be believable to the mainstream public.”
“Have our intelligence people had any success in getting a lead on who these people are?” Vanderbilt asked Franklin, as he resumed toying with his glass.
“Not yet, sir, but they’re working on it,” Franklin responded. “We’re scanning all foreign and domestic launch records as far back as ten years, trying to determine the most probable launch sites. It’s probably a waste of effort. It could be almost anywhere. Could be in the Russian Ukraine, India, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, damned near anywhere. There’s no telling when it was put up. It could have been anytime in the last couple of years, maybe longer. Other nations do a lot of experimental stuff, just as we do. We can correlate and verify those launches and payloads where the payload is still functional and we know what it is— a communications satellite, for example—but science experiments are generally term packages, and we have no way of verifying that they all burned up.
“It’s also possible that a missile carried two separate satellites into orbit, while claiming only one—a MIRVed payload. Unless someone admits to it, I doubt we can find them by detective work alone. So far, no one is taking credit.”
“You seriously think it might be a Russian or Chinese operation?” Vanderbilt studied Franklin’s face.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, Mr. President.” Franklin rose and paced the room. “Everything does. It’s just that we can’t rule it out, based on any concrete information. In my opinion, though, it’s unlikely they would pull something like this. Certainly not the official Russian or Chinese military. Those nations have nothing to gain anymore. We are all partners in business, now. Anyway, why would they make demands concerning our tax system or our education policies?”
“What do you think, Jack?” Vanderbilt asked Mota.
Mota’s brow furrowed, and his dark eyes looked toward some distant image in his own mind. “The sophistication of their science notwithstanding,” he said, “I think it has to be some civilian faction, headquartered here in the States. Nothing else makes sense. Even that doesn’t make sense. Assuming some militia could come up with enough money to buy a launch vehicle and the personnel to put it up, where did they get the scientific know-how and manufacturing technology to build the payload—that’s the real mystery—and where is the paper trail? We’re talking real money, a billion or two at the very least, for a launch vehicle, and the technical personnel to carry out launch and mission operations. You don’t spend that kind of money without leaving a trail a mile wide, especially if it’s a domestic operation. It has to come out of bank accounts and go into bank accounts. It has to buy lots of electronics and other exotic parts. So far, there isn’t a trace.
“A very large institution might be able to hide such a sum in its routine expenditures over a period of several years, or several large institutions might manage it in one year, but it would require an extensive conspiracy in either case. I would rather believe that a foreign power is behind it than to believe that something of that magnitude could take place under our noses, without our knowing about it.”
“That brings us back, full circle,” said Franklin. “Why would any foreign government care about those specific domestic policy reforms? What government anywhere wants to increase democratic civil control of government? It’s an absolute mystery. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Vanderbilt stood. “All right. It sounds like you’ve got all the questions in hand. See if you can find me some answers. Keep me up to speed on it. I want a daily progress report through regular channels.”
He swallowed the contents of the glass, and replaced it on the blotter. “If something significant breaks, you can get me or Joe through the national priority net at any time. I
“Have our intelligence people had any success in getting a lead on who these people are?” Vanderbilt asked Franklin, as he resumed toying with his glass.
“Not yet, sir, but they’re working on it,” Franklin responded. “We’re scanning all foreign and domestic launch records as far back as ten years, trying to determine the most probable launch sites. It’s probably a waste of effort. It could be almost anywhere. Could be in the Russian Ukraine, India, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, damned near anywhere. There’s no telling when it was put up. It could have been anytime in the last couple of years, maybe longer. Other nations do a lot of experimental stuff, just as we do. We can correlate and verify those launches and payloads where the payload is still functional and we know what it is— a communications satellite, for example—but science experiments are generally term packages, and we have no way of verifying that they all burned up.
“It’s also possible that a missile carried two separate satellites into orbit, while claiming only one—a MIRVed payload. Unless someone admits to it, I doubt we can find them by detective work alone. So far, no one is taking credit.”
“You seriously think it might be a Russian or Chinese operation?” Vanderbilt studied Franklin’s face.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, Mr. President.” Franklin rose and paced the room. “Everything does. It’s just that we can’t rule it out, based on any concrete information. In my opinion, though, it’s unlikely they would pull something like this. Certainly not the official Russian or Chinese military. Those nations have nothing to gain anymore. We are all partners in business, now. Anyway, why would they make demands concerning our tax system or our education policies?”
“What do you think, Jack?” Vanderbilt asked Mota.
Mota’s brow furrowed, and his dark eyes looked toward some distant image in his own mind. “The sophistication of their science notwithstanding,” he said, “I think it has to be some civilian faction, headquartered here in the States. Nothing else makes sense. Even that doesn’t make sense. Assuming some militia could come up with enough money to buy a launch vehicle and the personnel to put it up, where did they get the scientific know-how and manufacturing technology to build the payload—that’s the real mystery—and where is the paper trail? We’re talking real money, a billion or two at the very least, for a launch vehicle, and the technical personnel to carry out launch and mission operations. You don’t spend that kind of money without leaving a trail a mile wide, especially if it’s a domestic operation. It has to come out of bank accounts and go into bank accounts. It has to buy lots of electronics and other exotic parts. So far, there isn’t a trace.
“A very large institution might be able to hide such a sum in its routine expenditures over a period of several years, or several large institutions might manage it in one year, but it would require an extensive conspiracy in either case. I would rather believe that a foreign power is behind it than to believe that something of that magnitude could take place under our noses, without our knowing about it.”
“That brings us back, full circle,” said Franklin. “Why would any foreign government care about those specific domestic policy reforms? What government anywhere wants to increase democratic civil control of government? It’s an absolute mystery. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Vanderbilt stood. “All right. It sounds like you’ve got all the questions in hand. See if you can find me some answers. Keep me up to speed on it. I want a daily progress report through regular channels.”
He swallowed the contents of the glass, and replaced it on the blotter. “If something significant breaks, you can get me or Joe through the national priority net at any time. I
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