Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (17 page)

Once again seated in
the small meeting room as before, the general began to explain the
operation itself. “As you all saw before we took our little tour of
the facility, we have two very serious problems that must be
addressed if we are to save our planet and our way of life. The
situation is grave and demands drastic measures. We believe we have a
way to solve both of these problems with one operation that will, at
the same time, secure the future of mankind. As harsh as the solution
might sound at first, it is the only way to save the planet: we must
reduce the population by at least ninety percent. This is the reason
I’m telling you this here, in this facility. Because this facility,
and hundreds of others around the world like it, will protect those
chosen to carry the torch for mankind. We’ve handpicked the best of
the best, like yourselves, to start a new beginning—a fresh start
for mankind. Unfortunately, there is only room for so many people in
the shelters. We estimate that about seven percent of the population
can be sheltered.”

Cindy gasped as she
realized just what was being planned. She couldn’t believe her
ears.
They were planning to get
rid of 93% of the world’s population.
Neither
Christopher nor the other two men showed any reaction at all.

The general continued.
“Now I know how this sounds at first, but you have to keep the big
picture in mind. We’ve come to a point where we have no choice if
we are to survive as a species.

“We have decided on
the only logical choice, which is the neutron bomb,” the general
continued. “The deployment will be global and simultaneous. The
delivery is being coordinated with most of the world’s governments.
At a designated time, aircraft from several nations will deliver
their payloads: seventy megaton air burst neutron bombs. At the same
time, submarines will be launching their missiles. This will be timed
to coincide with the launch of all of the land-based ballistic
missiles from land-based silos. Unknown to most of the crews, the
missile warheads have already been replaced with the neutron devices.
Most of the pilots will be told that they are participating in war
games and exercises. The pilots, who are actually part of this
operation, will, after delivering their payload, rendezvous at
pre-designated coordinates with submarines that will not surface, but
rather, after the pilot has bailed out and ditched his aircraft,
dispatch divers to bring the pilots aboard the submarine without risk
of contamination. This device will not, for the most part, harm
buildings or foliage. It will only eliminate living animals, humans,
livestock, and most, but not all, smaller mammals. It will not affect
marine life. We have converted several of the shelters to house
enough of the desirable and necessary species for sufficient breeding
stock so as to perpetuate those species.”

Cindy couldn’t
believe her ears. The general was talking about murdering billions of
innocent people without warning. Her horror was written all over her
face. Christopher shared her feelings; however, he didn’t allow
himself to show them. Experience had taught him the wisdom of such
behavior. Besides, he had no doubt they were being monitored for
their reaction. The entire room was most likely bugged with both
audio and video from one end to the other. Christopher was concerned
about Cindy’s show of emotion. He didn’t want to see her do
anything that might jeopardize herself. In the present circumstances,
there wasn’t much he could do but hope for the best.

“All of you will be
notified,” the general went on. “The same as you were for this
meeting. You will receive the notice well enough in advance to give
you plenty of time to prepare for your arrival. Those of you who are
married may bring your wives and children, but that’s it. No
parents, friends, or other relatives. You will not tell any members
of your family anything of this before you arrive here on that day.
We can’t count on their silence, and the last thing we want is a
last-minute panic on our hands, or worse, a mob of irrational people
outside the shelters trying to gain entrance.

“If you should decide
for moral or other reasons that you don’t wish to participate in
Operation Down-size, you are welcome to walk away. Let me warn you,
however, that if anyone should try to go public about what you have
been told here today, you will be dealt with severely. If we are to
succeed in our attempt to save mankind, we can’t risk exposure. You
will not know who is or isn’t involved, so you can’t be sure who
you can trust or confide in. There are people from almost every field
and almost every country in the world involved in this operation.
Basically, seven percent of the population is involved.

“Does anyone have any
questions?” the general asked. There was a silence in the room as
everyone tried to comprehend the scope of the information they had
been given.

Christopher felt it
would be wise to appear to go along with the operation for the time
being. He knew that when the time came for his true objections to the
immoral nature of the plan to be made known, those feelings must come
as much of a surprise as the Japanese bombs to Pearl Harbor. For now,
a good question seemed to be in order.

“General Harding, how
do you plan to deal with the power plants? Left on line unattended
for up to a year could cause catastrophic results. And when is the
operation set to take place?”

The general looked
pleased with himself. This was a question he could get his teeth into
with a good answer. “Good question Mr. Adams. There are people
already committed to Operation Down-size who are top people in the
power companies. They will, at the appropriate time, alter the
computer systems controlling the power plants, falsely indicating an
overheating condition in the core, causing an automatic shutdown. As
far as the fossil burning plants go, they will just run out of fuel
and shut down themselves, never to be restarted again. After
Operation Down-size, we will use nuclear, hydro-electric, solar, and
wind powered generators only for our source of power. Actually, we
won’t use many of the nuclear power plants—only enough to fill
the gap left by alternative sources. You see, we’ve covered all the
bases. As far as to when we will commence with Operation Down-size, I
can’t give you an exact date and time. That information will not be
passed on until the notices are sent to you. I can tell you it will
be approximately two months from now. Any other questions?”

The colonel raised his
hand and asked, “How do you intend on dealing with survivors?
Certainly some people in remote areas will survive, like people on
ships at sea.”

“Another good
question,” the general replied. “After the pilots are picked up
by the submarines, they will launch their remaining missiles that
were kept in reserve over the open ocean also set for air burst. This
will sink most of the shipping traffic from resulting tidal waves
produced by the blasts, with the rest perishing from the temporary
neutron radiation. But you are right Colonel, there will still be
some survivors, most likely in remote areas. They will simply become
part of the program or be eliminated. It’s as simple as that.
Remember, we’re only sheltering seven percent of the population.
This allows for a three percent survival rate without risking the
success of Operation Down-size. This is twice the projected numbers.
It shouldn’t be a problem. Any other questions?” There was a long
silence, as several people brought in trays of sandwiches and drinks.
“If there are no more questions, I’ll give you a chance to have a
bite to eat before your return trips. Thank you.” With that, those
who had brought in the food left the room, leaving four alone to eat.
It was really more of a chance to monitor their reactions with no one
else around.

Christopher tried to
keep an open dialogue with Cindy. “Can I bring you a sandwich or
something to drink?”

“I can take care of
myself,” Cindy responded with a little hostility in her voice. As
she got up and went to the table where the food and drink had been
left, her body language made it clear she no longer would be open to
Christopher. Even though he shared her feelings, he knew better than
to show them now. He followed her to the food table hoping to try and
calm her down a little.

As he took a plate and
started to fill it with items to eat, he spoke to Cindy. “You know,
Cindy, I don’t believe Operation Down-size is anybody’s first
choice to solve the situation, but you have to agree the survival of
the human race has to be a priority knowing what will happen if
things are allowed to continue on their present course.”

Cindy didn’t even
look at Christopher as she said, “I can’t believe you’re
willing to go along with this. When we met, you seemed special.”
She turned and looked Christopher directly in the eyes. “I even
found myself attracted to you. You didn’t seem like the kind of
person that would ever go along with something like this.”

“Forget what you
heard here today for a minute and ask yourself this question: If you
knew the end of the human race was about to happen and you could stop
it, would you?”

“Not if it meant
murdering billions of innocent people.”

Christopher knew he had
to at least get Cindy to sound like she would think about it for her
own safety. “Let me put it to you another way. If you had a life
boat and you saw a ship about to sink, knowing you had only enough
room in the life boat for one-tenth of the people, wouldn’t you
save as many people as you could, or, knowing you couldn’t save
them all, would you not save any? Isn’t that kind of what Operation
Down-size is trying to do?”

“To fill the life
boat?” Cindy thought for a second. “Well, I see what you mean,
but I don’t know. I have a first mission to fly next week. I really
won’t have time to think of anything else until after that.”

“All I’m saying is,
it all comes as a bit of a shock. Give it a chance to sink in before
coming to a decision. Okay?”

“Perhaps you’re
right. Not that I agree with it, but that I should think about it for
a while.”

Christopher smiled at
Cindy. “That’s the spirit.” She didn’t return his smile.

Christopher was very
concerned for her welfare. She made things worse by sitting by
herself to eat. To try and make the best of the situation, and sew a
few positive seeds, Christopher sat down with the colonel to eat.

Christopher said, “It’s
a tough call but it looks like there’s really no choice.”

The colonel responded,
“Your friend doesn’t seem to agree with you.”

“I think she’ll
come around once she’s had a chance to sleep on it. Women are such
emotional creatures and that was a pretty big bite there. I think
once she’s had a chance to chew on it for a while, she’ll see the
big picture a little more clearly.”

“I hope for her sake
you’re right,” the colonel said as he bit into a sandwich.

A few minutes later,
the general reappeared. “If you have all had enough to eat, we’ll
start getting you back to where we picked you up.”

The general led the
four back down the hall they had first come in through, to where four
vans were parked. Christopher recognized his from earlier that
morning by the name “Ace Pluming” on the side. The others were
equally discrete. There was the van Cindy walked toward, “Tom’s
Electric Service.” The colonel headed toward a van bearing the name
“Speedy Courier.” The third man’s transport bared the name
“Handy Office Supplies.” The return trip was pretty much a
reverse of the original journey. The rear facing seat, the blindfold
and all.

During the return trip,
Christopher thought as much about Cindy as he did about Operation
Down-size. Not only did he think of what terrible circumstances to be
in when finally meeting someone to which he was attracted, but he was
also very worried about what they would do if they seriously
considered her a threat to the operation.

Christopher was taken
back to the exact street corner where he had first seen the van. Once
there, he was told, “You can remove the blindfold now.” The door
was pulled open, and as soon as he stepped out, the door was quickly
closed as the van sped off and disappeared into traffic. He returned
to where he had parked his car and got in, but didn’t start the
engine. He took out his cell phone and called Barb at the office.

“Hello, Barb. If
there’s nothing important pending, I’m going home and I’ll see
you in the morning.” Christopher had a lot of things to think
about, and he always seemed to think a little clearer sitting at his
desk either at home or at the office. On this occasion, the desk at
home seemed like the logical choice.

As he drove home, he
still couldn’t get Cindy off his mind. This was the first time in
his life he found himself having to deal with feelings of this
nature. As much as he was a master at figuring out puzzles, he was
beginning to realize that a woman’s emotions were a puzzle not
meant to be figured out by mortal man. He remembered having read such
things while in some of his classes back in school, but he had never
given it much thought. The opposite sex rarely, if ever, occupied his
thoughts. He was beginning to realize that with all of the amazing
things he had done, nothing prepared him for what he was feeling now.
Unfortunately, there wouldn’t be much time to sort it all out if
Operation Down-size couldn’t be stopped. Most of all, he was
worried about the reactions to Cindy’s statements earlier today.
And he was worried about the safety of his mother and the others he
had come to love. Suddenly life had become very confusing.

Christopher had a lot
of thinking to do that night. He heard his words to Cindy echoing in
his head. He had made such good and logical points in an effort to
calm Cindy, so he was finding himself a little confused. The mind he
had come to depend on for everything was suddenly not providing him
with the answers he so desperately sought. Then it hit him: a feeling
of helplessness, the likes of which he had never felt. He found
himself wanting to go home to the house he grew up in. He had gone
there so very many times in the past for his parent’s sake. After
his father passed away he went even more to be supportive of his
mother. Now, for the first time, he needed to go for his sake.