The Nexus Colony Page 5
But things were always subject to change out on The Ice. Before the winter would set in eight weeks from now, Mike Ruger and Hilliard Grimes and a host of others would find themselves wishing that it was only the katabatic winds that they had to contend with in this alien world of Antarctica.
Chapter 2
FEBRUARY 4, 20--
SUBURBS OUTSIDE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Bill Korbett had been staring out of the second story balcony window at the dreary morning when he saw the car turn up the long, narrow driveway. He recognized the make and model as one of the current fleet that was being utilized by Ted Payne’s staff. Payne was the President’s Chief Advisor for External Anomalous Affairs. A section so secretive that even the tabloid news media hadn’t picked up on their existence.
External Anomalous Affairs handled the continuing problems with the UFO phenomena and all the disinformation associated with it. Bill Korbett was one of Payne’s strategists, most noted for his organizational skills in getting things done the way this President wanted things to get done. Quietly with no paper trails left behind.
Despite wearing the heavy cotton shaker sweater that Emmy had given him for Christmas, Korbett shivered as he saw the puff of cold breath emanating from the courier’s mouth as the man got out of the car down in the driveway. The courier noticed him in the window and waved. Korbett gestured he’d be right down.
Opening the front door, Korbett felt the cold moisture instantly crystallizing in his mustache. He waved the young man quickly inside. “Sure is cold this morning,” Korbett reprimanded. “Where’s your hat, son?”
The courier only smiled. “I don’t like hats, sir. Never wear them,” he replied, unlocking and opening the courier pouch. He handed the manila envelope to Korbett.
“Don’t you young people know that over three quarters of your body heat goes out through the top of your head?” Korbett admonished.
The courier smiled again, obviously used to being good-naturedly reprimanded by old generals and admirals. “No sir. I didn’t know that.”
“Hrr-umpf,” Korbett grunted for effect, knowing that the younger man was patronizing him. But he didn’t mind it. He got along well with young people, and they seemed to sense that.
Korbett put on his bifocals. The address on the envelope was hand written. It read quite simply:
Major General William A. Korbett, USAF, Retired.
URGENT. EYES ONLY.
Korbett looked up. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing, sir.”
“How’s Ted? Haven’t seen him since Christmas.” Not that Korbett really cared.
The young man smiled with the same expression. “He’s fine sir. Grumpy as ever, I guess.”
Korbett patted him on the back as they moved toward the door. “He’s not so bad. Growl’s worse than the bite.” Might as well patronize the young man, Korbett thought.
“Suppose so, sir.”
“Thanks again,” Korbett said. “Be careful. Looks like it might snow.”
Korbett watched from the door as the young man drove back down to the entrance, turned right out of the driveway, and disappeared along the carefully landscaped tree line that lined the affluent neighborhood. A puff of wintry air swirled around his neck to remind him just how cold it was outside, sending a shiver down his spine. He pushed the front door shut.
Bill Korbett was as Texas as they came, one hell of a football player in his day back at the University of Texas. He had spent thirty-four years in a brilliant military career, starting back in the Vietnam era where he was an F-4 fighter jock. Not many ex-fighter jocks ever made it into the ranks of the generals, especially into the intelligence sector. But Korbett was one of those rare introspective individuals with an IQ to match most all of the high-ranking military strategists. He accomplished virtually everything he set out to do. Everything he was assigned to do.
Washington wasn’t Texas, but Bill Korbett didn’t mind the area so much. You get used to any place after having spent an entire military career in every god-forsaken place on the planet. You just accommodate yourself. Don’t like Washington in January or February, though. You can have that.
Korbett went down the long hallway and opened the two French doors that led into his private study, closing them behind him not so much for the draft, but rather for the privacy. Though the house staff were trusted employees, Bill Korbett was still a government intelligence official. Even Emmy respected that completely, and seldom bothered her husband when he was closed in his study.
The Exchequer desk was relatively free of clutter. Korbett sat down in the plush, leather chair, broke the seal, and peeled back the gummed flap. Making certain his hands were dry, he removed the document and placed it on the desk pad. All documents sent from External Anomalous Affairs were still prepared the old-fashioned, yet effective way on water-soluble paper in the event they had to be quickly destroyed. Even excessive moisture on a person’s hands would cause a reaction and dissolve small portions of the document. The knock on the door momentarily broke his train of thought.
“Enter,” he said, placing the envelope on top to cover the document.
“Your coffee, General,” Mrs. Klingenhoff said, pushing the door open with one hand while balancing the tray in the other.
“Ah,” Korbett replied, spinning around. He had forgotten he’d asked Mrs. Klingenhoff for more coffee this morning. Emmy had left early and gone off shopping for the day, otherwise she’d fuss at him for having too much coffee. A lot of caffeine aggravates your prostate, she’d remind him what the doctor had said. The hell with prostates, he said to himself. It’s cold this morning and I want another cup of coffee. “Just set it on the end table, Mrs. Klingenhoff. I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you sure, General?” The soft-spoken elderly woman responded, used to putting in the cream and sugar just the way the General liked it.
“I’ll get it. That’s fine.”
“How about another pastry?” she replied.
Korbett patted his waistline, which really wasn’t true. At age sixty-two, he was still in top physical condition, having stuck to his daily workout regimen for the past forty odd years. “Gotta cut down. You’re cooking is doing me in.”
She smiled. She was the best housekeeper he and Emmy had ever employed.
“Will you be having lunch at the club or home today, General?”
Korbett thought for a moment. It depended on what was in the dispatch. “I’ll let you know a little later.”
Mrs. Klingenhoff smiled and turned to leave.
He called after her. “I have some important work, so please answer the phone and hold my calls for about an hour.”
The woman smiled and nodded. That was all he ever had to say.
She closed the door behind her. The aroma of the freshly-brewed coffee—Blue Mountain Jamaican, his favorite—filled the room. Korbett poured a cup, put in the cream and sugar, and took a sip. Perfect temperature. Carrying the cup over toward the desk, he placed the coffee on the table behind his chair within easy reach of spinning around. He usually had his coffee on the desk in front of him, but not if he was reviewing any dispatch that was prepared on water-soluble paper. One big spill and you could kiss the document good-bye. Instantly.
Korbett moved the envelope aside, put his bifocals back on, and spun around for one more sip of coffee before starting to read the document. The new code word had first caught his eye. NEXUS. This was the first document he’d seen which contained the new changed-out top secret code word. Korbett blew off the steam from the still piping cup.
All government documents that carried a secret or top secret security classification were marked with a single five letter code word reserved for that level of clearance. The purpose was to assign some psychological validity to the importance of the contents. Since only people with that particular level of clearance would hypothetically ever see the coded document, the assumption was that the code word would remain forever cryptic. But not in
the real world. Five letter code words were kept active—several years in most cases—until they were compromised. Korbett always suspected that was probably the case within hours after the change out, so why should we really care? Switching code words cost the taxpayers millions.
Code words…The intelligence community played crazy games. Korbett always thought they were playing mind games with the Middle Easterners and the Chinese and everybody else by periodically changing code words. It must be because they want our enemies to think the word being used at any particular time has some esoteric meaning related to national security. In reality it was nothing more than a random jumble of five English letters. However, they always made it a recognizable English word simply so people would remember it easily. NEXUS. What the hell is that anyway? Something binding. An important link or connection…Gibberish. Meaningless gibberish. Anyway…
Korbett placed the cup back onto the table and turned to focus his attention on the document. His mind cleared of all thoughts, he began. It read:
***********************
TOP SECRET NEXUS
***********************
EYES ONLY
The White House
External Anomalous Affairs
Copy 1 of 5
To:Major General William A. Korbett
Dr. Eli Maislin
Dr. Rula Koslovsky
Dr. Anton Vandergrif
Mr. Willard Darbury
Subject: Project Assignment—OPERATION ROOKERY
Date: 4 February 20--
Priority: 1-A
(Note: This document is prepared as a full briefing and should be regarded as operational instructions to initiate project.)
AUTHORIZATION:
OPERATION ROOKERY is a Top Secret research operational project responsible directly and only to the President of the United States. All operational tactics will be carried out and are under the control of External Anomalous Affairs (hereafter the Department). The project will be headed by Major General William A. Korbett. List of field operatives to be forwarded to the Department by General Korbett NLT 5 February.
OBJECTIVE:
The objective is to establish the source or origin of several artifacts that have been recovered from an ice field in Antarctica and which are suspected to be of possible alien origin.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On 24 January 20--, a team of scientific researchers (Dr. Hilliard Grimes, Dr. Robert Donne, Dr. Walter Tracey, Dr. Juan R. Mendoza, Dr. Aaron Rosensweig, Dr. Jason Buckingham [accompanied by mountaineers Michael W. Ruger and Lars Jorgensen]), who are attached to the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the University of Pittsburgh and the Smithsonian Institution, were conducting field activities in the Fallon Hills region of the Transantarctic Mountain Range. In this region there are numerous flat plains composed of glacial ice continually moving through the mountain valleys. Scientific teams based at the U.S. McMurdo Station are routinely flown in and out of the region by specially equipped LC-130 Hercules transport aircraft currently operated jointly by the U.S. Navy and U. S. Air Force. The Fallon Hills area is located approximately 300 air miles from McMurdo Station.
While conducting search for meteorites (this type of scientific field activity is common on the Antarctic continent), between 24 January and 29 January the researchers retrieved a number of objects which at first were thought to be of man-made origin. The objects were returned to McMurdo Station by the team for further study. By coincidence, Departmental personnel stationed there immediately recognized the significance of the find. The NSF was directly relieved of responsibility for the objects, all of which were immediately forwarded to the Department where further assessment was made over the past two days. Following is a description of the objects.
Artifact No.1 (AR-1) is a dull black metallic rectangular container (see Attachments ‘A’ through ‘E’) measuring 29.6 cm x 15.3 cm x 15.3 cm and weighing 1,298.35 grams. The only visible outside marking was an apparent “seam” running the perimeter of the object bisecting the container along its greatest perimeter (to be further discussed below). AR-1 has an extremely low albeido and has a hardness greater than that of carborundum but slightly less than diamond. The above information was initially determined by the research team in their laboratory at McMurdo Station and later confirmed by the Department.
Artifacts No.2 through 4 (AR-2, AR-3, AR-4) are presently thought to be broken segments of a much larger object (see Attachments ‘F’, ‘G’, ‘H’). It is believed the object prime may be a construction “I” beam or type of strut, as the segments have a design configuration of thinner interlocking struts attaching the two thicker outer edges. All three segments (which do not consecutively fit together, indicating there are probably numerous other segments yet undiscovered) are of metallic construction, extremely light, and indicate the object beam (in toto) has a high degree of flexibility. Object prime appears to have been molded, not joined (i.e. not welded or fused). Departmental metallurgists have been unable to determine the composite material, though they are certain that object prime has a metallic base. AR-2 is approximately 47 cm in length, AR-3 is approximately 25 cm in length, AR-4 is approximately 11 cm in length. All three artifacts are exactly 19.48 cm in height, and are exactly 3.22 cm in thickness.
Artifacts No.5 through 11 (AR-5, AR-6, AR-7, AR-8, AR-9, AR-10, AR-11) are presently thought to be broken segments of a much larger object (see Attachments ‘I’ through ‘O’). It is believed the object prime is a large panel which may have been attached to the beam. Each segment seems to have the same degree of curvature, however slight. It can be construed from the physical features of the artifacts that the object prime is designed with a surface of straight bars in a grid of polygons, a common design utilized on geodesic domes. The construction is of a totally unknown complex composite material. The object prime is extremely light, extremely flexible, incredibly strong, and resistant to extreme and sudden changes in temperature. The largest segment measures approximately 66 cm in diameter, the smallest approximately 9 cm in diameter. All segments are exactly 1.97 cm in thickness at the thickest point.
Artifact No.12 (AR-12) is thought to be either: 1) an individual tool, or 2) an attachment to a much larger tool (see Attachment ‘P’). There is no speculation at this time as to what this artifact may be or what its intended use may have been. AR-12 physically resembles a double rail soldering arm attachment, though it is not thought to be for this purpose. “Wear” ridges are evident at what is designated to be the base end (visible only under magnification). It is of metallic construction, and has been the only artifact whose composition has been determined. AR-12 is composed of a titanium alloy heretofore unknown to exist. Research thus far has indicated that the exact combination (percentages) of the various components of the alloy do not meet any known engineering specifications. The Department has yet to locate any corporations which are presently producing this type of alloy in this combination.
The NSF has been officially relieved of all responsibility for the artifacts and has filed a grievance. NSF did not draw any official conclusions concerning the origin or the nature of the artifacts.
Further analysis of the artifacts after their delivery to Washington Headquarters revealed more information than what had been gathered in the NSF Antarctica laboratory, in particular AR-1. It was discovered that AR-1 was a device, the purpose of which remains unknown. By submitting the artifact to a strong electro-magnetic current, the “box” opened along the seam revealing that the device had a hinged lid. Inside the box was a strange array of what can only be surmised as electronic switches, relays, and gauges. Though the purpose remains unknown, the gauges do respond to high voltage electrical impulses. The most enigmatic feature about AR-1 is a series of strange symbols/inscriptions (lettering?) at various points on the inside face of the lid portion. To date, departmental linguistic specialists and archaeo-astronomers have been unable to decipher the symbols or to identify them with any known culture or civilization.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
According to departmental glaciologists, loose rocks and debris are transported along glacial paths as if by conveyor belt, usually embedded within the ice itself. If the flow of the glacier meets an obstacle, such as a mountain range, the flow slows down and in turn, evaporation may cause the debris to rise to the top, thus become exposed. Debris is then revealed, which is probably the case with the artifacts. The time element for sublimation or transport cannot be determined, but it is a significantly long period.
As it has been confirmed that there has been no human habitation which would have utilized the erection of a geodesic dome in the Fallon Hills geographical region in modern times (i.e. since the design of this type of habitat), it can only be presumed that somewhere in the region there is a prime structure which is not man-made.
One further note of importance. The discovery of the artifacts has precipitated interest throughout the international community on the Antarctic continent. Despite the existing agreements and provisions of the Antarctic Treaty, which currently contains the signatures of forty-two nations, the State Department is being queried concerning the status of the artifacts. Contention is that their discovery has international complications and therefore should be made available to an international team of researchers to conduct further investigation. The State Department contends they are the sole property of the United States under the terms of the treaty. The State Department has suspended any further activity by the NSF in the Fallon Hills region and now considers it a secure area. Regardless, the issue will be contained and handled through diplomatic and legal channels. However, the existence of the artifacts and the analysis conducted at the McMurdo laboratory remains common knowledge throughout the Antarctic population. The knowledge that AR-1 is an electronic device is confidential only to the Department. Efforts are already underway to disseminate disinformation concerning the artifacts.