Wormhole (The Rho Agenda #3)(37)
Today’s meeting only involved the central core of the NSS: Vice President Bob Bethard, Secretary of State Beth McKee, Secretary of Defense Gary Blake, Director of National Intelligence Cory Mayfield, National Security Advisor James Nobles, Director of Homeland Security Thane Evans, and the president’s chief of staff, Carol Owens.
In addition to the core team, Carl Rheiner, the director of central intelligence, occupied a seat to the president’s left. It was going to be his show. Just a couple of hours earlier, Rheiner had informed the president that President Chekov of the Russian Federation, in a surprise move, had held a hastily assembled press conference to announce that Russia had developed its own version of the nanite serum.
The president’s first response had been unprintable, but Rheiner had had worse news.
“Apparently, they’re set to begin mass production at several manufacturing facilities. They’ve already begun inoculating military personnel and plan to roll it out for the general population over the coming months—before making it available for sale on the international market.”
It was why he’d now assembled the whole national security brain trust. President Jackson spread his hands in a gesture of inclusiveness. “Well I guess we’re all in. The Chinese, French, and others can’t be far behind the Russians. The real question is, what are we going to do in response? Before I hear your thoughts, I’ve asked the DCI to give us a quick rundown from the CIA point of view.”
All eyes turned toward the CIA director.
“Thank you, Mr. President.” Carl Rheiner opened a leather portfolio, moving its contents into three small stacks in front of him. “I’ll start with the nanite situation since that is the most directly affected by President Chekov’s announcement.”
The president hoped this presentation wouldn’t be as grim as he expected.
“As you all know, central intelligence has focused a large effort these last several months toward analyzing the consequences of our own nanite formula rollout, starting with the African continent, since they had already received the initial distribution. The results of that initial distribution are a mixed bag, mostly bad. In countries decimated by AIDS, malnutrition, and other diseases, it is hardly surprising that desperation for a cure has led to fighting between those who received the first doses and those who had to wait. Violent gangs began kidnapping nanite recipients, bleeding them into plasma bags for resale along with acts of superstitious barbarism.
“While Jack Gregory’s GPS broadcast shut down most of those nanites, there were significant numbers of people that were shielded from that signal and they still have active nano-serum in their blood. I don’t need to tell you the jeopardy in which they’ve found themselves. Most of them tried, with varying degrees of success, to pretend their nanites were deactivated like all the rest. But it only takes one public injury to put the lie to those pretenses.
“Mix that with gangs of nanite-augmented young men, drunk with the power of virtual invulnerability, and you get the effect we’re seeing on African societies, a drastic increase in tribalism. By this I mean that groups have grown more homogeneous, either for protection or for aggression.
“I won’t belabor the details, but this analysis, combined with worries about the possible long-term negative impact of nanite dependence on people’s natural immune systems, has led to the president’s meticulously planned nanite redistribution. Although we all knew that the day would come when other governments were able to duplicate the formula, I think we all hoped we’d have time to test our delivery strategy first, establishing a measure of control over these types of negative consequences. That’s no longer an option.”
“So what do you recommend we do about it?” President Jackson’s lips had tightened into a thin line during Rheiner’s summary. He sensed that, unfortunately, Rheiner had saved the worst news for last.
“Before I give you my recommendation, I need to reference two other areas that critically impact the situation.”
Carl Rheiner spread several papers from his second stack across the table in front of him. “The first is the other alien technology that was released to the public, cold fusion. Although it’s been widely hailed as a home run for our planet, it carries parallel dangers. Every scientist and energy expert I’ve talked to has been stunned with the speed with which industry has implemented increasingly efficient versions of this technology, dropping the price to where it will soon be available to power automobiles. Machinery that uses fossil fuels is about to become as outdated as the ancient plants and animals that compose those fuels. It has happened so fast that OPEC finds itself with its monetary spigot rotating into the off position.
“Islamic radicalism is ramping up with the rise in Muslim rage and frustration. Since Islam is composed of a number of sects, primarily Sunni and Shiite, they are being driven into the same tight tribal groupings. It’s reached the point that regional war is a near-term certainty.”
Rheiner paused to let his words take effect. Everyone in this room had already known this information. But the silence and grim expressions indicated that his words had driven it home like a stake in the heart.
“We’ve seen the same type of radicalization taking hold here at home,” Thane Evans interrupted. “Starting with a lot of militia folks in the Northwest and South, even spreading to groups like the Sierra Club. Hell, Native American tribes are going off the energy grid at a pace that indicates they’re working from a central playbook.”