Edward Lee Operator B

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that collector and bring it back to earth."
"So tell them to scrub the pickup," Wentz made the most obvious suggestion. "I think if you told
them they were bringing a deadly virus back to earth, they wouldn't have to think long before
they aborted the entire mission."
"We can't do that, General. That would acknowledge what they've suspected all along that our
own agents have been planting tap-sensors in their probes. It would ruin foreign relations."
Wentz almost laughed. "Well then fuck foreign relations. This is a bit more important, isn't it?"
"It's not that simple, sir," Ashton said.
Wentz considered this. "Fine, then do what you Big Brother guys do best. Destroy the return
stage before it gets back "
"That's even less serviceable," Jones countered. "It would be plainly detectable as a hostile attack
on the geostatic DPS net. They'd never believe it was an accident, and since the U.S. is the only
country in the world with the sufficient anti-satellite technology to pull something like that off "
"They'd know it was us," Wentz agreed.
"And considering the upcoming trade agreements pending in Congress," Ashton reminded, "we'd
lose all economic ties with the Japanese forever, and the Russians would more than likely freeze
all U.S. investment assets currently in place."
"So you see our dilemma," Jones said. "If we sabotage their return mission on its way back, we
risk an economic war that could put us in a true depression. And if we tell them of our
knowledge of the nature of the bacteria that we've secretly installed the equivalent of analytical
eaves-dropping devices on their space missions, then the news will hit every wire service in the
world, and we'll lose every ally we have."
Wentz couldn't believe the knit-picking here. "What are you guys? Republicans? You consider
positive U.S. foreign relations more important than preventing a potential plague?"
"It wouldn't be a potential plague, sir," Ashton explained. "All the spectrographic and
chromatographic analysis of the data we intercepted from the QSR4 sample-collector indicates a
viral component with exponential contagion attributes. If that return stage succeeds in bringing
the Tharsus bacteria back to earth "
Jones' voice grated, "Millions, and potentially billions, could die. A virus like that...could wipe
out all mammalian life on the planet."
Wentz shook his head in complete outrage. "So like I just told you. To hell with foreign relations
and the economy. This is more important. Tell them. Admit that we've been slipping taps on their
space-flight missions and tell them to abort the damn return stage."
"Again," Jones said, "it's not quite that simple. Don't you read the papers?"
"Hell, no," Wentz said. "They're all bias. I watch Fox News, that's it."
"Well, then, you might be aware that the Russian parliament is squeezing the executive branch to
sign a non-aggression pact with Red China."
"Sure, but it'll never happen. Putin would never bend to that. He'd disband the entire parliament
first. He'd shut down the government."
"Not if he's dead," Ashton said. "And not if his government is replaced."
Wentz's eyes narrowed. "I guess you people know something I don't."
"Putin's government is on the verge of collapse," Jones said. "The opposition parties have been
trying to kill him for two years. That last heart attack? It wasn't natural causes. A radical element
of the GRU managed to get some potassium dichlorate in his food. It was a U.S. team of
cardiologists from Johns Hopkins that saved his life. The fact of the matter is, Putin won't last till
Christmas; his government will topple."
Ashton again: "And whatever party takes over will sign the pact with Red China because it's the
easiest way to cut defense funding and pump it into the economy, avoid a revolution. China is
still technically our enemy, and if they sign a pact with Russia?"
"Russia becomes a potential enemy again too," Wentz realized. "And the Cold War starts all over
again."
Jones stood up, aiming a wooden pointer at the mural depicting the QSR4's return trip to earth.
"Exactly, and if Russia and Red China become allies...what do you think they'll do if they find
out that return-stage is bringing back a virus deadlier than anything the planet has ever known?"
Wentz's eyes widened to the size of slot-machine slugs. "They might not abort the stage. They
might let it return and retrieve it." Wentz's throat went dry. "They might try to contain the virus."
"That's right, General," Ashton said. "They might try to contain it, and preserve it as a weapon."
"A weapon we'd have no defense against," Jones tacked on.
Ashton looked right into Wentz's eyes. "So, General, we're asking you to undertake a mission [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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