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Authors: Andreas Christensen
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windows, as if it came from a back room. The door was open, so he entered slowly. He’d been right about the light, it came from the kitchen. A voice suddenly spoke quietly from the darkness to his right, startling him just a little.
“ You came.” It was Thatcher, and when he stepped a little closer, Joe could see a well-dressed man in his early fifties, with a trimmed beard, gray hair, and just a hint of a potbelly. He motioned for Joe to follow him, and they entered the lit kitchen, where another man and a woman waited. The woman seemed stern and had a suspicious look about her; her glasses and her hair, pulled back from her face with a hairpin, emphasized the impression. The man, in his early thirties, with a typical military bearing and haircut to match, wearing a dark sweater and jeans, nodded curtly to him. Thatcher did the introductions.
“ Senator Buchanan, this is Dr. Amanda Shearing, of JPL at CalTech, and Air Force Lieutenant Deacon Frost.” They all shook hands and Joe coughed.
“ Well … I’m not sure what to make of this. Honestly, Richard, what is this all about?” Thatcher sat down on one of the chairs around a rickety table, took out a file folder, and spread his notes out. The paper seemed a little old fashioned to Joe, but then again, there would be no risk of electronic surveillance picking it up either.
“ The information I have here … I could go to jail for this, and so could all of you here in this room. Just for being here. Or worse, I guess, if they knew what I have in mind. But alas, that is less of a concern to me now than it has ever been, because in a few years it won’t matter. However, if this meeting goes well, there is still hope. Sort of … Please sit down, Senator, all of you. Dr. Shearing, why don’t you brief the good senator?” The woman hesitated, and Buchanan felt her eyes staring into him, as if she could see every doubt he had.
“ I’m still not sure we can trust …” Thatcher cut her off.
“ Senator Buchanan is to be trusted. He is a good man, and I vouch for him. Continue, please. He needs to know.” Dr. Shearing shook her head slowly, then rose as she picked up one of Thatcher’s files and pushed it over to the senator.
“ Hmm, well, I guess we don’t have a choice in the matter.” She took a deep breath, and managed something that was meant to be a smile.
“ I guess we all get somewhat paranoid, and with good reason. But I’ll trust you, Senator. What I am about to tell you is something that’s being kept even from many of the people actually working on it, and if no one does anything about it, one tragedy will only be succeeded by another.”
“ Okay. It all started when Devastator was first discovered, more than two years ago …” And then she told him everything.
When Dr. Shearing finally sat down , Joe was pale and speechless. He didn’t say anything for a minute, and the others let him digest the news. Hearing about what was likely to be the end of human civilization on Earth, from a professor who didn’t strike him as a lunatic, made him shake a little. And he knew in his heart what the president’s plan would mean. There would be no critical voices, no opposition to the totalitarian and restrictive ways that had evolved through the years following the Seattle incident. What would that do to the chances of survival for those who would live? And moreover, what would it mean to the society they would create, should they ever reach their destination?
“ This is a heavy burden, knowing these things …” he said quietly. “I wish I could do something, but I’m truly lost here.” He closed his eyes for a moment to think.
“ I’m usually well informed, as well as anyone I guess.” Joe had been a congressman for years, before taking a seat in the Senate, which after the second reforms had turned out to be one of the last entities where the president had to bargain and horse trade in order to make policy. Of course, the
“ You came.” It was Thatcher, and when he stepped a little closer, Joe could see a well-dressed man in his early fifties, with a trimmed beard, gray hair, and just a hint of a potbelly. He motioned for Joe to follow him, and they entered the lit kitchen, where another man and a woman waited. The woman seemed stern and had a suspicious look about her; her glasses and her hair, pulled back from her face with a hairpin, emphasized the impression. The man, in his early thirties, with a typical military bearing and haircut to match, wearing a dark sweater and jeans, nodded curtly to him. Thatcher did the introductions.
“ Senator Buchanan, this is Dr. Amanda Shearing, of JPL at CalTech, and Air Force Lieutenant Deacon Frost.” They all shook hands and Joe coughed.
“ Well … I’m not sure what to make of this. Honestly, Richard, what is this all about?” Thatcher sat down on one of the chairs around a rickety table, took out a file folder, and spread his notes out. The paper seemed a little old fashioned to Joe, but then again, there would be no risk of electronic surveillance picking it up either.
“ The information I have here … I could go to jail for this, and so could all of you here in this room. Just for being here. Or worse, I guess, if they knew what I have in mind. But alas, that is less of a concern to me now than it has ever been, because in a few years it won’t matter. However, if this meeting goes well, there is still hope. Sort of … Please sit down, Senator, all of you. Dr. Shearing, why don’t you brief the good senator?” The woman hesitated, and Buchanan felt her eyes staring into him, as if she could see every doubt he had.
“ I’m still not sure we can trust …” Thatcher cut her off.
“ Senator Buchanan is to be trusted. He is a good man, and I vouch for him. Continue, please. He needs to know.” Dr. Shearing shook her head slowly, then rose as she picked up one of Thatcher’s files and pushed it over to the senator.
“ Hmm, well, I guess we don’t have a choice in the matter.” She took a deep breath, and managed something that was meant to be a smile.
“ I guess we all get somewhat paranoid, and with good reason. But I’ll trust you, Senator. What I am about to tell you is something that’s being kept even from many of the people actually working on it, and if no one does anything about it, one tragedy will only be succeeded by another.”
“ Okay. It all started when Devastator was first discovered, more than two years ago …” And then she told him everything.
When Dr. Shearing finally sat down , Joe was pale and speechless. He didn’t say anything for a minute, and the others let him digest the news. Hearing about what was likely to be the end of human civilization on Earth, from a professor who didn’t strike him as a lunatic, made him shake a little. And he knew in his heart what the president’s plan would mean. There would be no critical voices, no opposition to the totalitarian and restrictive ways that had evolved through the years following the Seattle incident. What would that do to the chances of survival for those who would live? And moreover, what would it mean to the society they would create, should they ever reach their destination?
“ This is a heavy burden, knowing these things …” he said quietly. “I wish I could do something, but I’m truly lost here.” He closed his eyes for a moment to think.
“ I’m usually well informed, as well as anyone I guess.” Joe had been a congressman for years, before taking a seat in the Senate, which after the second reforms had turned out to be one of the last entities where the president had to bargain and horse trade in order to make policy. Of course, the
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