Independence Day: Crucible (The Official Prequel) by Greg Keyes

know—so big.”
    Whitmore chuckled. “I’m not sure I approve myself,” he admitted. “To even deign to call what we have right now an economy is laughable, but here’s the thing. New York, L.A., Houston—those cities won’t be rebuilt. Eventually, maybe, but we’ve lost so many people—it’s easier to build a new life—or continue an old one—where there is working infrastructure. This place, however—this place is different. The White House wasn’t just a building, it was a symbol. So was the Capitol building, and we’ll soon get to work on that. This is the one place in this country that
must
be rebuilt. We need people to understand that we didn’t just not lose—we
won
. That we’ll carry on.”
    “Okay,” David said. He wasn’t sure he bought it, but he hadn’t come here to argue. Or actually, he had, but things seemed to be going well, and by the way Connie was digging her nails into his arm he realized he had set them off on an entirely unnecessary and probably counterproductive tangent.
    “Okay,” he said. “About the center…”
    “The other side of the equation,” Whitmore said, “is that people need to feel safe. You’re not the only one who worries about the next invasion. We have to show them we’re working on that, learning how to turn their own technology against them.”
    “Yes,” David said. “Exactly. And there are other, non-military applications for the technology that can make all of our lives better too. For instance—”
    Vice-President Bell interrupted.
    “That may be,” he said, “but I think that sort of thing is for the private sector to deal with. Every dime the government spends on this should be on military applications, period, full stop. Because if more of them do come, and we aren’t ready, no one is going to care if they have a zero-gravity coffee maker or what have you.”
    “Well, I wasn’t thinking about coffee makers, specifically,” David said cautiously, “but—”
    “I’ll cut to the chase, David,” Whitmore said. “You’re going to get your center for alien technology. You’re going to get your funding. I’ve run a similar suggestion past the Speaker, the Senate majority leader, and other key members of Congress. I’ve never seen such a unified government in my lifetime. Congress is ready to write a bill. We just need you to tell us what should be in it.”
    “Well, that’s—that’s great,” David said. “May I start with the big one? We need a base on the moon, and soon as possible.”
    “Why is that?” General Grey asked.
    “Well, you know better than I that commanding the high ground is important. I think in a few years we can build—or grow, actually—energy cannons based on alien technology. On the moon—in the lower gravity—we can make them big, really big, and we won’t have to fire them through our own atmosphere.”
    “But the cost—” Whitmore began. “The Apollo missions cost twenty-six billion, if I remember correctly.”
    “Twenty-five point four,” David said. “Yes, but the technology we’re now working with—we’re within a decade of having spacecraft based on their technology. Anti-gravity. Fusion drives. Once we make that initial investment in the technology, space travel is going to be cheap, and there’s no reason we have to foot the whole bill. Like I said, I think this should be an international effort.”
    “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Grey said.
    “Russia, China—everybody is working on this right now,” David continued. “That’s what I meant by reducing redundancy. The better we task this out, the faster it gets done.”
    “I agree,” Whitmore said. “I’ve been in talks with the leaders of some of those countries, about something I’m calling the Earth Space Defense initiative. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but it will involve consolidating our own military organizations and working across the globe with others. Research and development, of course, will