Global unity.
The dream; the Utopian jewel of a global society no longer torn by racial oppression nor religious intolerance. It was the spread of democratic rule, the triumph of trade over war. Already, the steady and inexorable spread of the European Union, absorbing countries beneath its protective umbrella, was the advancement of that dream. The N.A.T.O. alliance had been its birth, a vast cooperating super — army that had allowed the coalition forces to so completely overwhelm Iraq in the early 1990’s. With the military force of the United States at its side, no single country outside the E.U. could hope to stand up to its advance. The New World Order was an advancing of the hope for unity, the bringing of democracy, by choice, to countries hitherto far beyond the reach of the West. But for that policy to be implemented, the populace of the countries involved must be under the control of their respective governments: most people operated in fear of the laws of their governments, but the greatest fear of all political establishments was the people rising up against them, too numerous to put down with words or war. The Arab Spring had been a stark reminder for many leaders that, when pushed too far, the people could coordinate themselves in their millions, and bring down entire governments and armies almost overnight.
The doorbell of Aaron’s suite rang and he roused himself from his thoughts, walked to the hall and pressed a button on a small console set into the wall. A small screen there lit up and Aaron stared into the face of a Bilderberg invitee. He opened the door and the man walked in silently, waiting for Aaron to shut the door before he turned and spoke.
‘What news?’
There was no preamble. The man was older than Aaron, his suit perfectly pressed, not a hair out of place. He would not of course be a member of MJ–12, for to reveal one’s identity was a cardinal sin as far as the cabal was concerned, but clearly he was acting on their behalf. Aaron realized that he was probably sharing a hotel with the entire cabal, with no idea of who they were.
‘The device has been recovered but Stanley Meyer is in the wind, as is his wife and daughter.’
‘No matter,’ the man said. ‘As long as the device is in our hands Stanley Meyer will be unable to distribute it to other people or demonstrate it to potential buyers. He has nowhere that he can go, and as soon as possible will you ensure that a media campaign to further tarnish his reputation is instigated. The less trustworthy Stanley Meyer appears, the less likely it is that anybody will listen to his story.’
‘Will that be enough?’ Aaron asked.
The man shook his head.
‘Not to change the world,’ he replied. ‘The revolution is coming and there is nothing that we can do to stop it, but we don’t need to stop it — only to maintain control. Already, our major corporations are investing in technologies that will change the shape of our world in a matter of decades. Lockheed Martin has recently unveiled a nuclear — fusion generator that fits on the back of a truck and could power thousands of homes. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in solar power and other renewable energy ventures — when the world’s leading exporter of oil becomes interested in the very things that devalue oil, you know a change is coming.’
‘This is a tide that not even Majestic Twelve can stop,’ Aaron agreed softly. ‘Sooner or later, somebody, somewhere is going to reveal this technology to a wide enough audience to create a shift in the balance of power. Is it not wiser to get ahead of that tide and obtain the rights to the technology before somebody does something stupid and gives it away for free?’
The man laughed, and it seemed as though the effort almost split his jaw.
‘Do you really think that any sensible human being would be able to turn away the opportunity to earn a billion dollars overnight? Everybody has their price.’
‘Stanley Meyer didn’t,’ Aaron pointed out.
‘I said sensible human being,’ the man replied. ‘Stanley Meyer is an idiot. He could be relaxing on a beach on his own private island by now instead of hiding in the gutters of God knows where. He will be found, eventually, and when he is he will have nothing. I will make it my personal mission to ensure that he ends up destitute for the rest of his life without a dime to his name.’
Aaron nodded quietly as he pictured in his mind the old inventor shivering on a street corner in Detroit’s south side, babbling about a conspiracy to deny the world free energy. The perfect foil, a man reduced to such a meagre state that nobody would believe him.
‘I need to know what measures I may use to ensure that this stays under wraps,’ Aaron said finally. ‘If I locate Stanley Meyer, do you wish me to further make offers on your behalf, or should we simply dispose of the problem?’
The man stared out of the windows across the park outside for a long moment before he replied.
‘Make offers if you can,’ he said finally. ‘We don’t want to make more mess than we have to, agreed?’
‘Agreed,’ Aaron Mitchell replied, not without a flutter of mild relief as he stood. Murder was tough, especially when the target was a man who was clearly attempting to do the right thing with an altruism that would in other circumstances have earned him a Nobel Prize.
‘Resources?’
‘Continue to operate beneath the auspices of Seavers Incorporated, and allow them to supply any paramilitary or mercenary forces that you require. If law enforcement gets onto the case, the trail will lead to Huck Seavers rather than us. Ensure that you vanish as soon as the task at hand is complete.’
Aaron turned and walked for the door, opening it and exiting onto the corridor outside, his footfalls silent on a thickly carpeted floor. A man in a grey suit awaited him, an earpiece microphone and designer shades partially concealing his features. The hard line of his jaw and the short cut to his hair betrayed him as a former military man, the agent falling into step alongside Aaron as he walked.
‘Get me everything on Stanley Meyer,’ Aaron ordered without preamble, ‘and his family. We have limited time and they must be found, is that clear?’
‘Yes sir,’ the agent replied and hurried away ahead of Aaron.
XII
‘This is insane,’ Amber uttered in a whisper. ‘I feel like a criminal.’
The Saudia Boeing 747–400 from Los Angeles to Riyadh had landed thirty minutes before on the sun — baked runway some twenty miles north of Saudi Arabia’s capital city. Ethan, Lopez and Amber were all travelling light with just hand luggage as they exited the airport’s air conditioning and were immediately assaulted by the scorched air and brilliant flare of sunlight outside.
‘Not as insane as your father,’ Lopez replied as she lowered a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. ‘He invents a device that will render oil obsolete and promptly travels to the oil capital of the world. It’s a wonder he wasn’t shot the moment he stepped off the plane.’
‘I think he’s a genius,’ Ethan said with a smile as he sought the private vehicle Jarvis had hired for them before they had left America with false passports, their passage smoothed with the DIA’s help. ‘If Majestic Twelve are seeking him out the last place they’re going to look is Riyadh.’
‘I think he’s an idiot,’ Amber informed him, once again. ‘Dad hasn’t been outside the United States in his life except for short trips to Europe to attend scientific conferences when he was younger. What the hell he’s doing coming out here I have no idea.’