Deception Point by Dan Brown Page A

wonderful.”
    Rachel fell silent.
    “Suppose, Rachel, that I told you NASA has just made a discovery of such scientific importance . . . such earth-shattering significance . . . that it validated every dollar Americans have ever spent in space?”
    Rachel could not imagine.
    The President stood up. “Let’s take a walk, shall we?”

11
    R achel followed President Herney out onto the glistening gangway of Air Force One. As they descended the stairs, Rachel felt the bleak March air clearing her mind. Unfortunately, clarity only made the President’s claims seem more outlandish than before.
    NASA made a discovery of such scientific importance that it validates every dollar Americans have ever spent in space?
    Rachel could only imagine that a discovery of that magnitude would only center on one thing—the holy grail of NASA—contact with extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, Rachel knew enough about that particular holy grail to know it was utterly implausible.
    As an intelligence analyst, Rachel constantly fielded questions from friends who wanted to know about the alleged government cover-ups of alien contact. She was consistently appalled by the theories her “educated” friends bought into—crashed alien saucers hidden in secret government bunkers, extraterrestrial corpses kept on ice, even unsuspecting civilians being abducted and surgically probed.
    It was all absurd, of course. There were no aliens. No cover-ups.
    Everyone in the intelligence community understood that the vast majority of sightings and alien abductions were simply the product of active imaginations or moneymaking hoaxes. When authentic photographic UFO evidence did exist, it hada strange habit of occurring near U.S. military airbases that were testing advanced classified aircraft. When Lockheed began air-testing a radical new jet called the Stealth Bomber, UFO sightings around Edwards Air Force Base increased fifteenfold.
    “You have a skeptical look on your face,” the President said, eyeing her askance.
    The sound of his voice startled Rachel. She glanced over, unsure how to respond. “Well . . .” She hesitated. “May I assume, sir, that we are not talking about alien spacecrafts or little green men?”
    The President looked quietly amused. “Rachel, I think you’ll find this discovery far more intriguing than science fiction.”
    Rachel was relieved to hear NASA had not been so desperate as to try selling the President on an alien story. Nonetheless, his comment served only to deepen the mystery. “Well,” she said, “whatever NASA found, I must say the timing is exceptionally convenient.”
    Herney paused on the gangway. “Convenient? How so?”
    How so? Rachel stopped and stared. “Mr. President, NASA is currently in a life or death battle to justify its very existence, and you are under attack for continuing to fund it. A major NASA breakthrough right now would be a panacea for both NASA and your campaign. Your critics will obviously find the timing highly suspect.”
    “So . . . are you calling me a liar or a fool?”
    Rachel felt a knot rise in her throat. “I meant no disrespect, sir. I simply—”
    “Relax.” A faint grin grew on Herney’s lips, and he started to descend again. “When the NASA administrator first told me about this discovery, I flat out rejected it as absurd. I accused him of masterminding the most transparent political sham in history.”
    Rachel felt the knot in her throat dissolve somewhat.
    At the bottom of the ramp, Herney stopped and looked at her. “One reason I’ve asked NASA to keep their discovery under wraps is to protect them. The magnitude of this find is well beyond anything NASA has ever announced. It will make landing men on the moon seem insignificant. Because everyone, myselfincluded, has so much to gain—and lose—I thought it prudent for someone to double-check the NASA data before we step into the world spotlight with a formal announcement.”
    Rachel was