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Rated: 13+ · Book · Sci-fi · #1369089
The main characters are introduced, also hard science, political and religious intrigue.
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#558270 added January 1, 2008 at 10:03pm
Restrictions: None
EPISODE 2 - THE DEMONSTRATION
FADE IN:

INT. MIKE’S LIVING ROOM

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER
                             Sir, President Forest is on the
                             phone.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                                       (grumbling and shrugging)
                             Ehhh, put him on.

Mike rolls his eyes. We see on his face he isn't terribly
happy.

He takes several lamb chops out of the refrigerator and has
them in a pan and is seasoning them.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             What can I do you for this
                             evening, Mr. President?

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (OS)
                                       (sourly)
                             You could try surrendering and
                             lowering your shield, for one thing.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             I don't think so, and neither do
                             you, hopefully. I have a bit
                             more faith in your contact with
                             reality than I do that of your
                             people outside.

Mike moves the meat into a baking pan and covers it with a
special mint sauce of his own invention.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D)
                             Right now I'm in the process of
                             putting my dinner in the oven, so
                             we have about 30 minutes to
                             discuss something meaningful and
                             doable.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (OS)
                             I hope you realize that you cost
                             your country 30-million dollars
                             today when you destroyed that
                             laser. I think you owe your
                             fellow American taxpayers
                             something in return. On what
                             terms would you be willing to
                             discuss sharing your technology
                             with the government?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Mr. President, I didn't put that
                             thing across the street, your
                             people did. You might be
                             interested to know that I built
                             my 'technology' for well under a
                             million dollars.

Mike finishes preparing dinner and puts it in the oven after
setting the timer. He pulls another Guinness from the
refrigerator and opens it as he sits in a large sixties
style basket chair suspended from the ceiling.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D)
                             I know that Marine helicopter you
                             fly around in cost us about five
                             times that amount, and it would
                             be hard-pressed to land on Pike's
                             Peak. Now as I said, how may I
                             be of service tonight?

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (OS)
                             I have assembled the Joint Chiefs
                             and the entire cabinet with me
                             this evening. We've discussed
                             the current situation as it
                             concerns you and the weapons you
                             are holding.

Mike's eyebrows raise and his eyes search the ceiling.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                                       (frustrated)
                             Oye vey! One last time for the
                             record, Mr. President, I am not
                             holding weapons, only potential
                             weapons. That's the major reason
                             I'm not terribly interested in
                             discussing them with you or
                             anyone else. I'd much prefer if
                             you and your troops go away and
                             just leave me to my dinner and
                             experiments.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (OS)
                             I really don't think that's an
                             option for either of us at this
                             point. Since you've made it
                             rather difficult to come and get
                             you, we'd rather you came to us
                             and around to your country's
                             viewpoint.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Oh, I understand your point of
                             view, totally. I could call
                             Gallup and get the country's
                             opinion, but, somehow, I don't
                             think that appropriate at the
                             moment. You seem to fail to see
                             mine and the rest of the free
                             world's. It's the same as
                             Einstein saying in 1943 'Yes, I
                             can do that but you can't have
                             it'. He regretted for the rest of
                             his life the fact that it was his
                             equations and knowledge that
                             participated in the Manhattan
                             Project and the bombing of
                             Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I don't
                             really want that kind of guilt
                             trip.


                                                 MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D)
                             I'm telling you up front, that I
                             have developed a vehicular drive
                             that belongs to me and nobody
                             else. There is a potential
                             danger for major misuse of what I
                             see as a peaceful application.
                             In case you're not aware yet, I
                             have 18 other satellites in orbit
                             that can detect any research that
                             would potentially infringe on my
                             patents. Please believe me sir
                             that I don't mean this as a
                             threat, but I have zero intention
                             of allowing that to happen.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (OS)
                             What do you mean?

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

Forest looks for understanding in the faces of those around
the conference table. Receiving none, he adds,

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (CONT'D)
                             We have had a dozen research
                             projects covering the same ground
                             that you say you are using.
                             Those amounted to nothing.

                                                 MIKE (OS)
                             What I mean is that no one,
                             including the US government, may
                             conduct research in areas covered
                             by my patents for the next 18
                             years until they expire. At the
                             end of that time, all proprietary
                             specs associated with those
                             patents will be available to the
                             US government and other select
                             countries. I'm sick of seeing my
                             tax dollars wasted by your
                             administration and many previous
                             ones on dead-end projects in the
                             hands of narrow-minded, mediocre
                             scientists who couldn't free
                             think if you paid them...which
                             you did quite liberally, actually.
                             I just took their quickly-
                             discarded ideas and stopped
                             thinking inside the box.

                                                                                                                        42.


Forest again looks around the table at the blank faces of
his advisors.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             I'm sorry, but you've lost me on
                             that. The government looks
                             forward to seeing the details of
                             those patents, but in the 18 year
                             interval, what assurances do I
                             have that you won't use your
                             technology against your government
                             or possibly other foreign
                             governments?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             The assurance is that I don't
                             want your job! I concur with
                             Will Rogers that anyone who wants
                             to be President should be
                             prevented from running. I'm more
                             than content to sit here
                             conversing with my computers,
                             tinkering with neat stuff in my
                             workshop, and having an occasional
                             Guinness. I don't need the pain
                             in the butt that leading several
                             million people would present.

There is a slight pause and the sound of a man swallowing
comes through the telephone.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS, CONT'D)
                             Now my ship that you're so hot to
                             get your hands on, is based on
                             the research of a Russian kid,
                             Eugene Podkletnov, in Finland in
                             the nineties crossed with a
                             motion converting device by Dean
                             from the fifties and findings by
                             geeks playing with 'lifters' in
                             this century. Mix that with a
                             couple of Tesla's ideas on
                             resonance from the last century
                             thrown in for good measure. You
                             had a girl, Ning Li if I remember,
                             who worked on something similar
                             in Huntsville for a while, but
                             she hit the wall and you pulled
                             her funding - which, by the way,
                             was about four times what it cost
                             me to build the entire prototype
                             that's in orbit right now.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS, CONT'D)
                             None of your people in the
                             'established' world of physics
                             have a clue how to innovate or
                             think! This isn't anything new.
                             I just mixed several old
                             established ideas together and
                             voila. Not rocket science...well,
                             I guess maybe it is.

The President presses the mute button on his desk and turns
to his science advisor.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Is what he says possible, Jim?

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                                       (sheepishly)
                             No chance in hell, Mr. President.
                             We thoroughly investigated the
                             Russian's experiments and were
                             never able to verify anything. A
                             5-million dollar fiasco, if you
                             ask me. As for 'lifters' and
                             Tesla, well many crackpots out
                             there actually believe in that
                             pseudo-science. NASA looked at
                             lifters for a while, but never
                             could get anything out of it that
                             could push a 10-pound weight,
                             much less a shuttle. We've toyed
                             with Tesla's notes for the better
                             part of half a century and never
                             got anywhere with them. My gut
                             reaction is that this person's
                             lying through his teeth and
                             hiding something; at very least,
                             he's not saying what that really
                             is. We need some more time to
                             thoroughly check out his claims.

                                                 SECDEF
                             Lying or not, he's put up
                             something into orbit yesterday
                             from his back yard. NASA and NSA
                             both confirm that there is a new
                             object in a low static orbit
                             above Georgia. Besides the
                             reports from the local police,
                             several other eyewitnesses
                             reported seeing his flying saucer
                             take off with no smoke, fire, or
                             noise.

                                                 SECDEF (CONT'D)
                                       (beat)
                             The NSA also reports that several
                             of their surveillance satellites
                             have detected new synchronous
                             satellites in their areas. No
                             other country has claimed to
                             launch anything for months, so I
                             have to assume they're his as he
                             said. We have no idea how he did
                             it, but we know there's new junk
                             in space that we didn't put there
                             or even detect going up. The
                             French, Chinese, Russians--
                             nobody's launched anything except
                             missions to the ISA, and I, for
                             one, want to know just how he did
                             that. I also want to know how he
                             managed to build a spacecraft in
                             his backyard with no red flags
                             going up in the intel community
                             and nobody else noticing!

The President presses mute again and Mike's laughter from
the speaker cuts him off abruptly.

                                                 MIKE (OS)
                             First off, tell Jim I accomplished
                             it by using my head, not the deep
                             pockets of some bureaucracy.
                             Secondly, I'm not really a
                             crackpot. Third, it's not
                             pseudo-science and fourth, I'm
                             being entirely truthful. Your
                             people are just incompetent
                             because they happen to believe
                             the textbooks.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (shouting angrily)
                             I had you on hold, Mr. Angelskov.

Forest looks to the wide screen television in one wall. The
sound is off, but Forest knows that CNN has tapped into
Mike's web cam feed and are carrying this "live". The scene
just shows Mike sitting in a suspended wicker chair with a
can of Guinness in his hand.

                                                 MIKE (OS)
                                       (correcting)
                             Angel.
                                       (beat)
                             The White House is wired with a
                             digital phone system, Mr.
                             President. Your 'hold' and 'mute'
                             tell the computer to lift the
                             microphone circuit, but don't
                             actually cut the circuit like the
                             old mechanical systems used to.
                             You also have Internet connections
                             running through the same
                             switchboard. Esads, my house
                             computer, likes to surf the net
                             and make friends in his spare
                             time. Your computer likes my
                             computer, so it didn't cut the line.

The President reddens and looks pointedly at his security
people.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             You could be charged for hacking
                             through White House security, Mr.
                             Angel.

                                                 MIKE (OS)
                             Not really; my computer did it.
                             Rather handy at times, I must
                             admit. You can also tell the
                             SecDef that he's correct.
                             Besides the ship, I have 18 other
                             satellites up for communication
                             and detection. They are all
                             equipped with the same type of
                             drive and enough artificial
                             intelligence to defend themselves
                             against anything that comes
                             within 100 kilometers. Even
                             though they are primarily there
                             for communications, they can also
                             detect any research on the ground
                             that could potentially violate
                             any of my patents. I assume
                             you've already gotten the patent
                             report back from the FBI.

The FBI Director gives Forrest an affirmative nod.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             I haven't had a chance to study
                             it yet. What does that have to do
                             with anything?

                                                 MIKE (OS)
                             Because I have no intention of
                             licensing any of this stuff to
                             anyone else on the planet. I can
                             detect any research that would
                             infringe on my patents and I have
                             the means to prevent its
                             development. Why should I give
                             this away to the competition?
                             Besides, the chances that it will
                             be misused by somebody are close
                             to 99 and 44 one-hundredths
                             percent assured.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             What will it take, then, to
                             convince you?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Oh, I'd say about 100 years of
                             honorable behavior and not
                             picking fights with your
                             neighbors. I don't mean to imply
                             that you're wrong, but you're not
                             always right, either. Quite
                             frankly, I put every government
                             on this planet within your 'Evil
                             Empire'.

                                                 SECDEF
                             Everybody has a price, what's yours?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Let's see now, the annual
                             interest on the national debt is
                             running about $600-billion. I'll
                             take that in a lump-sum cash
                             payment fully tax exempt.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (quietly)
                             All right, you've made yourself
                             clear, Mr. Angel, you don't want
                             money. There must be something
                             with which we can negotiate?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Well, there are a couple of small
                             stipulations. First, this would
                             only be an 18-year license on the
                             basic technology. I would be
                             free to develop it further
                             independently.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS; CONT'D)
                             Second, under absolutely no
                             circumstances would you share
                             with any of your 'allies',
                             especially any that have a non-
                             secular form of government.
                             Third, only people whose
                             grandparents were native-born
                             Americans and who have no family
                             ties to a foreign country will be
                             allowed to work with it.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (sputtering)
                             Now I know you're insane. Those
                             are unrealistically harsh terms,
                             Mr. Angel, and impossible to
                             grant. You can't dictate
                             national or foreign policy. I
                             would have to discuss those terms
                             with State; look at any treaty or
                             pact issues. If you are truly
                             concerned about the welfare of
                             your country, Mr. Angel, you will
                             reconsider your demands. You
                             must see the situation from our
                             perspective. You have given us no
                             real proof of trust. We are not
                             going away; we've been here
                             almost 250 years. My first job
                             is to protect the American people
                             and that is what I will continue
                             to do.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL(OS)
                                       (more than a little exasperated)
                             Look, Sir. I'm glad you see the
                             risk. Worst-case scenario; I
                             have a year's supply of food and
                             water. I admit only a month or
                             so of beer, but I can do without.
                             My power is self-sustaining. You
                             can't get in, but I can leave any
                             time I want to by going straight
                             up in the ship. This field goes
                             up a little over 100,000 feet and
                             I don't think an SR-71 can
                             precision bomb at their cruising
                             speed to drop anything down a
                             small opening. You'd need Luke
                             Skywalker to pull off that one.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL(OS; CONT'D)
                             You could try nukes, but then
                             you'd take out a little piece of
                             real estate known as Atlanta and,
                             frankly, I can sustain a direct
                             hit with the shield, or I could
                             deflect it off a state or two and
                             then you'll be responsible for
                             taking out a city full of
                             civilians. By intensifying the
                             shield, not even the EMP can get
                             through.

                                                 SECDEF
                             You wouldn't do that!

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Try me. Whether you like it or
                             not, Mr. President, I am in
                             control of this situation and you
                             will just have to take my honest
                             word for it that I don't intend
                             to use any of my inventions to
                             harm or destroy any person,
                             government, or country. I will
                             not turn over any of my work to
                             your government or any one else's
                             and that is my final word. If
                             you check with my old C.O.,
                             Captain Teramore, you'll find out
                             that I always do exactly what I say.

Forest's hand starts to move toward the button again, but
the Director of CIA spoke up.

                                                 BILL MURRAUGH
                             What is that gibberish on the CD-
                             ROM you sent us?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Not gibberish, Mr. Murraugh. That
                             disk contains the complete
                             detailed plans for everything I
                             have here, including the plans
                             and programming for Esads along
                             with all of my notes. I'm
                             certain your people discovered
                             already that I encrypted it.
                             That's a 4096-bit encryption key
                             that Esads and I estimate will
                             take nearly 18 years to crack if
                             you use every super computer that
                             the government can lay its hands
                             on.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS; CONT'D)
                             President Puchinskiy in Moscow
                             has also received a duplicate
                             copy. The two countries working
                             together might be able to break
                             it in 15. However, since sharing
                             of information is neither one of
                             your strong suits, I don't really
                             see that happening. I'm going to
                             hand you the key the day the
                             patents expire anyway. If you're
                             interested in flushing taxpayer
                             money down the toilet, you can
                             try to crack it early. Who knows?
                             You might get lucky.

                                                 BILL FREER
                             You can't ship that type of
                             information outside the United
                             States! That's an illegal arms
                             shipment.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                                       (exasperated)
                             Last I looked, the U.S. and
                             Russian Federation were friends
                             and they're not on your forbidden
                             list. Not bosom buddies, mind
                             you, but you're not dropping
                             hardware on each other either.
                             Since there have really only been
                             two great super powers in the
                             history of the world, I thought
                             it only fair to include the
                             Russians in the mix. I'd like
                             you to check the URL of the site
                             I'm broadcasting from right now.
                             You'll find it's on a Relcom
                             server that you can't control. I
                             have quite a few other servers
                             around the globe; so short of
                             cutting the Internet backbone
                             into the US, there's no way you
                             can block me. I told the
                             Secretary of Defense earlier that
                             everything I do from here on out
                             is public knowledge. We have
                             links with video and audio on a
                             global scale that anyone who
                             wishes to surf can pick up. I
                             don't trust the press or the P-R
                             pukes any more than any of you do.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS; CONT'D)
                             If the court of public opinion is
                             going to crucify me, it will be
                             for something that I've really
                             done, not what some third party
                             interprets me as doing or saying.
                             I have no secrets...well, maybe a
                             couple here and there in orbit,
                             but my intentions are a matter of
                             public record.
                                       (beat)
                             Think of it like those porno
                             sites you see all over: Angel-
                             cam. All Mike, all the time.
                             Anybody, including the news
                             services, can tune in 24/7 and
                             can go off on a reality trip. I
                             may be private, but I don't do
                             secrets. I don't want to read
                             tomorrow in the New York Times
                             that I threatened the United
                             States because that's what you
                             leaked to the press. They can
                             tune in and draw their own
                             conclusions. It also makes it
                             tough for you to find 12 people
                             for a jury to try me on any
                             charges you want to trump up.
                             Like I said, I don't do closed-door.

                                                 ATTORNEY GENERAL
                                       (smugly)
                             We don't have to. The Patriot Act
                             provides us with the means of
                             trying you in a Military Tribunal
                             as a terrorist.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (shouting now)
                             You can't get away with this.
                             This is a total breach of
                             National Security. As long as
                             this is a public forum, there may
                             be many Americans who, like me,
                             will immediately worry about so
                             much power in the hands of one
                             man. You may find, Mr. Angel,
                             that a majority of Americans will
                             join me in a desire to have real
                             guarantees.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                                       (flatly)
                             I can, I will, I have already.
                             You're a publicly elected
                             official; well, maybe not by me,
                             but let's not go there. Anything
                             that you do will have an effect
                             on the entire country. It's
                             their right to be in on what
                             you're up to on their behalf.
                             The rest of you people are
                             sitting there at the behest of
                             the President; therefore, your
                             actions reflect his judgment of
                             your competency. This is one of
                             the few times in history that the
                             electorate can be in on the real
                             workings of their tax dollars.
                             I'll bet C-SPAN is going nuts
                             over this show! Heck, if you
                             keep your flyboys in my street,
                             we could turn this into the
                             ultimate 'Survivor' until I
                             decide to kick them off the island.

Forest can see Mike grinning into the camera on the
television and his hand starts to go for the mute button
again when he realizes it wouldn't do any good.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Suggestions?

                                                 GENERAL APPLEHOFF
                             I say we hit him with everything
                             we've got. I can get close to a
                             division there by tomorrow
                             afternoon. Delta Force is
                             already on their way down from
                             Fort Campbell.

                                                 VICE PRESIDENT LINK
                             Sir, the Senate at this moment is
                             debating a bill to outlaw private
                             ownership of this type of weapon.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                                       (patronizing)
                             Fellows, fellows. You can come up
                             with all of the ex post facto
                             laws you want, but I'll beat you
                             with the Supremes.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS; CONT'D)
                             As for military force, I really
                             don't want to get into a
                             posturing contest with you
                             because I know I can win. I'd
                             just rather not have to pay that
                             price, though, in funerals for
                             your people. It would be a
                             complete exercise in futility on
                             your part to throw bodies at me.
                             You know I can crush anything you
                             send my way, pun intended.
                                       (beat)
                             Look, I really didn't want to
                             have to do this, but do you have
                             any real estate that you don't
                             need that doesn't have any people
                             near it for about a ten mile radius?

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Why do you ask?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             I have one final demonstration -
                             well, an experiment really. I
                             need coordinates of a site that
                             you won't miss. Or, if you'd like,
                             by my calculations I could turn
                             the Pentagon into a tide pool of
                             the Potomac.

Forest looks around the table as a white-faced Secretary of
Defense holds up a finger indicating "wait a minute". He
rises and leaves the room.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Is that a threat? What do you
                             plan on doing?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             No, Sir, not a threat at all.
                             Look, I'd planned to test this
                             aspect of the drive on the moon,
                             but it would probably be in
                             everybody's best interest if all
                             of you were witness to it. I
                             intend to create a small quantum
                             singularity at a point you specify.

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                                       (Blurting)
                             A black hole? Impossible!

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                                       (Obvious grin in his voice)
                             Watch closely, then. You seem to
                             overlook the small fact that I've
                             solved the Unified Field Theory
                             and can contain forces that you
                             say don't exist. It's the heart
                             of my drive system, a blend of
                             quantum mechanics with super-
                             strings, and I estimate with
                             proper development, it will allow
                             me to travel close to light speed.
                             I just haven't tested it out yet
                             because your junior birdmen
                             outside interrupted me rather
                             rudely. Now is as good a time as
                             any to run the rest of the tests
                             while I have an audience.

                                                 GENERAL APPLEHOFF
                                       (Stiffening)
                             I think that any good American
                             would interpret that as a threat.

                                                 MIKE
                             Not really. It's more of a
                             promise. Right now, you and I
                             have each other's full attention.
                             I'm just saying that there is a
                             line that you don't want to push
                             me past because I can
                             theoretically do a whale of a lot
                             of damage to your infrastructure.
                             I don't want to do that, and I
                             hope you believe me, Sir.
                             However, right now, you are the
                             people who are way out of line,
                             not me. I'm just sitting here
                             having dinner with no ulterior
                             motives and I'm not crazy about
                             the thought of you trying a 'Pork
                             Chop Hill' tactic on me. I get
                             indigestion with that stuff.
                             Besides, we all know by now that
                             the poor people you send would
                             follow any misdirection you give
                             them and end up as fertilizer.
                             Not something I want to do.

The SecDef reenters and hands the President a paper.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Mr. Angelskov...

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Mike, or Mr. Angel if you insist.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Here are the co-ordinates you
                             requested.

He proceeds to rattle off several numbers as latitude and
longitude.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Thank you, Sir. And you're
                             certain that there is nobody near
                             this location?

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Yes.

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. MIKE'S LIVING ROOM

Mike reaches for his communicator on the television.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Ship?

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             Yes.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Did you get those coordinates?

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             Of course.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             How long to reach them?

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             It will take approximately four
                             minutes to achieve stable orbit
                             over that position.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             OK. Then prepare a 1 centimeter
                             singularity for one half second.
                             That should be enough.

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             I would recommend a tenth second
                             and a half centimeter, sir.
                             Otherwise you might risk taking
                             too much of the state with it,
                             not including the atmosphere.
                             Besides, the orbital effects are
                             still unknown.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Whatever you feel is best. Let me
                             know when you're in position and
                             prepare to give a video feed.

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             Aye, aye.

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                                       (SHAKILY)
                             Your space ship is actually going
                             to create the quantum singularity?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Technically, it's not really a
                             singularity; just a highly
                             concentrated gravitational field
                             in a small area - about one solar
                             mass in the space of a pea, if my
                             calculations are correct. I'm
                             going to have the ship direct its
                             space drive toward the coordinates
                             the President gave me. The
                             concentration at ground level
                             will attract all matter for
                             nearly a quarter mile. Basically,
                             everything will seem to disappear.

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                             Creating a black hole is impossible.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             We'll see. As I said,
                             theoretically I can do it. The
                             preliminary calculations for the
                             design of the ship that Esads
                             made says we can do it. I've
                             never tried it before but now is
                             as good a time as any to give it
                             a shot.

                                                 VICE PRESIDENT LINK
                                       (LOOKING LOST)
                             What exactly is an Esads?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Electronically Simulated
                             Artificial Development System, my
                             house computer. There is a
                             smaller version aboard the ship,
                             but I haven't named her yet.

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                             How can a computer talk like that?
                             I've got voice recognition and
                             speech synthesis on my PC at home,
                             but nothing that can interpret
                             plain speech from several people.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Well, when I was designing him I
                             found it a real pain to type in
                             all his programming, so I
                             developed a heuristic operating
                             system that is not just voice
                             activated, but can also respond
                             with speech. That was a couple
                             of years ago. He since improved
                             on my design by several orders of
                             magnitude. He continually learns
                             and improves. That's the easy
                             part, especially being able to
                             access the world's knowledge on
                             the web.

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                             Then it's basically just a
                             supercomputer with voice recognition.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             He left supercomputers in the
                             dust a long time ago. He started
                             out as a massively parallel
                             processor with several thousand
                             old 1-gigahertz DEC Alpha chips I
                             picked up on E-bay. Each chip
                             has a gigabyte of RAM for short-
                             term memory. The first thing he
                             developed was a holographic
                             memory storage using silicon
                             crystals. At last estimate, he
                             has about 150,000 teraquads of
                             long-term worm memory. The
                             entire system runs at over 500
                             teraflops.

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                             Tera what?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Teraflop. He can perform over
                             500-trillion operations per second.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             What are the worms?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Worm. Write once, read mostly. I
                             designed the basic operating
                             system to be like a human's since
                             I wanted him to independently
                             develop things. The short-term
                             RAM gathers and stores data. He
                             then filters it for relevance
                             over several days. Anything he
                             figures is worth remembering is
                             stored periodically in worm
                             memory. He'll discard anything
                             not of interest. The operating
                             system is now light years ahead
                             of my original design. Like I
                             said, he's constantly improving
                             himself.

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             I am in position.

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. MIKE'S LIVING ROOM

Mike turns to the screen of the laptop.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Can you give me a video feed on
                             the target?

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                                       (sarcasm)
                             Of course I can.

An image appears on the laptop showing an expanse of desert
with several low buildings and an old airstrip in severe
disrepair. Mike assumes it to be an old abandoned military
installation somewhere in the Southwest.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             You're sure this is an area you
                             don't need anymore?

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

The President looks to the general who nods. CNN is still
carrying all of this and the image sent by the ship appears
on the large screen at the White House.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Yes.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Ok, then please believe me when I
                             say that this is not a threat.
                             It's only a demonstration of why
                             it's really not in your best
                             interest to keep bugging me. I
                             had absolutely no intention of
                             testing this on the Earth, or of
                             ever using it for any purpose
                             like this. I just want you to
                             understand that I can if I have
                             to. I assume, also, that by this
                             time I've gathered quite a global
                             audience, which is a good thing.
                             I hate repeating myself.

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. MIKE'S LIVING ROOM

Mike can see a message scrolling across the bottom of the
screen of the laptop.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Good. I see NTV in Moscow is
                             also covering this so that
                             everyone can get a good view.

                                                 PROTOTYPE (OS)
                             Sir, I have company up here.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Is a representative of NSA or CIA
                             present, sir?

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST (OS)
                             Yes.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Then I would heartily recommend
                             he keep his birds at a minimum 100
                             klicks. We don't mind an
                             audience, but the ship resents
                             anything invading her personal space.

                                                 BILL MURRAUGH (OS)
                             That's a 500-million dollar
                             satellite!

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Then I'll remind you again that
                             you paid too much. I built the
                             ship and the computer that runs
                             her for around a mil. I'll also
                             mention again that while the rest
                             of my satellites aren't as
                             sophisticated as the ship, they
                             are all relatively antisocial and
                             don't like unexpected company.
                             They will crunch anything that
                             gets too close.

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

The CIA Director looks for a sign from Forrest and when he
gets it, he places a call on his mobile phone. He quickly
dials a number and speaks into it in a low tone.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Are you ready Mr. President.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (Glum voice)
                             "No, but I assume you'll proceed
                             anyway."

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                                       (to prototype)
                             Fire when ready, Gridley.

The scene on the large television in the conference room
remains unchanged. Then everything is gone; buildings,
runway, cacti disappear in an instant. The emptiness
lingers a second or two before a sudden and tremendous wind
and sand storm blots out the picture.

                                                 GENERAL APPLEHOFF
                                       (shouting)
                             What in blazes kind of explosion
                             was that?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             Implosion. A gravitational force,
                             roughly equivalent to that of our
                             sun, existed for a fraction of a
                             second in the desert. Everything
                             for a quarter mile got sucked
                             into it.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (Shakily)
                             Where did it go?

Forest's eyes are glued to the screen that shows the dust
beginning to settle and a large crater appears where the old
base once stood.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             I imagine by now it's somewhere
                             near the center of the Earth.
                             Everything that used to be there
                             was compressed to about the size
                             of a pea so it became rather
                             heavy, probably several hundred
                             million tons, and sank. You can
                             inspect the hole anytime you want
                             because there won't be any
                             residual radioactivity or
                             anything else in the area. In
                             fact, you've got a nice valley in
                             an otherwise dull landscape.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (still shaken, now white)
                             I'll think about it and let you
                             know on your demands.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL (OS)
                             I've made no demands. You're the
                             one that's surrounded my house
                             and have been badgering me. I
                             have only one wish and that is to
                             be left alone - to see a nice
                             quiet street outside my house
                             again, instead of a bivouac area
                             for the 3rd Army.

There is a loud click as the connection is terminated.

                                                                                          CUT TO:

INT. MIKE'S KITCHEN

Mike takes his meal out of the oven, sets it out on a plate,
and grabs a bottle of wine from the refrigerator.

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER (OS)
                             They have disconnected.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             The singularity worked.

Mike pours a small glass of a domestic Chardonnay.

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER (OS)
                             Of course it did. Did you expect
                             it not to?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             We hadn't tested it before and
                             experiments rarely work the first
                             time.

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER (OS)
                             Mine do.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Remind me to work on your ego
                             subroutine. Tell the ship to come
                             back and stand by, please.

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER (OS)
                             She's already here and waiting.
                             Do you want me to cut the
                             streaming audio and video?

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Heck no. Let the news services
                             pick what they want, and the rest
                             of the world can be voyeurs.
                             This is all Mike all the
                             time...remember? Besides,
                             they'll know that good food is
                             really where it's at.

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER (OS)
                                       (extreme sarcasm)
                             Talk about my ego, we need to
                             work on yours.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             We'll work some on your sarcasm,
                             too. Nobody likes a smart-ass!
                             Especially a mechanical one.

                                                 HOUSE COMPUTER
                             I have no moving parts, sir.

                                                 MIKE ANGEL
                             Drop it!

                                                                                          DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

The president looks around the room, still white and shaking.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Well, gentlemen, where do we go
                             from here?

                                                 GENERAL APPLEHOFF
                             Even though he seems invulnerable,
                             we still have several missile
                             platforms in orbit left over from
                             the eighties. We could position
                             one over his shield and just drop
                             one or two on him.

                                                 NSA DIRECTOR
                             Yeah, right. Best case, we
                             destroy him and all his equipment.
                             Worst case, he moves your bomb to
                             the Arlington suburbs. I'd call
                             that a lose-lose situation.
                             Besides, you think 20-year-old
                             guidance systems can hit a 100-
                             yard hole from 500 miles up?
                             Don't forget, he has that
                             monstrosity up there over his
                             head standing guard.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             I would agree, too. But we can't
                             roll over and play dead to this
                             man who is sitting on a weapon of
                             mass destruction that we have
                             absolutely no defense against.
                             Worse than that, this weapon is
                             intelligent. Taking out this man
                             would only open us up to his
                             computers.

                                                 BILL FREER
                             We could keep him pinned down
                             indefinitely.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             I believe him when he says that
                             ship of his could navigate down
                             the shield around his house. He
                             can sit there mocking us until he
                             wants to leave. Then he will.

                                                 BILL MURRAUGH
                             What's the range on that old
                             'Star Wars' laser we still have
                             up there? We might be able to
                             take out the weapon he has up
                             there by blindsiding him.

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                             If I understood him, each of his
                             satellites can detect us and have
                             similar capabilities. We start
                             moving weapons around and he's
                             going to take measures against us.
                             He's already threatened the Pentagon.

                                                 GENERAL APPLEHOFF
                             We can't just sit here and do
                             nothing, that would be tantamount
                             to surrender.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Do we have a viable alternative?
                             If he's to be believed, he
                             doesn't want to be the aggressor
                             here. Can we work with him?

                                                 SCIENCE ADVISOR
                             I don't know. He is a total wild
                             card. He's shown so far that he
                             doesn't want anything except left
                             alone. He hasn't done anything
                             except retaliate. I need time to
                             study what we've seen before I
                             can give you an educated guess as
                             to his capabilities.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (snorting)
                             I've already seen his capabilities!
                             I don't need guesses, I need answers.

                                                 GENERAL APPLEHOFF
                             I want those weapons where they
                             belong, and that's entirely under
                             our control. This nut could
                             potentially issue an ultimatum
                             for the government to resign and
                             that is an unacceptable risk.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             He hasn't done that so far. I
                             don't see where he intends to...yet.

The President's Chief of Staff comes in with some papers and
hands them to the President.

                                                 VICE PRESIDENT LINK
                             Whatever you decide, it had
                             better be gentle. The global
                             polls are running almost 54% in
                             favor of this character and
                             already 35% against the
                             government's handling of him.
                             People here are getting a little
                             hostile against the persecution
                             of one private citizen by the
                             entire force of the government.
                             His publicity is showing us off
                             as pompous bullies. And besides,
                             he's holding us off!

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             Can we kill his access to the press?

                                                 VICE PRESIDENT LINK
                             Doubtful. He was right that we'd
                             have to cut the Internet backbone.
                             If he can access a server within
                             any country, there's almost no
                             way we can get him. Besides,
                             he'd probably just jump servers
                             every time we shut one down.
                             Since he's using satellite
                             communication, he can pop up
                             anywhere.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             I want everyone here to get their
                             staff working on ideas tonight.
                             We'll meet back here at eight in
                             the morning.

His dismissal has everyone up and hurrying for the door.
The President stops his press secretary.

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                             I'm going to need an official
                             statement by nine tomorrow or the
                             press is going to eat me alive.

                                                 PRESS SECRETARY
                             Which way is it to go?

                                                 PRESIDENT FOREST
                                       (tired)
                             Better get me two: one each way.
                             Unless someone comes up with a
                             bright idea, this guy is
                             untouchable and we are going to
                             look like the idiots if we don't
                             back off.

                                                 PRESS SECRETARY
                             Will do.

                                                                                          DISSOLVE TO:

INT. NAVAL OFFICE

A man in Naval fatigues, CAPTAIN BARRY TERAMORE, is sitting
at a desk filling out paperwork. He has eagles on his
collar. Another man knocks briefly and enters.

                                                 XO
                             Captain, the CNO is on the phone.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             What? I'm just commander of the
                             Seal Training Unit. What does
                             the Chief of Naval Operations
                             want with me?

                                                 XO
                             Unknown, sir. He's on line two.

The captain reaches for the telephone on his desk.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             I'll take it here.

The XO turns on his heel and closes the door behind him.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Sir, this is Captain Teramore.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             Captain, I need to speak to you
                             about one of your former personnel.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Yes, Sir. I try to maintain
                             contact with most of our people.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             It's about former Master Chief
                             Michael Angel.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Oh Lord! What's he done now?

                                                 CNO
                             You remember him, then.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Sir, there are some people you
                             can't forget, no matter how hard
                             you try.

The Captain slouches in his chair and we see a slight tremor
begin in his hand as a twitch develops in his left eye.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             A real troublemaker I take it.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Well, that depends on your
                             definition of troublemaker, Sir.
                             He's more of a major pain-in-the-
                             ass. If you want a job done,
                             he's your man. I've never had a
                             better Seal before or since.
                             Nevertheless, if you need someone
                             to follow protocol and orders,
                             then you need to run as fast as
                             you can from him. The guy is a
                             one-man division. The mission
                             will be done, but he'll do it his
                             way or no way.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             I take it you've been keeping up
                             with the news, then?

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             No, Sir. We just returned from a
                             month's training exercises and
                             I've been catching up on paperwork.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             Then I suggest you turn on CNN.

Captain Teramore reaches for a remote control on the desk
and activates the television in the corner of the office.
As the picture fades up it reveals the image of a man
lounging on a folding chair wearing a loud shirt and holding
a can of beer. The Captain can make out an Air Force
officer and several other military personnel walking around
in the background. On closer inspection, the scene appears
a suburban setting, not your normal military base. The
Captain's hand has now developed a distinct tremor and his
eye has a full-blown tic.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                                       (hoarsely)
                             That's him. What's he done this time?

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             He's been threatening the United
                             States with weapons of mass
                             destruction.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Now that's not him! I couldn't
                             ask for a more dedicated man at
                             my six. Frankly, he spent more
                             time and energy coming up with
                             ways not to inflict casualties
                             than he would have if he'd just
                             follow orders for a change. He's
                             not a pacifist, mind you, but he
                             won't hurt anyone he doesn't have
                             to. We got more damn prisoners
                             on my watch than I care to think
                             about. Crap, I hate to admit it,
                             but I was tempted to put him in
                             for the Medal of Honor a half-
                             dozen times for all of the lives
                             he saved on both sides. God,
                             please don't ever let him know I
                             said that.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             Let me fill you in what's been
                             happening.

The CNO begins relating the events of the past week.

Teramore is white by the end of his briefing and his hand
with the telephone is now vibrating against the side of his
head.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             You haven't pissed him off, have
                             you Sir?

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             You're telling me that he's
                             dangerous, then?

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Dangerous? No...well, yes...maybe.
                             Again, it depends on how you look
                             at it.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             He'll retaliate, then?

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Retaliate? No. Get even? I'll
                             bet my retirement on it! You get
                             him too bent out of shape and
                             he'll make you pray that he'd
                             retaliate. Armed conflict would
                             be a walk in the park compared to
                             what he'll do to your life.
                             He'll make you so miserable that
                             working in the sewers would be
                             preferable to government service.
                             Like I said, he's a one-man
                             division and he's smart. You
                             can't have a better man on your
                             side; and you can't have a worse
                             one against you!

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             But he's threatened to destroy
                             the Pentagon. Moreover, he
                             threatened to redirect missiles
                             to the D.C. area!

Teramore breaks out into a tension-relieving belly laugh.

                                                 CNO (OS, CONTD)
                             He's bluffing, then?

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                                       (voice still shaking
                                       from the laugh)
                             No. It's not really a bluff.
                             That's just the Chief's warped
                             sense of humor. Sure, he may
                             have the capability to do it, but
                             Mike would no more put anyone in
                             harm's way than you'd deliberately
                             run down a nun in a crosswalk.
                             I'll bet he kept a straight face
                             when he told you that, that
                             warped son of a...!

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             But he can actually do it. He
                             demonstrated it to us!

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                                       (calming down)
                             I know. You know he can. He
                             knows that you know it, and
                             that's why it's funny.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE (CONT'D)
                             He'll keep you just off-balance
                             enough with doubt until he
                             strong-arms you into agreeing
                             with him. That's just his way.
                             Believe me Sir; I don't think the
                             man even uses insecticide. He
                             has always come up with a way to
                             minimize any collateral damage.
                             But don't get on his bad side
                             because he will make everyone on
                             the Hill wish they'd flunked out
                             of law school and gone into
                             ditch-digging.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             The man has totally ignored and
                             insulted the President, Captain.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Good...I mean, I always thought
                             it was just me that he tortured
                             like that.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             Captain?

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Sir, I don't think the Pope or
                             even Jesus Christ could get
                             through that thick skull of the
                             Chief's when he thinks he's right.
                             He gave me an ulcer, a nervous
                             tic, and I received at least a
                             half-dozen reprimands for me not
                             following orders to the letter
                             when I had the misfortune of
                             being his keeper. The only
                             authority he respects is his own.
                             Please assure the President that
                             it's not personal - and assure
                             him that he's not going to win,
                             either. The Chief doesn't dig in
                             this hard unless he knows he's
                             holding all the cards.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             You're saying that we have to
                             give in to his demands.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Oh, no Sir. Angel will eventually
                             give you a graceful way out, but
                             you'll still wind up doing what
                             he wants. He just enjoys keeping
                             you swinging in the breeze for a
                             while. The damnable thing is
                             he's usually right. This guy
                             plans tactics in his head and
                             makes the rules up as he goes
                             along...and the rules change
                             every minute and a half. One of
                             his few redeeming qualities is
                             that if it looks like he's wrong
                             about something, he'll be the
                             first to tell you and he'll make
                             it right. No, you won't give in,
                             but I'll guarantee he's left just
                             enough wiggle room for what looks
                             like a compromise which will end
                             up giving him just what he wanted
                             in the first place and you don't
                             lose face.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             He's playing politics?

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             More like head games, Sir. He
                             doesn't do politics, at least not
                             in the sense that you do - no
                             disrespect intended, Sir. He'll
                             play you like a well-tuned
                             symphony orchestra until everyone
                             is performing his music. It may
                             always end up a win-win situation,
                             but it's rough on the ego and the
                             chain of command in the meantime.
                             In his mind, the chain of command
                             stops at him and there's no
                             higher authority. I'm just
                             thankful that I don't have to
                             deal with him any more.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             I wouldn't be too certain of that,
                             Captain.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Sir?

The tic starts up in Teramore's eye again as his voice croaks.

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             We may require a liaison that's
                             familiar with this situation.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                             Yes, Sir.
                                       (The Captain's voice
                                       becomes hoarse once again.)
                             Will that be all?

                                                 CNO (OS)
                             For now.

The line goes dead.

The Captain slowly replaces the receiver on its hook. We
see a wall clock behind the Captain showing it is only 0600
in San Diego. He opens a bottom drawer in the desk and
removes a glass and a bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon. He
fills the tumbler half full of amber liquid.

                                                 CAPTAIN TERAMORE
                                       (mumbling)
                             Just when you thought it was safe
                             to go back in the water...

The Captain downs the glass in one swallow.

                                                                                          FADE OUT:


Ben W. Gardner
Sedona, Arizona

"I do not fear computers. I fear lack of them." --Isaac Asimov

http://ca.geocities.com/vladilyich/

In The Beginning - ISBN: 1-4116-3848-4
Just In Time - ISBN 1-4116-3851-4
Ad Astra - ISBN: 978-1-84728-518-8
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