“When you hold the plate at the correct angle so that the light skips across the surface, a hologram rises from the plate. Keep in mind that Johnny Thapaha may have been the first human ever to see a real hologram, certainly one this clear and distinct. The hologram displays the four points of the compass plus a translation of the Theban language to Greek.”
“Why do you call it the ‘Theban’ language, Mr. Liu?” said General Ryder, who was a historian by education.
“The translation has allowed us to decipher much of the data that was rescued from the alien craft retrieved from the Socorro incident,” said Mike. “The hieroglyphics used in describing the alien’s planet corresponds to the ‘th’ and the ‘b’ sounds in English. The term ‘Theban’ arises from those hieroglyphics, not from any attempt to imply that there is an Egyptian connection.”
“Thank you.”
“Anyway, the code enabled us to interpret the messages from the Sentinels using the Cray Mark II Super Computer at the National Security Agency. Johnny Thapaha’s fascination with the plate apparently coincided with his sunrise worship ceremony.”
“How’s that?” said Senator Bensen.
“Johnny Thapaha apparently could get the hologram to appear by holding the plate up to the rays of the rising sun,” said Mike.
“Where is the plate now?” said the President.
“I have it here,” said Mike as he encoded an alphanumeric into the keypad on the aluminum briefcase. Mike opened the case and then took out the velvet box in which sat the mysterious shiny plate that Johnny Thapaha had treasured for so many years. As Mike opened the box, the lights of the Oval Office danced over the surface of the plate.
“Go ahead, Mr. President. You can’t appreciate the true significance unless you hold it up to the light. Here, let me show you how.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
The President held the plate so that the light of the table lamp skipped over the surface like the rays of the rising sun. The hologram rose out of the plate and the President saw what Johnny Thapaha had seen over the forty-some years he had welcomed the morning sunrise with plate in hand. The effect was startling. The President passed it over to Thurgood Bensen, who in turn passed it to the next man in the room.
The plate was finally returned to Mike who returned it to the velvet box and the box into his aluminum briefcase. “We’re currently translating other data that had been recovered from the crash sites. Early indications are that we’re finding out some very interesting information.”
“Where are these aliens from?” said Director Gooding of the CIA.
“We believe that Thebes is a planet much like ours, circling a dying red star near Alpha Centauri,” said Admiral Oliver.
“What are the implications of what you just said, Admiral?” said Senator Thurgood Benson.
“So far, this is just speculation,” said Oliver. “Our analysts haven’t had the chance to interpret all the documents found on the alien craft in our possession. However, we believe that the Theban people are concerned with the ebbing power of their sun and have determined that our planet is a potential alternative.”
“Damn.”
“What about Watch Station Three?” said Bo Reddington.
“Let me turn this over to Admiral McHugh.”
“Watch Station Three was deserted, as was reported earlier,” said McHugh, as he walked to the map on the easel that had been set up in the office. The station is located here, about 100 miles off of Santa Catalina Island.”
McHugh pointed to the location of the Watch Station on the map.
“We inspected the site. The object appears to be as tranquil as always, but the station was empty. The Coast Guard found debris from Benthic Ranger One. We found what remained of Benthic Ranger One and its crew. It’s best to leave them there, it wasn’t pretty.”
“What about the second Benthic Ranger?” said Bo Reddington.
”Benthic Ranger Two is missing and, with her, the remaining crew from Watch Station Three. Part of the Watch Station had imploded, leading us to suspect that Messinger abandoned the Watch Station, taking his crew with him. Carlton Messinger — you probably know him, Admiral Smith — was the inventor of the Mess-I reactor. We were looking for a lot out of that guy.”
“Damn shame, he was top in his class at the Academy. I taught him mechanics,” said Admiral Smith.
“Messinger did have the presence of mind to enter a fairly detailed report into the station log. Fearing that the attacker might intercept any messages or take any information in the memory of the computer, Messinger had the memory erased and destroyed. The message he left was encrypted by manual means and was found during our inspection of the command module by Captain Mannington.
“What did Messinger say?” said the President.
“Messinger described the earlier events already reported to you. However on the critical point concerning the abandonment of the Watch Station there was nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing, except an order to abandon the station, sir,” said McHugh. “After the search team got topside, we instituted a wide area search including the use of the latest Nematode, a towed side-scan sonar and closed circuit television package capable of extremely deep operating depths. Nothing. Benthic Ranger Two simply vanished.
“Apparently, Watch Station Three was attacked by a black unidentified submersible with an incredible weapon, a focused sonic pulse, which caused the stores module of the Watch Station and Benthic Ranger One to literally explode. The focused sonic pulse is a theoretical weapon that both DARPA and the KGB’s Scientific and Technical Directorate have been trying to develop for years.
“There is also a suspicion that the North Koreans might have developed this technology. Some analysts at Central Intelligence believe that a core group of the KGB’s Scientific and Technical Directorate staff may have defected to the North Korea following Glasnost and the dismantling of the KGB staff at Lubyanka.”
“Why North Korea, Admiral McHugh?” said the President.
“Mr. President, we suspect that the core group at the Directorate were diehard Bolsheviks,” said CIA Director Gooding. “But even Bolsheviks enjoy the good life that the Arabic countries like Iraqi or Syria just can’t supply. Hence, the North Koreans.”
“Why didn’t we put in a bid for this talent, Mr. Gooding?” said Reddington, his already narrowed eyes piercing into Gooding as he talked.
“We did. Their price was too high. They disappeared before we could institute other measures.”
Reddington just stared at Gooding. Gooding sat down, obviously uncomfortable.
McHugh cleared his throat. “Apparently, Messinger gave the order to abandon the Watch Station after the attacking vessel had destroyed Benthic Ranger One and was making another move toward the Watch Station. If some terrorist nation were to get this weapon, we’d better get going. Our whole nuclear fleet could be in jeopardy. The unidentified attacker also withstood a direct hit with a uranium torpedo.”
“What?” said Senator Thurgood Bensen, a proponent of nuclear disarmament.
“The uranium torpedo has a uranium head to help penetrate any metal that we know of. The depleted uranium doesn’t contain any radioactive material to speak of; it is used solely for its atomic weight. Once the uranium head penetrates the hull of an enemy, the conventional explosives behind the head ignite. Our experts believed that this weapon was invincible. The crew of Benthic Ranger One even blasted the attacker with a blue green laser, an experimental weapon — to no avail.”