Warm Welcome
by Bill Bowler
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Table of Contents parts: 1, 2, 3 |
part 1
On May 3, 2071, in the black emptiness at the edge of the solar system, the ephemeral tissue of the multi-verse began to ripple. The space-time continuum looped back on itself, and a glimmering silver disc materialized out of nowhere.
The saucer hung motionless in space. Inside the ship, red emergency lights flashed in the silent darkness. On the bridge, the officers lay sprawled on the floor and slumped in their seats.
Krag was first to revive. Greenish liquid leaked from a gash in his skull. His head throbbed. The elliptical pupils of his yellow eyes dilated and gradually the shadows and faint outlines of his unconscious crew came into focus.
A haze of acrid smoke hung in the air. Krag struggled to his feet. His eyes stung and watered, and fluids drained from his nostrils. His breathing was labored. A wave of nausea washed through him, and he held fast to the back of his chair until the dizziness passed. Sharp pain shot through his leg as he dragged himself through the flashing red gloom to the control console. His head spun when he bent over the console, but he somehow entered the command to reboot power. Krag heard a low hum; the lights and fans came on. The gauges on the consoles sprang to life.
The officers on the bridge began to regain consciousness. One by one, they opened their yellow reptilian eyes and groaned. The security officer, Darshak, the largest among them, stood and made his way unsteadily to the console. Vlas, the astro-navigator, took his seat at the controls. The others resumed duty at their stations.
Krag was first to speak. His harsh, guttural voice would sound to human ears like barking. “Damage report.”
Darshak studied his monitor. “No structural damage, sir. The hull is intact. Life support systems in emergency mode. Main engine was knocked off line. No thrust. Communications are operational.”
“Event log.”
“As we approached, the pulse rate accelerated and the object emitted a sudden energy surge. The magnetic field spiked, the gravitational waves inverted, and we were enveloped by the anomaly.”
“Sucked into the core.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where are we now?”
Vlas, the navigator, replied, “Unknown, sir. We have sent probes into the core before, but never retrieved one. They all disappeared. We are the first living beings to pass through the portal. We are not able to determine current location.”
Krag looked closely at the navigation display screen. “Where is the anomaly?”
“Gone, sir.”
Darshak turned to Krag. “Sir, we may have just proven Ogsden’s Postulate. Ogsden theorized that the anomaly represented an orthogonal space-time vector. If that is so, then in passing through it, we would be projected into an alt-verse or possibly an alt-time.”
“Is the process reversible?”
“Unknown, sir. If the vector is unstable, then the portal position is subject to drift on this side. We can scan for it, but we don’t even know where to look.”
Krag took a deep breath. The spinning fans had cleared the smoke from the bridge. “Are there any signs of life in this system?”
Vlas replied. “The third planet lies in the habitable zone” — he studied the gauges beneath his monitor — “and it is a major source of electromagnetic radiation, sir.”
Krag shook his head. “Scan for the anomaly and plot a course for the third planet.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
On the far side of the Moon, at Forward Base Alpha, Nick Butkis, a Guardian in the blue uniform of the U.S. Space Force, sat at a console in front of a large display screen, leaning back in his chair, legs up on the desk, reading a comic book. He turned the page, stifled a yawn, and stretched his legs.
Nick was part of the technical team operating the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope Early Warning System. He tossed the comic book on the console surface, knocking over a styrofoam cup and spilling cold coffee on the polished floor. A maintenance robot quietly rolled towards him, extended a flexible hose attachment, and vacuumed up the brown liquid. Nick watched as the robot disappeared into the waste disposal room. He turned back to the screen, glanced at the scrolling figures, settled into his chair, and dozed off.
At 22:27 Lunar Standard Time, a flashing blip appeared at the right top corner of Nick’s screen. A yellow light on the console lit up, and a beeping sound broke the silence.
Nick woke up and sat forward in his chair. As he watched, the blip diagonally transversed the top right corner of his screen, changed direction, and accelerated towards the center.
Nick put on headphones and typed on the console. “I just patched you in, sir. Are you seeing this?”
At the Space Force Strategic Warning and Surveillance Systems Division at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts, the duty officer replied, “Yeah, I’ve got it up on screen. What the hell is it?”
“A ship, sir.”
“You’re sure?”
“It just changed course and speed, sir.”
“Not one of ours, obviously. Current position and trajectory?”
“Crossing the orbit of Neptune. Heading this way.”
“How long till it reaches Earth?”
“Three days or less at current velocity.”
“Unbelievable. Can the Russians do that?”
“No, sir.”
“Chinese?”
“No.”
All right. Stay on it. I’ll alert the General Staff.”
* * *
President Elvin Dorfus and his closest and most trusted and experienced advisers filed into the Situation Room and sat around a circular conference table. A giant screen on the wall displayed the feed from the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope Early Warning System. A flashing blip at the edge moved towards the center of the screen.
President Dorfus turned to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “All right, what have we got here, Ralph?”
General Ralph Spackle, in a blue Space Force uniform with five stars on his shoulder, replied, “A spacecraft, Mr. President, of advanced design and unknown origin, moving at sub-light speed velocity towards Earth.”
“I see. Yes. Unknown origin?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Definitely not from here?”
“Doubtful, sir. The Russkies don’t have the technical capability. Nobody does.”
“Right. That doesn’t sound good, does it. UFO. What’s the threat assessment?”
“Severe, sir. All branches of the Armed Forces are on high alert.”
“I see, yes, of course. Well, what do we do about it, Ralph? What’s the plan?”
“We seal off the perimeter.”
“Sorry? Seal off what? How do we do that?”
“Operation Overwatch, sir. The orbit of Mars is our trip wire. We set up a kill zone between Earth and Mars. Saturate the area. Neutralize any target that crosses the line. We pre-launch salvos of nuclear missiles from our darkside lunar base.”
“Right. That should do it. But Ralph, how do we know they’re hostile?”
“We have to assume they are until we know otherwise. We are attempting to make contact, but they have not replied to our urgent warnings.”
“All right. Arm the warheads.”
“Yes, sir. Will you address the nation?”
“I don’t know. What do you think, Jack?” The President turned to Jack Blunt, his Harvard-educated, humanities-trained National Security Advisor.
“Two things, Mr. President. First, we don’t want to alert the enemy. We have to assume they have the know-how to monitor our communications. There is at least a high probability this is an advance reconnaissance ship, a scout, gathering intelligence prior to amassing their fleet and moving into position for a sneak attack.
“Second, we don’t want panic. We have to control the information space and keep the lid on a potentially chaotic situation here. Go public and we’re going to get push-back from the peacenik types and the lunatic fringe. Better to downplay it for now. Let me handle it. We’ll package it as a routine matter.”
President Dorfus looked around the table. The military men nodded in assent.
“All right. Sound’s good, Jack. When do we start?”
“At my eleven o’clock weekly presser, tomorrow morning.”
“OK, do it.” The President turned back to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “Ralph, will you liaise with NATO?”
“Yes, sir. It’s vital that we present a united front, if you know what I mean.”
“OK. Let them know what we’re up to. If anyone’s not on board, read them the riot act.”
The red phone on the table in front of Jack Blunt rang, and Jack picked it up. “Sir, the Russian President is calling.”
“What the hell does he want?” Dorfus looked around the room. The Security Council members were looking down at their hands, fidgeting with papers, avoiding eye contact. “All right, I’ll talk to him.”
“Don’t tell him anything,” said Jack. “Play dumb.”
* * *
In the early morning hours before dawn, when the streets were empty and quiet, and the sky still dark, a dim light went on in the second floor window of a townhouse in Georgetown. The President’s National Security advisor, Jack Blunt, threw off the covers, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and sat up, wide awake.
His mistress, Sheila, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and touched him gently on the shoulder. “What time is it?”
“Four-twenty.”
“Something wrong, Jack?”
“Can’t sleep. Big day tomorrow. Today.”
“What’s up?”
“Can’t tell you. Classified.”
“Oh come on. We tell each other everything, don’t we? I can keep a secret. Obviously.” She kissed him on the shoulder. “Nobody knows about us, right?”
“You’re the soul of discretion.”
“So tell me.”
“Well, you can’t say a word to anyone.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“It’s wild. Our lunar radar has picked up a spaceship of unknown origin heading towards Earth.”
“Really? Wow, that is totally cool! So, what do you think? Friend or foe? Cute little ET’s or aliens with fangs? What happens next?”
“We’re going to handle it. We’re prepared. We’ve been training for this day. We have enough nuclear warheads on missiles at our Moon base launch site to blow them back to the Stone Age. It will be over in seconds.”
“Shoot first and ask questions later? Crude but effective.”
“We can’t take any chances. The security of Earth is at stake. Yours truly has a press conference in the morning. I have to sugarcoat it for the masses.”
“That’s why you’re raking in the big bucks. But you know what to do. You’re really good at it, Jack.”
“Thanks, honey.” Jack smiled and kissed her. Sheila gently pulled him back down, and they disappeared under the covers.
* * *
When Jack entered the Press Room, it was filled with reporters. The hubbub died down as he walked up to the podium, under the TV lights, and tapped the mic.
“Good morning, everyone. Before taking questions, I have a brief statement.
“As the President remarked in January, the state of the union is strong. And as we all know, we are the one indispensable nation on Earth, the City on the Hill, a beacon of hope for oppressed peoples around the world. We are unique, the greatest nation in the history of mankind, the fortress of Democracy, and the most powerful economic and military force on Earth.
“We stand united, invincible, a force for good. Those who envy us, who wish us ill, who would destroy us, are weak and unstable. There are no credible threats to our way of life, but if there were, they would come not from within, but from outside our borders, from beyond even our solar system. It hasn’t happened, but it could, and we must be prepared and vigilant. Our first and best defense is a strong offense. It is our right, as the greatest nation on the greatest planet in the history of civilization, to defend our borders. We will never abandon this sacred duty.
“A very minor incident has occurred, which we are now handling and which is completely under control. Our Lunar radar systems have picked up an intruder, a small vessel traveling towards us from the edge of the solar system. Our intelligence analysts have determined, with a high degree of confidence, that the craft is an unmanned drone conducting unauthorized surveillance. We must hope for the best but plan for the worst. It’s a safe bet that whoever controls this drone does not share our values. We have to assume their intentions are not in our best interest.
“We have the will and sufficient resources to secure Earth. Mankind has not come this far and achieved such greatness only to be bushwhacked by some aggressor who thinks they can sneak up on us. They will find out who they’re dealing with soon enough, and it will be a very unpleasant surprise for them, no doubt. It is our destiny, under God, to expand and prosper and eventually, as science and technology advance, to bring the benefits of progress not only to our own planet and solar system, but to the far reaches of our galaxy and beyond.
“So we will send a message to these intruders in a language they can understand. We will neutralize their unmanned drone and trust that’s the end of it. They will get the message. But if they do not, if they once again trespass against us, we are prepared to respond with asymmetrical and maximum force to restore full spectrum dominance. Any questions?”
Hands went up. Jack looked around the room and pointed to the New York Times White House correspondent. “Henry?”
“Thank you, Jack. You say this ship is approaching from the edge of the solar system?
“Yes.”
“Where is it from?”
“I’m sorry, Henry. We just don’t know.”
“I have a followup question. If these intruders have ships capable of interstellar travel, then aren’t they far more advanced technologically than we are?”
“In technology, maybe. But in morality? In humanism? Will they share our values? Human life may well be worthless in their eyes. It is precisely their level of technology that makes them dangerous. Rest assured, we have the will and the means to prevail.” Jack smiled grimly and pointed to the correspondent from the Wall Street Journal.
“Jack, if it’s only one ship, why sound the alarm? How serious can the threat be?”
“We have to send a strong message. Whoever or whatever they are, they must understand we are prepared to respond with maximum force. A show of strength is the best deterrent.”
* * *
Copyright © 2022 by Bill Bowler
