Read Online STRANGE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OMNIBUS by Benson Grayson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Benson Grayson
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accept this as fait accompli but would resort to whatever tactics required to keep Ukraine from slipping out of the Russian economic orbit. Neither Western promises of continued good will toward Russia nor threats of economic sanctions would induce the Russian President to abandon his goal.
These analyses were submitted to the National Security Council, which did not know what to do. If accepted as accurate predictions, they would require a significant change in the direction of American foreign policy. Could or should Washington abandon its traditional goal for every U.S. foreign policy initiative? How could the Washington political establishment countenance abandoning its firm belief that the establishment of popular democracy in every nation of the world, regardless of the level of education, standard of living, hostile attitude toward the U.S. or religious fanaticism deserved the highest priority for the long term, regardless of the scope of unfavorable results in the short and medium term?
The problem was deemed too important for the National Security Council to decide, and so it was taken directly to the president. The Chief Executive weighed the issue carefully, carefully considering all aspects. Then he made his decision. The traditional all-out drive for global world democracy could not be reversed nor even modified in the smallest degree. He ordered that all documents referring in any way to the recommendations of the “Enemies Machine” be shredded and burned. To prevent any future re-occurrence of such obviously unsound estimated, he decreed that the machine be destroyed along with all documents relating to its design or use.
Today, the citizens of the United States and indeed of the entire world can rest easier in their homes. They know that no considerations of national self-interest or of common sense will be permitted to intrude into American foreign policy.
MISSION TO EARTH
For several decades astronomers on Ganymede, the largest satellite in the solar system one of the moons of Jupiter, had trained their most power telescopes on earth. The reduction in size of the earth’s polar icecaps led the astronomers to conclude an intelligent civilization on earth was diverting the water from the icecaps to supply massive hydroelectric projects. Some astronomers asserted that the occasional white flashes that they observed came from the launching of spacecraft; they were more widely believed to result from the impact of meteors hitting Earth’s surface. At length, the government decided to construct a spaceship that could travel to Earth and enable a scientific team to examine the earth's surface minutely and confirm if possible whether there was any intelligent life there.
The actual decision to fund the project, however, was not based on scientific interest. Rather it was due to substantial pressure for the program by leading defense firms on Ganymede, who saw in it an excellent opportunity to increase their profit margins At length the spacecraft was finished and the crew members chosen. It was launched from Ganymede with a cascade of publicity and lengthy speeches from leading politicians.
Because of the length of the journey from Ganymede to Earth, even with the high propulsion engines of the spacecraft, the crew members would not remain awake for the entire journey. After it was in orbit, and the course set, the automatic pilot was put in operation, and the crew members carefully arranged themselves in closed capsules, took the necessary drugs, and went into a condition similar to hibernation. Many decades later, the crew members were awakened. Climbing out of their capsules, the pilots turned off the automatic pilot and resumed control of the ship.
The spacecraft entered Earth’s atmosphere at very high speed. The arrival had been times to occur during the hours of darkness to lessen the likelihood of its being observed by any intelligent life on Earth. The ship’s velocity slowed and settled down
These analyses were submitted to the National Security Council, which did not know what to do. If accepted as accurate predictions, they would require a significant change in the direction of American foreign policy. Could or should Washington abandon its traditional goal for every U.S. foreign policy initiative? How could the Washington political establishment countenance abandoning its firm belief that the establishment of popular democracy in every nation of the world, regardless of the level of education, standard of living, hostile attitude toward the U.S. or religious fanaticism deserved the highest priority for the long term, regardless of the scope of unfavorable results in the short and medium term?
The problem was deemed too important for the National Security Council to decide, and so it was taken directly to the president. The Chief Executive weighed the issue carefully, carefully considering all aspects. Then he made his decision. The traditional all-out drive for global world democracy could not be reversed nor even modified in the smallest degree. He ordered that all documents referring in any way to the recommendations of the “Enemies Machine” be shredded and burned. To prevent any future re-occurrence of such obviously unsound estimated, he decreed that the machine be destroyed along with all documents relating to its design or use.
Today, the citizens of the United States and indeed of the entire world can rest easier in their homes. They know that no considerations of national self-interest or of common sense will be permitted to intrude into American foreign policy.
MISSION TO EARTH
For several decades astronomers on Ganymede, the largest satellite in the solar system one of the moons of Jupiter, had trained their most power telescopes on earth. The reduction in size of the earth’s polar icecaps led the astronomers to conclude an intelligent civilization on earth was diverting the water from the icecaps to supply massive hydroelectric projects. Some astronomers asserted that the occasional white flashes that they observed came from the launching of spacecraft; they were more widely believed to result from the impact of meteors hitting Earth’s surface. At length, the government decided to construct a spaceship that could travel to Earth and enable a scientific team to examine the earth's surface minutely and confirm if possible whether there was any intelligent life there.
The actual decision to fund the project, however, was not based on scientific interest. Rather it was due to substantial pressure for the program by leading defense firms on Ganymede, who saw in it an excellent opportunity to increase their profit margins At length the spacecraft was finished and the crew members chosen. It was launched from Ganymede with a cascade of publicity and lengthy speeches from leading politicians.
Because of the length of the journey from Ganymede to Earth, even with the high propulsion engines of the spacecraft, the crew members would not remain awake for the entire journey. After it was in orbit, and the course set, the automatic pilot was put in operation, and the crew members carefully arranged themselves in closed capsules, took the necessary drugs, and went into a condition similar to hibernation. Many decades later, the crew members were awakened. Climbing out of their capsules, the pilots turned off the automatic pilot and resumed control of the ship.
The spacecraft entered Earth’s atmosphere at very high speed. The arrival had been times to occur during the hours of darkness to lessen the likelihood of its being observed by any intelligent life on Earth. The ship’s velocity slowed and settled down
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