17558301 crescent moon rising chapter 6

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CRESCENT MOON RISING

RD FORTH

-1Chapter six

Atlanta, 9:10 A.M.

Leigh drummed her fingers on the conference table. In the last forty-five minutes, James Pittman, CNN producer, had left the room and suspended the interview several times. Given the magnitude of power failure news coverage crowding the airways, it was a miracle Pittman had not just cancelled the interview.

Chaos reined in the areas where power was no longer available. Newscasters, broadcasting to almost no one in the effected areas, continued to preempt regular scheduling, creating a doomsday atmosphere regarding the massive power outage. Reporters on site and with portable satellite systems, painted scenes of dismay anddisaster on a background of panic and speculation. No one had come forth with a

ny answers as to who or what was behind the catastrophe.

The TV monitor closest to the door recaptured her attention. Leigh saw the faceof Willem Gorse, Secretary of State. With him were two other men identified as Paul Neuberger, public relations VP for Mid-Atlantic Power and Electric and Edward Bumstead, Chairman of Sandstone, a Washington area think-tank that specializedin Middle-East situations. Leigh adjusted the volume higher to listen to the qu

estion-andanswer session.




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CNN's anchor reporter, Beth Farmington, made the introductions. Gorse and Bumstead were in D.C. and Neuberger was in Trenton, New Jersey. Trenton was one of theblacked out zones and CNN was using a battery operated portable satellite syste

m to feed from Trenton. Farmington then opened with the question most in the minds of the audience, "Mr. Secretary, is there any evidence that terrorists are behind the massive power failures?"

Willem Gorse answered, "Beth, at this time, we can neither confirm nor deny terrorist involvement. As you know, several splinter organizations have claimed responsibility for our power losses, but we have found no substantiating evidence for their claims."

Beth said, "But is it not true that one of those splinter groups, Blue Fire Command, has repeatedly threatened to bring terrorism to American cities? Mr. Bumstead, what's your opinion?"

The think-tank Chairman said, "I have to agree with Secretary Gorse, for now. Ifind it hard to believe that any of the small militant groups such as Blue FireCommand has the sophistication required to effect widespread damage of any sort.Particularly so since no explosive devices have been associated with any of thepower grids in question. However, there are a number of terrorist organizationsthat have the ability to create extensive havoc and chaos. These groups are notlike the more splintered and disorganized terrorists we commonly hear about.”




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“Who are you referring to, Mr. Bumstead?” asked Beth.

“Well, the New Millennium Jihad and the Brotherhood of the Sarsour Boqross are t

wo that come to mind.”

“Sar-what?”

Bumstead chuckled, “Sarsour Boqross. Means stinging or biting cockroach.”

Beth, half-sneering and half-grimacing, questioned, “Is that not a rather odd name for a terrorist group?”

“Perhaps,’ said Bumstead. “The cockroach they refer to is quite common in the Mid-east and known to be rather aggressive. The implication would seem to be thatthey are numerous, aggressive and hard to kill. In any case, they are well funde

d and either have or can buy most of the expertise required for some pretty sophisticated activities.”

Farmington frowned for the camera. “You can envision one of these groups capableof causing disastrous power outages here? In the United States?”

“Don’t forget Beth,” answered Bumstead. “They are terrorists and they are not above coercing others to do their dirty-work. If they do not have or cannot buy what they




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want, innocent lives mean very little to them compared to the holy cause.”

"That poses the question for you, Mr. Neuberger, " the CNN anchor said. "What do

es Mid-Atlantic see as the source of so many grid failures? Do you feel terrorists are mounting attacks against your company and how could this have happened onsuch a wide scale?"

Mr. Neuberger was obviously uncomfortable, Leigh thought. She recognized from past interviews she had conducted, the telltale body language that preceded

I don

t know, but here

s some bullshit

answers.

Neuberger flicked his eyes left and right before answering, "Actually, we do notat this time have any evidence to support claims of terrorist activity and we really don’t necessarily consider the, ah, situation widespread. The involved power systems could be thought of as individual pumps for the same reservoir. When

one fails, it increases the burden for the other pumps. If two should happen tofail at the same time, well, almost any, ah, scenario is possible."

"Interesting analogy, Mr. Neuberger, " commented Beth.

"You see a running rat too, don

t you Farmington?" Leigh was talking to the TV and herself.




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Beth indeed saw the rat and pressed, "Then, Mr. Neuberger, what have your engineers pinpointed as the cause of so many concurrent grid failures?"

The VP moved back in his chair, avoidance body language, and said, "I did not mean to imply we had, ah, specifically identified any one cause for, ah, any system downtime. In fact, ah, in several instances we have brought power components back on line only to have them fail again after a few hours of operation."

"That was dumb, you jerk," said Leigh.

Willem Gorse interrupted, "Ms. Farmington, if I could just add a comment. . . ?"

Leigh said to the TV, "He

s protecting the asshole, Beth. That means the jerk might blurt something Gorse doesn

t want heard."

Beth was reluctant to release Neuberger, but one did not gain by ignoring a US Secretary. "Yes, Mr. Secretary."

"What the Mid-Atlantic spokesperson, Mr. Neuberger, is graciously declining to mention is that most of the US power systems are heavily interconnected and the source of the problem may lie outside Mid-Atlantic

s control." Gorse gave the camera his best full-face smile of confidence. "The Federal Power Commission and the Federal Energy Administration are working with Homeland Security as well as experts around




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the country to resolve and correct the situation as rapidly as possible. No oneexpects to find terrorists in the cabinets or under the sinks. The last thing wewant to happen is for the good citizens of these United States to panic over un

substantiated media theories. The fact that millions of Americans are without power is indeed a very grave situation but most of those closest to the problem feel that we can identify the culprit switch or whatever and restore power and order fairly quickly.”

"Bullshit!" Leigh folded her arms and waited to see what Farmington would do back off or nail the Secretary.

Beth furrowed her brow and asked in a tone suggesting increased concern, "Are you concerned at all, Mr. Secretary, that we could see a further spread of power failures from a source perhaps outside the Mid-Atlantic region?"

Leigh grinned and said, "Way to go, Beth! Sic the weasel bastard!"

To his credit, Gorse did not falter, "Not at all. What I meant was, the haystackin which we are looking for a pin may be larger than the region directly affected. We have absolutely no reasons to believe that situation will spread or worsen in any way."

Farmington said, "I am certain our viewers appreciate that assurance, Mr. Secretary. My last question is directed to each of you. Are there any concerns that power will not be restored in a reasonable short period of time? Mr. Bumstead, you




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first."

Edward Bumstead said, "I really cannot comment except to reiterate that we see n

o evidence that the US is under any kind of attack by a foreign group or power and yet, we have no evidence to the contrary either. Other than that, I have no idea."

Farmington said, "Mr. Neuberger, you are closest to the problem."

Neuberger launched into a well-prepared reply, "Mid-Atlantic is exerting every effort to restore power to all affected areas as rapidly as possible. We are, I assure you, foremost concerned for the welfare of our subscribers and customers.I am confident our engineers, with Federal assistance of course, will achieve asolution very quickly."

Leigh muttered, "What a fucking phony!"

Beth continued, "Secretary Gorse, your view? You have about twenty seconds."

"I

m assured Mid-Atlantic has a good handle on the combination of circumstancesthat brought about this unfortunate occurrence. The appropriate government agencies are on board and assisting wherever possible." Gorse reapplied his confidentsmile for the camera. “The important thing is for viewers and, indeed, all Americans to remain calm and be assured that best efforts are being applied to correct this situation in a timely manner. I would also…




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Beth interrupted, "Thank you gentlemen. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest in developments in America

s widest-ever power failure. Coming up, we will go live to some of the disaster relief centers organizing in several of the blacked-out area

s.

When Pittman came bustling back to resume the interview, he found Leigh scribbling rapidly on a legal pad. He peered over her shoulder to read her notes. Leighsaid, "What do you think Gorse is trying to hide? Whatever it is, I think we hadbetter find out, and quickly."

Pittman picked Leigh

s notepad off her lap and tore off the top sheet of notes she had jotted down. He read them and then reread more carefully. He observed, "Ithink you

re right Ms. Roper. Let

s go upstairs and arrange your flight to Washington. You still have to interview with Bob Miller in our Washington bureau butI

ll call ahead and ask him to be nice. OK?"

Leigh smiled and took back her notes. "Let

s go, Mr. Pittman."

Washington, D.C., White House situation room, 10:40 A.M.

Samuel Douglass threw down his fountain pen and shouted at Energy Department Under-Secretary Frank Glass, "What the holy Hell do you mean, the power systems arenot going to come back on line? We

ve got, what is it Horton, ah, thirteen or




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fourteen million people without power?"

Horton Timmons answered, "We estimate thirteen point six mill, Mr. President."

"Right, thirteen point six million men, women and children, Frank. If that powerdoesn

t come back on, and pretty damned quick, we are facing martial law in parts of four states. Remember the blackout in New York? The crime and the looting?That was a frigging nightmare of a few days! What you

re saying, Frank, is thatclose to fourteen million citizens are faced with a minimum of weeks of deprivation and violent disorder. That

s a Goddamned recipe for social cataclysm! And that, my friend, is not going to happen. I don

t care what we have to do."

Frank Glass, jaws clenched, said, "If I may, Mr. President, let me explain in detail the facts as we now know them."

"Frank, you can explain all you want but I want to hear some solutions too."

Glass took a seat and began, "The situation is this. Mid-Atlantic cannot get thepower distribution control systems to stay on line. Every time they replace a faulty circuit board, the replacement board fails within a few hours. As of fiveA.M. this morning, they were out of replacement components and circuitry. It

s as if the control systems are completely infected with a computer virus; one thatattacks from multiple internal sources. It

s like a virus but it

s different. Avirus is a software program that attacks data




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or sometimes other programs. What we are faced with is something that affects logic circuits, or more accurately stated, the Adder circuits within the computers. Are you with me so far?"

Douglass answered with a question, "Why not replace the whole system or at leastall the circuit boards at one time? Have they tried those options?"

Glass said, "Yes, sir, they have. That

s one reason they ran out of replacementcircuit boards so quickly. Wholesale replacements were attempted three times andthe restored systems were kept isolated from infected units. Not one of the restored systems stayed up for more than a few hours. The Adder circuits produce random errors that accumulate until the master control program can

t function andthe system locks up."

Vice President Rivera, after quietly listening to Glass and Douglass, asked her

first question, "I don

t think I understand how some random addition errors could do much more than produce erroneous data output. Why would that cause the whole system to fail?"

Glass explained, "When you reduce what any computer does to its lowest level, itonly adds. When a computer subtracts, it changes the sign of the subtrahend andadds the two numbers. A divide operation is nothing more than a series of subtractions. Similarly, a multiply operation is a series of adds. Adds are even usedto move data




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from one memory area to another. The data is subtracted from the initial area and added to the receiving area of memory. So you see, when Adder circuits introduce random errors, every aspect of the system suffers. When it suffers enough, th

e system dies and fails to function at all."

Horton asked, "What about replacements from other power companies and the computer parts suppliers?"

"On the way, Mr. Horton. At least what could be located. But that probably won

thelp because we don

t know how the virus or whatever it is, re-infects a system. For that matter, no one is clear how the systems were initially infected. Ourbest hope is in a complete control system coming from TXU Utilities in southeastTexas but it won

t arrive for two to three days."

Douglass exclaimed, "Why not? We can send a C-47 or a Starlifter or whatever it

takes to get that damn system here."

"Transport is not the problem, Mr. President. TXU has to disassemble and crate the system and we

re talking a roomful of equipment. Mid-Atlantic is sending a team of engineers to assist. Any more warm bodies would only get in the way. And that is not the worst news."

Douglass fumed, "Jesus Christ, what now!"




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Frank hesitated and then plunged on, "At 8:19 this morning, Mid Atlantic began to lose turbines. Although their power stations had not been able to distribute power, they managed to keep generating, at least until now. They lost eleven turb

ines before they were able to shut down."

Douglass asked, "What do you mean by lost?"

"Ruined, Mr. President. The infected computers that control the turbines apparently either overrode or ignored the safety sensors and spun the turbines up beyond tolerance levels. These are not the same computers that control power distribution and we are not talking Adder circuit errors this time. We don

t know how yet but the turbines were sabotaged. Turbine blades were caused to run out of control, with safety controls disabled, until the turbines overheated and all Hell broke loose. In two instances, a blade disintegrated and riddled the room with deadly shrapnel. Several engineers were killed or badly injured. All eleven turbin

es are damaged beyond repair, engineers are dead or seriously wounded. In my mind, we have sabotage and murder to deal with in addition to whatever is destroying the turbines and disabling the power distribution control systems."

Horton spoke again, "How long before Mid-Atlantic can get replacement turbines,Frank?"




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"Our best hope is to bring in backup units from other power companies. Some of those companies are not going to want to cooperate but new turbines will take months to build and ship over." Glass stopped and waited for the next question he k

new was coming.

Samuel Douglass glared at Frank and said, "Well, whom do we have to grab by theballs to get new ones built ASAP?"

"Yamahoto Industries in Japan, " Frank said. "I spoke with them just before I joined you here, sir. They will get back to us later today but it looks like . . .September delivery at best."

Dead silence followed, broken after a long minute by the scratching of PresidentDouglass

s pen. When Samuel finished, he handed Glass what he had written. "This is your authorization to seize, under national emergency procedures, excess tu

rbines from power companies that refuse to understand their patriotic duty or the plight of millions of their fellow Americans. If they give you any crap, any at all, tell them their President will call to explain just how I

ll national their asses if they don

t jump to it."

Timothy Horton asked, "Should I contact Yamahoto in your name, Mr. President?"

"No, Horton. I

ll get Commerce and State to come up with something that will getthe greedy little bastards pumping and humping. Elizabeth, you ramrod that action.




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Horton, bring in the FBI on the murder and sabotage issue, and stay on top of the action there. Frank, who else makes these turbines?"

"General Electric and Bailey Controls. Neither can deliver before January, probably later. We are dealing with very, very large turbines built to order with exact specifications. They aren

t very interchangeable and it takes a long time toput one together."

Douglass growled, "Get cracking, people. Frank! I don

t care how you do it but start getting some power rerouted to the blacked out areas, and I mean now!"

Samuel considered a myriad of questions for a few moments and then reached for his briefcase. He extracted the CMR profile report that had been prepared for him. He now studied with renewed interest the section on Mustafaa Ibrahaim Daoudi,founder and chairman of Crescent Moon Rising. He read:

". . . thirty-six years of age, born of Syrian-Palestinian father and Italian mother. Mustafaa has never married and has no known offspring. Educated in Germanyand Switzerland with banking and finance degrees. Heir to a Lebanese bank, Cypress International, with listed assets of approximately $640 billions, US equivalent. Personal assets listed between sixty and eighty millions, US. No direct links to known militant or terrorist groups. No political aspirations evident in past history. CIA lists Daoudi with minimal threat potential."




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Douglass wondered out loud, "Just who the hell are you Daoudi and what are you really after?"

Tripoli, Lebanon, 1:38 P.M., Mustafaa

s personal quarters

Oragi Shomi, Strikingly beautiful and deadly to an extreme, sipped her champagnea few drops at a time. She was considering how best to further her understanding of the enigma, Mustafaa Daoudi. Her bed was, perhaps one way. Oragi

s mastersexpected, had indeed urged her to use sex to discover his otherwise guarded intentions. She now thought another tact might be more productive. Mustafaa was obviously a troubled man. One moment he appeared very Western and conservative and then, in swift counterpoint, Mustafaa

s Arab side would emerge in vehement emotional outcries, deriding all Jews and Westerners. Oragi could sense the war of cultures raging in his blood. Half Western and half Arab, Daoudi would seek out most often, a confidant who could soothe his internal conflict. Oragi thought the r

ole of Geisha more promising than the role of consort. She would create for Mustafaa a haven of feminine solace where his heart and mind could empty troubling concerns into the ears of a beguiling receptacle. Sex would later seal the arrangement.

"Daoudi-san, " Oragi whispered in a light, high voice, "Have you ever enjoyed anevening of Japanese food and entertainment in a tranquil garden setting?"




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"No, I have not, Miss Shomi, but it sounds delightful."

"Oh, it is more than delightful, Daoudi-san. It has been said to transport those

in attendance to another world. A world where only music, the scent of flowersand exquisite culinary creations are allowed to touch one

s life-force. I thought, perhaps, that after the stress of so much business activity, you might find such an evening a pleasant diversion. Many men in my country think it so."

Mustafaa mused over the thought of a relaxing evening in the company of an intriguing, lovely Japanese spy. How does one relax in the presence of a beautiful spy, he thought? By allowing one

s senses to participate in relative silence he answered himself. "I would be most pleased to attend but who will bring about thiswonderful garden of enchantment?"

"I would be most honored to do so, Daoudi-san. I shall prepare most carefully in

order to please your every need. I will send an associate to guide you to the location I select."

"Until then, Oragi Shomi." Mustafaa stood and escorted the diminutive woman to his door. "And thank you for the pleasure of your company this afternoon. I am sure you will be an invaluable asset to our organization - a perfect emerald in asea of diamonds."

"You are too kind, Daoudi-san. Until tonight."




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"Not so kind at all, " thought Mustafaa, "When Ishmere learns of your intentions, there will be a viper seeking your jugular, Oragi." Ishmere, daughter of EsamJamal (Mustafaa’s closest friend and confidant), was outrageously in love with M

ustafaa. Outrageous because she would kill any woman tempting her man. Outrageous because she spied on all of Mustafaa’s activities. Outrageous because she wasa paranoid psychopath.

Daoudi was preparing to bathe when Esam Jamal burst through his front door, calling loudly for Mustafaa

s immediate presence.

"Mustafaa, by the holy sword of Islam! The Americans have been sorely afflictedand I think our friends in Japan may be responsible." Esam walked, almost ran, to the television which he tuned to CNN. "Look, Mustafaa! Look! The American Mid-Atlantic coast is without power. They are in total confusion. It is marvelous, my friend, marvelous, eh?"

Mustafaa waved Esam quiet and watched the broadcast for several minutes before speaking, "Place a call to Iragawa, immediately. Do not allow yourself to be putoff, Esam. I must speak to him without delay!" Mustafaa returned his attention to the television broadcast while Esam bellowed and wheedled his way through Iragawa

s defenses of secretaries and aides. After almost an hour, a senior assistant promised that Iragawa would return Daoudi

s call in a matter of minutes. Esaminformed Mustafaa




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of his progress.

"Very well, Esam. Thank you. Mustafaa watched his friend closely for a reaction

and asked, "Do you believe it possible, the Japanese are capable of destroying electronic systems other than military ones, Esam?"

Jamal considered for a moment and said, "I am sure the Japanese are technologically capable of many things, Daoudi. But I see what you mean, I think. If they can negate power systems, why not other public and commercial equipment as well. Why not trains and subways or commercial aircraft? The list of possibilities is almost endless."

"More importantly, Esam, it would mean the Japanese not only planned a defense against the United States’ military might, they planned an attack on America as well. If this is so, then no nation is safe from a similar attack by the Japanese

. We invited a tiger to dine with us. We may have awakened a dragon that will consume the world."

"Then what will we do, Mustafaa?"

"The only thing we can do, Jamal. We must force the dragon into a terrible fightwith our enemies and hope such travails will eventually reveal to us a weak point in the demon

s scaly armor."




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"But how can we cause this to happen, Mustafaa?"

"We stand behind the dragon and threaten our enemies with the wrath of its terri

ble fire unless they accede to our every demand. Among those demands must be onewhich cannot be satisfied and will provoke America into open combat with the dragon."

Before Esam or Mustafaa could say more, Iragawa

s call came through and they learned that, yes, Japan had caused the American power outage. Furthermore, Iragawawished CMR Corporation to threaten more catastrophes for the United States unless President Douglass renounced and rescinded his so-called Fair Trade Laws. Mustafaa congratulated Iragawa on his brilliant foresight in planning and promisedto do as asked most expeditiously. Daoudi suggested he meet with Iragawa and hisassociates in Japan to discuss future actions and reprisals against America, Israel and their allies. Iragawa politely declined and promised to send a trusted

aide to act as liaison on matters as they arose. After this revealing bit of information, Iragawa abruptly broke the connection.

Esam, who had been listening on an extension, gave Mustafaa a pained look and said, "It is much worse than we feared. The dragon pushes us in front of the enemywhile he waits in the shadows and readies his next attack."




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"Iragawa has requested we proffer his demand as our own to the Americans. I think we will also add an interesting demand of our own. Esam, contact our brothersin Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Yemen. They need to be advised of the true nature of

our Japanese partners. No doubt, some of them will want to assist in the crafting of the dictates we shall hand the Americans. . . and others."

Washington, D.C.

That evening, Lebanon time, a cable was transmitted to the US State Department.In it, CMR Corporation claimed responsibility for the massive American power outage. The cable went on to threaten even more damaging outages in principle US cities unless the American administration cancelled further attempts at unbalancing world trade and Congress repealed Douglass sponsored trade law atrocities. Thecable

s closing statement sent on duty State Department employees scrambling toreach senior officials. President Douglass was interrupted in less than 15 minu

tes, and presented with the most unbelievable communiqué in American history. The last paragraph riveted his attention:

"CMR Corporation believes that in the interest of world peace, all Jews must bestripped of wealth and influence and immediately removed to locations where theycannot bring pressure to bear on more responsible members of the Internationalcommunity."




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It went on to specify Israel as the destination for European Jews, Belize for South and Central American Jews and finally, the lower two-thirds of New Mexico for North America

s Jewish population. President Douglass had 12 hours to signal a

cceptance and deter more attacks and additional pointless sufferings.

Samuel Arthur Douglass let both hands fall to his side, still clutching the cable in his left and surveyed the others watching him. "Well, people. What have wegot here? Any chance these idiots are for real?"

Secretary of State, Willem Gorse, spoke first, "Absolute bullshit, Mr. President! The sons-a-bitches are using an unfortunate situation to stay in the limelightand bash an age-old enemy. Just, just more dune-time rhetoric, take my word forit."

Douglass pushed his tongue against his lips, evidencing his distaste, and said,

"Thank you, Willem. Any other views?"

Vice President Elizabeth Rivera tried next, "Mr. President, this is not anothernation threatening the United States with acts of aggression. At best, this CMRCorporation is a white-collar band of terrorists with curious ties to some wealthy Russian and Japanese business leaders. As terrorists, we should treat them assuch and engage them in dialog until we can ascertain their real threat potential. Unless I am misinformed, we still have no idea as to the root problem concerning the power failures. Until we do, I see no reason for precipitous actions orlanguage on our part."




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"Elizabeth, You

re suggesting a wait and see policy?" Samuel was tapping his fountain pen and added, "That about right?" The VP opened her mouth to answer but the President cut her off, "Martin, what about you. What

s your take on the situa

tion?"

Martin Delany, Secretary of Defense, preferred speaking out only when he had carefully prepared beforehand. This was guesswork, not his forte. He reluctantly offered, "I believe we should exercise prudent caution, Mr. President. It is entirely possible we are dealing with madmen and madmen are capable of extraordinaryfeats. I might add that defending against madmen is difficult to impossible, depending upon how reckless and irresponsible the antagonists choose to be."

Douglass said, "What would you recommend we do, Martin?"

This was exactly what Delany wanted to avoid but holding back now was impossible

. "Although I hesitate to suggest such a course of action, I believe strike options against those supporting CMR should be prepared and reviewed."

"My God, " exclaimed Vice President Rivera, "You are proposing we prepare for war with half the Middle East, the Russian Republic and Japan? Have you lost yourmind, Delany?"

Martin snapped back, "Would you prefer we blunder around in the dark with our




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hands tied, Elizabeth?"

"Let

s not lose our heads ladies and gentlemen, " Douglass interposed. "Elizabet

h, I think what Martin is proposing has some merit; however, we should proceed with the utmost caution and with the proviso of absolute secrecy concerning the review of these options. Martin, keep in mind, this is a limited confrontation and no one here envisions anything on a grander scale." Samuel turned to Stan Brownell, FBI Director. "Stan, what progress have you made toward identifying the cause and/or culprits in the power outage situation?"

Brownell referred to his notes and said, "Computer experts from the FBI and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory have concluded sabotage in the case of power generating turbines. They still don

t know the exact manner in which the systems were compromised. They are still examining the evidence but we expect a breakthrough anytime. As far as the power distribution control systems that failed, the turbine

sabotage dictates we assume similar outside involvement. We have experts from MIT, Sanders and IBM on board full time until we have some concrete findings. Onlytheories have emerged thus far but the general thinking is that the hardware ormicrocode has been tampered with somehow."

"Keep me posted on your findings, Stan." Douglass started to move on, then stopped and asked, "What about terrorist movements? Have your people detected anything unusual or indicative?"




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Brownell shook his head negatively and Douglass shifted his gaze to the CIA Director, implying the same question.

Pieter Zawslewski loved to demonstrate his grasp of world situations, but this was not one of those moments. "Nothing of any import, Mr. President, I. . ."

"I

ll decide the God-damned import, son! Now do you or don

t you have somethingto contribute?" Without realizing, Douglass was bracing his arms with two fistsagainst the table, the cable crumpled in one whitened fist. Angrily he turned away from the CIA chief who declined to answer and sat back in his chair, arms andlegs both defensively crossed.

The President next spoke quietly but through gritted teeth, "I

ll tell you this,people. No one - nation, corporation or assemblage thereof - will threaten these United States, while I am President, and walk away unscathed. Willem, tell CMR

Corporation to go to hell, properly phrased of course. Then lodge official protests with each of the governments that harbor a CMR participant. Elizabeth, please contact the UN Secretary General and make him aware of the threat we have received and then schedule a meeting of the UN Security Council. In the meantime, Iwant the FBI and the CIA on full alert. I want to know if a flea farts on a terrorist

s ass and I want complete security teams at every power station that supplies electricity to a population center of four hundred thousand or more people.Use State and local police to augment Federal personnel, but




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make it happen. I don

t know what we

ve got a hold of here, people, but I don

tlike it. I don

t like it one Goddamned bit." That said, President Douglass stormed out of the room, leaving behind a forbidding sense of disaster for the others

to contemplate.

After a long night and a morning vigil, President Douglass learned a portion ofthe truth. Beginning precisely at 8:17 A.M., That morning, the lights went out in Boston, New Haven, Portland (ME), Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

As renewed panic gripped the nation and President Douglass

s team searched frantically for answers, three satellites moved ( were translated), into new geosynchronous orbits. Japanese communications satellites were now permanently over Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles while a Russian spy satellite assumed a stationaryposition above Pearl Harbor.

17558301 crescent moon rising chapter 6

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