Starfire (47 page)

“That's right, my friends. You've heard or read about the first teenagers in space, and of course, Casey Huggins, the first paraplegic in space, gifted young scientists who have the courage to travel in space to conduct this experiment. Well, it's all a big lie. With the help of a Nevada defense contractor and the support of President Phoenix and Vice President Page, these students built a directed-energy weapon that orbits above our heads right now, and today was successfully fired at a target on Earth, all in the guise of a solar power plant that can deliver electricity to any part of the globe to help underprivileged communities or researchers in far-off parts of the world. Like we say down on the bayou, my friends: That dog don't hunt.

“They tried to fool us, my friends,” Barbeau went on. “They tried to trick us. But one member of the so-called Project Starfire team couldn't stand the hypocrisy any longer, and he called our conference chairman, Dr. Toby Nukaga, and told him the truth. That brave young man's name is Kim Jung-bae, a gifted engineering student from United Korea, who was a team leader on the project but was not allowed to voice his opposition to the test firing. He is a hero for exposing this charade.”

Her face turned somber. “We also learned today that a terrible tragedy has occurred related to this directed-energy weapon—maybe you have already heard about it,” Barbeau went on. “One of the groups represented here, Students for Universal Peace, organized a protest over the Starfire test site. They hired two brave men to fly a small plane near the Starfire target. They knew the danger, but they wanted to do anything they could to stop the test. I'm sorry to report . . . the plane was shot down by the illegal space weapon. Yes, shot down by a microwave-laser beam from Armstrong Space Station. The two brave individuals aboard were killed instantly.” The room became completely silent except for a few sobs and gasps of horror, and all the attendees at one table immediately shot to their feet in shock and anguish and headed out of the hall.

Barbeau let the silence linger for a few moments. Then, slowly, gradually, her expression changed: no longer somber, but red-hot angry. “Enough of the double-talk, Mr. Phoenix,” Barbeau said, aiming her words and pointing a finger directly at the network and cable news cameras that had hastily been set up at her suggestion for her speech. “Enough of the lies and deception, enough of wasting our hard-earned tax money on dangerous and illegal weapons programs, and enough of killing innocent Americans who wanted nothing more than to voice their outrage and do something, anything, in the name of peace. Deactivate that space weapon immediately, abandon it, and allow it to deorbit, burn up, and crash into the ocean. Do it
now
.” More thunderous applause and chanting,
“Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!”

“When I become president of the United States, my friends,” Barbeau went on after a minute of cheering and chanting, “I will restore faith and honor to this country, our military, the White House, and in the eyes of everyone around the world who yearns for freedom and prays for a helping hand. Our military will be number one again, not struggling to stay number three. When the oppressed and peace-loving people of the world look overhead, they won't see rockets from their own government being fired at them, and they certainly won't see an American military space station ready to turn their village into ashes or blast an airplane out of the sky with an invisible beam of light—they'll see a transport plane flying the red, white, and blue of the flag of the United States of America, carrying food, water, medicine, doctors, and peacekeepers to assist them. And when Americans look for help and ask their government for assistance in feeding their children and getting jobs, they won't hear about their president spending hundreds of millions of dollars taking a joyride into space or secretly building death rays—they'll get the help they desperately need. That I promise!”

The applause and chanting were even louder than before, and this time Stacy Anne Barbeau let it go on and on and on.

T
HE
K
REMLIN

M
OSCOW
, R
USSIAN
F
EDERATION

S
EVERAL
HOURS
LATER

“My remarks will be short and direct this morning, my fellow Russians,” President Gennadiy Gryzlov said into the camera from the television studio in the Kremlin. He wore a somber, stern expression, as if he were about to announce the death of a beloved person. “By now you should have heard about the remarks made by American presidential candidate and former secretary of state Stacy Anne Barbeau earlier today about the test firing of a directed-energy weapon from space at a target on Earth from the American military space station, and the downing of an American aircraft by the weapon. I and my ministers were horrified to hear of this. We are working to verify this information, but if it is true, these actions would be a serious threat to world peace—in fact, they are a treaty violation, a warning to the rest of the world, a provocation, and a virtual act of war.

“When we considered our options, we were concerned about creating a panic throughout Russia, and indeed the world. But we felt that we had no choice, and that is why I am speaking to you this afternoon. Moreover, we decided to act in a deliberate and immediate way to protect the lives of Russians and our friends and allies, as follows:

“First: beginning immediately, the Russian Space Defense Force will continually broadcast the predicted position of the American military space station and the potential range and azimuth of its directed-energy weapon, and give warnings of when and where the directed-energy weapon may threaten Russians, our allies, and our friends on the ground,” Gryzlov went on. “When the weapon is a threat to you, we ask that you take shelter underground or in the strongest building to which you can quickly evacuate. The exact properties of the weapon are unknown, so we do not yet know what the best shelter may be, but you may have a better chance of surviving an attack if you are indoors rather than outdoors. The threat may last as long as four minutes. You and your loved ones may be under threat from the weapon several times a day.

“Electronics may be affected by a blast from this weapon, so prepare your households and places of business to be without power for days or even weeks: stock blankets, food, and water; gather wood for a fire; and organize your neighborhoods to band together to help one another,” he went on. “If at all possible, avoid flying in aircraft, riding an elevator or electric train, or operating heavy machinery while the weapon is within the danger zone, because, as we have seen, the weapon can easily take down an aircraft and may be able to disrupt or even destroy electrical circuits.

“Second: I demand that all of the American space weapons on Armstrong Space Station be deactivated and destroyed immediately,” Gryzlov said. “This includes the Skybolt free-electron laser, the Hydra chlorine-oxygen-iodine laser, and the Kingfisher orbiting weapon garages; Starfire, the so-called college-student experiment which turned out to be in reality a microwave-laser weapon; and any other space-based weapons, their power sources, and all their components, whether or not the Americans classify them as defensive weapons only. In particular, Russia demands that the Skybolt module be separated from Armstrong Space Station within forty-eight hours, and that, when it is no longer posing a hazard to anyone or anything on Earth, it be deorbited and sent to burn up in Earth's atmosphere or crash into the ocean. We have powerful ground sensors to detect if this is done. If it is not done, I must assume that the United States intends to continue to use the weapons, and Russia will immediately take all necessary steps to protect itself.

“Third: I hereby announce that, beginning in ten days, if the Americans do not destroy all of their space weapons, all airspace around the Russian Federation from the surface to five hundred kilometers' altitude is now restricted airspace and closed to all unauthorized spacecraft or aircraft,” Gryzlov went on. “For decades, all nations recognized that only the airspace below twenty kilometers' altitude could be restricted or controlled, but no longer. Our scientists estimate that the Americans can fire their directed-energy weapon as far as five hundred kilometers with enough power to kill a person on the ground, so that is the airspace that we will defend. Any unauthorized flight over the Russian Federation below that altitude, regardless of type of aircraft or spacecraft, will be considered hostile and be subject to neutralization. I know this impacts many nations, but the Americans have changed the world's security dynamic for the worse, and we have no choice but to act. Ten days should be sufficient time for all unfriendly nations to alter the orbits of their spacecraft or provide us with details on the type, purpose, and orbits of aircraft and spacecraft overflying Russia in order to comply with this order.

“This restriction is especially true of one spacecraft in particular: the American single-stage-to-orbit spaceplanes,” Gryzlov said. “Because of their hypersonic flight capabilities in the atmosphere and their ability to boost themselves into Earth orbit, as well as their demonstrated ability to release weapons or insert weapon-carrying satellites into orbit, they are a particularly dangerous threat to the Russian Federation.

“Therefore, beginning in ten days, in order to allow time for the spaceplanes to evacuate any personnel from the International Space Station or Armstrong Space Station, the S-series of American spaceplanes will not be welcome over Russian airspace and will be engaged and shot down without further warning,” Gryzlov went on. “Let me repeat this so there is no confusion or doubt: beginning ten days from today, the American spaceplanes will be engaged if they overfly the Russian Federation. The threat of attack by these hypersonic aircraft is simply too great a threat to the Russian people. The United States possesses many man-rated commercial spacecraft that can service the International Space Station and perform other such tasks, and it will be allowed to do so after requesting permission to overfly Russia, but the spaceplanes will not be granted permission to fly over Russia under any circumstances.

“I was reluctant to take such drastic measures, my fellow Russians, but, after consultation with my counselors and after much prayer, I felt I had no choice if I was to protect Russian citizens from the danger they now face above their heads,” Gryzlov concluded. “I urge all Russians to take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families from the danger of space-weapon attack. If the Americans do not respond to my demands, I assure you, Russia will act. Stay informed and stay safe, my fellow Russians. May God bless the Russian Federation.”

Gryzlov rose from his seat and strode out of the Kremlin television studio, followed closely by his chief of staff, Sergei Tarzarov. He did not greet anyone or stop to chat, but quickly made his way back to his official office. Waiting for him inside were Foreign Minister Daria Titeneva, Minister of Defense Gregor Sokolov, and chief of the general staff General Mikhail Khristenko, who all rose when Tarzarov opened the door for the Russian president. “Excellent address, sir,” Sokolov said. “I think ten days will be sufficient for the Americans to begin negotiating for access to Russian airspace for their spacecraft.”

Gryzlov sat at his desk and glared at Sokolov. “I am not going to give anyone ten days,” he snapped, lighting a cigar, “and I will not negotiate for anything with anyone.”

“Sir?”

“Forty-eight hours, Sokolov,” Gryzlov said. “If I do not see that Skybolt module disconnected from that space station, I want that space station attacked the next time it flies over Russia, with every weapon in our arsenal. The same with any of their spaceplanes. I am not going to sit back and do nothing while the Americans fly over my head with a directed-energy weapon. I will take this country to war before I allow that to happen.”

Sergei Tarzarov picked up the telephone at the other side of Gryzlov's office, listened, then put it back. “President Phoenix for you, sir,” he said.

“That did not take long,” Gryzlov said. He motioned for those in the room to pick up dead extensions so they could listen in on the translation, then picked up the phone on his desk. “What is it, Mr. Phoenix?”

“It wasn't a directed-energy weapon, Mr. President,” Phoenix said through a translator. “It was a college engineering project, a space-based solar power plant. And that airplane wasn't shot down by Starfire—it lost control while trying to evade an Air Force patrol helicopter after it had violated restricted airspace, several minutes
after
the test was terminated. I don't know where Secretary Barbeau got her information, but she's wrong, and you were misguided to believe it. She's campaigning for president, and she wants headlines.”

“Wait.” Gryzlov hit the hold button and turned to those in the room with him. “Well well,” he said, “Phoenix starts this conversation with an attempt at an explanation. This could be interesting.”

“He could be willing to negotiate,” Tarzarov said. “Let him give something, and then you give something in return.”

“The hell you say, Tarzarov,” Gryzlov said angrily, but with a smile on his face. “I will not give one inch to this weak-kneed excuse for a head of state.” He hit the hold button again. “Are you saying Barbeau is lying, Phoenix?” he asked, no longer using Phoenix's title or even addressing him as “Mister”—Phoenix's opening move was a defensive one, and Gryzlov wanted there to be no doubt about who was now in control of this situation.

“I'm telling you the facts, Mr. President: Starfire is not a directed-energy weapon,” Phoenix said. “It is an experimental space solar-powered power plant designed by some California engineering students. The Skybolt free-electron laser was deactivated. The students' experiment was to beam electricity from space to Earth. That's
it
. The small plane crashed because its pilot was stupid, not because it was hit by the maser. The solar power plant is not a threat to anyone on the ground and will certainly not disable airplanes, elevators, trains, or anything else. You're creating a panic over a harmless college experiment. Neither that project nor the space station is any threat to you.”