Overture (Earth Song) (14 page)

“
May I please see your identification, Dr. Patoy?”

“
Certainly, and Ms. Patoy will be fine.” She produced the requested documentation and he scrutinized it with a professional manor.

“
Thank you, Ms. Patoy. Please proceed through the door to your left,” He leaned over and pressed a button under the counter. The indicated door buzzed loudly. She went over and pulled it open to find another FBI agent waiting on the other side. This time it was an African-American woman in the same style suit as Special Agent Whitehead had worn.

“
Please follow me, ma’am?”

Mindy
nodded and followed the other woman. She was led down a twisting corridor, passing many offices and two huge cubicle farms before arriving at a conference room. “Your call will be coming in on line nine momentarily. Please make yourself at home until then.” There was a water pitcher, glasses, and a small snack tray of cheese, meats and raw vegetables waiting for her.

“
Thank you. Are you Agent Smith?”

“
There is no Agent Smith, ma’am. I have other duties, if you will excuse me? Just press the page button on the phone when you are done and I will be back to lead you out.”

“
I’m pretty sure I can find the way.”

“
Just press the button so I can
escort
you to the exit, please?”

“
Certainly,” she agreed. Mindy had the impression it wasn’t really a request. She also got the feeling that her mysterious presence was not welcome. “Thanks,” she offered. The female agent pulled the door closed. Mindy was surprised she didn’t hear the lock turn.

She
took a seat next to the phone and poured herself a glass of water. Originally content to just drink some water and wait, the snack tray was too tempting and soon she was crunching crackers with cheese and dipping vegetables in tasty sauces. She was getting full just as the phone buzzed. “Your call is waiting now, Ms. Patoy.”

“
Thanks,” she said, even though she wasn’t sure they could hear her, and then picked up the receiver and pressed the button numbered nine. As she did she noticed the phone had a great many more buttons with strange abbreviations. “Mindy Patoy,” she announced.

“
Hello again,” said Dr. Leo Skinner on the other end. “I knew you would come, I’m just surprised how quick it was. Sorry I kept you waiting, but I went to lunch.”

“
That’s no problem, Leo, the FBI graciously provided me with a snack.”

“
Don’t give them more credit than they deserve, I asked them to have it waiting for you. I don’t think they like the idea of using their facilities for this meeting, but I’m afraid it was the closest SatScram phone available. Now, if you will please look down at the phone and tell me what the phone type is? It should start with SSP?”

“
It says SSP122.”

“
Wonderful, a newer model.” She could hear him typing something into a computer, possibly calling up a diagram of the phone? “Okay, there are a series of buttons on the left hand side that no doubt have you curious. Those are the scrambler controls. Please press COMSYN, type in two-two-one on the keypad and press COMLOK.” She did as instructed. The receiver gave a squawk, somewhat similar to that of an old-fashioned computer modem, and then she could hear him again. “Can you hear me? Good, now quickly, press COMSCR six-two-six and the COMLOK button again.” Once again she did as she was told. The receiver emitted more strange sounds and when she heard his voice now he sounded rather distorted as he asked if she could hear him.

“
Yes, I can hear you okay.”

“
Good, I regret the extreme measures to obtain secrecy, but I fear it is necessary. I really shouldn’t even be going outside the bag on this, but we need some answers. If you will check a chair nearby, you will find a computer notebook for you.” She looked and found the computer. “Good, please take the CAT-5 cable and plug into the jack on the phone. Alright, please set up the computer to receive streaming data.” Years of working with this sort of technology let her perform the task quickly. She told him when she was ready.

“
Okay, here we go.” The computer began receiving information and an impressive multimedia presentation began as Leo Skinner narrated. “On March 16th as many as ten devices were delivered to prominent locations within the largest nations of the Earth. These devices appear to be Portals to another world…”

An
hour later she closed the computer and hung up the phone. If her head had been spinning before, it was all but thunder struck now. She pressed the page button on the phone and waited for the agent to come and escort her out. She arrived and Mindy followed in silence. A few other FBI people were visible on the way, most looking at a civilian without visitor ID and no sign of handcuffs as a curiosity, but being escorted seemed to be enough to get her through. The woman held the door for her and Mindy stepped through.

Just
before it closed she remembered the computer she was carrying. “Oh, I’m sorry, this belongs to you but I need the data on it. Can we arrange to-“

“
I’ve been instructed that the computer is a gift to you. Have a nice day, Ms. Patoy.” She might have been a tad insulted by the briskness of being shown the door but she was too dizzy to say a thing. Before she even realized where she was Mindy was outside on the street, ordering a big steaming cup of mocha cappuccino from a cart vendor. It wasn’t until she was halfway back to SETI before it was cool enough to drink and drink it she did, in one long gulp. The caffeine coursed through her body and helped to get her mind back in control by the time she put the car in park and climbed out, the notebook clutched to her chest. She had some work to do.

The teleconference had just begun and already Mark Volant was wishing he were somewhere else. This was the sort of thing the agency director usually sat in on, but in this case Volant had to field the questions and answers because he was the expert on the scene.

Also
attending the conference were Dr. Osgood with two of his assistants, another NASA scientist named Dr. Leo Skinner, and Ted Oscenhert, national security adviser to the President of the United States. Introductions had just been completed when Oscenhert demanded to be heard.

“
I just want you all to realize that the President is absolutely furious that he was not so much as briefed about this space rock until a few minutes ago when it was known to be off course for months!”

“
Well,” began Dr. Skinner, “you have to understand that NASA didn’t see the event that caused the course deviation.”

“
Why not?”

“
We weren’t looking.”

“
Again, why not?”

“
Well, to watch every Earth crosser-“

“
Earth crosser? What the hell is that?”

“
An Earth crossing asteroid or comet, sometimes called an NEO, or near Earth object. Any celestial object that crosses Earth’s orbit regularly or irregularly. LM245 is a regular Earth crosser. We see it every five years or so.”

“
Like Halley’s comet, right?”

“
Yes, but they have vastly different orbits. Now, if I may continue? Were we to watch every Earth crosser twenty-four/seven, and there have been more than fifty thousand cataloged so far-”

“
What’s so hard about that?”

“
Frankly, there aren’t enough telescopes on the planet. We provided an estimate on just such a program, twenty-four hour a day observations of every rock, mind you that’s impossible, but the proposal had a price tag of more than eleven billion dollars a year.”

“
Ridiculous!”

“
That’s exactly what your political party said at the time, so it never went anywhere. Now we have this,” Skinner said and pointed at a graphic display showing the deadly orbit of LM245.

“
It’s a little late to be pointing fingers, don’t you think?” asked Osgood.

“
Too true,” agreed Oscenhert quickly. “So this is a big rock coming at us?”

“
Yes,” said Dr. Skinner, “about fourteen miles long, three and a half miles across at its widest and roughly shaped like a bowling pin.”

“
You think it will hit Earth?”

“
Well, we have to wait until my people finish working their own observations, about twenty more hours should do it. But if this amateur astronomer's observations are on the mark, then yes, it will most certainly hit us. Unwaveringly, I would have to say.”

“
You seem so certain,” Oscenhert sneered, “yet you want more time.”

“
I couldn’t imagine a more direct targeting of a planet with an asteroid if I’d aimed it myself.”

“
So you’re one of those that think aliens are trying to kill us?” The presidential advisor made a dismissive gesture which quickly drew the ire of Skinner.

“
I didn’t say that. But based on what I’ve seen, it sure looks like some intelligence took advantage of this rock’s orbit and date of perigee to turn it into a weapon.”

“
So what happens if it hits?”

“
I’d have to say a total loss, wouldn’t you Dr. Osgood?”

“
Oh most certainly that is a possibility,” agreed the scientist sitting next to Volant.

“
I don’t think I follow you,” Oscenhert complained.

“
May I?” asked Osgood. Dr. Skinner nodded and the younger scientist proceeded. “You see, this rock of ours is like a bowling ball thrown at a bus. Stand a few feet away and chuck the bowling ball at the local 525 to the mall and it dents the hood, maybe breaks out a window.”

“
That’s not so bad,” Oscenhert laughed.

“
Right, but this bowling ball started at the top of mount Everest. It’s rolling all the way down the mountain on a perfectly smooth road, and then when it’s a couple miles away it slingshots around a hill to speed up even more. It’s still the same bowling ball, it’s still the same bus, but now that little hunk of plastic could well punch a hole from one end of that bus to the other and turn it inside out from the impact.”

“
Are you serious?”

“
As a heart attack. We need to wait until Dr. Skinner’s people finish tasking the data, but based on what I’ve seen so far this rock is probably traveling faster than any asteroid ever recorded. That little dip through the sun’s photosphere cost it some matter but it also sent it down our throats at breakneck speed. Let’s say about 50 km per second.”

“
That’s a conservative estimate,” Skinner agreed. Oscenhert’s eyes got big and Osgood continued.

“
At that speed it slams into the Earth with about nine thousand times the energy of the biggest hydrogen bomb ever detonated.”

“
Good Lord!” Oscenhert gasped. Volant was trying to consider a number that big. “But won’t it burn up in our atmosphere?”

“
Sure,” Osgood said and for a second Oscenhert looked relieved, “if it had just wandered by and fell out of orbit like Spacelab did, burning up back in the 90’s. But this bastard is coming at us so fast it’s only going to be in the atmosphere for a couple seconds. It will turn the air in front of it to white hot plasma, just like the shuttle sees on reentry, and anyone within view will see an incredible sight. Now when it hits, it won’t be like you might have seen on the Discovery Channel; big boom, lots of junk in the air. This thing is so big and moving so fast it’s liable to actually dig into the crust of the planet rather like a bullet slamming into a watermelon.”

“
When a bullet hits a watermelon,” Volant spoke up, “the watermelon explodes.”

“
Exactly,” Osgood said and jabbed a finger at the agent for emphasis. “It will depend on what this rock is made of, as to the actual effects. If it’s typical space junk, rock and ice, there is survivability. Anyone within a thousand miles is dead, of course, and we’re looking at years of global winter, but survivable.”

“
If you call that survivable, I’d hate to hear what you consider unsurvivable!” Oscenhert scoffed.

“
Unsurvivable is if this is a mainly nickel iron asteroid. In that case it could penetrate the crust to the mantle.”

“
Like striking a crystal glass with a hammer,” Skinner said, “the vibration from the blow could shatter the mantle. The planet disintegrates, or tears loose every fault line and realigns the continents.”

“
Well, as frightening as that may be I don’t think it’s worth discussing that sort of doomsday story,” Oscenhert said with a wave of his hands. Despite his bravado Volant noticed the trickle of sweat from his bow and the growing dark stains under the arms of his expensive Armani shirt.

“
What the hell do you think we are talking about?” demanded Skinner.

“
Well, that would mean the end of mankind! There is no way God would completely destroy us. It’s not in his plan, I’m certain of that.”

“
How do you know God didn’t aim this rock at us?” Osgood asked. “Maybe he’s done with this experiment. Maybe it’s time to wipe the slate clean and start all over.”

“
You are being ridiculous,” the man on the other side of the screen said, wiping sweat from his brow.

“
No more than you bringing ‘God’s will’ into a scientific discussion,” Osgood replied with a snarl. “You damn political types are all the same, trying to change what we tell you to somehow advantage your own party.” He slammed a meaty fist on the table making water glasses and scientists jump. “That fucking rock is quite real, and it may well be coming to kill us, sir. Now what do you intend to tell the President? Dr. Skinner here has a few thousand people at NASA working around the clock to affect a response and you’re talking about waving a Bible at it and praying it will go away.”

“
I don’t much like the tone you are taking with me.”

“
And I don’t much like trying to discuss ballistics and astronomical laws with a crusty old fossil that probably went to high school with my father.” Osgood was not a terribly young man, well over fifty himself, but Oscenhert did indeed make him look young by comparison.

Volant
decided to step in before the conference developed into a good old-fashioned shouting contest. “I think we all have to hold any policy decisions for at least a day, considering what Dr. Skinner has told us about verification. But at this point we have to begin wondering if this is indeed an attempt to destroy our world, or at least disrupt it. I would direct you, Mr. Oscenhert, to consult the reports we have been sending the president. Among them are detailed pictures of the graphical icons on the side of the Portal. They seem to depict the Earth destroyed by a heavenly body. Is this a coincidence? I would have gladly said yes even a few days ago, but yesterday I watched the first people go through and saw for myself that the Portal is a one-way trip to another planet.

“
The scientists are all but certain that the Portal will only transport one hundred forty-four people before it shuts down. We haven’t confirmed this because to do so may well render the issue moot. I am still getting intelligence from the CIA but there seems to be at least nine more of these scattered around the world. Some of the egg-, I uh, scientists, around here believe these Portals were escape devices sent to us by friendly aliens to save Humanity before certain death.”

“
Fascinating,” said Oscenhert, “but hard to swallow. If they’re so friendly why did they send so few Portals?”

“
That doesn’t invalidate the fact that Portals are here,” Osgood said. Every head nodded with the exception of Oscenhert.

“
So,” Oscenhert addressed Volant, “you think this asteroid was intentionally aimed at us and this Portal was sent to rescue us. Sounds too good to be true.”

“
I agree with you,” said Volant, “but that doesn’t change the facts. We need additional personnel and funding here, and we need it fast. Even if this Portal is both limited and one way, we may be able to duplicate it and make more. If Earth is doomed, a mass evacuation can’t be ruled out.”

To
one side Osgood was shaking his head at the idea of making more Portals. He’d just come from a meeting with the particle physics team who put forth a series of wild theories as to how the Portals could be working, but they were nothing more than that. Wild theories.

“
We’ve pumped more than fifty million from the discretionary defense and hidden intelligence budgets into this white elephant already, and you want more?”

“
Maybe you didn’t hear us,” Skinner said, “this device can transport you instantly to another world and this planet may only have one month to live!”

“
According to your last report, there is no definitive proof that it leads to another planet. Hell, you don’t even know where this other world might be. It could be the moon, for all we know.”

Volant
could see the veins standing out on Osgood’s neck, an effect he himself had caused many times in the previous weeks. “The moon doesn’t have an atmosphere, sir.” Osgood managed to say without shouting. Oscenhert rolled his eyes.

“
We are all but certain it’s another planet,” Skinner agreed, “and based on observations taken by the special forces we sent through yesterday, we know it’s not a star system anywhere near our own.”

“
And just how the hell can you tell that?”

“
They took pictures of the sky,” Volant said, making Osgood look up in surprise at the unexpected support. “You compare the way the sky looks here at night to there and try to match star patterns. They haven’t found any matches.”

“
I’m working on that,” Skinner said, “I have someone on my staff who’s looking at the data.”

“
Keep them out of the bag,” Volant said quickly, “when this story hits the press, we’re going to have enough containment problems as it is.” Skinner looked back and forth as if looking for someone to help him with the answer. “This has been classified, Dr. Skinner, you know that. Anyone brought into the bag will have to be cleared by my agency first.”

“
Sure, I know that. I’m playing it as a novelty project with some graduate students. They think it’s for a science fiction book someone is writing. Stuff like that.” Volant nodded his head and the meeting continued. Osgood proposed the kinds of resources they would require as well as a substantial budget.

“
I doubt I can get that kind of money,” Oscenhert said with a dismissive gesture.