Best Intentions

Back in the White House, as soon as Mark’s conversation with the president had ended, the Secret Service agents were dismissed. The president, vice president, and the Secretary of Defense sat down to discuss the situation alone in the oval office.

“Let me have a closer look at that, Roger.” Vice President Foster held out his hand.

“Here you go, Doug.” The president replied, handing him the tablet.

The vice president was silent as he intently studied the information on the alien ship.

“So gentlemen,” asked the president. “What do we do about this situation?”

“Roger, if this isn’t some elaborate hoax, we must have control of that ship,” the vice president said still engrossed in the data. “A civilian cannot be left in charge of something like this.”

“What do you say, Rob? Do you believe that this is some kind of joke?”

“I don’t think so, Mr. President,” said Defense Secretary Hayes. “But I do agree with the vice president. That thing has far too much power for any one person to be in charge of, we must do something.”

“He sounds like an American,” said the president. “Maybe we can convince him to turn control of the ship over to the government?”

Vice President Foster called his Chief of Staff, Lawrence Alford and took him aside when he arrived.

“Mr. Alford, I want you to get all the information available on a Mark Richards, American. We need to know everything we can about him. Use whatever resources are necessary, the FBI, CIA, and the NSA if you have to. This is a top priority!”

“Yes Mr. Vice President, I will get on it immediately.”

The president spoke to his aid. “Henry, get me John Berger, the science advisor, and General Kevin Powers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I want them here tomorrow morning for a meeting.”

“I will take care of it right away, Mr. President.”

“Rob, contact the head of U.S. Space Command,” said President Stone. “Have him check space surveillance from today going back as close to the incident five years ago. I want to know if they detected anything unusual around the Moon’s position. Who knows, maybe we caught that ship arriving.”

“Yes, sir. That would be General Chilton.”

The following morning, the staff assembled in the briefing room. President Stone called the meeting to order.

“I know that each of you wonders why you have been called to the White House today. A startling event has arisen that requires your expertise. Before we begin I want you to look at something, you in particular John.”

The president handed him the tablet.

“What is this?” he asked turning it over in his hands. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It feels like glass but weighs nothing, and will you just look at the clarity of the 3D display. I’ve never seen anything like it. Where did it come from Mr. President?”

Pointing to the image, the president said. “Never mind that now. I want an assessment of what is displayed on it.”

“What is this supposed to be, some kind of ship?” he asked, reading the data. “Whatever it is, the size is staggering!” He looked up at the president. “Mr. President, if you want an informed opinion it would be helpful if you could give me some background on this device and the object in the display.”

“Fair enough, John. A few days ago, I received a call from someone claiming to be onboard that thing which he claims is currently behind the moon. Yesterday this showed up on our roof. The person who left it says it is some kind of computer tablet.”

“You’re telling me that this,” he said pointing to the rotating image. “This is an actual alien spacecraft and it’s here now?”

“That is what we have been told. Someone named Mark Richards, a human being, claims that he has somehow gained control of that ship. He had the computer provide us with the data that you see on the screen.”

John Berger looked over the data on the ship. “This can’t be real. Did this, what was his name? Mark Richards tell you how he came to be aboard that ship?”

“He didn’t give any details but something dropped that device on the roof here so the ship must have some sort of landing craft.”

“So you had a conversation with this person, Mr. President,” John inquired. “You spoke with him personally?”

“Yes, we spoke on the phone at first and then through that device. Why do you ask?”

“Was any delay in the conversation apparent? Did it take him an extra moment or two to respond to you?”

“No, why John?”

“Well Mr. President, the moon is just past apogee now, two hundred and fifty-two thousand miles from the Earth. That is more than one and one half light seconds. If he were that far away, there should have been nearly a three second lag in the conversation.”

“No, there was nothing like that at all. We could have been speaking face to face.”

“That would seem to indicate faster than light communications, and as far as we know that’s impossible. Could this whole thing be some kind of a hoax, Mr. President?”

“No, I don’t think so,” the president said. “Can you explain where that device came from and how it works if it isn’t some kind of alien technology?”

“No, Mr. President,” he said turning the tablet over in his hands. “I have no idea how this could possibly function. It looks and feels like nothing but a block of glass or crystal but it’s much too light. Possibly the mechanisms are hidden by the bent light inside the material.”

“Yes, it is an alien device from an alien spaceship John, that’s kind of the point of why I called you here today.”

“What I mean is that it shows the technology on that ship is advanced far beyond ours,” John said. “You indicated that he had the computer provide this information?”

“Yes, it even spoke to me. To be honest, it spoke in rather a formal manner but sounded just like another person.”

“That sounds like an artificial intelligence.”

“Yeah, it said something like that. It called itself the artificial intelligence running the ship but Mark Richards called it CJ.”

“Why did he contact you, Mr. President? What does he want?”

“He says that he wants to use the ship’s technology to fix the Earth’s environment and he needs the help of scientists to do it. I’d like all your opinions gentlemen. General Powers, why don’t you go first?”

“Mr. President, I’ll assume for the sake of argument that this whole thing is not some kind of hoax.”

“Unless we receive any information to the contrary that is how we will treat this situation, general.”

“Well sir, I’d like to believe that this ship came here by accident as this Mark Richards has claimed. I’d also like to believe that he wants nothing more then to help everyone on this planet have a better life and that computer will assist him in his goals. Being a military man, it is my job to doubt good intentions, and cannot take his word without proof. You said a landing craft or something else left a package on the roof of the White House without being detected. That capability alone makes it a potential threat to our national security. This alien vessel may indeed be the solution to the world’s problems, but it may turn out to be the greatest danger the United States has ever faced. The question is, can we afford to wait to find out which it turns out to be?”

President Stone had to agree. “Even if it is a boon to mankind, it would still be safer to have it under U.S. Government control than in the hands of a civilian. I’d like to convince Mark Richards to turn control of that vessel over to us. Rob, what do you say?”

“I have to agree with Kevin, Mr. President. If this thing is real, there is both an opportunity as well as a real danger here. We must act.”

Vice President Foster’s Chief of Staff knocked and entered the room then.

“Mr. Alford, have you found anything out about Mark Richards?” asked the vice president.

“Yes, sir, Mr. Vice President. Although there are well over a hundred Mark Richards listed, they are all accounted for, all but one. The FBI found a Mark Richards who lives in downtown Manhattan. A fast response team was sent to his residence. The check showed that he hasn’t been seen in nearly a month so we authorized a search of his apartment and mailbox that revealed that no one had been there for close to thirty days. Further investigation revealed that he was recently fired from his job after he did not show up for work. We checked with his former employer and were told that Mr. Richards called them a few days ago, after missing more than twenty days of work.”

“I take it he didn’t tell them what had happened to him during that time?”

“No, Mr. President. The owner of the company did not know anything except that he didn’t show up for work. We also checked his phone records and except for a few incoming voice messages, his cell phone has not been on for the same period of time as he has been missing. His voicemail was last accessed two days ago.”

“Well, unless he lied about his name we have our man. Did they locate anything else that would tell us what kind of man he is?”

“As a matter of fact, Mr. Vice President, they did. I was told that there was a fairly large collection of science fiction material in his apartment.”

“Well that’s just great,” said the vice president. “That’s all we need; some nerd having control of that ship and its technology. He probably thinks he’s Captain Spock or something!”

“I think you mean Captain Kirk, Mr. Vice President,” said Lawrence Alford.

The vice president glared at him. “I don’t give a crap about that, just about the fact that our job has gotten harder.”

“What about family?” asked President Stone. “Does he have any close relatives that could pressure him into turning this thing over to us?”

“As far as we could find Mr. President, he has no close living relatives. Only some distant cousins with which it does not appear he has kept in touch.”

“Well, he will be coming here in a few days,” said the vice president. “We could always detain him and persuade him to relinquish control if he refuses to do it on his own.”

John Berger spoke up. “Mr. President, I would advise caution in the manner that we treat Mr. Richards.”

“Why is that, Mr. Berger?” asked the vice president.

“Mr. Vice President, this is an alien computer, and it sounds like a sophisticated if not fully self-aware one. We don’t know how it might react to hostility against someone it considers to be in charge of it. At best we would lose its cooperation.”

“And in the worst case,” asked President Stone, “what would we be looking at?”

“It is hard to estimate, Mr. President,” he replied. “I couldn’t even guess without more information, but common sense suggests that advanced technology would mean advanced weaponry. Hell, from high Earth orbit with a decent guidance system you could throw rocks and they would be as destructive as tactical nuclear weapons.”

President Stone looked thoughtful for a moment.

“It looks like we need to learn as much about the ship and its capabilities as we can during that meeting,” said the president. “Who have we got, Rob?”

“Our top weapons specialists work at DARPA in Virginia, Mr. President,” said Secretary of Defense Hayes. “I can contact Director Tether and have him send some of his top people here for the meeting.”

“He did ask for environmental specialists to be brought in,” the president said. “Do you think he will be interested in speaking to weapons specialists?”

“Well, we just won’t tell him that, Roger,” said Vice President Foster. “What we will tell him is that we need some preliminary technical information to determine how best to aid him.”

“Let’s contact him and ask him to come here in a couple of days, we should have everything arranged by then.”

Two days later, Mark was on his way to the White House onboard one of CJ’s modules.

“CJ, I’m worried about being seen descending to the White House. I would like our visit to be, let’s say inconspicuous.”

“Affirmative, the module will take you as far as high earth orbit and one of my small landing craft will take you to the surface.”

“I don’t want to cause any UFO sightings, CJ, especially over Washington. It is broad daylight now, not like when you dropped the package on the White House roof.”

“The vessel’s shielding system can be tuned to refract or absorb electromagnetic emissions. The landing craft will be undetectable to human scanning technology.”

“CJ, they will most likely have plenty of questions for you. So I’ll need a way for you to speak to them as well.”

“Affirmative, Mark. I will also be able to monitor the meeting through the tablet that you gave the president.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. Please inform the White House that the ship will arrive soon, CJ.”

“Affirmative. Please stand by.”

“The ship has been given clearance to land in the White House west parking lot. The module has now achieved orbit, please board the transport.”

Mark boarded the small craft, which rose from the deck and exited the landing bay.

“The trip to the surface will only take a few minutes, Mark.”

“Thanks, CJ.”

Upon landing in the designated area, Mark could see the Secret Service agents on the ship’s screens. They were all around the perimeter of the parking area but no one seemed to be paying attention to his ship at all.

“CJ, why aren’t those men reacting to our landing? You’d think something like this happens every day!”

“Mark, they cannot observe the ship. My shielding renders the craft invisible to electronic or visual scanning.”

“Oh boy, I guess I didn’t realize that. You’d better turn it off now. We don’t want them to think that we intended to sneak up on them.”

“Affirmative, Mark. I am deactivating the transport’s electromagnetic shielding.”

Out in the parking lot, the men jumped as the craft became visible sitting in the middle of the parking lot. Several pulled their guns and Mark could see one of them speaking into a microphone at his wrist.

“Open the hatch, CJ. I’d better get out there before they do something stupid.”

Stepping outside Mark put his hands up. “Take it easy guys, I was invited here.” Gesturing over his shoulder he said, “I’m sorry about that.”

Mark could hear the lead agent speaking into his microphone. “ET is here, repeat ET is here. Are you ready, should I bring him in?”

“ET huh? Cute,” Mark thought.

The men lowered the weapons and Mark relaxed. Two of the men ushered him inside while the rest stayed with the ship. He noticed a couple of them peering at the interior.

President Stone greeted Mark as he entered the conference room.

The president shook Mark’s hand. “Mr. Richards, I’m President Stone, welcome to the White House. Your arrival nearly gave the Secret Service men a heart attack though!”

“I’m sorry about that Mr. President. I did not realize CJ’s shielding would literally make it invisible, but it’s probably better that no civilians saw me landing here.”

One of the men around the table asked, “How exactly was that accomplished?”

“Not now, Dr. Fenton,” said the president, “Let me introduce everyone here. This is Vice President Foster.”

Mark shook his hand. “Good to meet you Mr. Vice President.”

“John Berger, my science and technology advisor, Secretary of Defense Rob Hayes, General Kevin Powers the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and our scientists, Dr. David Fenton, Dr. Stephen Callas, Dr. Greg Renata and Dr. Donald Nunley.

Mark shook hands with each of them and then they all sat down around the table.

The vice president started, “So Mr. Richards, we would like to get some preliminary information. Do you have a way that we could communicate with the computer?”

“Please call him, CJ, and yes, you can use the tablet I provided as a communications link. It is tied in to CJ’s systems.”

“Why don’t you start, John?”

“Can I address CJ, Mr. Richards?”

“Go ahead, he can hear you.”

“Thank you. Hello CJ, I understand that you arrived here five years ago and a malfunction caused the detonation of the ship’s engine. That was the source of the radiation we were effected by. May I ask what the yield of the explosion was?”

“That is correct, Mr. Berger. My estimate of the energy release caused by the engine detonation is seven point three times ten to the thirty-fourth power joules.”

The scientist was rendered speechless for a moment and had to take a sip of water before continuing. “That, that is the equivalent of several years total output of the sun! What is your source of power?”

“This vessel utilizes helium-three fusion reactors as its main source of power.”

“Fusion reactors cannot account for that immense release of energy.”

“Affirmative. It was not the fusion reactors but the vessel’s experimental interstellar drive, which contained a power tap and conversion reactor for quantum Hyper-Continuum energy. The explosion occurred when the engineering module was consumed by the energy.”

While he consulted a scientific calculator, another scientist chimed in on the subject. “So your reactors utilize pure Helium-3 fusion, don’t you mean Helium-3 & Deuterium?”

“Negative. The vessels helium-three fusion reactors produce a ninety-nine point seven percent efficient reaction with no energy loss due to neutron-bleed.”

“Yes, but the operating temperature of a Helium-3 fusion reactor is prohibitively high, is it not?”

“Affirmative. This type of reactor has a high operating temperature. Interior electromagnetic shielding contains the fusion plasma. The vessel’s reactors are designed for long-term operation and the aneutronic nature of helium-three fusion was utilized due to the requirement that the reactor components not become radioactive over time.”

“What is your total power output?”

“Each of my reactors is rated to produce five point five times ten to the ninth power watt-hours. This vessel is equipped with one hundred and twenty-one fusion reactors of which one hundred and sixteen are currently functional for a total power output of…”

John interrupted CJ to finish the sentence, “six hundred and forty nine gigawatts. Mr. President, that’s six hundred billion watts, incredible, incredible! Each of those reactors could provide more than enough power for a city.”

“That is correct, Mr. Berger.”

The vice president asked, “Why do you need so many reactors?”

“This vessel is composed of one hundred and twenty-one self-contained modules, Mr. Vice President. Each contains it’s own source of power for independent operation.”

“CJ, how does the shield system operate, what are the principles?” asked Dr. Fenton when his turn came.

“The shielding of the vessel is gravitational in nature. It is an extension of the drive and life support systems.”

“Do you mean that the propulsion system utilizes gravity, and you have gravity onboard the ship?”

“That is correct, Dr. Fenton,” CJ replied. “The onboard gravitational field is necessary to counter the vessel’s acceleration.”

“What level of acceleration?”

“Maximum acceleration is one point nine six times ten to the fourth power meters per second squared.”

“That’s two thousand gravities! What is your top speed, CJ?”

“Utilizing full fusion power, this vessel can achieve a speed of one hundred and eighty thousand kilometers per second.”

Dr. Donald Nunley couldn’t contain himself. “Sixty percent of light speed. That is unbelievable! What is the composition of the ship’s hull, CJ?”

“The module hulls are composed of a collapsed vanadium steel alloy.”

“Collapsed? Does that refer to the crystalline structure? How is a material like that produced and what is the ultimate tensile strength?” Dr. Nunley was so excited that he rattled off the questions without taking a breath.

“The material is produced in the desired shape and size and is then strengthened by a process of neutron gravitational bombardment. The process alters the atomic structure of the material, condensing it to approximately the density of degenerate matter. Hull components are manufactured from neutron-steel, as it is known by the Se’Tharian shipwrights and have never been breached by any mechanical means. However, using your measurements of structural strength this material has withstood shearing forces equivalent to eight times ten to the ninth power metric tons per square millimeter.”

“That is thousands of times stronger than even the most theoretical materials our science has ever dreamed of. Could that process be utilized on the steel alloys that we use?”

“Negative, Dr. Nunley. The material to be processed must have a perfect defect-free crystalline molecular structure or the uneven stresses can have disastrous results. Analysis of human produced metals and alloys indicates unsuitability for the process.”

Dr. Callas spoke up next. “What kinds of weaponry is your ship equipped with, high energy lasers or maybe particle beams of some kind?”

“This vessel is equipped with various lasers, molecular cutters and construction equipment. They are the tools with which I fulfill my missions. No weaponry is included in the vessel’s inventory.”

This meeting was not what Mark had expected. He stood and cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Excuse me, but I’m confused. What is this, fusion reactors, shields, and weapons? I thought we are here to discuss the Earth’s environmental problems and ways to solve them?” Crossing his arms, Mark asked, “Who are you guys anyway and what do you do for the government?”

Dr. Fenton replied, “High energy physics.”

Dr. Callas responded, “Lasers and energy weapons systems.”

Dr. Renata said, “Fusion power and nuclear fuels.”

And Dr. Donald Nunley admitted to being a high-strength materials specialist.

“Mr. President, I was invited to meet with environmental scientists today. Why have you brought these men instead of the environmental specialists?”

“We felt that we needed to get some preliminary information on that spaceship before we started focusing on the environment. The advanced technology on that ship will be a tremendous help to our national defense.”

Mark couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I did not come to give you advanced technology you can turn into weapons, Mr. President. I came to speak about helping the entire planet!”

The vice president decided to put his two cents in. “Look Mr. Richards, you aren’t qualified to control something like that alien spaceship, it must be turned over to your government for study.”

Mark looked the vice president in the eye. All he could see was an old man who wanted all the power he could get. Trying to keep the disgust out of his voice he answered with one word.

“No.”

“What do you mean no, Mr. Richards?”

“Exactly what I said, Mr. Vice President. I will not turn control of CJ and his ship over to you.” Mark continued as he turned to President Stone. “I guess I made a mistake asking you for your help, Mr. President. It’s time I was leaving.”

“Wait a minute, Mr. Richards,” said the president. “Let’s just all settle down so we can continue this discussion.”

“Why? I asked for something simple: environmental specialists.” He gestured at the seated men. “This is what I got, weapons experts. The fate of the planet and the human race is too important an issue for me to waste my time. It should be important to you as well but I see you just don’t feel that way. For now, I have work to do. You can contact me when you decide to get serious about the environment, Mr. President.”

Mark took a step towards the exit but the two Secret Service agents standing next to the doors tensed.

Vice President Foster stood as well. Leaning his palms on the table in front of him he said, “You aren’t a spaceship captain in one of your little science fiction stories, Mr. Richards. Just what makes you think we will allow you to return to that ship?”

“What?” Mark said with a look of incredulousness on his face. “I am a United States citizen, Mr. Vice President. You do not have any right to keep me here.”

“Rights,” said the vice president glaring at him with a look on his face that said he didn’t like the taste of the word in his mouth. “You have only the rights, that we say you have, Mr. Richards!”

CJ’s amplified voice then issued from the tablet sitting on the conference table. “Commander, do you require assistance?”

“I don’t know, CJ.” Facing the president at the head of the table Mark asked. “Do I need his assistance, Mr. President? Am I under arrest?”

“No, Mr. Richards,” President Stone said quickly. “You are free to go, but please think about this. If you won’t turn control of that ship over to the government, it is imperative that we get qualified personnel on board to study it. Think of the advances our scientists could make. You have a duty to your country to at least give us access.”

“Thank you, Mr. President, I will consider ALL,” he paused staring at the vice president. “All that was said here today. I will be in touch.”

Mark walked towards the doors as the agents moved out of his way. Trying not to run, he kept his stride even as he boarded his ship. Once he was safely onboard with the hatch sealed he released the breath that he hadn’t even realized he was holding.

Before leaving he couldn’t resist one last jab. “You know Mr. Vice President,” Mark said through the tablet. “Your little speech is almost exactly what the villain in one of my little stories would say.” He sat back and watched the men move away from the ship.

“Let’s get out of here, CJ. I think I’ve had enough of the president’s hospitality for one day.”

“Affirmative, Mark. Engines activating and shielding coming online.”

The president and vice president watched from a window as the ship lifted from the ground and faded to invisibility.

“You shouldn’t have allowed him to leave, Roger,” said Vice President Foster staring at the electrically insulated case they had put the communications link into. The last thing they needed was Mark Richards or his pet computer eavesdropping on them. “I’m sure that we could have convinced him to relinquish control.”

“Possibly Doug, but something about the way that computer asked if he needed assistance gave me a bad feeling,” he said thinking about the warning his science advisor had given. “It called him commander and I don’t think I’m ready to find out what it meant by assistance, are you?”

“No,” the vice president grudgingly admitted. “You probably made the correct decision.”

“He may still come around,” said the president. “Once he has had time to think things over.”

“We will need to monitor the situation closely, Roger.”