“You’re insane,” said Cresak. “What about Carter’s PD-59? They could survive a strike long enough to obliterate us.”
“Nuclear war is winnable,” said Hooper emphatically. The situation has moved on since McNamara and Carter; we have the Alpha shields now. The winner is the one who hits first. Central Command computers show that a first strike will be decisive and that’s why our command and control systems are geared for a first-strike capability. We’ve always known that a second strike, one under attack, would fail utterly. Sir, we’ll never get another chance like this.”
“This is lunacy,” said the National Security Adviser. His voice was shaky but determined. He ticked the points off with his fingers, one by one. “The Russians kept their C3 system intact through all the political upheavals. Even with SALT and START they still have seven thousand ICBMs and a thousand submarine-launched missiles. They have two thousand bomb-proof bunkers to protect their top leadership. The situation has changed in Russia too. They’ve now got a streamlined chain of command, straight from their General Staff to their missile units. The new leadership have thrown away the old safeguards. They’ve obtained the unlock codes from the old KGB. The political officers have long gone from the system. They’ve taken away the electromechanical switches for sealing bomb doors.”
“Get to the point, Arnold. What are you driving at?” asked the President.
“Sir, they could respond in seconds. And if even a handful of their Sawflies got through, America would be finished.”
“Hell, Arnold, we can handle it,” Hooper said. “The Alpha lasers. And the leadership would be fried before they even reached their bunkers.”
The President sipped at his chocolate. It was too sweet. “What’s the modern view on nuclear winter?” he asked.
Hooper pulled a thin blue document from a battered briefcase at the side of his chair. “Our climate modellers have looked at all sorts of smoke injection scenarios. Mostly they darken the sun for about three months and could wipe out agriculture in the growing season. That’s another reason for an early strike, to let the sky clear by July.”
Grant said, “Sam, let’s not get too excited. There may not even be an asteroid. All we have is a string of circumstantial evidence that Heilbron has woven into a pattern. We can’t go levelling the planet just because the DCI has an overactive imagination.”
“With respect, sir,” Bellarmine insisted, “if there is an asteroid, chances are the first we know of it is when it hits, by which time we’re too late for an effective counterstrike. The only realistic option is Number Three.”
“I believe we’re seeing a sort of collective insanity here,” Cresak said, his fear betraying itself in his voice.
“Okay, let’s get down to basics,” said Grant. “What’s the strategic purpose of your third option, Sam?”
Hooper put down his mug of chocolate. His face showed real bafflement. “I must be missing something, sir.”
“What purpose is served by destroying Russia?”
“Retaliation,” said Hooper, the bafflement giving way to incredulity.
Bellarmine sensed something. He said, “Mister President. It’s been the official policy of every administration since World War Two that a Russian attack on mainland America will be met with the Major Attack Option.”
“Public policy, yes,” Grant replied. “And you know damn well our true policy is that if the diplomatic game ever gets hot we hit first. Hooper’s right. It’s the only chance of winning a nuclear exchange.”
“So!” Bellarmine raised his hands in an Italian-like gesture. “For fifty years mutual assured destruction has kept the West safe. What’s the difference between this asteroid thing and a big missile attack? The logic’s identical. We play it out.”
“Why?”
Bellarmine stayed silent. His expression was an exercise in suppressed bewilderment and outrage.
Cresak drove the point home. “I guess maybe the Chief thinks it’s pointless. Two big dust bowls instead of one.”
Bellarmine said, “Arnold, your jaw has got disengaged from your brain. Responsibility for the Russian people lies with their leadership, not with us. Our policy has been spelled out, clear as crystal, ever since World War Two. We serve future generations better by following through than by just backing off when the chips are down. The lesson will be remembered for a thousand years.”
“No doubt the cave dwellers for the next thousand years will be grateful for the lesson,” Cresak replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “And the two hundred million innocent people you burn will see the point too. We don’t seem to have progressed since the Salem witches.”
“Sure!” Bellarmine snarled. “Our ancestors thought they were doing right and they got it wrong. And if we get entangled in moral problems now we’ll get it just as wrong as they did. This is the White House, not a department of moral philosophy. Our business is to respond, according to publicly laid-down policy, to circumstances imposed on us by the Russians.”
“It’s getting hot in here,” said the President.
Hooper said, “Look. We’re under attack, so we defend. Period. Like any country, man or creature since time began. The only live issues are targeting policy and battle management.”
“What targets do you have in mind, Sam?”
“I’ve arranged a murder session with JSTPS in Offutt at twelve hundred hours. You’ll have our prepared options within forty-eight hours. The target sets will depend on whether we launch under attack or go for pre-emption. Mister President, I’m pushing for pre-emption. We have to finish this East — West thing once and for all. The prime target will be Russia but we should also take out Armenia, Belorussia, Moldavia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Estonia. We may also want to think about Cuba, Vietnam and China while we’re about it. I’m thinking of updating the old SIOP-5D list.”
Grant peered into Hooper’s eyes. The soldier stared unflinchingly back. “Some shopping list,” the President said. “What, specifically, do you mean by take out?”
“I mean destroy all nuclear and conventional military forces, the military and political leadership, the major economic and industrial centres, and all cities with more than 25,000 population.”
“LeMay would have been proud of you, Sam. Why China?”
“We’ll be so weak after Nemesis that we can’t afford to leave potential enemies around. Mister President, I want your unconditional assurance on this matter. That in the event of an asteroid strike on America becoming a proven eventuality, you will order a retaliatory counterstrike.”
A log collapsed in the fire, sending a little shower of sparks up the chimney. Grant lowered his head, strumming his fingers lightly on his knee. The others stared at him, frozen like models from a tableau in a wax museum. Thirty seconds passed, each one a century long.
“At this moment of time I will give no such assurance.”
“I don’t believe I’m hearing this,” said Bellarmine. His tone was aggressive. “Massive retaliation has been the backbone of our defence posture for generations, endorsed by successive administrations. It can’t be capriciously set aside by one individual. Not even a President. Your first duty is the defence of America. If you fail in that, you fail in your duty as President of these United States.”
“Why thank you, Nathan, a homily on my duty as President is just what I need at this time of night.” President Grant stretched and yawned. “Well, I’ve enjoyed our little fireside chat. Could this thing hit tonight?”