by Ira Tabankin
“We need a way to determine who the spies are and how to tell the difference between humans and modified ones. I need your AIs help to uncover the androids.”
“My AI is working on it, is there anything else you’d like to discuss before I leave?”
“I was thinking, why should we sit here on our home planet waiting for the enemy to strike us on his timeline? Why don’t we move the timetable of the announcement we’re not alone up and jump-start building space warships to meet the enemy out there? You’re doing something similar by seeding our system with your mines. I think we should move squadrons of fighters and destroyers into space. We can build bases in the asteroid fields and on Pluto. We can meet the enemy on the fringe of our system. We can cut them down before they reach Earth. Maybe we can buy your fleet even more time to assemble enough ships to destroy them?”
“Do you really believe your people have the resources to build a fleet of warships to take the fight to the enemy? You landed on your moon over fifty of your years ago and you squandered the jump start I gave you. I’m not sure you can pull this off…”
“Then why are you still here?”
“Because I have hope and I’ve decided I’m foolish. Don’t worry, if things begin to turn sour, I’ll take you with me. You’ve advanced much further than your people.”
“My friend, while you’re out there doing what you do best, give my idea some serious thought. Run it through your AI…”
“He is already interested in and studying it. I will have my response for you before I return.”
“Thank you and be safe out there.”
“I will. You be safe too back here.”
A day after Kalteck took off to build and seed the mines, there were reports of a strange new virus in China. Rhett leaned back in his chair, he closed his eyes, thinking. This virus appeared to come out of nowhere and then it quickly spread across the world. It spreads much quicker than the seasonal flu, it appears to be deadly in anyone who has any underlying health issues. Its unlike anything we’ve seen before. Rhett got his hands on a sample of the virus’s genetic makeup. He almost fell out of his lab chair when he studied the virus. Oh, my God! Whatever this bug is, it didn’t come from animals, it isn’t natural. It’s been designed, none of the major powers on Earth have the ability to bioengineer such a virus. It must have come from the maggots. Something they developed in that damned dome.
They’re using it to panic and kill us. They’re using it to slow our progress down. If we all have to stay six or more feet apart, we can’t work on the development of the technologies we’re going to need to fight them. I don’t have to worry about it because my nanites will destroy the virus if it enters my body. I need to contact Kalteck’s AI. I need his help making a cure before this thing turns us against each other. Those assholes used the poor souls on flight MH 370 to develop a new virus, one that is killing our weakest. I wonder if this is only the first of many different viruses they developed.
It makes perfect sense. They took flight MH 370 to get a large sample size of various humans, young, old, men, women, and even children. In the cargo hold, they had some pets, and of course, they had some cattle and other animals they took from here. They used what they learned to kill off our old and weak, so when the enemy arrives, the survivors will be the strongest and most fit to become their slaves and warriors. Their virus is slowing any progress we’re making because people are afraid to be near each other. Some of our best industries are slowing down to a stop.
Within days, the new virus was given a name, and they called it the Corona Virus, which was discovered in over twenty countries while it continued to spread and kill the weakest who became infected. All according to the maggots and their master’s plan. The virus had one other side effect. No one had counted on. It stopped public gatherings and it stopped air traffic since people were afraid to fly. Many businesses were closed since they lacked customers, and many had to lay off workers. The governments of most countries ordered their people to stay in their homes, they closed their countries. Governments had to funnel funds away from their military and technology development to support their health care and to provide their people with wage replacement. With millions ‘locked in their homes’ the virus caused a worldwide recession, and in a few countries in Europe, the recession led to their governments failing, and for a short time, anarchy ruled the streets. The EU broke apart and failed. Rhett realized the enemy had found the perfect weapon to stop Earth from being able to defend itself.
The recession led to a general slowdown in military and technology development. The aliens had succeeded in taking Earth off of Kalteck’s master plan. The recession forced Kalteck to make the decision he regretted. He knew he had to let the humans know they weren’t alone, and he had to tell them who really caused their mass suffering.
Chapter 8
Kalteck returned with proof the enemy used the information the maggots supplied them from their experiments in the dome on Titan to develop the new viruses. In addition, he learned there were at least two hundred human androids on Earth. Kalteck held a secret video conference with Presidents Trump, Putin and Xi, the three world leaders who knew of his existence and that humans weren’t alone in the universe.
“My friends, were you all able to open the encrypted files I sent you? It is critical to our discussion today that you’ve seen it before we have our discussions.”
President Putin interrupted Kalteck, “I opened the file and closed it when someone entered my office, when I went to reopen it, the file was erased, what happened? I didn’t finish reviewing it until the end of the video.”
President Xi confirmed his file was also corrupted after closing and reopening it. Kalteck said, “I warned each of you not to close and attempt to reopen or to attempt to save the file. I told you, the file would self-destruct if it was closed and reopened or if any attempt was made to save it.”
President Trump laughed. “Yes, you did warn us, and I listened to the instructions, and followed them. I am extremely upset by what I saw. Not only upset, but worried about what these aliens are doing to us.”
Presidents Putin and Xi both responded, “Wait, if you watched the entire video, tell us what was on it. How would you rate the risk to our countries?”
“I rate the risk to our countries as off the scale. Remember the new virus that popped up from out of nowhere? The one everyone, including me thought came from China. The one that mostly left our young alone but ended up killing almost thirty percent of our seniors?”
Putin laughed, “I would like to thank them for that; they saved Russia hundreds of millions of rubles in medical costs caring for our seniors. Once you gave us the cure, we were able to stabilize the situation.”
Xi nodded his head, “I told you we didn’t bioengineer the virus and it hit us hard too. I agree, we lost an entire generation, which was really nothing more than a burden to us. I don’t understand why you believe we’re at high risk when we look at the issue without emotion. We should agree that damned virus helped each of us.”
Trump slowly smiled, “What if that was only a test and the next virus, they release kills our people in the prime of their lives? What if they’re testing the various strains to tailor it to specific strains of DNA, so that the next one only kills Asians. How would you feel then?”
Putin nodded, “I have to agree with Trump. My own military leaders told me we were under a biological attack. They agreed the virus was bioengineered. They thought you Americans were attacking us. I was urged to strike back at you with my weapons of mass destruction.”
Trump replied, “At first my military leaders said we were under attack by a Chinese bio-weapon. I believe the aliens wanted us to attack each other. If we’d followed the advice of our military leaders the world would be suffering under a radioactive cloud with most of our cities and people dead.”
Kalteck nodded, “The aliens whom I call maggots are extremely dangerous. They have done things to you humans which are aga
inst all of the laws of the unified races. I believe the time has come to let your people know the truth.”
President Xi whispered, “What truth?”
“I thought you knew. The secret that you’re not alone. I think it’s time we tell your people about the maggots and the enemy which, according to my last report from home, is currently licking their wounds and repairing their ships from their last encounter with our Monitors.”
Trump asked, “How long do we have until the enemy arrives?”
“No more than ten to twelve years. It’s sooner than I thought. My people did everything they could to delay them, and as one last strike to slow them down and to cripple them, my people will be attacking their major naval fleet headquarters in three months. That attack should take them years to recover from. I’ve also seeded the space where they should pop out of their wormhole and filled it with antimatter mines. Those mines should stop them dead in their tracks and cause them to postpone their attack while you prepare. You will know when they arrive, the wormhole will be so large it will be visible here on Earth. Once it is seen, you won’t be able to keep it secret.”
Xi asked, “Ten years isn’t enough to build the ships and train the crews, let alone develop the weapons. It takes us years to build one aircraft carrier, how are we going to build a space fleet in less than ten years?”
“I will release the knowledge of our advanced nanites to your people. The nanites and AI will help you. Each of you is going to have to make major sacrifices, and you’re going to work together in order to save your people and your planet.”
Xi asked, “What sacrifices are you asking my people to make?”
“China has many rare Earth minerals which will be needed for the drives and quantum computers, which will be one hundred times quicker than your current best supercomputers. Russia has the knowledge of how to build huge boosters, and America has the manufacturing capability once she turns many of her consumer industries to building the modules for the spaceships. Earth should have a shared fleet, not an American, Russian, or Chinese fleet. You need a human fleet. The design needs to be universal, the weapons common, the computers and operating systems common so any human crew can run any ship fielded by your three nations. Plus, you’re going to have to call on your alliance partners for their assistance. No country on Earth should get a free ride.
“Every country should provide something, even if it’s food or labor. All provide something, or you’ll have to tell them you won’t protect them. The time to think of nations is past. This is the time to think about the human race and your planet.”
Putin asked the question on each of their minds. “Who designs the ships?”
“You will build your own versions of our Monitors. The designs are mature and well tested. They have stood up to the enemy and others. They are easy to operate due to their advanced AI computer controls.”
Trump asked, “Do we even get to see the designs?”
“I will show you.” Images of the monster monitors appeared on the three president’s screens.
Xi smiled, “They look like a large arrowhead mounted on a long shaft with pods, I assume those are the drives where a normal arrow would have fletching.”
Putin replied, “Instead of three fletching there are six large pods. Are these the drive units?”
Kalteck nodded, “The arrowhead shape is the bridge, crew quarters, main weapons, and sensors. The part you call the shaft is engineering and the flight deck. The pods are the drives and also have decoy launchers, and very powerful jammers. The hull is covered in point defense units and shield generators.”
Trump asked, “How fast are they?”
“They can cruise at .9C and can if needed travel faster than light. They do so by opening a wormhole and jumping through it. They carry three fighter wings of eighteen fighters, and if the ship is severely damaged, the arrowhead can separate from the rest of the ship. The arrowhead can’t generate a wormhole, but it does have its own drive which can travel and fight sub-light within a system.”
“How long will it take to build the ships and how much will they cost?” Asked Trump.
Kalteck smiled, “In your dollars, each ship will cost two trillion dollars…”
All three leaders began talking at the same time. Kalteck held his hands up. “I know you believe you can’t afford them. What are your options? Are you ready for slavery? Are you ready to lose your home planet? Are you ready to eat the shit from the enemy? If the three of you can’t agree right now, then I will honor your wishes, and I will leave your planet and not return. Not only will I not return, but none of my people or our allies will come to your aid.”
Xi asked another question which was on their minds, “Kalteck, what about the United Nations?”
Kalteck laughed so hard it hurt the human’s ears. “They are useless and powerless without you. Each of you has veto power over the Security Council. The three of you will come together and push the worthless UN to work together and build the ships. You will create a planetary tax plan to help fund the production of your fleet.”
“How many ships do you think we’re going to need?” Asked Putin.”
“Are the three of you as you humans ask, sitting down? You’re going to need to build at least fifty Monitors and hundreds of fighters. Wait, that’s not all, you’re also going to need orbital defense stations and millions of mines. You’re going to need planetary defense centers and bases on your moon. At the same time, Earth is going to need to train your existing militaries into a planet-wide insurgency when the enemy lands. Your militaries will have to work together.”
Xi shook his head while he asked, “What else will we need that we can’t afford?”
“Mass shelters for your civilians. You can count on them bombarding your planet from space. They’re going to create huge tidal waves that will wash away everything for hundreds of miles onshore. They’re going to destroy every one of your coastal cities. They will drop rocks on your major cities and bases. Earth is going to have to turn on its heels from a peaceful planet to one on a wartime footing. If you thought your Second World War was bad, you haven’t seen anything. This is going to be worse than even if the three of you had fought a major nuclear war.”
Trump quietly said, “What you’re asking for is a total conversion of our planet and our ways of life. Everything has to change, and it needs to change overnight. I don’t think our people are ready to accept such a major change without proof of the enemy.”
Putin and Xi quickly agreed.
Kalteck nodded, “Think of how your people are going to respond to the news they’re not alone. Think of how your religious leaders will react. Your Islam sect is going to refuse the news. They’ll cause death and destruction through suicide bombers, firebombers, and widespread violence. Based on my research since being here, I believe the rest of your religions will accept the news without turning to violence.”
Both Xi and Putin smiled. Both had looked for an excuse to take down their Muslim communities. Trump asked, “We should merge our efforts to bring the Muslims under control. We need to force them into the twenty-first century. I’m not sure it’s possible. The three of us have learned we can’t change them at the end of a rifle, I wonder if telling them we’re not alone will change them.”
The three agreed to use their special forces to take down the leaders of the extremist Islam sects. They also decided to put aside all of their differences and work together to save their planet and people. They decided to meet in person. Kalteck suggested he pick up each of them and bring them to his base on the dark side of the moon. They would be gone for one evening and then returned to their countries, hopefully before anyone knew they had been gone.
Two nights later, the three leaders sat around a circular conference table, and they were amazed at how smoothly and quickly the trip to the moon went. They were surprised and sickened at the videos Kalteck showed them of the enemy’s fleet and a battle between his Monitors and the enemy’s massive saucer
-shaped ships. Their largest ships exceeded fifteen miles across. They carried over a hundred fighters and enough weapons which could destroy a planet in a few orbits.
Chapter 9
Kalteck returned each leader to their home three hours before dawn. The last leader to be returned was President Trump. Kalteck looked at the President, “Do you believe the three of you can make the agreement work?”
“We don’t really have any choice if we want to survive. I am worried about the reaction after we announce at the UN we’re not alone. We’ve set the meeting for next Monday in New York City. We’re going to use the recording of what happened in that dome on Titan. Those images of what they did to those poor people combined with the animals will cause people to demand revenge and will also drive some mad. When those images are broadcast, the public will go crazy. When the people of Earth learn the aliens took the missing flight MH 370 and used the passengers as subjects in some strange science fiction horror movie and to develop viruses which almost destroyed the planet’s economy they’re going to be scared, they’re going to want revenge.
