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[Taken from Mrs Church’s diary. RBB]
‘I can’t believe they’ve just abandoned us,’ said Lara Horvat, the new secretary general of the United Nations, as she sat at the long, polished, leather-inlaid table in the cabinet briefing room in Number Ten Downing Street.
‘They’re punishing the majority, when it was the tiny minority, who wanted to be isolated, who should be punished. Instead they are being rewarded for their evil deeds,’ agreed the new British United Nations delegate, Caroline Stoddart. ‘They’ll be delighted that the Federation has severed diplomatic ties.’
‘We are where we are,’ said Prime Minister Church. ‘Let’s move on.’
‘What is the situation over the building?’ asked Lara.
‘Our plan is to relocate all of the prisoners currently in both Swaleside and Emley prisons. As soon as that is completed, the prisons will be demolished and construction can begin,’ said the prime minister.
‘What’s the timescale for building work commencing?’ asked Lara.
‘About six weeks,’ said the prime minister. ‘The architects are modelling it on the original New York building. There are improvements, I believe, including more lifts and better fire and evacuation options. The A2500 road will be upgraded to dual carriageway through to the Sheppey crossing and both underground and overground rail links will be provided, terminating at a station within the UN complex itself. The rail links will connect with London, Gatwick Airport and Ashford, to tie in with Eurostar. It’s a big project.’
‘With improved communications, the Isle of Sheppey is perfect. I understand that we could be in the building by the middle of next year if there are no complications. I must say that it seems optimistic though.’ said Lara.
‘Yes, I’d be tempted to add at least six months to that, but they have promised to work night and day to finish it as soon as possible. The local population isn’t enamoured with having such a huge building nearby, but there will be jobs at the UN and at the hotels which will inevitably be built to satisfy delegate accommodation. That should mitigate some of the ill will,’ said the prime minister.
‘Only the current area occupied by the prisons will become neutral territory, though,’ said Caroline.
‘That’s fine,’ said Lara. ‘We’re grateful that you are prepared to sign over part of your country to us.’
‘Well, it is no big loss in the long term as we know Federation membership will come sooner or later and their outlook on property and national boundaries will take effect,’ said Prime Minister Church.
‘Ah, here’s Malcolm,’ said Maureen Church as the defence minister walked into the cabinet room.
‘Sorry to be late,’ said Malcolm Gorman. ‘I was just getting the latest intelligence briefing from our man in Washington.’
‘Any change?’ asked Lara.
‘Not really. Our man says that the White House shootings had an enormous effect. The military opened up with live ammunition and shot more than three hundred protesters. The rest ran off.’
‘Three hundred!’ said Caroline.
‘Yes, although we cannot be certain. We’re having to rely on unverifiable sources.’
‘And they were doing no more than peacefully protesting,’ said Lara.
‘Our man says that he heard there were a few smaller protests elsewhere, but they broke up as soon as the military approached.’
‘Once bitten...’ said Caroline.
‘So, it’s as good as martial law,’ said the prime minister. ‘What’s the media doing?’
‘Slimbridge intends to run the country as a dictatorship,’ said Lara.
‘And our man says there are rumours that Congress is being “temporarily” shut down. The media is being kept muzzled and there was no reporting of the protesters being shot,’ said Malcolm. ‘We’re still pumping media into the US and the large Internet companies are continually putting in workarounds. We don’t know how long that will last, but Peter Stone, the search engine chief who was on President Spence’s membership team, is working out of Canada at the moment and spoiling every attempt to throttle the Internet.’
‘They are trying to cut off the Internet? Can’t they just cut the points of entry?’ asked Caroline.
‘Oh yes, they are certainly trying. It’s not as easy as cutting the entry points though,’ said Malcolm. ‘The way we understand it, Stone is getting data into the country through ordinary telephone lines and he has some of his IT centres redistributing from there. Slimbridge can’t really cut off the news coming in without pulling the plug on all telecommunications. Even then, someone with Stone’s ingenuity would likely find a work-around.’
‘It’s difficult to see what we can do to help,’ said the prime minister. ‘It is fairly clear that any aggression towards Slimbridge could result in nuclear war. He’s proven his ruthlessness by the use of the bomb in New York.’
‘He’s blaming it on anti-Federation terrorists and is claiming that he was still in jail when the New York explosion took place. It’s a lie though. We can definitely place him in the White House an hour beforehand,’ said Malcolm.
‘What is frustrating is that we know that the Federation could put a stop to Slimbridge,’ said Lara. ‘They could scoop him out of the White House and let us deal with him, but they are expecting us to take that action somehow.’
‘Presidents Yang of China and Olov of Russia fly in tomorrow and we’ll see if there is any way we can progress things,’ said Maureen Church.
‘No President Ramseur?’ asked Caroline.
‘The French president is already here. We’re having dinner tonight,’ said the prime minister.
‘I must get on with the agenda,’ said Lara. ‘It is kind of you to let us hold it in Downing Street.’
‘Think nothing of it, Lara. Least we could do.’
‘Is that the QE transmitter?’ asked the secretary general, looking at the alien monitor and keyboard in the far corner of the cabinet briefing room.
‘Yes,’ said the Defence Secretary. ‘You know, I wonder if we could call for help if the three presidents agree tomorrow. Maybe the Federation would do something if they knew how difficult our situation was.’
Lara walked over to the machine. It resembled a seventies’ electric typewriter – bulky and heavy with a cast metal case. The qwerty keyboard was pretty standard, but there were twenty function keys on a raised section just to the right of the main keyboard. On the top, at the back, an eighteen-inch-square computer monitor sat lifeless.
‘It would be an option,’ said the prime minister, ‘but Ambassador Trestogeen seemed to be quite firm on the fact that we must sort it out ourselves and only reapply for membership when we are unified under a single world leader.’
‘Do you think he’d consider it if everywhere except the USA were unified?’ asked Lara, returning to the table and taking her seat again.
‘I don’t see how we can do anything about Slimbridge and his government,’ said Malcolm. ’The firepower of the USA is so overwhelming. Also, with Slimbridge in charge, who knows if he’ll make a pre-emptive strike. He could lash out in any direction in his state of mind.’
‘If he thinks an invasion is imminent?’ asked Lara.
‘Yes,’ said Malcolm, ‘or even if he feels threatened. A few missiles fired at the other powers would demonstrate that he’d stand for no attack from any of us. I still can’t believe what he did to New York and someone capable of that is, frankly, capable of anything.
‘I take it we’re protected against a nuclear strike?’ asked Caroline.
Malcolm replied, ‘We have anti-missile missiles, but there really is little we could do. During the cold war we all relied on mutually assured destruction. I don’t see how that would work with America as the aggressor. We’ll see what the others say tomorrow.’
‘I assume you have all of our forces on alert, Malcolm,’ said the prime minister.
‘Yes, of course, Prime Minister. We have four of our fleet of seven attack submarines in the mid-Atlantic and, as I speak, two more are on their way through the Suez Canal. Our four ballistic submarines are also in the North Atlantic. We have taken over control of the early warning stations from the US and they are on full alert for anything coming over the pole. I’ve had meetings with President Olov’s people, and they’re still on an official war footing, so remain on full alert too. We’re relying on the Russians to tell us if they detect any launches at all. All the satellites being down doesn’t help.’
‘We don’t want any accidents,’ said Caroline quietly.
‘Mistakes by the US are the only likely accidents, but, come to think of it, Slimbridge and his generals seem to have certain of the characteristics exhibited in Doctor Strangelove!’
‘Malcolm!’ said the prime minister sharply. ‘I’d rather we didn’t have any more of that sort of talk. Let’s just retain our own rationale and seek out some sort of compromise.’
‘Yes, sorry, Prime Minister,’ said Malcolm, his voice betraying that he knew he’d overstepped the mark.
‘Okay,’ said the prime minister. ‘We’ll meet back here tomorrow and plan a course of action. I’ll see if I can find out President Ramseur’s feelings about it all tonight.’
««o»»
[From Drew Gambon’s tapes and diary. RBB]
‘We need a militia,’ said Brad Gregg, a man in his fifties, rapidly greying, but who obviously kept fit. ‘We can’t just stand there and be shot in cold blood.’ He rested his elbows on the desk and made a steeple with his fingers.
‘I’m amazed the military followed orders,’ said Rose Thorpe, a tracksuit-clad thirty-something, leaning against the wall. ‘Surely they must know this can’t be right. I mean, to be ordered to shoot unarmed citizens carrying out a lawful protest.’
‘They followed orders. No answer to that,’ said Brad, standing up and walking around the basement gymnasium.
‘It didn’t work in Nazi Germany!’ said Rose.
‘Oh, don’t start comparing Slimbridge to Hitler...’ said Brad.
‘Well, why not?’ said Drew, the swarthy man sitting on an exercise bike in the corner of the room. ‘Hitler’s holocaust was spread over years. Slimbridge murdered nearly nine million people in the blink of an eye. Who’s worse?’
‘We need to come up with a strategy,’ said Mike, a mid-twenty-year-old, built like a linebacker, resting his backside on a pool table and holding a rifle. ‘I feel so helpless here with no particular objective and listening to you guys, who seem to be just as bemused as the rest of us. This is America, goddammit, how dare Slimbridge do this to our country?’
‘A militia might be the answer. We could put together an armed militia,’ said Drew. ‘But we’d need to be prepared to shoot first or the National Guard will just massacre us.’
‘This is ridiculous...’ said Rose. ‘Americans talking about killing Americans. Does the general population have the stomach for a civil war?’
A rugged looking man with a military air and in his late-sixties had been sitting quietly in the corner of the gym, listening carefully to what the others were saying. He stood up. Immediately, everyone paid attention. ‘What I’m hearing here is certainly an uprising, but, as Mike and Brad said, we need to be organised.’
‘Okay, General, how, where and when?’ asked Rose.
Dick Beech, a retired four-star US army general, walked purposefully, but slowly across the room to Brad’s desk. His charisma and natural authority meant that the others all watched him, waiting patiently for him to speak. No one would talk when “the general” was thinking, neither on the golf course, nor here, in this meeting which was contemplating the overthrow of the president of the United States.
He turned towards the others and perched himself on the front corner of Brad’s desk. He still didn’t speak. His golfing buddies had seen him do this before in the clubhouse. He had a certain way, which gave him the full attention of anyone within sight. No one saw his silence and stillness as an opportunity to speak.
‘We’re meeting in Brad’s cellar,’ he said. ‘That won’t do. There are five of us, that won’t do either. If we’re going to be effective, we need a figurehead. We need weapons, the militia Brad mentioned, and we need to link up with other likeminded groups.’
Drew put up his arm, as if in class. The general nodded, granting permission to speak.
‘Mayne is certainly trying to marshal support if the black web’s to be believed.’
‘He’s in hiding, though,’ said Mike.
‘He’s also a Democrat,’ said Rose.
‘I don’t think he’s in hiding. He’s still at his headquarters in Pittsburgh, last I heard,’ said Drew.
‘Hmm. While I never thought I’d support a Democrat, this goes beyond partisan politics,’ said the general. The others nodded. ‘Do we have any idea of the level of support he has?’
‘Not really,’ said Mike.
‘How could we contact him?’ asked the general.
‘I think I could get through to him on the web,’ said Drew.
‘Do that and be sure to use burner phones for any telephone conversations,’ said the general.
‘Sorry,’ said Rose, ‘what’s a burner phone?’
‘A pre-paid phone which is disposed of after use. And for information, it is not just the card which needs destroying, you must destroy the phone too,’ said Brad.
‘Numbers,’ said the general. ‘What can we do to increase the size of our squad. If we’re going to have any influence, there must be more than a handful of us.’
‘Each of us could put out feelers,’ said Drew. ‘I know at least six who’d be supportive, including Harry West at the gun shop. He could be useful.’
‘Okay.’ The general nodded. ‘Let’s each of us find half a dozen who can be trusted, and we’ll meet up again with them, here. If we’re a group of thirty-plus, we’ll have more to offer to a national organisation. Drew, you organise the meetings.’
‘What about contacting Peter Stone? He’s making waves against Slimbridge from Canada,’ said Rose.
‘How do we do that?’ asked Brad.
‘The web again,’ said Mike. ‘I’ll get onto it when we leave here.’
‘Security!’ barked the general, stopping everyone in their tracks. ‘Our most likely downfall would be to bring someone into our midst who then betrays us. Remember... as our number grows, the chance of traitors grows with it. Don’t forget that there are people out there who believe Slimbridge’s propaganda against the aliens.’
‘Frankly, Dick,’ said Brad, ‘I don’t give a shit about whether the aliens would be good or bad for us. What I do care about is some bastard murdering our president and taking over the country. Communism is also a worry as that’s what the Federation system sounds like.’
‘Sure does,’ said Drew. ‘Don’t know how I’d feel about sharing wealth. I’ve worked hard for what I’ve got and I’m not going to give it up without a fight.’
‘The trouble is,’ said Rose, ‘no one really explained the Federation system to us properly. Those question and answer sessions were pathetic. We need to really understand if we’re going to make a fair decision.’
‘It doesn’t really matter which way we’re thinking at the moment,’ said Mike. ‘We need to unseat Slimbridge first and then worry about the future.’
‘Well, each to their own,’ said the general, ‘but we need a common cause if we’re to succeed. Drew, will you find out what military weapons Harry could get for us?’
‘What about money?’ asked Drew.
‘I’ll look after funding,’ said Rose. ‘I don’t mind putting in a few grand to get us started, but if Harry is on board, then he ought not to be making a profit out of this.’
‘No, he wouldn’t, but he still needs to buy in,’ said Drew. ‘I’ll find out what sort of budget we’d need to get heavy duty weaponry.’
‘That’s very generous of you, Rose, thanks,’ said the general. ‘Drew, do your best to keep costs down. We need automatic weapons, handguns and grenades, if that’s possible. Let’s at least get our band equipped. Weapons for fifty people, say. Oh, and we’ll need uniforms and gas masks et cetera.’
‘Okay, Dick. I’ll get onto it,’ said Drew.
‘Mike,’ said the general, ‘see if you can get me in touch with other groups plus Stone and Mayne. Find out about overseas help, too. Especially the Limeys. How would we go about contacting them? Damn it, I got on real well with Ken Hood. I don’t know this new prime minister of theirs at all. So many good and wise men were lost to that nuke.’