodyguards would have to stay behind. In all total, there were over 2,000 people staying in the hotel during the conference.
Nox stood to address his generals. What he was about to do had never been done. “The time of sovereign nations is coming to an end. We must lead the way into a new world order, where there is one flag, one currency, and one military. We need to stop wasting resources fighting one another and come together to fight the enemies of the planet.”
“I understand it is hard for you to comprehend a world without borders, but you must. Otherwise, humans will fade into history, a mere footnote in the annals of more advanced civilizations.”
“Marshal Bellator, we all have faith in you, but if the Americans refuse to join us in this new world order, how can it succeed?” General Popov asked.
“Leave the Americans to me. They will come peacefully, or I will bring them to their knees. But, we are not even close to that stage, yet. First, we must unite the people behind one currency. We are close. The Euro is an example of how a one-world currency can work. More than that, there are international credit card companies already in place, with built in currency exchanges. Soon, converting to a one-world currency will be as simple as pressing a button on a computer.”
“The Americans will never give up their precious freedom and democracy. They will never submit to a one-world government,” Popov objected.
Nox knew if he could not convince his own men, he could never convince hundreds of the world’s richest and most intelligent men.
“The Americans have already surrendered their freedom. They are just too brainwashed to see it. We have been indoctrinating their children through public education for decades. The average American has no idea what the word ‘freedom’ means. The Americans spend all their time and energy fighting over marriage regulations, bathroom policies and ancient battle flags, they are weak and stupid. Americans will lay down their liberty as soon as they believe they can trade freedom for safety and security. I will ensure they get that opportunity. If you need an example, look at the NSA spying programs. Hitler would have been impressed. Americans gleefully turning over their private communications to the government; the Fuehrer would have been swollen with pride, had he lived to see the NSA!” Nox took a moment to assess the faces of the men before him and continued. “This is a long road; once we get the elite onboard, the rest will fall into place. Once they are sold on a New World Order, every media outlet on the planet will be talking it.” Nox’s voice rose. “It will be on the lips of every grade-school teacher. The Saturday morning cartoons, and church pulpits will be singing the praises of a single government. You just wait and see. People are sheep, and I am their unseen Shepard.”
General Popov pressed further, “but do really think the American people will surrender their sovereignty after seeing a few slick television commercials?”
“In just eight years the American people went from being opposed to gay marriage to favoring it. What Changed? Did they all turn gay? No! They were bombarded by favorable images of LGBTQ people in the media. The homosexual went from being some stranger, to that likable guy on my favorite TV show. The same can be done for a New World Order; only we will not just have the television outlets, but the public schools, as well. Don’t forget, the biggest publisher of school books sits right here on the Council of Three Hundred.”
The Generals all nod in agreement, whether out of adoration or fear, it did not matter to Nox.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Moscow, Russia
Present Day
Ten black SUVs raced across the tarmac from the underground bunker to the brand-new Grand Hall and hotel. Hundreds of expensive private jets were sitting just outside the hotel entrance. There were not enough hangars to house all the planes, so they were lined up in rows along the runway.
General Popov, sitting across from Nox in the luxury SUV, said, “There must be 200 million dollars’ worth of private jets sitting on the runway.”
General Ivanov added, “It’s disgusting, the wealth these greedy bastards have while others starve.”
General Papov laughed. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black. You have two mansions and a fleet of cars, General.”
“That’s different. Those things belong to the people. I merely care for them while I’m serving the military.”
“Ha,” Papov laughed. “I would like to see what would happen to one of the ‘people’ if they tried to borrow the ‘people’s’ car from you. It would be off to Siberia for them, would it not?”
“You always side with the Corporations, Papov.”
Papov responded, “If you are merely a caretaker for the ‘peoples’ mansions and luxury cars; then why can’t a person that delivers valuable products or services to the people also be a caretaker for their possessions? What makes you so special? It seems to me that we take the people’s money by force through taxation; while the people voluntarily give their money to the business owner in exchange for goods and services.”
“You are impossible, Papov. Sometimes I can’t believe you are Russian.”
Nox interrupted the two bickering Generals, “Hey, you both have valid points, let’s focus on the situation at hand.”
Papov crossed his arms and Ivanov smirked. The debate was over, for now. Nox was in the first SUV, with Papov, Ivanov and
the driver. The entourage of generals and staff following behind him.
The convoy of SUVs pulled up to the Grand Hall. Within minutes, Nox was whisked to the stage. Most of the guests had taken their seats. Nox was the first speaker. Nox stood behind the oversized steel podium, which had been specifically designed for him. He had insisted on the larger podium because he felt it would somewhat disguise his height. It was steel, to add an extra layer of protection, in case of an assassination attempt. While he was not wearing his body armor, he was wearing conventional bullet-resistant clothing. Nox held either side of the steel podium with both hands as he began his speech.
“I would like to welcome all of you to Moscow. Over the next several days I hope to meet each of you personally. Gathered in this room are the richest most powerful humans on the planet. The people in this room have a combined personal net worth of over 5 trillion dollars. More importantly, the people in this room control nearly 90 trillion in global assets. Almost every major world event occurs as the direct result of the actions of someone sitting in this room.
Since WW2, the very rich and powerful have worked together to ensure that we do not have another world war. As we learned in the 1940s, world wars destroy infrastructure, resources, and wealth, changing the balance of power and the course of history. After the Great War, the remaining elite classes gathered together to form organizations to ensure that it would never happen again. For the most part, you have been successful in avoiding world war and nuclear war. Preserving your immense wealth and passing it to future generations. Each one of you in this room could lose everything if there were another world war; that is why you come to these conferences every 10 years.
Together, we have helped form some of the most influential organizations on this planet. Working with global organizations, one-world Commissions, and Councils on foreign affairs, the Council of Three Hundred and its members have had a hand in developing international policy. These groups, and others like them work tirelessly to bring about the much-needed New World Order.
If the first world nations refuse to share the wealth and power with the developing nations, there will not be peace. While Europe, Asia and North America seem to be working together and reaping the benefits of globalization, the Middle East is suffering in absolute chaos. Until we give them a seat at the table, they will continue to revolt against western culture.
While you are safely tucked away behind the large stone walls of your luxurious mansions, you are still vulnerable. While many of you have inherited your money, all of you have your money invested in the global market. Whether you are a king, a monarch, a drug cartel, or the owner of some international enterprise; you need taxpayers and customers to support your lifestyle. If your customers or taxpayers stopped paying, eventually you or your heirs would become paupers. As much as you despise the common people, you need them as much as they need you.
There are a few things that could disrupt your plan of continued domination of this planet. A nuclear war or asteroid could kill enough taxpayers and consumers to disrupt your cash flow. A conventional world war could eliminate hundreds of millions of taxpayers. I do not believe we are on the verge of a nuclear war or even a serious conventional war. Years ago, back in the 1960s, we all but eliminated the possibility of the superpowers engaging in all out nuclear war though MAD. Mutually-Assured-Destruction is not the physical destruction of bombs exploding; no, mutually assured destruction is the financial destruction of the country that starts the nuclear war. Globalization of commerce tied all our economies together so tightly that no one would dare start a nuclear war for fear of destroying their own economy.
This policy was successful for several decades. Unfortunately, it only works against developed nations that have too much to lose. A rouge nation that has no assets or quality-of-life is not afraid of mutually assured destruction.
But that is not the threat I have come to discuss with you today. There is another, greater threat facing this planet. As I stand here today, a seven-foot-tall, gray faced, black-eyed alien, from a world 35,000 light years from here, I promise you, an invasion from another planet is imminent.
I have no intentions of invading your planet. However, numerous species from other planets have been visiting Earth for thousands of years. I happen to know that many of them are beyond the scouting stage. Some of them are seriously evaluating colonization of the planet. No nation on Earth has the resources to defend the planet from a full-scale invasion, but if you pooled your resources, you may have a chance.
Think of all the resources wasted in duplicate administrative branches, not to mention all the resources wasted competing with one another. Imagine if all nations came together as one, with a one-world Parliament. We could have a Constitution for all of mankind, put aside our differences and work together to advance our civilization beyond the stars.
I may not look like you, or even think like you, but I call this planet home. I cannot return to my home world; this is my home now. I do not want to see it ruined by some powerful, invading force.
In this room are the most powerful leaders around the world. In this room, we have kings and presidents. In this room, we have the titans of industry, computer science, banking and insurance. In this room, we have the underground entrepreneurs, hackers, leaders of drug cartels and the like. We may fight with each other in the public eye. We may be conservatives or liberals in front of the cameras, but we are all here, today, with one goal in mind. We must preserve our way of life. The commoners cannot do it; they lack the resources and knowledge to make it happen.
The reason we are here today is to discuss how and when we will bring about the New World Order. Over the next few days we will break up into small planning groups. Hopefully by the end of the conference we will have a workable timetable.”
Nox stepped back from the podium and microphone. Not one of the elite billionaires said a word, silence. A few of the well-dressed men were nodding in approval, others sat there stone faced. Then one stood to his feet and started clapping, then another and another. Within seconds there was a standing ovation. Nox had nailed it.
Nox walked off stage into an entourage of Russian Generals, all frantically talking at once.
“General, I’m sorry, I mean Marshal Bellator, we have a huge problem,” one of the Generals said.
“All of you, stop talking, General Ivanov, what is going on?” Nox pointed his finger at Ivanov.
General Ivanov said, “The reports indicate that there have been six large explosions in Far East Russia, the north-east section of the Magadan Oblast, to be precise, near the arctic circle. The explosions seem to be in the two to twenty kiloton range. They could be nuclear detonations.”
“Why are we not sure what they are?”
“We were tracking an object coming from low earth orbit. It started to lose altitude and crashed into the Earth. We don’t know what it is, but it slowed down before it crashed,” the General explained.
“If it slowed down, it can’t be an asteroid or space junk. It must be a vessel of some kind. Do we have any idea how large it was?”
“No. We were tracking its decent. Several smaller objects seemed to break off, or fly off, we can’t tell for sure. But at the time of impact, there were six large explosions in the district, not just one. Best we can tell, at this point, there were six different explosions. Each struck with the force of a small nuclear bomb,” the General said.
“How does one ship create six impact craters? Do we know what caused the six impacts?” Nox asked.
“No. There was nothing on our radar to indicate what caused the other five impacts. But, because they are so close to each other and happened at the same time, we don’t know which one was the object we were tracking,” reported the General.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dam Neck Naval Base
Virginia Beach, VA
Last July
Mike Evans peered out of the window of the C-40A Clipper troop transport as it landed at Dam Neck Nava
l Base in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The C-40A Clipper is the Navy’s version of the Boeing 737-700. Even though he appeared to be in his mid-thirties, Mike had been working at Hill Air Force Base in Utah for over 50 years. He had come to Virginia Beach for some long-deserved rest and relaxation. He traveled to Virginia Beach on the C-40 troop transport, but soon a driver and security detail would be pulling up to the tarmac to whisk him to an ocean front hotel.
For over 50 years he had been helping the humans build faster, stronger, and more fuel-efficient aircraft. His real name could not be pronounced by the human tongue, but a close approximation would be: Sicarius. The human leadership had insisted that he and his fellow Vitahicians use regular names to draw less attention to themselves. He was originally from a planet in the Cygnus constellation, over 620 light years away. He had been on Earth for decades and had no hope of ever returning home.
There were dozens of Vitahicians living on Hill Air Force base as permanent residents. They were called “guests,” but it seemed more like a prison. He and the other Vitahicians were given military ranks and paychecks. They could move around the base and utilize its facilities. They blended in with the human population very well, as they looked very much like humans. They aged more slowly than humans, but on a highly transient military installation, people did not stick around long enough to notice certain residents did not appear to age.
Mike’s day-to-day life was not like that of a prisoner. He lived underground in private quarters, the size of a large apartment. He went to work every day, performing duties that matched his skill set. He could go to the commissary, bowling alley, grocery store, movie theater and any other of the base’s many amenities. However, he was not allowed to leave the base or interact with the public without an escort. He was able to leave the base several times per year, with an escort, to go on what humans referred to as a vacation.
