2040 Revelations (2 page)

‘Indeed,’ Joiner said, his tone solemn. ‘Not a pretty picture. Yet, unlike in Hollywood movies, our top scientists tell us we do not currently have the capability to divert or destroy any asteroids that are heading our way. This won’t stop us from trying, of course, but since the whole of our species is threatened with extinction we prefer to have plans with as close to a one hundred per cent chance of survival as possible. Not just survival, but a means by which to continue our way of life.’

‘What about putting bases on the Moon or Mars?’ Steiner said without thinking.

Joiner’s mouth twitched, which may have been the man’s attempt at a smile. ‘Again, contrary to popular culture, we are even further away from attempting to populate other celestial bodies. So what do we do to counter these horrific after-effects? There are a few options open to us.’

Turning, Joiner pressed a remote button to bring up large slides on the huge flat screens behind him. He pointed to the first. ‘Option one, underground shelters. Perhaps the most effective solution available to us at present. Any such subterranean facilities will be able to preserve our way of life, our species and the many other forms of life on the planet which may – although unlikely in this instance – be utterly wiped out by any impact blast and fallout. Option two.’ He pointed to the next screen along.

‘Space stations. Much more expensive in every respect; however, they have the significant advantage of manoeuvrability, enabling them to avoid direct impacts in Earth’s orbit. And option three,’ he said, motioning at the final screen, ‘adaptive measures. Genetically modified crops, plants and trees which can withstand little to no sunlight for long periods. Food stockpiling and water storage. Infrastructure strengthening and adaptation. Conservation investment. Population education, leading up to impact – eternal darkness for many years will lead to mass panic and potentially wars and the breakdown of civilisation, unless pre-empted and diffused. Population evacuation of impact zone and any mega tsunami pathways.

‘Since we have a finite time-frame of twenty-three years to prepare for impact, it was decided that the most viable options were one and three. Option two will be considered on a very small scale, utilising current projects.’

‘Are you with us, Professor?’ the Vice President said.

Tearing his eyes away from the screen Steiner focused on the VP, his mind racing and his excitement a distant memory. His expression became serious. ‘I am, Madam Vice President,’ he said confidently.

‘Good. I knew you were going to be up to the task.’ She turned back to look at the Deputy Intelligence Director. ‘Proceed, Malcolm.’

‘For the past few years all the major nations of the world have been in intense discussions on how to combat this distant threat,’ Malcolm Joiner continued. ‘Not acting now may prove catastrophic in the future. Your work, Professor, since this discovery, has become more important than ever, which is why you will have seen a large increase in your budget year on year.

‘Not only do subterranean facilities help to protect against meteor strikes, they will also be our first defence against super volcanoes and infrastructure-damaging solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These facilities, as you are well aware, will also lend themselves to protecting us from other pressing threats, such as pandemics, biological and nuclear warfare, and so on. Due to the urgency and severity of the threat to the planet we have been able to cut through a lot of red tape to speed up the planning of our defences; redirecting resources to and from the varying nations and multinational companies around the world.

‘This process has inevitably been hindered by the need to ensure that the reason for such large scale unilateral cooperation between nations and private enterprises, initially, is known to only a select few. Fortunately the need for such secrecy has been aided by organisations that have been operating with complete – how should I put it? –
un-transparency
for generations, operating around the world unseen by the majority of the populace. They have proved very useful in averting suspicions and minimising the potential for mass panic and the breakdown of civilisation.

‘We need the world’s economy and people to go about their daily lives in as normal a way as possible, which will give humanity its best chance of survival in the future. Apart from the people in this room there are only a handful of people in the U.S. who know about this situation. Needless to say, everything you have been told falls under the official secrets act, to which you are already bound via your current position.’ The intelligence agent looked over to the VP. ‘Madam Vice President?’

‘Thank you, Malcolm. So, Professor, what do think?’

‘I’m thinking you want me to help you build a facility,’ Steiner said.

‘Well, yes and no. We need you to head up a programme,’ she told him, ‘globally.’

Steiner’s eyes widened in shock.

‘We are setting up an organisation called the Global Meteor Response Council, or GMRC for short,’ the VP continued. ‘The GMRC will be operating under the banner of the United Nations, but in fact it will have significantly more powers and will operate and virtually control every nation’s response to the asteroid and its eventual impact and fallout. You will not be required to operate in the public domain as it would merely serve to nullify your skill set. No, you will help lead the council from behind the scenes and concentrate on the worldwide subterranean response.

‘You were our chosen candidate from the United States, and while your Chinese and British counterparts also had excellent credentials, you won out on the fourth round of voting.’ She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with the glimmer of mischief. ‘So, I believe congratulations are in order.’

Globally
, Steiner thought,
in command of preserving civilisation, humanity and virtually all life on Earth? No pressure then!
‘Thank you, Madam Vice President,’ he said dryly. ‘You didn’t think I should be informed about my involuntary candidacy prior to the voting?’

‘Would it have made any difference?’

‘I suppose not,’ he conceded.

‘Excellent.’ She turned to her right. ‘General?’

‘Yes, Madam Vice President. Thank you.’ General Redshaw considered Steiner for a moment. ‘Professor, your job is going to be incredibly difficult; however, you will have a good team to support you.’

‘Do I not get to pick my own support staff?’ Steiner said.

‘Unfortunately no, due to the sensitivity of the programme, team members will be allocated as we see fit. If you have any problems, come to us; the five people in this room are from this point on your core support. We are your team.’

‘Hang on; you’re saying I’m in charge of you, a member of the Joint Chiefs?’

‘In a manner of speaking, yes. You will encounter many problems in the next twenty-three years and I am here to ensure you have the full backing of the United States military when and where needed. Hard decisions will need to be made.’

‘Does the President know the full picture?’

The Chief of Staff stepped in to answer. ‘No. He knows what he needs to know to do his job. He won’t be in office long enough to warrant full disclosure.’

‘Doesn’t that also apply to you, Madam Vice President?’ Steiner said.

‘No, once my tenure is at an end we will remain as a team to ensure stability is maintained. Personnel change is neither efficient nor cost effective, and increases the risk of intelligence exposure – or so I’m told,’ she said looking over at Malcolm Joiner, who nodded in agreement. She turned back to Steiner, a small smile creeping onto her face once more.

‘Hang on, doesn’t that mean I’m also in charge of you, Madam Vice President? Or will be?’

‘It does indeed, Professor.’ Her smile widened.

‘Right – err – okay then, just making sure.’
Dear lord what am I getting into?
he thought to himself.
In charge of the Vice President of the United States and one of the Joint Chiefs, not to mention the Deputy Intelligence Director.

‘Your job at the China Lake facility will terminate immediately,’ the General continued, ‘your home and work will now be moved to a location on the border of New Mexico and Colorado, near a town called Dulce.’

Stunned, Steiner looked at them in amazement. ‘I thought the Dulce underground base was just some bunkum made up by conspiracy theorists and alien nuts. You’re telling me it actually exists?’

‘The Dulce project has been underway for two decades,’ General Redshaw told him. ‘With this new
situation
we have simply adapted it to suit.’

‘How large is its subterranean footprint and how on God’s green earth have you kept it a secret? I’m in the same field with high clearance; I haven’t even suspected that there was something going on there.’

‘The footprint is approximately twenty square miles. As to how we keep it so well concealed, our friends in the intelligence community can be thanked for that.’

‘We aim to please,’ Joiner said, with an air of nonchalance.

‘Twenty square miles, but that’s ten times bigger than China Lake!’

‘It will actually be a lot bigger than that, Professor,’ General Redshaw said, ‘as it will utilise the cascading chamber design that you invented. We’ve simply scaled it up. Final preliminary testing is progressing and the forecasts look very good for a fully functional multi-level facility to be viable in less than ten years. The top of the complex is three thousand feet beneath the surface while the bottom, when it is finished, will be over ten thousand feet down. It is truly an astounding feat of engineering on a scale humankind has never seen before.’

‘So you must have been using nano tubes to strengthen the chambers,’ Steiner said, gazing down at the floor in thought, ‘otherwise the depth would have been too great to support the vast pressures above.’ He looked back up. ‘How have you managed to go so deep?  Unless you’ve devised a new extraction method, of course, but then—’

‘Professor,’ the VP said, interrupting him.

‘What? – yes, of course – sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise, Professor. This is what you have been hired to do, but you will have time enough to think and plan to your heart’s content.’ The VP stood up, with everyone following suit.

Steiner, caught on the hop, rose last.

‘Nathan will take you to your new home and help you settle in. All your research and equipment will be shipped to the Dulce facility in due course,’ the VP said. ‘I’m sorry to have to drop all this on you so suddenly, Professor, you are coping remarkably well, which confirms our choice was a sound one. We will be meeting again very soon, but until then Nathan will be able to answer any further questions you may have.’

Steiner shook hands with them all, feeling a little bewildered by this sudden life-altering turn of events. At the door he turned. ‘I won’t let you down, Madam Vice President.’

‘I have every confidence in you, Professor. We all do.’

Steiner gave her a nod of his head in acknowledgement and let himself be led out the door and into his new life.

♦

After everyone else had left, Deputy Intelligence Director Malcolm Joiner turned to the Vice President. ‘Let’s hope he delivers,’ he said.

The Vice President poured some scotch into two tumblers and handed one to him. ‘Oh, he will deliver. We’re here to help, after all; he’s by no means alone in this.’

‘The other nations will not want to follow him.’

‘He’ll win them round, you’ll see.’

‘Perhaps we should have told him everything? I believe he could handle it.’

‘Hmm, perhaps.’ She sipped her drink, the ice cubes rattling softly inside the glass. ‘We will feed him more information pertinent to his job when necessary. He knows what he needs to know … for now.’

Chapter One

Twenty-two years later. London, England. 2040.

Trish looked at her watch – again. Twenty minutes past the hour and Sarah had yet to arrive. Trish wasn’t surprised at the tardiness; she’d known Sarah too long to expect anything else. Waiting around did grate after a while but something else bothered her much more. She’d been concerned about her friend’s recent behaviour. Sarah hadn’t seemed happy or even remotely motivated for some time. Less focused, more introverted and less sociable, very un-Sarah like. Trish hadn’t seen her like that since Sarah’s mother had died tragically in a fire five years ago.
How time flies
, she thought; it seemed like it had been only a couple of years since that fateful day. She took an idle sip of her tea and heaved a small sigh.

Trish had decided to meet Sarah for a drink at the new café located near the top of the Sky Pillar, the latest and by far the tallest London skyscraper, recently opened to great fanfare. An awe inspiring spectacle, the tower rose up over two thousand feet into the crisp blue sky, shining like a beacon of light across the city as the sun glinted from its smooth, glass-clad surface.

Looking down from her vantage point Trish could see the tops of some of the smaller towers far below, One Canada Square, The Shard, and its sister tower, The Spire. The building was so high it granted the observer a clear view of aeroplanes and helicopters as they bustled their way around the city. As she took another sip of her drink, she caught sight of Sarah stepping off the escalator and gave her a wave to catch her attention. Seeing the movement, Sarah waved back and began wending her way through the tables and chairs towards her friend.

Sarah was quite tall, taller than Trish, anyway, and at five eight she wasn’t particularly short. Sarah also managed to catch the attention of many a passing man as she was a true blonde with a beauty, figure and complexion many models would envy. Sarah complained her looks were the bane of her life as many people only saw her features rather than the actual person behind them. Trish could see her point – she could, although she wouldn’t have minded the attention that Sarah enjoyed. Her friend’s physical attributes also helped her in the befuddlement and – usually inadvertent – manoeuvring of the opposite sex. This sparked jealousy in some women, but Trish knew it was a woman’s prerogative, whether intentional or otherwise; men had testosterone and women had their wiles, it was just the way things were. “Gotta make use of what God gave you,” her ma always said.