The President nodded.
“Go on Joseph.”
“First of all these were airbursts, and so their effects would have magnified the damage.”
“Excuse my ignorance, please Joseph, I used to teach English Lit not physics. How does being, to all effects ‘off target’, by about three kilometres make the effects worse rather than lessening the damage?”
“You are thinking in kinetic energy terms rather than geo-thermal sir, but even so you are getting it wrong because by detonating high above the earth, the planet’s surface acts as a mirror to the thermal output, containing the heat and sustaining it. The heat from the explosion is hottest at the moment of detonation and, in fact, heat dissipation begins to occur at one thousandth of a second later. If the planet had not been there, then the fireball would only have achieved half the size that it did. Also, by exploding above the surface there are no geographic features to interfere with the following blast wave, no hills to provide dead ground to the energetic forces.” The CSO sounded as if he were giving a lecture to an audience of freshman students.
“Take a sledgehammer and swing it golf club style at a domino it may break it, it will certainly knock it across the room, but if you placed that domino on an anvil and struck it from above with the same force, you will shatter it utterly against the anvil’s unyielding surface. The earth is the anvil in this case Mr President.”
“Have we had a satellite pass since the attacks, General?”
“No sir, however I think the CSO will concur that we will see complete devastation extending beyond the city limits… ” Henry Shaw turned from the screen to speak to someone out of view before turning back.
“Mr President… we have just received via the Australian Ministry of Defence, air refuelling requests from Japanese aircraft enroute to Davao in the Philippines that intend to continue on to Australia. They state that Japan has surrendered unconditionally as result of the nuclear attacks on Taiwan.”
“It never rains but it pours… ”
“That’s just the PTO sir; we have problems in Europe too, which will involve you doing your head of state stuff with other heads of state.”
Other screens had gone live while they had been speaking and the President glanced at the wall clock. It was about time for the scheduled videoconference.
“Ok, we will get to that… and to the response to the PRC ICBM threat, we need to take their missiles out in a way that is not guaranteed to start a full blown nuclear exchange between us. Doubtless you have some ideas on that Henry, above and beyond what we have previously explored?”
“Yes sir, we do.” The general’s use of ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ highlighted the difference in the thinking of soldiers and politicians. Had a politician said ‘I’ in the same context, it could be assumed he had every intention of taking full credit for someone else’s idea or effort. Had the same politician said ‘we’ or ‘they’, he was giving himself a degree of separation should whatever the scheme was, go wrong. General Shaw said ‘we’ because it was something that was not of his sole creation, or that he stood by the creator(s) as their commander, and as such was prepared to take the blame if it failed. When an idea was put before him that he saw as flawed he would either say so and send them away to think about it before trying again, or fix the ‘genius’ with a critical look, asking.
“Son, shall I ring the infirmary and tell them you are on the way for an illegal substance test, or are you going to get your head out of your ass and think this thing through properly… ” Whilst tapping the offending material with a finger.
“Because if that’s the case, you’ve managed to get brown matter in your ear and that’s screwing up the grey matter’s logic process!”
Turning to one of the agents the President asked. “John… is there any coffee?”
The agent nodded apologetically.
“Just Grunt Juice sir… at the moment.”
The freeze-dried coffee granules that went into the ration packs were not the ideal choice of the Java connoisseur, but that was all that they had here.
“That’s all right… did you know that the Spartan Generals would only eat what their men ate… that way they knew how much stamina the men had for the campaign?” He removed his topcoat and loosened his tie.
“I guess it has gone full circle… it is the way it should be I suppose… lets drink what the boys and girls doing the fighting and dying are having.” clapping the agent on the back.
The new ‘war room’ had banks of portable monitors and a large foldable plasma screen that had been brought with them from Dakota and technicians were putting the final touches to connecting it all up.
The President had new aides since the Washington bomb, for the first two days in North Dakota his secret service detail had performed a myriad of tasks that they were not trained to do until the new boys and girls had arrived.
The White House staff who had remained with the President after the rest of the battle staff and their personnel had been evacuated, had suffered 100 % casualties with half dying in the nuclear blast and the remainder being injured to varying extents. The President felt badly about not being able to visit the survivors in person, he had to let the Vice President perform that duty.
That lunchtime, just prior to their relocation CNN had televised an interview with a man the President considered to be a buffoon of the first order a man who believed politics was all about damning the other party's policies and actions, no matter what the subject. He had now stated on national television that the troops should be brought home to guard the homeland whilst the war was fought to its conclusion by the rest of the world. Once that had happened, he confidently stated, they could work together with the countries of the world, no matter how much the borders had since changed. It was time for America to take care of America, he had announced in his closing statement and it sounded like a campaign slogan.
When the interview had finished the President turned to those present.
“Somewhere out there is a village that’s shy one idiot!” The next item had riled the Chief Executive far more, news teams in and around Washington DC had already picked up on the scandal they had dubbed ‘Shell shocked and suing.’ Lawyers taking advantage of the situation and the vulnerability of the victims of the bombing to get rich quick. This last had caused the President to summon his chief legal advisor for a brief meeting.
Armed with a mug of granulated coffee, the President took his seat before the bank of screens. Before him on the table were the folders he had brought with him, stuffed with fax copies and emails. His new legal advisor hurried into the room and placed a single sheet of paper before the President before taking a seat at the back of the room. After reading what was before him the President turned and nodded his thanks before facing the screens as the videoconference got underway. Terry Jones was missing and a deputy on screen in his place. Imogen Hill apologised for Mr Jones' absence, informing the President that he would be with them soon, adding that something had just come to light that had caused his delay.
Glancing down briefly once more at the sheet before him, the President began.
“Before we get down to business ladies and gentlemen, there is a matter I want cleared up at home… Dr McManus,” he addressed Justice. “On April 15th 1863, President Lincoln issue General Order 100, the instructions for the Government of Armies in the Field. In effect it placed this country in a state of martial law, correct?”
Dr McManus nodded in agreement before speaking.
“Yes sir, when the Southern States left the Union he no longer had a quorum to conduct the business of government under the constitution.”