“The duration of the mission has yet to be specified, but it would mean years. The distances we're talking about will be dictated by the performance of the drives that will have been developed by then. During the test period, of course, we will make some short journeys to test everything.”
“If I understand correctly, you want to build the ships in one year. Doesn't that mean that the plans should have been started, how can I put it, some time ago,” Nishihara threw out his arms.
“You will have exactly as much time as is given for development.”
Several people looked at each other.
“So we are preparing to create a minor miracle,” Nishihara mused. He couldn't think of any concrete reason why the whole thing was infeasible, anyway, it would all become clear later.
“You'll get used to it,” said Steersman.
“Where do we start?” asked Nishihara, returning to the issue at hand.
“I would start at the end, looking at the final goal.”
“What do you mean?”
“We are currently at the starting point. It will be much easier if there's something concrete on the table to work towards. I would suggest you begin your visualizations. Create a spaceship! Design what it will look like and then make a model, make something that we can all see and touch.”
“Okay,” said Nishihara.
“But be prepared for it to change into something completely different as time goes on. In a word, work together with a flexible, malleable system. Once you all know what you need to pay attention to during the design process, then constantly use that information as a template.”
“I still have a problem with the short time frame. Design is not an accelerated process. Unfortunately, if one detail is not in the right place, it could have fatal consequences,” Nishihara explained.
“I didn't bring you all here by chance. I hope your families will be able to tolerate not seeing you for two years, because this assignment will become part of your lives. You will get up and go to bed with it, you will breathe it and dream with it because otherwise it will not work. Of course, you will get all the help you need in order to be able to work effectively. I'm not just referring to the equipment you see here, but also programs that you will regularly participate in, with the help of which you'll gain a deeper insight into the essence of the mission; and training courses from which you'll receive new spiritual strength.”
“Sounds good,” said a few of the voices with others nodding in approval.
“This is what I'm talking about. Now go home to your families because, from tomorrow you won't be seeing them very much. You won't have the time, nor be given the opportunity to meet them in person very often, but in the end, I guarantee it will be worth it and they will come to forgive you.”
“Holy shit …” whispered one of designers.
***
Chapter 13
Energy war
ASEC preparations for the conquest of space could not, to say the least, have happened at a worse time. All indications had pointed to a normalization of international relations in Europe, but the first sign of serious trouble came in late October of 2077 in the form of a worrying international conflict.
Although the Gravitor had been decommissioned in Greece following pressure from the Energy Alliance and the work of conciliatory diplomatic envoys, the seemingly magnanimous continuation of natural gas deliveries suddenly stopped again just as winter was imminent. The large and ever growing ego of the Middle Eastern supplier could not be held in check. They had discovered that the Europeans were building sites for new power plants all over Europe. In the official notification, the gas supplier listed serious breaches of contract as the reason for the termination of supply.
*
In November, the energy crisis erupted into a full blown conflict in what seemed like an instant. Europe desperately reached for plan B, and the Ukrainian government opened up its stocks to the entire region in accordance with their agreement, but its contingency reserve was almost solely supplied to gas powered electricity generation plants and industrial concerns. Domestic households and firms with fewer than one thousand employees were left stranded without a gas supply.
ASEC ships delivered twenty-five power stations almost immediately with plans to follow up with an additional ten per week, but it was expected to take at least a month before they would be up and running everywhere.
Matters grew steadily worse when transit countries began to interfere with events. Iran and Iraq generated significant income from territory leased by the Energy Alliance for gas lines, who on their part, referring to the breach of contract, suspended the disbursement of funds. There was no need for any special insight to attribute the trouble, that followed, to yet another breach of contract by the UNE; a transgression that, in Islamic countries, was considered paramount to treason.
Since the Great Twenty-first Century Depression – in which six states had to be bailed out from crippling debts – Europe had never fully recovered, and the wounds still dug deep into the flesh of the old continent. After some economic plastic surgery, with a fresh facelift and new wisdom, the Europeans had tried to find renewal with an undiminished force of will, but once injured, fear of new pain puts a serious hole in self-confidence. Thus, the actions of the Energy Alliance were somewhat akin to kicking the heel of Achilles.
Warning signs
The movement of a fuel convoy in Iran, shown on US satellite pictures, caused a stir. Measurements also showed that the tanks were much longer than reasonable. US News intelligence became suspicious and immediately warned their European counterparts to strengthen their air defenses in the southern states, as the shipment moved north-west. Iran had medium-range ballistic missiles, with which it could reach as far as the center of the European continent.
The Europeans struggled with other difficulties, and although there had been an increase in the degree of preparation within the region, no real attention was paid to the signs that a serious potential threat was brewing. They were rather more afraid of the threat of terror attacks. Because of this, military presence in major cities in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece had been increased, causing general unrest amongst the population and disrupting markets. The situation was gradually spiraling out of control, and because of this, at dawn on November 12, innocent victims paid the price.
Penalty
Not long after midnight in Athens, a sharp shrill sound echoed out across the city, one that had never been heard in real life by anyone still living.
Many may have found the sound familiar, having heard it on the history channel, but in middle of the night it shocked and startled residents out of their dreams and chilled them to the bone.
The mind rending scream of air raid sirens caused the disturbed populace to flow out onto the streets within minutes, all of them wondering what to do. From a distance, at least forty spot lights were visible, their powerful light columns scanning the sky. By now, most people had realized that something serious was about to happen, or was already underway, but they all hoped it was part of a training drill.
After a while, the earsplitting sound had become etched in their minds and it kept up a solid unchanging pressure that made many feel as if they were no longer walking on the ground.
But the noise was the strangest when it stopped.
A blinding flash soaked up all sound, and even the earth trembled. In the vacuum of nerve-racking silence, for a moment, they all floated in an unknown place as time stood still for an eternity.
Then the deadly explosion washed across the city like a lethal tidal wave, the blood-red pillar of fire turned the horizon into a wall of flames that illuminated walls, buildings and the surrounding hills.
Then destruction arrived.
It swept aside everything in its path; shook apart buildings as if they were made of tissues, tore up roads and cremated trees.
No one was left alive.
Encounters
Puzzled, angry and dismayed, people
all over the world faced the terrifying reality. The Earth had never been a peaceful place, and at times, no one could remain calm when whole regions could financially collapse at any time. Uncertainty had always been present at different levels, which meant that lives were never entirely free of care, but no one had ever imagined in their wildest nightmares that a two-megaton bomb would be deployed, and certainly not in a crowded city.
Sean Steersman met Oliver Trenerry in his office the following morning to review the latest reports on catastrophe. Neither of them moved while reading. Their postures both became increasing tense. As the blood vessels expanded under the skin, the space round them narrowed and they felt their pulses begin to beat in their temples.
“… at 0:31am local time, the Islamic Union launched an attack against the states of Greece and Italy, and thus against the United Nations of Europe. The Commander of the European Forces has ordered the return of all ambassadors and diplomatic staff, whose efforts to peacefully settle the dispute and tensions caused by the embargo have failed. Immediately following news of the attack, military forces were put onto the highest level of alert. Air Force squadrons lifted into the air at 0 hours and 41 minutes, however, there has been no counter-attack as yet …”
“They've lost their fucking minds,” Trenerry concluded.
“I'm going to call the president,” said Steersman.
Karen was close to passing out as she flew through the door.
“China has attacked the Islamic Union's eastern bases,” she gasped.
“What? When?” Trenerry looked at her.
“Now! It's happening at this very moment!” She sat down on the couch, exhausted.
“What the hell is going on?” Steersman raged, while switching on a secure GlobalNet channel.
“I think it'll be quicker if we follow the news,” said Trenerry, setting the news channel on the projector.
“… at 5:10am the Republic of China intervened without a formal declaration of war, and launched an attack on military bases in the eastern region of the Islamic Union …”
“The president is unavailable. I sent him word that he can depend on us,” said Steersman, returning to them. “China's declared war …?”
He sat for a moment, processing the news.
“It seems so. I imagine that this excuse was all they needed,” said Trenerry.
“So, what's going to happen now? Someone's going to attack China, just because they now have an excuse?” asked Karen, anger in her voice.
Infernal fires glowed on the screen as images of the bombarded areas were broadcasted. Suddenly, even the emergency broadcast was interrupted and the studio returned with more horrific news.
“The news has just come in. It has been confirmed that Russian fighters have attacked strategically important military bases in China … and … I'm sorry, we are continually getting reports … Japanese aircraft have invaded China from the eastern border. At this time, China is being attacked on two fronts. The two states have surprised Chinese forces with a coordinated attack …”
“That's nearly half of the world population at war,” noted Trenerry.
Karen seemed frozen in shock. She felt intense fear well up within her that could be plainly read on her face.
“What's going on, Sean?” she asked, not noticing that she had pulled her legs up under herself. Her throat was dry, and the heat of fear was eating at her from inside, burning in her chest. The pressure of it strained in her mind, poisoning her thoughts. “Have they all gone totally crazy?”
“Stay calm, Karen! We can't afford to lose our heads,” said Steersman soothingly.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Do what you have done so far and trust me.”
“Yes, but this is … this is awful.”
“Karen, listen! I'll admit that I'm not quite up with the play yet myself, and we've never experienced anything remotely like this, but I swear to you that I'm not going to let them burn everything down around us. If you feel you can't handle it now, go home and be with your family. That's the best thing for you at the moment.”
“Okay … sorry. I'm falling apart. I'll get it together, but I can't do it right now.” Karen stared intently at Steersman, the overwhelming fear of the unfolding conflict written plainly on her face.
“No problem. Karen, go.”
“Okay,” she said quietly.
After she had left, Commander Murinko appeared at the door.
“I suppose you've heard,” he said drily, not waiting for an answer and walking in.
“A chain reaction has started, and who knows where it's going to end,” said Trenerry to himself, staring at the screen.
“Can I do anything?” asked Murinko.
Steersman did not say a word. He stood fuming, like a volcano ready to erupt.
“Sir?” he repeated again.
Trenerry looked up at him as well.
“Yes, there is something you can do,” Steersman answered suddenly. “It is time for the IRD to get more involved.”
“Glad to hear it, sir,” the commander said.
“We will try to do something about this situation. If needed, we will personally visit some of these people and take hell right to their doorsteps. Your job description has just been extended. Get ready. We are going to make sure that something like this never happens again!”
“Understood! And how are we going to do it?”
“Put together a plan of an army! You well know what we are dealing with,” he said. “Assemble all units needed for us to smash a similar attack. Think globally. If needed, we'll be everywhere at the same time. We can manufacture machines in any quantity we need. Take everything into account, human and natural disasters. We'll need to be able to react to any situation: rescue, protection, threat neutralization.”
“I got it,” the commander grinned. ”So I don't have to count on human resources?”
“Only for operations management,” Steersman replied.
Trenerry didn't say anything. There was simply nothing that he could have added or deprecated.
Wrong decisions
The twelfth of November seemed to last an eternity. It was as if all of the world's unrestrained lunatics could hardly wait to give the command to attack. China was bathing smugly in opportunities to flex its military might, and it took up the gauntlet against the Russian Federation and the Japanese Air Force without hesitation, still having enough resources to open another battle front with North Korea.
Until that point only air warfare had taken place in the areas concerned. Jet fighters fought jet fighters at high altitudes until 2:12pm, then events took an unfortunate and deadly turn. A Russian long-range strike aircraft was able to get close enough to Beijing, where upon command it released a missile. The devastation was enormous, so enormous that even the Russian military leadership ordered a halt, in shock.
*
The Chinese leadership made the decision to take a fatal step in response to the Russian Federation's attack on Beijing. At 3:05pm, nuclear strikes devastated two Russian cities: Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg. This drastic move shocked world leaders and prompted them bluntly request that the Chinese premiere, Zhiqiang Gao account for Chinese actions. Leaders waited angrily for his explanation.
Moreover, Yekaterinburg was located half way to Moscow, which was considered very close. Panic broke out and the public began to buy up all the food they could get hold of. Because of the panic important public services became paralyzed within hours. Chaos reigned throughout the country. The Presidents of the USA and the UNE personally asked the Russian president to refrain from irreversible reprisals, and offered help at affected sites; an offer that the Russian Federation gratefully accepted.
The European public were also affected by the panic because of reports by experts that a chain reaction was imminent due to strong pressure on North African Union countries, who were asked to give instant support to the Islamic Union. As the African Union states were highly dependent on imports of
energy resources, and they were not in any position to get by without them, the negative impact on the situation was unanimously affirmed by all commentators.
The European President spoke personally in a public broadcast after the 10:00pm emergency meeting and requested everyone to remain calm.
Back into hell
The waking nightmare went on for twenty-four hours, and every single person prayed that they would wake up and find that it had all been a dream, but the previous night's events repeated themselves.
The entire combined air forces of Algeria and Libya took off shortly after midnight, ready to unload their half million ton payload over major European cities. They found themselves facing European Air Force and US Navy fighter squadrons in Mediterranean air space, but nevertheless they moved quickly towards land. The aircrafts fought a tangled and confused celestial battle, the focus of which moved ever closer to the more vulnerable areas of the continent, towards capital cities where millions lived in relatively small areas. The populations were being evacuated throughout the night, but neither preparations nor the infrastructure were designed for speed. All the while, the enemy was steadily approaching.
On the thirteenth of November the morning sun shone over the whole of Europe, but it was impossible to enjoy it. Not a single airliner, private jet or plane took off for some time. The airports were dead, as were all roads. In every state capital the traffic was limited to vehicles carrying permits; only food supply vehicles were allowed to use public roads besides law enforcement and military vehicles.
Even London, with its 20 million residents, was reigned by an almost rural tranquility with an exception: the air was rank with fear. Even the animals had sensed something; the sky was empty of birds and not a single sound could be heard.
Excolopolis_Poles of Enforcement Page 24
