When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony (4 page)

Calvin hated how he was spending his evening. Still, it had to be done so he took a deep breath and steeled himself.
“Last one,” he said to First Lieutenant Paul ‘Night’ Train as he rang the doorbell on the governor’s mansion. Lieutenant Train was the executive officer of Calvin’s special forces platoon, and one of the most proficient soldiers and killers that he knew.

“About time,” replied Night. A veteran of
a number of conflicts around the planet, an earlier combat wound to his throat made his voice sound gruff at the best of times. It was worse when he was annoyed. Like now.

Having just been informed that they were coming, the personal assistant to Governor Jeffrey Briggs let them in, welcomed them and led them to the formal living room.
“This way, gentlemen,” he said, opening the doors.

“Thank you,” replied Calvin
as they walked into the lavishly appointed room. Although it had been used for receptions and meetings with visiting dignitaries since 1950, the soldiers’ meeting was one of only a very few unannounced visits during that time. The room was impressive, Calvin thought, from the beautiful antique Persian rug to the baby grand piano. A large grandfather clock chimed 10:00 p.m.

“I assume this is something of the utmost importance,” said the governor, walking into the room with his wife.
He looked at the two military men in full uniform. “You have about two minutes to explain yourselves before I call the police.”

“Well, governor, that
’s your prerogative,” replied Calvin. “In fact, we almost brought them ourselves.”

“I told you we should have
,” growled Night to Calvin.

“I know,” said Calvin, “but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.” He turned to the governor and continued, “OK, go ahead and call the police. We’
ll wait.” He sat down heavily on one of the blue sofas in the middle of the room. After a second, Night joined him. The couch creaked ominously under the weight of the two large men. It might look impressive, Calvin thought, but it wasn’t very comfortable.

“What is this all about?” asked Elizabeth Briggs, the governor’s wife.
Looking at the men in uniform, she asked her husband, “Does this have something to do with your stand against joining the world government?”

“I don’t know,” replied the governor. “These two men just barged in and told my security guard that they had something of national importance to discuss with me. I don’t see how it couldn’t have waited until tomorrow during business hours.”

“Some things are better handled privately,” answered Calvin. “This is one of them.”

“Aha!” exclaimed the governor. “This
is
about my not wanting to go along with the world government, isn’t it?” One of five governors that were grandstanding on the issue, he had been very vocal in the media about the fact that Arkansas would never sign a constitutional amendment giving away any of its rights. The stop in Arkansas was Calvin and Night’s fifth that evening.

“No, governor, this has nothing to do with that,” replied Calvin. He looked significantly at Mrs. Briggs. “I think it might be better if we kept this conversation between the three of us, though.”

“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of her,” said the governor.

“OK, your choice,” Calvin replied. He looked at Night and
said, “Your turn.”

“Governor, do you know a girl named Sally Rae Jamison?” asked Night.

“Ummm,” answered the governor. “The name sounds sort of familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve heard it before.” He almost pulled it off. If he hadn’t turned several shades paler, he might have been successful.

“Who is Sally Rae Jamison?” echoed his wife.

“I think she was a campaign booster in my last run for office,” the governor explained. “But it’s
not
like that. Nothing happened between us. Ever.”

“Really?” Calvin asked. “Did you know that once something is on the internet, it’s there forever? I mean
forever
. You probably have heard we have a spaceship, right? And that it’s from an alien civilization that’s a lot more advanced than ours, right? I don’t know if anyone ever told you, but our internet is transparent to the artificial intelligence on the ship. I mean, it can see
everything!
You may not know that it’s also pretty good at doing phone surveillance. If it wanted, it could monitor every single phone conversation taking place throughout the whole world at once. It’s quite spectacular.”

“First, nothing ever happened,” said the governor looking at his wife. He turned to Calvin and continued
. “Second, because
nothing ever happened,
I know that there aren’t any pictures or proof. And even if someone had impersonated me over a phone line, it would be inadmissible in court because the artificial intelligence doesn’t have a warrant to tap my phone.”

“You know who
we should have brought?” Night asked Calvin. “Master Chief O’Leary. As much as he hates authority, he would have had a lot of fun tonight watching all of these guys squirm. They know they’re caught, and they still try to wiggle out of it anyway.” He looked at the governor. “You know you’re caught, right?”

“Yeah, he would have
loved it,” Calvin agreed without waiting for the governor’s answer. “His only problem is tact. He would have just gone straight to the press with this.” Calvin moved the tea set from the tiny table between the two blue sofas and set his brief case on it. “It’s late,” he said, looking at the governor, “and I really hate dealing with slime. I’m going to have to shower twice to get the feeling off my skin.”

“Here’s the deal,” he said, opening the brief cas
e and pulling out a sheaf of 8.5” x 11” inch glossy photographs. “You had sex with her, not once, but three times. Then you illegally gave her $50,000 from your campaign fund to shut her up. Then you had some of your ‘friends’ from your construction business talk to her. When that didn’t work, they threatened her elderly mother. You, sir, are slime, and we would happily kick the absolute living
shit
out of you, but we have better things to do with our time, like trying to save the entire human race from aliens that mean us harm.”

He flipped the stack at the governor, who missed
the catch. They scattered on the floor, full color and lurid in nature. Night pushed one of them toward the governor with the toe of his boot. “How you got her to try
that
is beyond me,” Night added, “but I doubt she was a willing participant.” Mrs. Briggs gasped as she saw it. “Let me say, though,” Night continued, “I think you are a sick man whose DNA should be removed from the gene pool.” Elizabeth Briggs started crying.

“In addition to the photos,” Calvin concluded, “we have audio recordings backing up all of this. I wanted to turn this over to the police, but we need
stability at the moment, even if that stability is you. Here’s what I would suggest you do. One, in the morning, you send the amendment to the legislature. Two, you back it up with speeches about how good this will be for the country. Three, you get the amendment passed this month. Four, next month, before the end of the month, you retire, refusing to take any retirement compensation or benefits from the state. Maybe you claim you have a problem with alcohol. Whatever. I don’t care. Five, lastly, you vanish from the public eye, never to be seen again. If you violate any of these points, or even
think
of violating any of them, all of this will become public. Do you understand me?”

The governor had one more card. “This is blackmail,” he charged. “I’ll fight it!”

Calvin cocked his head. “Really?” he asked. “This isn’t blackmail;
this is an investment in your life
. How do you think the people in the Lake Dardanelle land deal are going to feel about you when it comes out that you intentionally screwed them over?”

“How do you know about that?” the governor asked. “No one knows about that!”

Calvin shook his head, “I told you, the ship sees everything. Did they ever find the body of your third partner, or is it still buried somewhere along the Arkansas River?”

The governor deflated. “I’ll do it,” he whispered. “I’ll do everything.”

“I’m sure you will,” agreed Calvin. “We’ll be watching, too, just to make sure.” He stood up. “C’mon, Night. I need a drink to get this disgusting taste out of my mouth.”

“Wait!” called Elizabeth Briggs
with a sob. “What about me?”

“You?” asked Calvin
. He looked at the governor in disgust. “You can do whatever you want.”

Night crossed to her in two brisk steps and handed her a card
that he pulled from his pocket. Looking at the governor he said, “This is my card and my phone number. If he
ever
does anything to you or refuses to go along with
anything
you say, give me a call. I’ll be happy to come back some time when I’m not in uniform. I don’t need ‘friends’ to do my dirty work; I’ll be happy to talk to him for you, myself.”

“Thank you,” said the s
oon-to-be-ex Mrs. Briggs with a sniff.

“
My pleasure,” replied Night, tipping his cap as he walked toward the door. He made sure to bump into the governor as he walked by him. “I’d
really
like to see you again,” he growled in his deep voice. “Next time, I won’t be so nice.”

The two men walked out of the house and back toward the car that would take them to the airport and their waiting shuttle. “Are you still going to give all that to the press?” asked Night.

Calvin nodded. “Just as soon as he leaves office.”

“In national news this evening, the White House announced that it had 37 signatures on the amendment to join the Terran World Government,” read KIRO’s anchorwoman, Anna St. Cloud. “President Bill Jacobs made the announcement earlier today.”

The scene shifted to the president at a podium, “I’m very happy to announce that Arkansas signed off on the 28th Amendment today,” the president said, “this makes 37 states that have ratified the amendment which will allow the United States to join the world government. We are only one state shy of it being signed into law. That this has come so quickly can only be seen as a mandate from the masses.”

The camera came back to Ms. St. Cloud. “Assuming that one more state ratifies the amendment within the next
three months, the amendment will have gone through the ratification process faster than any other amendment previously. The 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, previously held the record, as it only took four months during the summer of 1971 to be ratified by the required three-fourths of state legislatures.”

The camera shifted back to Bob Brant, the station’s co-anchor. “Although there are several states that seem close to ratifying the amendment, there are several others that are moving far
more cautiously on the measure. Leaders in New Hampshire, long known for its motto, ‘Live Free or Die,’ have made the headlines by saying that they intend to secede from the United States rather than give up their freedom to foreigners in Europe and beyond. They have threatened a lawsuit on the constitutionality of the amendment, rather than joining in the effort.”

“A small but vocal minority disputes this position, however,” he continued. The scene shifted to a small group of picketers. “This group outside the Capitol Building in Concord, New Hampshire disagree
s with the majority opinion. Let’s go live to Jim Lordes.”

“Hi,” said the on-site reporter to the camera. “This is Jim Lordes in Concord, New Hampshire. I’m here in front of the Capitol Building
with Richard Smithson, who is leading a group that is picketing the state’s legislature.”

The camera shot
panned out to include Smithson. “What can you tell us about what’s going on here?” asked the reporter.

“Hi Jim,” replied
Smithson. “We’re here today to try to talk some sense into our elected officials. Like any New Hampshire native, I live by the motto, ‘Live Free or Die.’ There comes a time, though, where everyone has to rally together for the common good. The time has passed for us to fight amongst ourselves. We’ve got to come together to fight the aliens that are headed our way. It’s hard to live free when you’re dead.”

“There you have it,” announced Jim Lordes. “At least a few voices are willing to put aside the past to help build a better future. Back to you, Anna...”

* * * * *

“Closer to home,” Anna St. Cloud reported, “
Governor George Shelby has called the legislature together for a special session to debate the 28th Amendment. The legislature was supposed to be on a recess for the next month and a half, but the governor called them back so that the issue could be debated as quickly as possible. Here’s what the governor had to say.” The picture shifted to Governor Shelby, seated behind the desk in his office.

“I hope that our legislature rapidly ratifies this measure,” Governor Shelby said. “As we saw
a little more than a year ago, the world is too small for bickering amongst ourselves. The world needs to look at the big picture and move forward together, and the United States needs to lead this process.”

“W
e have an historic opportunity before us today,” he continued. “So far, 37 states have ratified the constitutional amendment that will let the United States join the Terran World Government. I feel that this is the single most important piece of legislation that has come before me in my entire public service career. My fellow Washingtonians, our world is in more peril now than even at the height of the Cold War, when the United States and the U.S.S.R. stared at each other across the tips of their nuclear missiles. We need this legislation in order to continue to lead this effort. If we don’t lead and bring all of our economic might with us, it is unlikely that the world will be prepared when the Drakuls come.”

“I come before you today to
ask you to exercise your rights as citizens and voters of this great State of Washington, a state that has known its share of conflict and war recently, more so than any other state in almost 75 years. Email your legislators and tell them to vote for the amendment as quickly as they are able. If you have a minute, call them and do the same, so that they know you are serious. I have called the legislature back to work to debate this issue;
let them know where you stand!
I can think of no greater honor than for this state to be the 38th and deciding state to ratify the amendment. I implore all of the citizens and members of the legislature to make this happen, and make it happen now!”

“Thank you for your support,” closed the governor.

“Impassioned words from the governor,” commented Ms. St. Cloud as the camera returned to her. “Generally, we here at KIRO-TV Channel 7 try to report the news, free of commentary or partiality, but I have to say, after listening to the governor, I hope everyone will take the action he recommends. I was here on camera when Chinese soldiers broke into this station and killed my co-anchor.
I never want to experience that again!
”

“Thank you for those
heartfelt words of your own,” said Bob Brant, looking at Anna St. Cloud. “I know those were difficult times here.” He looked back to the camera. “In happier news,” he said, “the Defense Department has announced that Joint Base Lewis-McChord will host a new school to train special forces soldiers to operate in space. Wendy Phillips has the story...”