“Before I continue with the show, I have an important announcement that the government requested I make. This morning’s rapid climb in temperature resulted in some fast melting of snow. Then, the thermometer reversed, and we were again plunged into a deep freeze. The result? Black ice. Wicked, nasty black ice, the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Hospitals are reporting a rash of fractured limbs from people slipping and falling. So, if you must venture out, please be careful.”
The TV went blank, along with all the lights in the building. Ellen was still broadcasting from 26 Federal Plaza, and she assumed that such a critical government location would have immediate power backup. I had been standing 20 feet from the soundstage as I always did for Ellen’s show. Sarah Watson stood next to me.
An assistant groped his way through the darkness to remove the cover over the window that had been put in place to block the sun before each broadcast.
Sarah Watson and I walked over to Ellen. I lighted our way with the flashlight app on my cell phone.
“I was worried about this,” I said. “With the temperature extremes we were bound to have a power blackout.”
As I said that the lights came back on, powered by the building’s emergency generator.
“The power should have come on within a split second,” I said to Sarah Watson.
“I’ll have the maintenance crew check it out,” Watson said. “This is unacceptable, but the way the thermometer skyrocketed and then plunged within a few minutes, I’m not surprised that it didn’t function normally.”
Ellen was on the phone with NBC, checking to see if they had power.
“Okay, the show is about to resume,” Ellen said, “but we probably lost most of our audience, or at least those without emergency generators.”
Ellen, as well as the rest of us, gradually adjusted to the weather’s surprises.
Chapter 27
“Hey Nance,” Bill Cranston said. “If it weren’t for your quick thinking, God knows what could have happened.”
“Thanks for the compliment, hon, but something is scaring the shit out of me. That goddam fail-safe program is supposed to be just that—fail safe. I designed the software, and that’s why I’m freaking out. What happened is not supposed to happen. It’s impossible, but that’s not accurate because the impossible just occurred. I also helped design series of switches that make up the override protocol. But it almost seems like somebody else is involved in operating the solar panels on the satellites.”
“Could it be somebody in Billings playing around?” Cranston said.
“Nothing happens to the satellite controls in Billings without Frank Morgan or Phil Duncan knowing about it,” Nancy said. “That’s the way they designed the control system, and it’s a great idea. It’s sort of like the Black Box that travels around with the president. Nobody can launch a nuke without the president’s input, and nobody can test the satellites without the express permission of Morgan or Duncan. You and I can’t decide to do it on our own. The sequence must start in Billings. I don’t expect that they’ll run any more tests until we sort out this shit.”
“Stargazer this is Rosetta, please come in,” sounded the voice over the speaker.
“This is Stargazer, go ahead Rosetta,” Cranston said.
“Bill, Nancy, this is Phil Duncan. Nancy, you helped us to avoid a disaster, God bless you. So now we’re just faced with a mess, not a calamity. I feel kind of dumb to ask you this question, because I’m sure you two have discussed it, but do you have any idea what happened?”
“It’s not a dumb question, Phil, and yes, we have been discussing it,” Nancy said. “The simple answer is that neither of us has any idea what went wrong. As you well know, I was the design team head for both the fail-safe software and the override procedure. At least the override worked, thank God. But the malfunctioning fail-safe system is a mystery. I assume you still follow the standard practice where you or Frank Morgan enter numbers into the computer to okay a test.”
“The protocol hasn’t changed a bit, Nancy. Remember it was mandated by the Department of Defense. We’ve got all our engineers and scientist in brainstorming mode, and you can expect to hear from us from time to time with questions. As usual I will be the only one who communicates with you.”
“What if somebody else from Billings calls us?” Nancy asked.
“That will mean that there’s trouble, big trouble,” Duncan said. “To channel all communications with Stargazer through one person, me, is yet another measure of security as you know. It hasn’t changed. So, until you hear from me again, you two can get back to your Scrabble game, or whatever it is you do.” Duncan stifled a laugh as he said that.
“So that means that you and I are free to figure out what to do with our time,” Cranston said after Duncan signed off.
“Gimme a kiss, wiseass. Let’s play Scrabble.”
Chapter 28
“CIA Director Carlini is on the secure line for you, Mr. Secretary.”
“Hello, Bill,” I said. “I trust you’re enjoying our summer weather.”
“Very funny, Rick. It’s freezing here in Langley, but at least the snow stopped falling. Meteorologists, for what they’re worth, say that we’re in for a few days of clear but freezing cold weather. I read your top secret briefing this morning about your conversation with Frank Morgan, the head man at the Rosetta Corporation. No sooner had I read it when I got a call from the White House.”
“The White House called me too,” I said. “For once I think they pulled their heads out of their asses and are starting to make some sense. I think the president has kicked some butt to get those jerkoffs to stop playing office games.”
“I agree, Rick, they are beginning to make sense. They’ve stopped listening to the global warming ‘experts,’ especially since your charming wife made mincemeat out of that guy on her show the other day. They’re starting to think what I’m thinking, and I’ll bet you’re thinking the same thing too.”
“Yes, I think that all this shit may not be a natural phenomenon, but may be the result of intentional acts. I’ve checked up on the two astronauts who control the Stargazer. The commander, Nancy Mullin, is one hell of a sharp engineer. She thinks the weather events are linked to Rosetta’s satellite tests. Mullin says that it’s impossible, yet she recognized that it happened.”
“I also hear that she’s in the middle of a global warming style love affair with her fellow crewmember Bill Cranston,” Carlini said.
“You CIA types love to get down to the smallest detail, don’t you?”
“That’s why they call us spooks, Rick. Last week one of them forgot to turn off the video monitor from Montana. Wow, quite a show. They really have fun with the weightless environment. I ordered the tape destroyed. No sense embarrassing people we need to rely on. But to change the subject, I want to know if Jake Arnold, the president’s chief of staff, told you what he told me.”