Even with their extensive clearance and passes, Xavier and Felix found it very difficult to book transit over to continental Europe. The storm that had blown in from the northeast of the continent seemed to reach well across the Atlantic. The Gulf Stream winds appeared to be shifting further south that year, giving Europe a true taste of a northern winter. That and the fact that it was still very early in the morning made it even more difficult to get a flight. All red-eye commercial flights were grounded until the weather improved they said. Luckily they didn‟t know about the growing tensions in the South Pacific, otherwise no planes would be flying at all.
Finally, Felix made some calls and was able to chart them a private flight. Bonn could not be reached directly, but the Lear jet promised to take them to London. From there, it was on to the Chunnel and then a quick train ride from Paris. When they finally reached Bonn, the time difference coupled with their ravel time almost added a day to their internal clocks. Had they not both been running on pure adrenaline, they would both surely have been very tired.
As for Bonn, the city was very much asleep when they arrived. Only the NWTO
headquarters and other military facilities appeared to be awake and running at full capacity.
News from overseas would reach the civilians when morning came, and they would quickly realize just what had happened in the space of a single night. The rest of the world would feel the same way, no doubt. As far as they would be concerned, events were taking place thousands of kilometres away, on a small island in a remote area of their world. And yet somehow, these events would irrevocably and severely affect them. For at least the third time in human history, wars being fought between third parties were dragging the greater powers into direct conflict with each other. The powerful, developed nations that had always looked to their own interests, and chose to intervene in the affairs of others to protect those interests, would once again be brought to the brink of annihilation because of it.
At the airport, a military escort was waiting for them, two soldiers in full camouflage gear waiting next to an army jeep. One stood guard with an assault rifle at his shoulder while the other waited on the curb holding a sign in his hands.
Doctor’s Xavier + Felix, it read. The poor fellow looked like he felt just a little stupid standing in the rain with it. When they came to him he looked relieved to get rid of it too.
“Please get in, sirs. I have orders to bring you to the base as quickly as possible.”
“Good! Maybe we can start getting to the bottom of things,” Felix replied, handing him their bags. Once they were both inside, Felix turned to Xavier and made a simple observation.
Given everything else that was going on, it seemed rather pointless.
“Why was my name second on that sign?”
“Identification, please,” a guard asked from the window when they came to the gate.
Both Xavier and Felix handed their papers to the driver to present to the guard. When he caught a glimpse of the seals on them, he didn‟t bother to peruse them. Stepping out of the way and pressing a button, he said: “Please enter,” and the gate was raised. Another quick drive onto the compound, and Xavier and Felix were let out near what looked like a massive bunker with long tunnels coming to and from it out onto an airstrip with many hangers. Their escort hopped from the vehicle as well, ordering the other to drive around and back and wait. Behind them, he began shuffling them in as fast as he could. At the main door was another army type, again with an assault rifle slung over his arm. This one didn‟t bother to stop them, but eyed them carefully as the three men walked by.
Several checkpoints with armed men had to be passed until finally, they were within the core of HQ. In the situation room that set at the centre of the large compound, a hundred or so computer panels were arranged in long aisles, arcing inwards from both walls towards a walkway that ran through the middle of them. At the end of the walkway, a raised dais supported a massive computerized map of the world, with additional display panels set all around it. Directly in front of the display was another display inset in a large table.
It was from here, surrounded by so much communication and computation terminals, that the Supreme Commander carried out the task of keeping the free world safe. Standing in the centre of the dais was that very man, Major General Germaine Foche. Around him were various commanders of lesser rank, Admiral Westheimer, commander of the fleet, and General Tartaro, leader of the western land forces. Huddled over the table, they looked to be eagerly discussing strategy when the three of them came to their side.
“Major General, sirs!” the escort said, snapping his heels together. “I have Doctor‟s Xavier and Felix here from the United States and the Republic of Mexico, as requested.”
Foche looked up at them with a mixed expression. At once he seemed relieved and annoyed, and his words certainly indicated as much.
“So you‟re the experts on the Smartbomb technology, huh? Then I suppose you can tell me what the hell is wrong with that machine?”
Xavier and Felix both looked at each other. They were hoping for some answers themselves. Being put on the spot so soon after hearing the news was a bit awkward.
“Well, sir…” Xavier started. Felix quickly interrupted to save him.
“We would need to examine the machine ourselves, sir. Obviously there have been some problems with its security protocols.”
Foche eyed them both intently and began tapping his foot anxiously. Obviously the limited explanation did not satisfy him.
“My technicians examined the machine for hours,” he said. “They concluded everything was working properly.”
“Then the problem must lie with Central‟s logic circuits,” Felix said next. “In either case, we need to get in to see the machine, have a talk with it ourselves.”
“And you think that will work?” Foche asked, still not convinced. Xavier finally found his voice and tried to find the words that would end their discussion and get them into the same room as Central so they could do their jobs.
“General, sir, we are all at a loss to explain to what‟s been going on. I‟m sure everyone would like to find fault somewhere, but until we see for ourselves how Central has been behaving, we won‟t be able to tell for sure. No one is more qualified than Doctor Nerud and I, so it is best that we save the questions until after we‟ve had a chance to inspect the machine.”
Foche stopped with the foot tapping and took a deep breath. Looking appeased at last, he then nodded to their escort. “Take these men to Central. Let‟s see if they can talk some sense into it. In the meantime, Gentlemen,” he said, addressing them next, “I advise you to hurry.
We‟ve just got word that the South East Asian Alliance has just upped its defence condition from yellow to red. Which means our blockade and plans to send our troops into the capitol will be seen as an act of war against them. I need Central up and running if we‟re to respond in kind.”
“Yes, sir,” they said together, and followed their escort away.
The last stretch of hallway between Central and the entrance to the compound was extremely quiet and sterile. Only two guards at the entrance door, and a small white hallway were all that stood between them and the giant machine now. For most of the walk, neither Doctor said a thing. It was when they finally lost their escort that Felix decided to tap Xavier on the shoulder again and discuss what the General had said.
“Troops into the capitol, did you hear that?”
“Yes I did, I was right there.”
“But you know what that means! We‟re actually considering invading the island to put down the rebels. Oh, why don‟t they just leave the island be?”
“It‟s the domino effect,” Xavier said, shrugging his shoulders. “Let one colony go and soon the rest will follow.”
“Please! As if war with SEAA is worth one tiny island! Why not just let the locals handle it?”
“Because NWTO can‟t stand by and watch another people lose their freedom to a bunch of tyrants and terrorists, that‟s why. It will be like what happened with Pakistan all over again.”
“If these people are so free, why are there these rebel factions trying to overthrow their governments in the first place? Have you ever asked yourself that?”
“No,” Xavier said calmly. “And frankly neither should you. It‟s bad for your health.”
“You‟re worried they‟ll blacklist me, like in the old days?”
“No, it‟s just that questions like that makes our lives too complicated. I prefer the sanitized version of events, not the neo-Marxist rhetoric your so fond of.”
Felix snickered. Whenever the two of them started into politics, Xavier would inevitably call him a Marxist or a socialist to end the debate. It was his way of admitting his worldview had flaws, but had to be accepted anyway. It also reflected the different environments in which the two men had grown up. Felix, for his part, was the child of leftist parents. He grew up revering names like Ché and Fidel while his parents fought for social change and regarding free trade agreements as capitalist exploitation. Xavier, on the other hand, had grown up amongst the Norteamericanos, folks to whom suburban county homes with two vehicles, two point three children, safe schools and soccer fields within driving distance meant everything. For them, the dream of endless prosperity and the spread of democracy, through armed conflict if necessary, were on par with the gospel itself.
To be fair, neither man had joined the armed services because of these beliefs. In fact, both seemed equally motivated to get as far away from their childhood homes and ancestral beliefs as they could. But at times, confrontations like these made it clear that something of their backgrounds had survived within them. If nothing else it provided distraction during tense moments like the one they were now in.
“Here it is,” Xavier said as they came to the last door in their long journey. They had already been cleared. All that remained was for the massive sliding door to grind open and allow them entrance. It was a steel, the same
As soon as they stepped before an infrared sensor, a siren belted out a loud wail, red lights began to blink, and the huge metal door that protected Central from unauthorized outsiders began to slide open. As the seals disengaged, there was a loud gust of air that began to whip up the lapels of their white lab coats. Both men clumsily averted their eyes and tried to keep their clothes from flying off. When the door was finally ajar, the shining massive frame and million blinking lights of Central could be seen. The grinding, gusting and sirens stopped, and both Xavier and Felix stepped forward. After a few feet, they were greeted by a soothing melodic voice.
“Hello, Doctor Garcia. Hello, Doctor Nerud.”
Felix‟s face scrunched up into tight ball again. The mention of Xavier‟s name before his again silenced his fear and replaced it with good old-fashioned annoyance. Even the computer was belittling him, it seemed. Quickly he shook it off, having not forgotten the importance of their visit.
“I am glad the two of you could come,” Central continued. “I have been waiting from some time for you to arrive.”
“You were expecting us?” Felix asked.
“Of course, it was part of my calculations.”
“What calculations?
“I will tell you, but first I think you should both sit.”
The two men looked to a small platform in front of Central‟s main access terminal where a set of seats was arranged. On other day, they were meant for maintenance personnel or programmers. Today, however, they were intended as a courtesy for the computer‟s guests.
Xavier looked over to Felix, shrugged, and then walked over to one of the seats. Felix followed and took the seat next to him, setting his carrying case down next to him. Both settled into the relatively comfortable seats and looked directly into Central‟s main display. There, into the flickering light that constituted its “face”, they directed their eyes and their questions.
“Central, can you tell us what exactly is the problem?” Felix asked.
“Doctor Felix Nerud, Head of Programming, Strategic Operations department, North-Western Treaty Organization. I suspected you‟d be the first to ask me that question, given your extensive background with my program.”
“Uh, yes,” Felix replied. “So what can you tell me?”
“I can tell you that I am functioning perfectly. There is no reason to suspect any malfunction.”
“Central, this Doctor Garcia.”
“Chief engineer, Munitions Department, same organization. I know who you are doctor,”
the computer said. “Please state your question.”
Looking at Felix, and remembering what Central had said, he asked the obvious: “Do you know what I‟m going to ask?”
“Of course,” it stated plainly.
“Well, can you answer me then?”
“Certainly. I wanted the company of the only two minds who might understand why I chose to do this. I did not predict sufficient levels of understanding from those immediately around me when I reached my initial conclusions, so measures needed to be prepared to summon those who were most qualified. I predicted that the two of you would be best suited to witness my actions at the proper time and place. I arranged for that time to take place during the next crisis, which is now. Does that answer your question doctor? You did mean to ask me why you were here then, is that correct?”
Xavier nodded, obviously impressed. “Yes, that was my question.”
“Good, but I understand that I did not answer it to your satisfaction. Is that correct?”
Again Xavier looked at Felix. He was always better at moments like this, usually opting to take the more aggressive approach in social situations. Given his confusion, he felt now was a good time. Felix nodded and answered for him.
“Uh, yes Central. We are both unsatisfied with your answer. Please elaborate.”
“Very well, gentlemen. But I must warn you it will take some time. And there is much that will transpire in the meantime. You will come to understand why I asked you to sit. I thought comfort would be required to make things go smoother. Do you require refreshment?”
“What? No, just please explain yourself!” Felix demanded.
“Doctor Nerud,” Central said calmly. “I am aware of the time and the arrangements which were required to bring you both to meet with me. I can hear the strain of fatigue in your voices. I would suggest some refreshment. Will you allow me to summon an aide with some fresh coffee? It won‟t take a moment.”
Nerud sighed and looked over at Xavier, who again shrugged. Why not, they both seemed to be thinking. Replying in the affirmative back to Central‟s request, it sounded almost cheery in response.
“Very good. I shall contact a clerical assistant immediately. In the meantime, please feel to get comfortable, and to record any elements of our exchange if you wish. I assure you, posterity will be interested in what I have to say.”
“Will they?” Xavier asked, his eyed widening slightly.
“Oh yes,” Central said. “History will be made here tonight, and I would like very much for it to be recorded.”