Sleeper: Defending Earth
1
SLEEPER
SLEEPER:
DEFENDING EARTH
J. Alexander Black
Self-Published
Boothbay, Maine
Copyright © 2014 by J. Alexander Black
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 9781482573077
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 - First Contact 2013
Chapter 2 - Government Involvement
Chapter 3 – SETI
Chapter 4 – Jayton Mill
Chapter 5 – Ray Wright
Chapter 6 - Second Contact 2013
Chapter 7 - Bill Talken
Chapter 8 - Ray’s Cover is Blown
Chapter 9 - United Nations Involvement
Chapter 10 - World Government
Chapter 11 - S.S. Orion
Chapter 12 - Assassins Thwarted
Chapter 13 - Johnson Space Center
Chapter 14 – Attack!
Chapter 15 – EVA Training
Chapter 16 - Happy Birthday, Ron
Chapter 17 - 2nd Attack on Andrews!
Chapter 18 - The Move Into Space
Chapter 19 - EDS Transfer to World Government
Chapter 20 - World President Visits Orion
Chapter 21 - Global Defense Committee
Chapter 22 – On the Moon
Chapter 23 - Jennifer’s Surgery
Chapter 24 - World Confederation
Chapter 25 – Success!
Chapter 26 - Frulé
Chapter 27 – Jennifer Walks
Chapter 28 - Death of the SECDEF
Chapter 29 – The Sharks
Chapter 30 - Battalion Training
Chapter 31 - Kaedians
Chapter 32 – After the Battle
Chapter 33 – Ray Survives
Chapter 34 – Aftermath of War
Chapter 35 - Rebuilding and Funerals
Chapter 36 - Prisoners Disappear
Chapter 37 - Ceremonies and Celebrations
Chapter 38 - World Government in Action
Epilogue
Prologue
Captain Grees of the Hevinian supply ship Andorra stepped off the transport and took in a deep breath. This was his last visit to the surface. All he had to do was to meet with the leaders of the colony to ensure all the supplies were delivered and staged. Once he collected the necessary release documents, he’d be on his way. The oxygen rich native air flowed into his lungs and made him feel a little light-headed but he recovered quickly. The oxygen content of this planet’s atmosphere was just slightly higher than that of Hevinia.
Grees looked around. The great plain was teeming with wildlife, the soil was fertile and plant life grew abundantly. Yes, he thought, this is a great place for the new colony. The area chosen for the first colony was close to the planet’s equator and maintained a constant warm temperature. Today was their last day of operations. Later the Andorra would depart, leaving the colonists to develop the land on their own for a year. They had enough food for at least two years. Wind and radiant powered generators would keep them supplied with power indefinitely. It was a shame there was only one energy producing primary planet in this system but studies showed it would provide enough energy for the colonists needs almost forever. Some government hack whose only job was to name new systems had called it Solar. The reasoning was beyond him.
Another ship was scheduled to return in a year to check on their progress and bring more supplies. On the average, it took five years before a colony became self-sufficient even under the best of conditions. He walked past the perimeter’s southern gates into the center of the village to find Vassa Riget, the recently elected village leader, waiting for him and he was not happy.
“We have a situation, Captain,” said Riget nervously, “please come with me.” They walked through the village to the north gate where two of the village men were standing over a body.
“What’s happened here?” asked the Captain as he bent to examine the body. He rolled the body over and suddenly stood up in horror, clamping his hand over his mouth and nose.
“What’s that smell?” he inquired through his fingers. The body was obviously human but there the similarity ended. He was short, stocky and dressed in rancid animal skins. The top of his head was flat and covered in long black hair partially hiding the ugliest face the Captain had ever seen. The large protruding forehead and flat nose looked like it had been squashed.
“We were headed over to the river to try our luck fishing when this thing came out of nowhere and threatened us with that rock,” said one of his men pointing to the fist-sized rock on the ground.
“I was forced to defend myself.” The Captain looked at the man and raised one eyebrow.
“It’s good that you had your weapon with you. This creature could have killed you with that rock.” The man seethed with anger because he wasn’t sure if the Captain was being sarcastic.
“You would have done the same thing,” he said defensively.
Vassa pointed towards the forest. “Take the body over to the edge of the forest and leave it.”
“Seems like a lot of work; Why can’t we leave it here to rot?” said the man with the weapon.
“Because I’m sure there are others in the area that may be watching. Now do as I say and get moving.” Reluctantly the men picked up the body, laid it on their antigravity cart and headed off to the edge of the forest. Riget walked back to the compound with the Captain.
“The survey reports said there were no intelligent species on this planet. He deliberately used that rock as a weapon and what is stranger, he was definitely humanoid. How could that be? We have never visited this planet before the survey.” Riget was obviously perturbed. This changed everything.
“I want to upgrade the security of the colony before you leave. I want the screen around the perimeter fence activated and I want weapons issued to everyone older than eighteen.”
“Aren’t you being a little paranoid over one obviously primitive being?” asked the Captain.
“Where there is one there are more.” He pushed out his chest to emphasize his authority.
“As far as I’m concerned this is a hostile planet and I have the safety of the colonists to consider. Either we get the weapons or we all climb back aboard the Andorra and head back to Hevinia.”
The Captain didn’t particularly care for colonists. They tended to be an unruly and independent lot, especially when crammed into a confined space for months. He had looked forward to a nice quiet return trip and the thought of taking them back didn’t sit well. His superiors wouldn’t be happy and would consider this a failed mission, which wouldn’t look good on his record. The Captain reluctantly agreed. He produced a small gray tablet from inside his coat and handed it to Riget.
“If you insist; now will you accept the planet?” he said impatiently.
“Yes Captain; we wouldn’t want to delay you,” Riget said sarcastically.
He knew how Grees felt about colonists. He placed his right thumb on the tablet formally releasing the Andorra’s captain from further responsibility for the mission. The Captain boarded the transport to return to the Andorra. Settling into his seat, he gave orders to issue the weapons and activate the fence to the pilot who relayed them to the supply ship.
“This will only delay our departure by a few minutes Captain,” said the pilot who was just as anxious to get rid of the passengers.
“By the way sir, did you hear what the colonists are calling the new planet?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“They’re calling it Erth, which I believe is Kaedian for ‘We are screwed’.” Both men laughed as the pilot engaged the Carvorite drive and lifted off for the Andorra. The pilot was not aware how true his words were. The Kaedian war was about to begin and it would be a thousand years before Solar 3 was revisited.
Chapter 1 - First Contact 2013
It’s one o’clock in the afternoon on June 19. Bud Hargreaves, owner of a small bookshop on London’s Tottenham Court Road is happy. It’s been a good month, the shop made enough sales to see him through another couple of months, but he knows it is only a matter of time. Small businesses like his are unable to compete with the giant internet booksellers and electronic reading devices. He chuckles at the irony that the large brick-and-mortar bookstores sell E-readers, a device that‘ll eventually shut them down. Bud really didn’t care; He had a good plan in place. His investments had paid off, the shop was up for sale, and as soon as it sold, he would retire to the south coast of England. He locked up the shop for lunch and rushed home to his one true passion.
Bud’s top floor flat was a short walk from the shop, and after entering, he paused just long enough to put the kettle on for tea before settling down at his computer. Convinced that there is life on other planets he knew it was only a matter of time before communication was established. Two years ago, he had converted his rooftop satellite dish into a research grade radio telescope and volunteered his personal computer time with the SETI Argus project. He felt the usual rush of adrenaline as he typed in the access code on the keyboard.
Even though it was obvious to him that an advanced alien race would have evolved beyond radio or even lasers to communicate over the vast distances of space, his logical brain said if they were truly advanced and wanted to communicate they would use the technology available to the population. The anticipation built as he waited while the program analyzed the information received that morning. Usually all that was fou
nd was background noise, senseless static and he was prepared for the usual disappointment.
Suddenly there was a hit. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he began to shake. He forced himself to calm down as he read the results. It was an actual radio signal from deep space -- A message received at exactly one o’clock! He looked at the time; it was now ten minutes after one. He tried to hit another key but he was shaking uncontrollably. Taking several deep breaths, he closed his eyes and relaxed. When he had stopped shaking, he pressed the key and waited for the translation. After what seemed like an eternity, the screen changed and filled with a single sentence repeated in the six official languages of the United Nations:
We come in peace
我們為和平而來
Venimos en Paz
Nous venons en paix
نأتي في السلام
Мы пришли с миром
He lunged for the phone. He had to call Berkeley.
♦♦♦
At eight am, Eastern Standard Time, the same signal had been detected by the Arecibo L-band Feed Array on the radio telescope in Puerto Rico. This triggered a reaction at the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute at UC Berkeley at five am, Pacific Standard Time. This information instantly became available to one hundred and eighty thousand excited SETI home volunteers worldwide, who were now feeling very vindicated having proof that life did exist beyond their own planet. By eight thirty am, EST, the communications networks worldwide were broadcasting the message, by eight forty-five the President of the United States was in conference with top advisers.
“Just what in the hell does this mean? Are we seriously about to be visited by aliens?”
She was speaking to the national security team seated around her in the oval office. Sarah Chambers was a no-nonsense woman who had clawed her way to the highest political office of the United States. The fact that she had red hair made people think she had a fiery temper. Nothing could be further from the truth. She was self confident, fearless, decisive and sometimes abrupt, but she never lost her cool.
A tall, slim woman, she often towered over the people she dealt with, but she was not one to use that to her advantage. To be the first female president was quite an accomplishment; now it appeared she would also be the first to deal with extraterrestrials. She shivered with excitement.
“What we do know is that this message was transmitted from an unknown point in the universe,” said NASA Administrator, Bill Sheppard. “It is interesting that the signal was transmitted within the narrow search parameters that SETI volunteers monitor; it's almost as if the aliens knew it would allow the maximum number of people to receive it.”
“Why would they do that?” said Charles Peterson, Director of the FBI sarcastically.
“So it could not be covered up,” answered Sheppard sharply. “This message was meant for the people of the world,”
“Bill, who is in charge of SETI now?” asked President Chambers.
Sheppard smiled because he knew where this was going.
“The SETI League is,” he said. “Following the congressional cancellation of the NASA SETI program, it is now a membership supported nonprofit. It’s an association of amateur and professional radio astronomers. Who are right now feeling pretty much vindicated. Their director is a Professor James Wright.”
“Not a government agency?”
“No, Madam President, not anymore.”
“We shall see about that.”
She turned to Charles Peterson, Director of the FBI.
“Get this professor in here ASAP.”
♦♦♦
Ray Wright was taking an early morning break from the heat of his forge. In summer, he liked to begin as soon as the sun came up. That way he could finish up before noon. He was sitting on his back porch looking out at the Western Maine Mountains drinking his third cup of coffee when the news came over the radio. The announcer was discussing the recent increase in interest in the worlds rising temperatures.
“… within 6 months, we are expecting a significant rise in temperature. ...What? … Are you sure this is for real?” For a moment, there was silence, then:
“My apologies everyone; I have just received this special report. It has just been confirmed that a message has been received from deep space. The White House has confirmed that a message from space was received by the SETI organization at the University of California at Berkeley at eight this morning. It said, “We are coming in peace.” There is no further information available… Oh, Okay… We are turning now to our science adviser Dr. Albert Green for his comments.”
Ray felt a mild tingling under his scalp over his left ear. He switched off the radio and went into the smithy. Sliding into a narrow space behind the forge, he pressed three small buttons in the correct sequence and a hidden door slid open. He entered and the door immediately closed behind him. He was curious. Whatever is going on, it involves me, he thought.
♦♦♦
In the living room of Ray’s house next to the blacksmith shop, his Uncle James switched off his phone and picked up the T.V. remote. He scanned the various news channels.
“Marcie, you might want to get in here, you won’t believe this,” he said.
Ray’s wife, doing the breakfast dishes, quickly dried her hands and hurried into the living room. The network was scrambling, in the half hour since the message was received, they had dragged their special science correspondents out of bed, cleaned them up and put them in front of the camera to speculate about the meaning and origin of the message. James smiled, these experts were grasping at straws. Science as they thought they knew it was about to change.
“Herbert must be happy right now,” said Marcie. “He’s always believed in aliens.”
Herbert Castonguay was their next-door neighbor. He was a strong believer in the existence of aliens and an even stronger believer in discussing them at any opportunity. People tended to avoid him.
“How do you feel about this, dear?” asked James. Marcie thought for a moment.
“I'm not sure what to make of it, if it’s true then it changes everything doesn’t it?
Marcie was in her early thirties, tall and slim with short light brown hair. Even though she looked twenty her blue eyes were much older. They revealed what she had seen in the last ten years as an ER nurse at the local hospital. It was true that rural Maine did not experience trauma with the same intensity as New York or Boston but she had seen her fair share of life threatening accidents. She was a person who thoroughly understood her world. Now she was unsure.
“You work with alien messages don’t you? Is this for real?”
“Yes, Marcie,” said James, beaming, “This message is for real; I have just talked to my assistant at Berkeley and all the evidence points to a genuine alien contact.”
James's cell phone started playing the theme from Star Wars.
“Yes, this is Professor Wright; yes, the message is genuine. Yes, it would be an honor. Thank you.”
He turned to Marcie.
“Sorry my dear, duty calls. I think I'm going to have to cut my vacation short. I have a feeling I am going to be busy for a while.”
James turned and headed for the guest room.
“I have to pack and prepare for a television interview; please let me know when lunch is ready.”
♦♦♦
In the small back room of his shop, Ray turned on a dim light. In front of him on a shelf was an old iron box secured with what appeared to be an antique padlock. He reached under his leather apron, removed the locket from the chain around his neck, and pried it open. He removed a small metal disc and placed his right thumb in the center. The sensor in the disc immediately recognized his DNA and produced a thin laser like beam of light, which he directed at the padlock’s keyhole. The padlock clicked and fell open. Ray carefully replaced the device in the locket and lifted the top of the box. Inside was a small black cube that seemed to shimmer in the dim light. He removed it and placed it on the shelf. Placing this right forefinger on the top of the cube, he felt the familiar shiver as the stored particle pulses traveled up his arm to a small non-metallic strip inserted in the skin over his right ear. Within seconds, he could ‘see’ the messages. He removed his finger and replaced it with the left forefinger; again, he felt the shiver this time in reverse. Message received. He replaced the cube, closed and locked the box and exited the room. Replacing the locket on the chain, he went back to working at the forge. Three hours later, he walked over to his house. His wife Marcie was setting the table for an early lunch.