Legacy (16 page)

“Europa, clear and enhance photo 112. Can we get an estimation of moisture content in the cloud cover?”

“Attempting to analyze,” Europa said, as the picture of an eclipsed Earth disappeared and then reappeared with grid marks and a multitude of overlaid colors. “In answer to your query, Dr. Golding, the moisture content of cloud cover cannot be analyzed with current data. However, Europa can correct a previous assumption of the objects tagged as clouds.”

Pete smiled and then looked back at Virginia. “Go ahead, Europa.”

“Objects viewed in photograph are of varying thickness. They are indicative of windblown contaminate, therefore they cannot be classified as cloud cover. Europa will tag contaminate as volcanic activity from the Asian continent. The particulate is acting as though it is caught in the North American jet stream. The thickness of volcanic contaminate is sixty-seven miles. The Asian continent is estimated at eleven thousand, eight hundred miles distant as calculated from height of contaminate.”

“That’s impossible, Asia is not that far off the west coast of the United Sates,” someone in the Comp Center said.

Pete smiled as his suspicions were confirmed. A few more of the technicians started making their way over to where Pete and Virginia stood. Seeing this, Pete switched all of Europa’s calculations and depictions to the large thirty-five-foot screen at the center of the front wall.

“Europa, analyze the distance of object from present-day Earth coordinates depicted in the lower right hand corner of photo 171. I have designated object as Venus.”

“Europa has confirmed the planet Venus as object depicted in data received.”

Pete glanced back at Virginia and raised his brows. “It’s not where, Virginia, but when.”

Virginia Pollock was beginning to understand where Pete was going. She decided to join in on Pete’s developing theory.

“Europa, overlay photo 171 with a recent star field photo of the current position of the planet Venus, and show the current position of stars in background, please.”

As they watched, recent photos from Jet Propulsion Lab, the Hubble Telescope, and the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles were placed side by side with the recovered Moon photograph, and then the four photos slowly blended into one. Venus was then clearly shown separated from its twin in the recovered photo.

“Estimate distance from the two planets depicted, please,” Pete continued, as a shocked Virginia and her large staff watched in awe. Meanwhile the computer technicians under Pete’s command looked at their boss with even more respect than they’d had just a moment before.

“One hundred fifty-six thousand thirty-two miles, plus or minus two hundred miles from current position of the planet Venus.”

Pete stood and looked at the picture above them. “Estimate time of solar system expansion from current position of Venus subtracted from photo number 171.”

“Photo marked as 171 was exposed approximately seven hundred million years prior to recent earth- and space-bound photography, plus or minus error factor of one million years.”

The room was stunned. Pete was too shocked to gloat. He turned white and faced Virginia.

“Photo 171 taken of the Earth. The reason why the estimate of the Asian continent as being so far away from the North American west coast is because Asia, at least in this photo taken from the Moon, was on the far side of the world at that time. The picture was taken—”

“Before the continents separated, and at a time when the world was inundated with volcanoes and explosive activity on its surface,” Virginia finished for him.

Pete smiled, albeit uneasily, and then removed his horn-rimmed glasses.

“Bingo.”

CHURCH OF THE TRUE FAITH, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

The Reverend Samuel Rawlins knew when he had his congregation where he wanted them. The two-hour sermon had started out chastising America’s foolish reach into space and continued with the accusation that the United States had introduced a weapon of mass destruction into God’s universe. As his Hollywood-style speaking voice reached out to the thousands attending in Long Beach, it was also reaching record numbers in eighty-six other countries that had accepted the special programming after the day’s events on the Moon.

“Were the mechanics and engineers of our wayward nation satisfied when we placed the footprint of mankind on one of the Lord’s heavenly bodies five decades ago? No, we have to reach for unspoiled ground once more and taint it with the radiation of a blackened soul. I say we have sinned a great sin, and the nation, if not the world, will pay for this egregious affront to God almighty!”

The congregation stood and shouted their approval. “I say to everyone listening and watching around the world that this reach back into space cannot be tolerated. This so-called find on the Moon is nothing but a hoax perpetrated by the leaders of this morally bankrupt nation, and assisted by their so-called allies across the globe, a trick of humankind to once more gain access to the workingman’s pocketbook—once again my brothers and my sisters, this trickery will not, cannot be tolerated, and I will fight this expansion into God’s universe with every breath in my body, even unto my own death!”

At that point the three-hundred-member choir broke out in song and the gathered parishioners stood and started clapping and shouting out amens. The Reverend Samuel Rawlins stepped away from the magnificent golden pulpit and held his hands high in the air. Women seated closest to him came near to swooning, while the men looked up at the ten-foot-high stage that was filled with palm trees and flowers with nothing but reverence and admiration etched upon their tear-streaked faces. As the choir sang the Reverend gestured to one of his younger deacons to lead the congregation in final prayer. Then he waved as if he were Elvis leaving the stage and departed to the left.

There were three men waiting for him as he stripped off his white jacket, but he ignored them as he first went to his two daughters and hugged and kissed them. The older wrapped a towel around his neck and the younger gave him a tall glass of water. He smiled and then excused himself. First, wiping his brow, he went to a man in a dark business suit.

“Numbers?” he asked.

“Our own network is carrying a forty-eight percent share. We swept the major networks off the airwaves. And listen to this—we pulled fifties in most European countries.”

“That’s good, Elliott,” Rawlins said after he drained the glass of water. “Give me real-time numbers, not percentages.”

The president of Faith Networks Worldwide saw the intense blue eyes as they bore into him and he wanted to step away, but he smiled instead. “You were seen by no fewer than one billion people here and abroad.”

Rawlins wiped his sweating face once more and then nodded. “Good. Now set up my special for Guiana. I have a sermon reserved just for our family down there. I want it to be beamed out to them no later than tomorrow evening. I’ve already recorded it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rawlins turned to the two other men as he watched his daughters, who also loved the attention and the limelight, step out onto the stage. They started singing and clapping with his choir and deacons.

“Okay, what have you got?”

The two men were part of his security team and were ruthless. They collected intelligence on anything or anyone that could possibly hurt his ministry.

“We have a special telegram from the Vatican. It seems you’ve hit a nerve with the new pope. He demands that you use—his words here, sir—common sense, and he hopes for restraint on your part. It seems you are inflaming the populace of many nations.”

“Is that right? Well, the pope and all of Catholicism haven’t seen anything yet. What else?”

“The regional board of evangelistic ministries has echoed the complaints of the Vatican. The president of the United States has been mum so far on your attack on the space program and himself. We don’t expect that to last after tonight.”

“I tremble in my shoes,” Rawlins said with a laugh, tossing the damp towel as he walked briskly toward his dressing room. “Keep up, gentlemen,” he said, not bothering to look back over his shoulder as the two men turned and followed. “I am informed by a most reliable source that the European Space Agency, along with those godless Russians and Chinese, have contingency plans to reach the Moon.” He stopped and looked intensely at the men. “Obviously they plan to attempt a recovery of both the human remains and the mineral samples. Of course, our contingency plans were predicated on something like this happening. Oh, maybe not such a worldwide attempt, but close. This cannot and will not happen, gentlemen.”

“We are ready, sir,” the largest of the two security men said, holding his own eyes steady on the Reverend.

“Now, the appropriate blame will be placed on nations and on organizations I have taken years to choose. The consequences of taking so many lives must not be traced back to me. We have spent more than two billion dollars over the years preparing our response and this is not the time to screw things up.”

The medium-sized man, actually the security chief for Faith Ministries and a former Delta operative, finally cleared his throat. His goatee was closely trimmed and his hair was recently cut.

“You have hired the best men there are from all around the world. You have paid handsomely for the loyalty of all. We will not fail you or your church, Mr. Rawlins. We will kill all who try to blunt the word of God.”

Rawlins finally smiled with true comradeship.

“God bless, Mr. Smith.”

The man known to everyone who worked with him as Smith, nodded once and then turned away, his taller assistant following.

The Reverend Rawlins watched the two men leave as he slid down the knot in his tie. The smile was gone and he felt better for it. He looked up into the girder work of the giant cathedral.

“Yes, Mr. Smith, go about God’s work. And, if need be, bring upon the heathen the Four Horsemen, for they shall deserve God’s wrath.”

300 MILES NORTH OF QUITO, ECUADOR

Will Mendenhall was up front in the cockpit of the Air Force Learjet taking his flying lesson from Jason Ryan while Jack and Carl studied the latest satellite images provided by the Event Group’s own KH-11 satellite, code-named Boris and Natasha. The images were downloaded into a virtual reality map that showed real-time cloud cover and ocean tides. The in-motion virtual map showed and even measured the snowfall in the Andes. As Jack hit the zoom icon on the side of the plastic map, the image enlarged to the point where he and Carl could clearly see the indentation in the Earth made when the original German excavation was buried after the war.

“Let’s see,” Everett said, counting under his breath. “I count no fewer than four guard towers and three roving SUV patrols. And they claim it’s all for public safety?”

“That’s the claim. They say there are dangerous and eroding mine shafts and such. However, according to the senator, we know for a fact that the operation was an open pit mine, no shafts involved, at least none that can be found by hikers.”

“Okay, do the Ecuadorians know what was taken out of the ground there?” Everett scanned the map for more detail.

“We have no idea. Even though relations are good, they’re pretty hush-hush on what the site is hiding—or, what it hid at one time.” Jack said, correcting himself.

“These SUVs, you notice something?” Everett asked, pointing to and tapping the three roving vehicles outside the thirty-foot chain link fence.

“Nonmilitary, black in color, and expensive,” he said, adjusting the magnification on the virtual reality map. “Maybe a little bit beyond the resources of the Ecuadorian military.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Carl agreed.

“Colonel, we’re starting our descent into Quito, so you and the captain better buckle up back there,” Ryan said over the intercom.

Everett looked at his and then Jack’s seat belts, which had never been undone from takeoff. “Nah, we won’t tell him. He may think we don’t trust his flying,” he said with a crooked smile.

As Jack sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, his cell phone rang.

“Collins,” he said.

“Colonel, Niles here. I have an update for you on several fronts. Number one, the rest of the civilized world has seemingly turned an ugly eye toward us. They are using the excuse that we introduced fissionable material onto the lunar surface.”

“You’re kidding. I suppose they didn’t see the same footage we did on CNN?”

“Well, the president thinks it’s just a red herring, several of the more capable countries seem to be hell-bent on investigating the event firsthand.”

Jack sat up in his seat and then sat the cell phone down on the table between him and Everett. He hit speakerphone.

“Are they running a bluff? I mean, are they capable at this time of getting there?” Jack asked as he mouthed the word
Moon
to Carl.

“Well, the ESA claims they have not one, but two prototypes ready to go. I personally find that difficult to believe. They could never have hidden the budget from the European Union. But they did go on television just twenty minutes ago stating they were prepared to shuttle components into South America to start assembly of the two Ariane 7 vehicles.”

“Damn, what does CIA have to say about the accuracy of this claim?”