Gary and Rosita arrived at Cheyenne Mountain around ten in the morning after a quick flight aboard an Air Force jet from Dallas. Stanley picked them up at nearby Peterson Air Force Base and drove them to the underground facility.
Gary asked, “When will President Robert Renzle arrive?”
“About one thirty p.m.”
“Frank thinks that it’s about time to tell the press something about the Apocalypse Calendar. What do you think?”
“I guess he’s right, but I wouldn’t let these guys into the chamber with the Calendar. I’m afraid that camera flashes might really irritate our alien friend.” “Curiously, Frank said exactly the same thing.”
Stanley said with a somewhat worried look, “The question is, how much do we tell the press? I suggest that we let President Renzle make that decision. When he arrives, we can hold the press in a conference room until after we meet with him.”
“Sounds good; I am sure that Frank would agree with your decision.”
President Renzle and his entourage of Secret Service and members of the press arrived at Cheyenne Mountain on time. Brigadier General Maxwell, Major General Anthony Camponelli, and Gary introduced themselves to the President and his science adviser and went directly to the chamber containing the Calendar. The press were left to twiddle their thumbs in a conference room at another level. There was no way they could get to the Apocalypse Calendar unnoticed; there were guards posted everywhere.
Robert Renzle on the surface was an intimidating figure. He was at least six foot seven in height and had the build of a football player. His intense dark blue eyes stared out of a rather narrow, elongated face with a prominent nose and stood in contrast with the dark color of his hair.
Gary briefed the President on how the Apocalypse Calendar was found and what had happened since it travelled to Dallas and Cheyenne Mountain.
The President said, “That’s quite a story. I’m from Missouri. I’m hard to convince. It’s hard for me to believe that your toy in the corner with the green flashing light could cause this much trouble. I did take a few courses in geology. In fact, I almost became a major in geology at the University of Missouri, so I’m not a total virgin in geologic thinking.”
General Maxwell said, “I have a PhD in geology from the University of Colorado. I’m not a virgin either. I also should add that I have studied UFOs for a number of years. Trust me; this thing is a real alien device. It may look like a toy, but we can’t even determine precisely what sort of metal it is made of. It apparently contains elements that do not occur on Earth. We can’t even scratch the damn thing with a diamond scribe or penetrate it with military-grade laser equipment.
“President Renzle, we have actually had some success communicating with the Apocalypse Calendar. Dr. Frank Miller’s wife, Jane, has powerful native ESP. She was able to communicate with the device twice. We didn’t record her first encounter with the Apocalypse Calendar. However, the second time around, we made a video of her communication with the alien device. It’s quite a show. Mind you, Jane can’t remember anything about any of this. I think the video will convince both you and your science adviser. Gary, do me a favor and turn on the projector.”
Renzle’s huge frame tensed as he watched the video. He clutched the arm of his chair so hard that Gary thought he would splinter it. Needless to say, at the end of the show, he reached the same conclusion that his predecessor did.
The President asked, “Is there any way we can stop this tectonic trip to the Apocalypse?”
Stanley said, “We feel that the Apocalypse Calendar itself is the key to shutting off intense convection in the mantle and subsequent tectonic activity in the overlying crust throughout the world. We’ve noticed that every time there is a supernova-like tectonic event, the frequency of light pulses increases. The pulses, as you can see, are not all of the same length. This leads us to believe that they may represent some sort of code. At Professor Miller’s suggestion, we are piping the pulses into the NORAD mainframe. Maybe, if we are lucky, we can break the code and find out what the aliens are trying to tell us. In addition, we plan to use another woman with great ESP ability. We’ve used her before with UFOs; she’s really super. I hope she can pick up where Jane left off. I should also add that Dr. Dolores Clark from the University of Pittsburgh rounded up the best translator of Mayan hieroglyphics in the world, Dr. Siegfried Nolf, to join our team. He has already been able to translate some of the ancient Mayan inscriptions on the stone box, which originally contained the Calendar, as well as a second set of inscriptions made by the aliens on the device itself. From his work, we know that there was a curse put on the device by a powerful Mayan witch doctor. Gary and I will fill you in on the relevance of the curse later. Professor Miller and I have compiled a detailed report on all that has transpired for you to examine. So far, all of this is top secret. Very few people know anything about the Apocalypse Calendar. All of us agree, however, that it might be time to tell the press at least something about the device. We’re going to have to say something sooner or later. The decision is yours to make. I believe that we may need the help of the press later to help warn the American people, as well as everyone else in the world. Frank and I believe the greatest danger to the United States will be on the East Coast. Many of the major cities are at very low elevations and are subject to destruction by tidal waves. Frank believes that if any cluster of earthquakes of a magnitude of 7.0 plus occurs in the North Atlantic or Caribbean, we should consider evacuating everyone on the East Coast to behind the shield of the Appalachians. All of this is discussed in detail in the report that we are giving you to read.”
President Renzle said, “I’ll take a look at it on my flight back to Washington. On the matter of the press, I suggest that we simply tell them that a definite alien device has been found. Show them some pictures of the Apocalypse Calendar with its flashing light. Don’t give them any close-ups. Later on, we’ll keep them more informed as needed. You are right; we will definitely need their help later on.”
Major General Camponelli said with a sense of urgency, “If an Armageddon-style disaster occurs, you need to bring your family and all important White House staff to Cheyenne Mountain. The Vice President and the Speaker of the House need to be moved away from the coast to high ground in between the Rockies and the Appalachians. I just hope that none of this comes to pass, but I’m convinced that these guys know what in the hell they are talking about.”
After the President left, General Maxwell briefed the press on the Apocalypse Calendar, which, of course, he referred to as the ‘alien device.’ The press seemed happy to have access to pictures of the device.