PARADOX - Chapter 85

Chapter 85

May 22, 2012 – Kirtland Air Force base, New Mexico



As soon as they landed at Kitland AFB, late in the afternoon, they were given a heroes welcome. General Jones was grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat, his rugged face standing out like a watermelon in a pumpkin patch.

“Welcome home Colonel!” the General yelled, as Chester and his group entered the headquarters building. “And that goes double for your families.’

They were almost overwhelmed by the cheers and clapping of the crowd that had gathered. Standing near a computer console, Lt. Beartalker and Megan joined in the applause. Megan was jumping up and down like an acrobat, her dark pigtails flopping wildly like excited ropes.

“The best part is that we did not have to harm any of our own Air Force personnel,” Chester stated, as soon as the bedlam quieted down so he could speak.

“The best part is that you didn’t get your ugly arse shot,” a familiar voice growled behind him. Chester turned to see Dorbec and Arianna smiling back.

“I’ll be dammed!” Chester rushed over to hug his friend. “Thought you were on your way to New Berlin Base.”

“Brought some new toys for the General and he decided it would be best if we were all under one command here,” Dorbec replied. “Le Boche” can wait.”

Chester smiled at the derogatory term Dorbec used to describe the Nazis. It was a term that went out of style when the European Union was formed and was seldom heard. However, Dorbec was unique.

“As soon as you get your families settled into guest quarters, we will have a briefing update,” General Jones stated. “I would love to give you more time with your loved ones, however, time is one thing we have little of so we can’t squander it.”

An hour later the major participants were sitting around a huge conference table. General Jones and his staff occupied one end, Chester, Barbara, Dorbec, Megan, Arianna, and the other Team members held the other end of the table. Coffee was plentiful and notepads had been provided for scribbling. Barbara gave the General a defiant stare that meant, try and keep me away from my man!

General Jones stood and looked down at a pile of notes lying on the table in front of him. He readjusted several then focused his attention on the people.

“The death squads were activated,” he opened, “but their targets were gone.”

“What do you mean gone?” Chester was puzzled “These are high profile targets, they can’t simply disappear, can they?”

“They did. Each squad reported that their targets suddenly disappeared. One minute they were there, the next they were gone. I don’t mean they disappeared into thin air, they met at several locations and vanished from those locations.”

“They were evacuated,” Megan cut in.

“Go on.” General Jones urged her.

“The next logical step in the Nazi plan is to evacuate those members of the Brotherhood that have supported them. Their usefulness has come to an end so the Nazis must be planning something really big, and they don’t want to take the risk of having their supporters caught in the crossfire.”

“What has the media been reporting?” Dorbec asked.

Megan cleared her throat before answering. “The news media are puzzled. Practically every national leader has disappeared along with half a dozen or more of their top advisors and political supporters. In the United States, for example, the President, all of his cabinet, the Speaker of the House, several prominent Senators, The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and close associates of the President are missing. The Vice President was found with a bullet hole in his head.”

“He was not on our target list,” General Jones stated. “As far as we know he was not a member of the Brotherhood.”

Megan smiled back with an expression that said, I told you so.

“According to the media, the President gave orders to the Joint Chiefs, countersigned by the Chairman, to destroy this base, no matter what it takes.”

General Jones frowned. “My staff has found no activation notices, no ramping up for military action, nothing that would indicate an assault was underway.”

“I think the Joint Chiefs are in a, wait and see mode,” Megan grinned. “I have been bombarding them with information on the Nazi plans and on data about the Earth Crust Displacement which, by the way, has finally been corroborated by my fellow scientists worldwide. It also looks like it has speeded up. They’re not sure what’s going on. I have half the media believing me, and the other half curious.’

“So Megan, what do you think the Nazis will do next?”

“Something big.”

“Please explain, big.” General Jones chuckled and reached for his coffee cup.

“I’ve been talking with Marta and I finally got a feeling for how her people look at the big picture. They see the rest of the world as antagonists who cheated them out of their rightful place in history. Their big honcho, Hitler, wants to create a paradise for them and doesn’t seem to care how many other people die. They obviously can’t wait for the effects of the Earth Crust Displacement to do their dirty work, so they want to give their soldiers experience in how to commit murder. I think they’ll do something bad to boost the morale of their people.”

“You say that the media is finally coming around?” One of the General’s staff asked. “Have you spread the word that it was not us who attacked those bases and the Aircraft Carrier Stennis, but the Nazis?”

“We’ve been feeding them everything we have,” Megan replied. Including the fact that we did not fire back when the Air Force attacked us, and a long dossier on the Arianni.”

“What about the international scene?” Dorbec asked. “Any activity from Europe or Asia?”

“The same there,” Megan nodded. “Many of the top leaders have disappeared.”

“What is the general reaction to this news?” General Jones rubbed his upper arm where he had been wounded in Vietnam.

“Before the top leaders disappeared, they summoned their colleagues to meet in what was described as an emergency situation,” Beartalker replied. “Right now, every congress, parliament, and other political bodies are sitting in emergency meetings. Most are twiddling their thumbs trying to determine why they were called into session. With the President gone, Vice President dead and senior members of congress missing, our House and Senate is deadlocked on what to do. Some want to appoint a new acting President, others want to wait and see.”

“We have a live update coming in,” The Geek yelled, punching numbers on his computer to display a newscaster on the large wall screen. The well-known anchorman’s face was pale and he had difficulty talking. After taking a deep breath and quick sip of water to calm down, he continued.

“Police, firefighters and emergency personnel are attempting to enter the effected area as we speak but the intense cold is keeping everyone out. Although the cold continues to dissipate, only small outer portions of the perimeter can be reached so far.”

“What’s he talking about?” Chester asked. The Geek looked at several monitors then switched to a different channel that broadcast continuous cable news. “Here’s one who just started the explanation,” he stated.

“As previously stated, around fifteen minutes ago all activity from the Capital ceased to exist,” the anchorwoman stated. “Everything went totally dead in the circumference of a circle about two miles in diameter, an area that includes the Capitol Building, the White House, and the majority of government buildings. Firefighters and police who attempted to enter the area were immediately frozen in place. They literally froze solid as they entered the outer perimeter of the circle. Now that the area is beginning to thaw, bodies and many other objects are crumbling into particles when touched.”

The anchorwoman paused to catch her breath. “According to scientists who have been rushed to the area, the circle was so cold it could not be measured with the equipment they had with them. They anticipate a full thaw will take at least six to twelve hours. Our nation’s capital is not the only place hit by these incredible phenomena. Reports are coming in that the capitals of many major countries have also been effected. So far the political districts where representatives were in session in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Moscow, Jerusalem, Canada, and Beijing, have been effected. Several other major cities have also been struck including, New York, Chicago, LA, Toronto and Dallas have reported the unknown circle of freezing death. It is feared that our own Senate and Congress, who were meeting in emergency session, have all been killed by this phenomena.”

“Oh my God!” Barbara cried. “This has to be a Nazi weapon.”

“Megan?” General Jones asked.

Megan was not one to be jolted by anything, but the awful implications of this disaster were incredible. She thought for a few minutes before answering.

“According to a report in New Scientist, researchers recently chilled 2500 sodium atoms to within half a billionth of a degree of absolute zero, at which atomic oscillation slows to a standstill. Nothing in the Universe that we know of is naturally this cold. The team trapped the atoms in order to cool them by balancing gravitational and magnetic fields and then allowed the gas to expand. When the gas expanded, the atoms spread out and slowed down and lowered the temperature. The tiny cloud had a temperature of -272°C, only one degree warmer than absolute zero, the lowest limit for all temperatures. Even the background radiation from the Big Bang is warmer at -270°C. Given the power of the jewels; it is possible that the Nazis could have created a weapon that can freeze an area a few miles across to near absolute zero. After the Bell Project and time ships, I can believe just about anything.”

“We have to assume that the majority of our government representatives are dead,” General Jones stated, bringing everyone back to reality after the jolting news. “Which means that the military may be the only viable means of governing the country until new representation is put into office.”

“At least we know why the President and his fellow rats jumped ship,” Dorbec blurted. “They knew this was coming.”

“Get your hypothesis out to the media and military right now,” General Jones ordered Megan. “If this isn’t the proof they need to realize the Nazis are real, nothing else will convince them. We’re going to have world-wide chaos and someone has got to maintain order.”

He turned to Arianna. “Will this shield we have work against that kind of weapon?”

“During our wars it held up against a nuclear blast,” Arianna replied. “There is no reason not to believe it will hold up against this awful weapon.”

“Can you get me in touch with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if they’re still alive?” General Jones asked The Geek. “The last I heard they were meeting at a location outside the Capital.”

“How many of these shields do we have available,” he asked Dorbec.

“I think we brought sixty of them with us,” Dorbec replied, not certain where the General was leading.

“For starters, we have eleven active Carrier Strike Groups,” General Jones continued. “The British have two, the French, Italians, Spanish, Indian, and Brazilians have one each. We’ve learned that massed air power can meet and defeat the Nazis, so I want each of those Carrier Strike Groups equipped with a shield as soon as possible. I will ask the Joint Chiefs if there are several bases where we can consolidate our land based fighter aircraft. If so, we will provide shields for those areas also. We must have a secure area to meet and plan actions against the Nazis and this base is just as good as any.”

General Jones paused to catch his breath. “Logistics is going to be a nightmare,” he continued, and secure communications will be a necessity. We can’t afford for the Nazis to learn where our important meetings are being conducted.”

For the next half-hour, while the Geek searched for the Joint Chiefs and other allied military leaders, General Jones covered dozens of topics and explored scores of possible scenarios. Chester was thoroughly impressed by his incredible knowledge and organizational skills. He finally left to talk with his counterparts.

“Now I know why he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Dorbec stated. “The man is incredible.”

“Way above my pay grade,” Chester replied. “Thank God we have him and not some political general.”

“Any news from Monday and the rest of the Team?” Oddball asked, aware that Dorbec had just arrived from the Arianni Base.

“They just left for their mission. They decided it was too risky to take the SEALS with them so the eight of them went. They have been in my thoughts and prayers ever since.”

Oddball was taken aback. He knew that Dorbec was raised as a Catholic, but the idea of the man actually praying was hard to grasp.

“Reverend Dorbec?” The thought made Oddball giggle.