Ground Zero (The X-Files) (31 page)
THE X-FILES
“Thank you, sir,” Mulder said and entered the room, setting his briefcase down on the wooden desk. Framed portraits of the president and the attorney general hung on the wall, staring down at him.
This place held unpleasant memories for him. Mulder had been called on the carpet many times before for insisting on explanations the Bureau didn’t want to consider, for prying the lid off details that other people wished to keep hidden. Skinner had often found himself in an uncomfortable position in the middle, between a persistent Mulder and the shadowy string-pullers who refused to be identified. Skinner closed the door behind him. He took off his glasses and polished the lenses on a handkerchief. Beads of sweat speckled his bald head. Mulder noticed that the office was quite warm.
“Air-conditioning’s not working again,” Skinner said, by way of a cordial opening to the conversation. “You didn’t get much of a tan in your travels, Agent Mulder—first to California, then New Mexico, then out to the South Seas.”
“I was on duty, sir,” Mulder said. “No time for sunbathing. Not during the typhoon, at least.”
Skinner looked down at the handwritten notes torn from Mulder’s damp notebook. Mulder had promised to type them up later, when he got the chance, but the assistant director held the crumpled sheets of paper with a weary look on his face.
“Don’t bother with a more formal report, Agent Mulder,”
he said. “I can’t submit this to my superiors.”
“Then I’ll write it up for my own use,” Mulder answered.
“And place it in an X-File.”
“That’s your choice, of course,” Skinner said, “but it’s a waste of time.”
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“How can that be, sir? These are events I witnessed with my own eyes.”
Skinner looked hard at him. “You realize you have no corroborating evidence for any of these explanations? Neither the Navy nor the Teller Nuclear Research Facility accepts your scenario. As usual, you’ve handed me a report filled with wild speculation that is proof of nothing except your superior ability to concoct supernatural explanations for events that have rational causes.”
“Maybe there aren’t always rational causes,” Mulder said.
“Agent Scully usually manages to come up with them.”
“Agent Scully has her own opinions,” Mulder said, “and while I respect her entirely as my partner and as an FBI field agent, I don’t always agree one hundred percent with her conclusions.”
Skinner sat down, frustrated and not sure what to do with his recalcitrant agent. “And she doesn’t always agree with yours either. But somehow you two manage to work together.”
Mulder pushed forward in the hard wooden chair. “You must have contacted General Bradoukis at the Pentagon, sir. He can corroborate many of the events that I’ve described in these notes. He knows about Bright Anvil. He knows about the ghosts. He sent us out there because he feared for his own life.”
Skinner fixed Mulder with a sharp gaze. The sunlit windows reflected off the lenses of his glasses. “General Bradoukis has been reassigned,” he said. “He can no longer be reached for comment through the Pentagon, and his current whereabouts are classified. I believe he’s participating in a new experimental test program.”
“How convenient,” Mulder said. “Don’t you think that’s a little odd, the one person officially 287
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involved in this entire business? Didn’t General Bradoukis provide details when he contacted you about our assignment to the Marshall Islands?”
Skinner frowned. “I received a phone call from the Pentagon, Agent Mulder—but the man refused to give his name. He did, however, submit the proper authorization code. When the Pentagon requested that I approve your travel, I did so. I don’t know any General Bradoukis.”
“That’s funny—he claimed he knew you,” Mulder said.
“I don’t know any General Bradoukis,” Skinner repeated.
“Of course not, sir,” Mulder said.
“And about this entire secret nuclear test, this ‘Bright Anvil’
you keep mentioning—I don’t want to see anything about it in your official report. Aboveground nuclear weapons tests have been banned by treaty since 1963.”
“I know that, and you know that,” Mulder agreed. “But nobody seems to have mentioned it to the Bright Anvil team.”
“I did some digging before I contacted you about our meeting this morning. I spoke directly with Ms. Rosabeth Carrera, enough to learn that there are no records of any project named Bright Anvil. Everyone I’ve talked to denies even the possibility of a ‘fallout-free nuclear weapon’ or that one was ever under development. They say it’s scientifically impossible.” Skinner nodded as if satisfied with this development.
“Yeah, so I’ve heard. And I suppose you believe that Dr. Emil Gregory, one of this country’s preeminent nuclear weapons scientists, was in charge of a project to map ocean currents and temperatures around the reefs in the Marshall Islands? That’s what the official story says.”
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“That’s not my business, Agent Mulder.”
Mulder stood up from his chair. “What I would like to know, sir, is exactly what happened to Miriel Bremen? We haven’t seen her since she was rescued along with us. We were separated on the transport plane that brought us back to the States. Her home phone has been disconnected, and a nurse at the hospital where we were treated claims that she departed under guard with two men in military uniforms. Miriel can corroborate our story.”
“Agent Mulder,” Skinner said, “Dr. Miriel Bremen has agreed to assist in re-creating some of the work of Dr. Emil Gregory. Since she is the only surviving link to his project, she has decided to cooperate with the Department of Defense so that his developments aren’t lost.”
Mulder was astonished. “She would never agree to that.”
“She already has,” Skinner replied.
“Can I speak to her?” Mulder said. “I’d like to hear that from her lips.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible, Agent Mulder. She’s been taken to a secluded think tank. They’re quite anxious to get some of the work back on track, and they don’t want her distracted by any unpleasant interruptions.”
“In other words, she’s being held against her will and coerced to work on something she vowed never to touch again.”
“Like studying ocean currents? Agent Mulder, you’re being paranoid again.”
“Am I?” he said. “I know Miriel was facing numerous felony counts of sabotage, trespass, even suspicion of murder. I’m sure the offer of dropping all those criminal charges could be very persuasive in getting her to cooperate.”
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“That’s not my department, Agent Mulder,” Skinner said.
“Don’t you even care?” he asked Skinner. He stood up and placed his hands on the edge of the assistant director’s desk. He didn’t know what he expected for an answer. Skinner shrugged. “You’re the only one who doesn’t accept the official explanation, Agent Mulder.”
Mulder reached over to retrieve his handwritten notes, knowing they would do no good if he left them there in Skinner’s office.
“I guess that’s always been my problem,” he said, and then left.
After pacing the room and pulling her thoughts together, Scully continued her report. She sat down, stretched her fingers, and began typing again.
The events I witnessed as we departed from Enika Atoll on the fishing boat, the
Lucky Dragon
, can best be explained as the air-burst testing of another nuclear device, undertaken by a government or governments unknown. It must also be remembered that through the darkness of the hurricane, the heavy downpour, and high winds, precise details were difficult to ascertain visually. From my personal observations, I can attest to the fact that the Bright Anvil test device did detonate at approximately the time scheduled, though I have no way of determining the magnitude of this blast or the efficacy of its supposedly fallout-free design.
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However, according to reports from the rescue team, measurements of residual radioactivity on the island were listed as well within normal levels. This information has not been confirmed.
She skipped a few lines. On to the next part, the hardest part.
As to the bizarre deaths of the two other victims clearly involved in the Bright Anvil project—Dr. Emil Gregory and Department of Energy administrator Nancy Scheck—the explanation remains vague. The deaths of Scheck and Gregory might be attributable to a brief but intense nuclear accident involving unspecified equipment developed for the test program.
Spread out on her desk lay the gruesome black-and-white photographs of the victims, burned corpses contorted into black scarecrows. Neatly typed autopsy reports were tucked away in manila folders beside the photos. It remains unclear whether any connection exists to three similar deaths caused by extreme heat and exposure to high levels of radiation—Oscar McCarron, a rancher from Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Captains Mesta and Louis inside the Minuteman III missile bunker at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The similarity of circumstances implies a relationship between these events, but the
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specific cause of such a powerful and deadly nuclear accident, the origin and types of any equipment involved, and how it might have been transported to such diverse places remains unexplained.
Unsatisfied, Scully looked at the words on her screen. She read them over and over again, but could think of nothing more to say. She was still not comfortable with her path of logic and her hand-waving explanations, but she decided that enough was enough.
Scully stored the document, then printed out a copy for delivery to her superiors. It was sufficient to close the file, for now.
She switched off her computer and walked out of the office. 292
My sincere thanks go to the team of dedicated people at Fox Television—Mary Astadourian, Jennifer Sebree, Frank Spotnitz, Alexandra Mack, Cindy Irwin, and (most of all) Chris Carter—thanks for the vote of confidence! Chris Fusco provided a great deal of background information on the episodes and characters, which proved invaluable in writing this book. The exhaustive videotape library of Skip and Cheryl Shayotovich helped me to fill in the gaps of episodes I had missed.
A round of applause for Christopher Schelling, Caitlin Deinard Blasdell, and John Silbersack at HarperPrism, and my agent Richard Curtis, without whom this project would never have come into being; Lisa Clancy, Betsy Mitchell, Greg Bear, and Erwin Bush, who provided excellent background information and inspiration; Lil Mitchell for many hours of transcribing my tapes; Mark Budz and Marina Fitch for their helpful suggestions; and Rebecca Moesta for her regular dose of love and support.
One of today’s most popular SF writers,
Kevin J.
Anderson
is the author of the internationally bestselling and award-winning
Dune prequels
(co-authored with Brian Herbert) and numerous
Star Wars
novels, and has carved an indisputable niche for himself with science fiction epics featuring his own highly successful
Saga of Seven Suns
series. His critically acclaimed work has won or been nominated for numerous major awards. His most recent book is
The Last Days of
Krypton
, and he lives in Colorado. Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
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THE X-FILES: GOBLINS
THE X-FILES: WHIRLWIND
THE X-FILES: GROUND ZERO
THE X-FILES: ANTIBODIES
THE X-FILES: RUINS
THE X-FILES: SKIN
Coming Soon
From HarperEntertainment
THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
Cover photograph copyright © 1995 by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Cover photograph by Michael Grecco
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.