New Earth: Project O.N.E.. R.D. Ph.D. Pittman

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СКАЧАТЬ finished and waited for Curt to respond. Curt sat there for a moment then recovered and looked his dad straight in the eye.

      “Dad, if there is a chance the world is going to end, I want to spend every last day with you.”

      And after everything else, that was the one thing Alex couldn’t handle. The tears began to roll down his cheeks, visions of Ellen and Curt together tore at his heart…He stammered, trying to compose himself…eventually he felt he could safely speak. “Okay, then, I’ve already gotten clearance for you and Cynthia. You will be on my team. Do you think…can…would Cynthia want to be involved in this?”

      “Dad how could…We may all turn into dust molecules in two years, but we could push up our wedding date, and work as a married couple until the end or the new beginning, whichever. At least we would all be together as a family.”

      “This is a big step. You can’t turn back once you go on that list, do you understand that?”

      “Sure.”

      “This is not going to be a vacation; we are in a race to save as much as we can from total annihilation. What we do will form the foundation of a new America. There will be some very difficult decisions that have to be made about who gets to survive in a shelter and who will be left exposed to…whatever may come. And before then, there is no way to make this public without massive outbreaks of lawlessness. That’s why they need extreme secrecy and why I’m bringing the armed forces home. Nationwide civil unrest could very well doom all of us before the event even occurs. And that is why you and Cynthia cannot under any circumstances discuss this with anyone other than designated personnel. No friends, not her family, no one.”

      “You’re right Dad,” he said. People will go absolutely over the edge when this comes out. So what can I do?”

      “We’ll need redundant data and telecommunications capabilities among the survival facilities. The military has their interfacing systems already in place throughout the various commands. I’m going to need a stand-alone system that can interface with the defense systems.”

      “Okay. But you’re talking about some serious money. And what kind of timeframe are you looking at?”

      “I gave them a seven month pipeline on the redeployment plan. It probably needs to coincide with that as well.”

      “And the money?”

      “Money is no object.”

      Eventually, they ate, rather quietly, since most of the obvious questions didn’t have answers. They were just finishing when Alex got a call that Howard Carney wanted to meet him. He sent Curt off to start looking over briefing books then went to his office to meet Carney.

      Carney was on the couch working on a tablet, but he put it away when Alex walked in.

      “Alex. I just heard from the joint chiefs. They’ve accepted your redeployment plan with no major modifications, and the troop movements are already underway. Now we need to start on the survival shelters.”

      Alex nodded. A week of nearly nonstop work resulting in one of the largest, most complex, yet cleanest and most efficient redeployment plans ever developed, and not even an “attaboy.” This brave new world had a pace all its own, and he was going to have to adjust.

      Carney was still talking. “I have a contact that you should bring in on your team; Dr. Sandra Chenowith. She’s at UC Davis and is recognized as one of the foremost experts on crop cultivation and ecosystems, especially as it relates to disaster recovery methodology.”

      “UC Davis? That’s just west of where we all live.”

      “Is it? Good. Your first assignment?”

      “Sorry. Go ahead.”

      “BLM has control of some 600,000 acres in five western states. The Homeland security people targeted several abandoned mines around Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, as ideal for survival shelters and military depots. Until we can determine a good headquarters for you why don’t you operate out of Sacramento. Our contact at the BLM in Coeur d’ Alene is Pete Cernak. He’s a mining engineer with thirty years of experience.”

      “Yes that sounds like a good plan. You’ll get me the contact numbers before Curt and I leave?”

      “They’re already in your phone. Start packing. Oh, by the way, I’ve already set up a contract for your Lear.” He consulted his tablet. It’s at the Sacramento Executive Airport, which is where your private plane is hangered, right? I’m also going to have a team of tech people meet you at your house to install secure telephone and fax transmission equipment. All communications about Project One must be done by secured and encrypted means.”

      And the pace seemed to quicken.

      “Yes, sir.”

      “Now remember Alex, we have billions to spend, it’s off budget, if you need something just get me the wiring instructions. We know you had a sizable inheritance from your father in 2005, and you haven’t blown it, so we’re assuming your character is beyond reproach. There will be no audits. Credit cards are on the way for you and Curt, they have six figure credit lines, pay for nothing out of your pocket. Any questions?”

      “Not at the moment.”

      “If any come up, you know where to find me.” Carney stood and stuck out his hand. “I can’t tell you how fortunate we are to have you heading this up, good luck and have a safe trip back home.”

      So there was a little bit of an “attaboy.”

      “Thanks Howard.”

      Curt and Alex next made their way to Admiral Torrance’s office, threading their way through a building so large and overwhelming that Curt was beginning to wonder if they would ever get there. But it was only the latest surreal moment in a long, surreal day.

      “Alex come in and this must be Curt.”

      Torrance shook Curt’s hand. For someone who spent most of his days in an office, he looked like he could still convincingly order Curt to drop and give him fifty. So Curt made sure his grip was substantial.

      “So are you two off to Sacramento, did you get enough stick time in that Lear to get comfortable with it?”

      “It’s a piece of cake, after an A-10, it’s like driving a Cadillac.”

      “Alex this redeployment plan is invaluable. Now can you give us one for survival shelters? I don’t have to tell you that once this gets out all hell will break loose. We have to be finished or nearly finished if we’re going to have any chance at climbing back out of our holes and restarting our country.”

      “What’s the current time frame?”

      “The President has scheduled a news conference for two weeks from tomorrow to announce a major shift in foreign policy and the redeployment plan. That gives us time to contact all the division commanders as you suggested so they won’t be blindsided. After redeployment starts, the probability of a leak increases, probably geometrically. There is literally nothing you can’t ask for, just get it to Howard and it is done. You have my office number and my Land/Sat number, and I’m available to you twenty-four seven.”

      Curt СКАЧАТЬ