Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (26 page)

“We can just keep
implanting top military officials until one of them discusses the
date and time of the operation,” Cindy remarked.

They had a sit-down
session with a list of all the top military leaders in the American
military provided by the computer. It seemed obvious. They could just
start at the top and keep working their way down until one of them
supplied the information they needed. To maximize their time, they
would start on the East Coast and work their way west until daybreak.
This way they would gain an extra three hours each night. From the
list, the computer would systematically select targets according to
the location of the selected personnel, making their effort as
efficient as possible.

Over the next several
days, they continued implanting the selected targets, averaging
almost two hundred a night. They had implanted every general in every
branch of military service and were now implanting subordinates. They
also implanted members of the government, including all the members
of Congress, the Senate, and state governors.

Christopher and Cindy,
after watching three or four implanting procedures, spent most all of
their waking hours watching reruns of what the computer believed to
be the most informative of the monitoring that pertained to Operation
Down-size. The computer supplied them with a seemingly endless supply
of images to review. In a day or two of viewing this endless stream
of information, Christopher and Cindy compared notes. Between the two
of them, they felt they knew everything there was to know about
Operation Down-size, except the exact date and time. Some of the
information enabled them to narrow it down to between four days and
two weeks away. It was close enough for the computer to decide it was
time to start making preliminary scans for the positions of the
submarines and surface ships.

Christopher and Cindy
were becoming dizzy from the nonstop viewing of monitored signals.
“How long will it take you to scan for all of the submarines and
surface ships?” Christopher asked the computer.

“Approximately three
minutes.”

“Cindy and I need a
break, so I thought while you do that, we might have a picnic. Let’s
go to the area we were at before by the stream.”

“I don’t think
leaving you two alone for any length of time is such a good idea.”

“We’re both wearing
the suits, and if there’s any trouble, we can let you know and you
can be here in a matter of seconds, right?”

“Yes,” the computer
answered.

“All right then, if
you’ll take us to someplace where we can get a bucket of chicken,
we can get this picnic started.” Even though the computer had
offered a small pill that taken once a day provided all of their
daily nutritional requirements, Christopher and Cindy still preferred
real food when the occasion allowed.

They had perfected
slipping in and out of restaurants unnoticed. Once again they
repeated the well-practiced procedure, and in no time were ready for
a nice picnic.

Before shifting
Christopher and Cindy out, the computer reminded them to notify it if
there was any problem. “Yes, Mom,” Christopher said jokingly, as
the computer began to shift them out. Once the shift was complete,
Christopher and Cindy took their meal to what had become their
favorite spot by the stream.

“You know,” Cindy
commented, “your way of dealing with the aircraft that do manage to
get airborne is right out of an old sci-fi movie. Don’t get me
wrong, I really think it will be very effective. That’s one of the
reasons I think it will work. It’s something the pilots will
understand.”

“I can’t wait to
see the look on their faces.”

“Yes, it’ll
definitely be a Kodak moment.”

Cindy started. “What
was that?” she asked.

“What? I didn’t
hear any, wait—it sounds like a couple of dirt bikes, and they’re
headed this way.”

“Should we notify the
computer?”

“We don’t have to.
I’m implanted. The computer already knows.”

With that, they both
heard the computer say, “Preparing to shift you in now.” A few
seconds later, they began to turn transparent, and in a flash they
were inside the craft watching the dirt bikes arriving at their
former position to find a half-eaten bucket of chicken.

“I’m telling you, I
saw someone here. Look at this,” the rider said pointing at the
bucket of chicken. He picked it up and took a piece from the bucket,
held it up to his nose, and said, “It’s still warm. I told you
there was somebody here.”

“Then where are they,
huh?” another rider asked. They looked around at the rather flat
area of their location seeing nothing.

“I don’t know. How
do you suppose this chicken got here?”

“I don’t know, but
I’m not sticking around to find out.” With that he started his
bike and took off. The rider holding the bucket of chicken dropped it
on the ground like a hot potato and took off after his riding
companions.

Christopher and Cindy
both laughed and Christopher turned and asked the computer,
“Computer, just what is it I’m supposed to do to ‘prepare to
shift’?”

“It’s just fair
warning,” the computer replied. Perhaps I might convince both of
you to join me while I finish my scanning for naval vessels.”

“Sure, but I would
have liked to finish our bucket of chicken,” Christopher added.

The computer finished
his scan and then informed Christopher and Cindy, “I believe I have
monitored one of our implants with the information we’ve been
waiting for.”

“Show us what you’ve
got,” Christopher responded.

A screen formed in
front of where they were sitting and was with what the computer had
monitored. They listened to the following dialogue gleaned from one
of the generals: “We should have all of the aircraft in the air by
eleven hundred hours. They will have reached their targets easily by
twelve-thirty hours. Once they are on their targets, they will stand
by while land and sea-based missiles are launched. They will be
instructed to drop their payloads when they see the first mushroom
cloud, then proceed to their rendezvous points for pick up. By
thirteen-hundred hours, the planet should be a very quiet place. That
only gives you three more days to switch the remaining computer files
so the aircraft can load the proper ordinance. We don’t want any
mistakes on this one. They’ll be no second chances. Am I making
myself perfectly clear?”

“That’s it!”
Christopher declared. “Three more days, let’s see, that will make
it Tuesday at twelve-thirty hours. We’ve got it.”

He gave Cindy a big
hug. “Computer, continue to monitor all of the implants for
verification. We have to be absolutely sure.”

It didn’t take long
for them to get verification. Over the next twenty-four hours they
received no less than eighteen time and date conformations via the
implants. Using this information, the computer formulated a timetable
starting with the land-based missiles first, then the submarines,
then the surface ships with an EMP, then the aircraft on the ground.
Finally they would deal with the aircraft that were repaired and put
into the air. The computer did a scan of all submarines and surface
ships every twelve hours, plotting their course and speed, keeping
track of their every movement. He had already plotted the shortest
route to reach all of the land-based missile silos some time ago, in
order to keep the time required to reach them all at a minimum.

The computer knew that
it would have to expend a tremendous amount of energy to perform the
tasks necessary in stopping Operation Down-size. It would need its
power systems at full capacity. “There are only a few hours before
we must begin. It will be necessary for me to charge my power cells
to their full capacity.”

Christopher looked
puzzled. “How do you do that?”

“There are several
sources of energy which I am capable of storing. The simplest and
most available to me here is your sun. We are in route there as we
speak. The closer I am to the source, the stronger the energy and the
faster I am able to store it.”

“How do you store
energy?” Cindy asked.

“The closest thing
you could relate it to would be your batteries. My means of storing
energy is different and far more advanced. Simply put, I do it by
accelerating the molecules of the liquid metal. Not unlike your sun,
it is a fusion reaction. As I expend energy, the core temperature
drops and the molecules slow down. When I absorb energy, it raises
the temperature and the molecules speed up. It’s an efficient means
of storing energy. It can absorb energy from a variety of energy
sources besides solar radiation. For that matter, almost any form of
radiation is capable of adding power. Another method is charging the
cells by adding hydrogen atoms, which are scooped up as I travel
through open space. It is able to absorb large amounts of energy in a
very short time.”

“Would it be possible
to see this device?” Cindy asked.

“No. Not directly. I
can show you a projection of the process, but you would gain nothing
from it. The technology requires kelvinite and it is far beyond
anything you are capable of comprehending. It would be like showing a
schematic of one of your shuttle’s rocket engines to a Neanderthal.
You are not quite ready to understand that level of technology yet.”

Although Christopher
and Cindy knew the computer had a point, they couldn’t’ help but
feel a little humiliated. They were fast becoming accustomed to the
craft and its capabilities, but they were always aware of the
advanced technologies they were dealing with. With the craft’s
cells fully charged, the computer returned to the third planet.

Zero hour had arrived,
or the time for Christopher, Cindy, and the computer to go into
action in an effort to stop Operation Down-size. The first step in
their multi-faceted plan was to seal all of the launch doors on the
missile silos around the world. The majority of these were located in
America and Russia.

They started with the
American silos. Following a predetermined game plan, the computer
maneuvered the craft to the first site on the East Coast. In total
stealth mode, the computer positioned itself directly over the silo
launch door atop the ballistic missile and began to melt the edge of
the launch door using a high-powered laser. In an effort to minimize
the amount of detectable smoke that would otherwise be visible as the
metal was heated to the melting point by the craft’s laser, the
computer fired the laser not in a continuous beam, but rather in
short pulses. It took about two minutes to completely seal the door
atop the missile, rendering it useless and trapping it in its tall
cylindrical lair. Inspecting its progress as it went, the computer
moved on to the next silo door when it was satisfied that it had
completed its task.

While the computer went
about its work, it displayed its progress as it went along, allowing
Christopher and Cindy to track it. The craft moved almost too fast to
follow just watching. The precision of its movements were nothing
short of amazing. From one silo to the next, the computer guided the
craft, sealing one silo door after another. As each door was sealed
in its closed position, Christopher and Cindy kept track of the
progress until it seemed the computer skipped a very large area of
silos.

“Computer, you are
aware that you have skipped over a large number of silos, aren’t
you?”

“Yes. There’s a
problem in that area. There is a thick fog on the ground. The laser
would still be just as effective, but unfortunately it would also be
quite visible to the naked eye. The risk of the laser being noticed
by one of the soldiers in the silos on a video monitor is too great.
We will have to return to this area later in the day after the fog
has had a chance to burn off. There should be sufficient time.”

The three continued on
their quest, traveling from one silo to the next, on every continent
of the planet. Returning to those skipped after finishing with the
rest. Upon their return, they found the fog had burned off
completely, allowing them to finish the job. Three hours and
thirty-one minutes total. Just four minutes over the projected three
hours and twenty-seven minutes. The four-minute delay caused by the
early morning fog posed no serious problem.

Now for the next step
in their plan: sealing the missile hatches on all of the submarines.
Following the projected positions of the submarines determined by the
earlier scans, the computer wasted no time arriving at the location
of the first target.

The computer explained
the procedure as it began the operation. “The particle beam power
and duration is determined by allowing for the water temperature,
salinity, currents, and any marine life that may stray into the
beam—not only the depth of the submarine, but the slight depth
variations caused by the surface wave action. For instance, in five
feet of sea, the depth will vary as much as ten feet with each
passing wave, not to mention matching perfectly the submarine’s
course and speed. If it should happen to be raining over any of the
submarines, I will have to allow for the number and density of the
drops of rain. If the calculations are not precise, the particle beam
will not seal the hatches but rather just punch holes in them. A very
ineffective and detectable result.”

Both Christopher and
Cindy were able to appreciate the complexities of the task. As with
the land-based missile silos, they watched and kept track of the
computer’s progress. They were amazed to see that the submarines,
mostly hundreds of feet below the water, were visible on the screen
as if they were sitting on the surface. The computer had the ability
to look through the water as if it weren’t even there. Aboard the
submarines it was business as usual. The computer’s handiwork went
completely unnoticed. The computer wasted no time moving from one
vessel to the next. The earlier scans were turning out to be an
invaluable aid in locating the submarines.