Mallus checked his watch again and then returned his gaze to the screen.
The video disappeared, and another story came forwards.
“Diplomatic relationships between China and the United States worsened this afternoon, as four Chinese warships moved into defensive positions in International Waters off the Pacific coast of America. The ships, Lanzhou class destroyers, form part of the country’s recently formed Fourth Fleet, the first Chinese fleet to undertake exercises in so-called blue water, beyond the traditional coastal and pacific island range of the Chinese Navy. The public display of strength, a first for typically well-guarded China, comes after talks between the two countries broke down regarding the US military presence in South Korea. In an attempt to play down fears that the situation will escalate further, the President of the United States stated in a press conference that talks would resume soon, and that the diplomatic process would prevail.” A flying camera took in miles of border fences, lookout towers and barracks, mirrored on the other side of an empty band of grass a couple of miles wide. “The United States continues to have a significant military presence in South Korea, in particular along the one hundred and fifty mile long Demilitarised Zone, with over forty thousand active personnel stationed there. A recent peace treaty between North and South Korea has been brokered mainly by China, though the former has refused to sign the accord while the United States maintains a presence in the region. Despite significant external pressure, the US has refused to leave its defensive positions, a move largely resented by South and North Koreans alike.”
The next video showed the unmistakable backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza, in front of which the sprawl of Cairo shimmered in the baking sun. Plumes of smoke emanated from half a dozen locations across the Egyptian capital. “No one has yet claimed responsibility for yesterday’s terrorist bombings in Cairo, which left dozens dead and hundreds more injured. The attacks, against mainly Western targets, are believed to have been carried out by one of a number of Islamic fundamentalist cells in the country, who have been calling for the creation of an Islamic State, the introduction of Sharia Law and an end to the democracy that many Egyptians believe has favoured Western influence over traditional values.”
The video of Cairo vanished, to be replaced by a deserted factory, its gates padlocked. “Production at the Chicago Assembly manufacturing plant ended for the last time this morning. The factory, Ford’s oldest remaining manufacturing plant, first built the famous Model T Ford in 1924, and in the subsequent century saw production of the characteristic Taurus, Mercury and Centauri models. Analysts see the closure of the Chicago plant as the final nail in the coffin for the American automobile industry, following –”
“OK, stop,” Mallus held his hand up, giving a quick glance to his watch as he did so. “Floods, terrorists, diplomatic tension over Korea, political scandals, factories closing, I get the picture.” He looked into the eyes of the lady on screen, who had turned round to face him as the screen zoomed away from the news. “No mention of Mars in all that, was there?”
She shook her head. “Nothing new. But everyone knows the real tension between the US and China is because of the cover up on Mars and the suspicion over the Taikonaut’s death in transit to Mars. The Korean situation is a good excuse for China to really pull its weight, and thanks to the Mars story, there is considerable public support behind the action.”
“And Cairo? The fundamentalists?”
She looked to the top left of the screen pensively for a few seconds, as if trying to remember something, then faced him again. “The online community is largely of the opinion that Islam sees the West as being weakened by the Mars findings. Christianity, which is the main religious belief system in the West, is reeling from the discoveries, and is not dealing with it very well. The existence of intelligent life on Mars seriously puts into question the Book of Genesis, which is the fundament for most of Christianity. So far, the only defensible position that has been put forward is that the Martian findings are human artefacts, but that still contradicts the timelines put forward by the Bible. No official body has commented on the Mars findings yet. Until they do, and in particular until the Vatican does, news agencies remain cautious. One consideration is that with a lack of follow-up evidence from Mars, there is a hope that the story will simply blow over and be judged a fake. This is something the Islamic fundamentalists don’t want to happen, so they’re taking advantage of it while it’s still a hot topic among the general public.”
He looked at the lady and shook his head. “Screen off,” he said bluntly, and she dissolved into the background looking slightly offended to be switched off.
In her place, a busy cityscape emerged, giving the impression that his office was actually at the top of a tall skyscraper overlooking a large coastal metropolis. The illusion was impressive, one of the more satisfying virtual landscapes that had been programmed in to the office’s window to add colour to an otherwise bland underground setting. He afforded it a half-interested gaze for several moments, following a small airship with minor enjoyment as it wound its way round the towering buildings advertising a popular beer. The attention to detail in the simulation was truly stunning, although he knew full well that if he sat there watching for long enough, the very same airship would wind its way inexorably back along the exact same route, ad infinitum. The one touch that was unpredictable was the weather, and its effect on the sky. In fact, in spite of the basic algorithms that governed the ‘actors’ in the scene, the way in which the light played off every surface, even bending round and through individual drops of water as they ran in rivulets down the window panes on a rainy day, meant that it never looked the same twice.
He kept the scene going for a few more moments, until a dark cloud finally slumbered its way in front of the morning sun, before bringing himself from the reverie into which he had so easily fallen. He checked his watch.
It was time, and he didn’t want to miss it.
With a couple of concise spoken commands, the window scene disappeared, to be replaced by a split screen. In the top left hand corner he saw Mars; Dr Jane Richardson was sitting at the communication panel of the MLP. Her left hand rested on the joystick controller of a remotely operated camera, while her right hand fidgeted with her unkempt hair. She was staring endlessly at the video output of the remote camera. In the bottom left hand corner, the camera, stationed inside the underground tunnel into which the other two members of the Mars mission had disappeared, panned slowly from left to right, then back again. On the floor, Dr Richardson had set up a spotlight, which was focussed on the stone door that now remained tightly shut.
The bottom right hand corner of his display was blank.
In the top right hand corner of the screen, a CCTV camera showed three utility vehicles reversing into DEFCOMM’s main hanger through a large sliding door, which closed as soon as they were safely inside. The drivers, wearing blue overalls and baseball caps, got out and almost as one opened wide the split rear doors of the vans. Three identical teams of six people, wearing white lab coats, wheeled three identical devices, roughly the same dimensions and shape as an average household refrigerator placed on its side, up to the open doors.
Quick checks by the drivers were followed by the devices being loaded carefully and smoothly, until they had disappeared inside the vehicles. The doors were closed, the drivers got back behind their wheels, and the large sliding door of the hanger opened once more. Seconds later, the three vans were gone, the hanger closed, and the men in lab coats had returned to what looked like normal duties: overlooking the final assembly of a thirty foot long missile, checking visual readouts or supervising a large winch assembly that brought segments of a second missile from deep within the DEFCOMM complex.