well together, you’ve been fair in your coverage and I’ve tried my level best to be open and honest with you. My better judgment tells me not to reveal to you what is behind this extraordinary movement of men and material, but I want to be frank with you. One word of caution, if you divulge any of what I’m about to tell you before January 2nd I will not hesitate to bring you up on charges of violating the National Security Act.”
“If what you’re about to tell me is to be announced publicly on January 2nd, then I agree not to report any details before that date. And being the reporter that I am, I want an exclusive sit down interview afterwards as part of the deal.”
“That’s fair, I agree to that.”
“What I’m about to say will no doubt stun you more than the takeover plot ever could have.”
“My God, what could be more stunning than that?”
“If you’ll remember the whole premise behind the cover-up was based on a comet called Sedna/Kern p236. Supposedly it had been knocked out of its orbit and plunged into the asteroid belt resulting in a stream of asteroids headed toward earth. This ‘rogue’ program ran unnoticed at two critical observatories for nearly ten months. Since those two observatories were the only assigned teams, observation of that area of space was impossible. They both received false readings generated by the ‘rogue’ program. One month ago Professor Kumar and his team at Cal Tech accessed a satellite outfitted with special filtering equipment allowing scientists to look at the sun without the glare of the sun’s surface interfering. They discovered the comet Sedna/Kern has indeed been thrown off of its original orbit and is headed for earth. It’s expected to hit earth on or about July 1st, approximately one hundred eighty-two days from now. Nine separate teams of scientists from around the world have performed exhaustive analysis on the data; in their words the data is incontrovertible. The planet will suffer a strike by this comet. They have asked General Hanken to deliver the grim news to the UN on January 2nd, and I agreed. So, now you can understand why I need you to hold off reporting anything until then.” Neff sat stunned, the color drained from his face, his jaw slightly open, his heart rate soaring and his mind a complete blank for a moment.
“George, are you okay?” the President inquired, worried that Neff might faint.
“Mr. President, forgive me. For once I’m at a loss for words. I can’t quite believe everything you’ve just told me. After all we’ve been through to have this happen…where do I begin?”
“George…there’s more incredible news. The Chief Justice, Attorney General and I have conferred. We’ve decided to appoint General Alex Hanken as the man in charge of the country’s affairs during this crisis. The day this announcement is made to the world he will announce that martial law will go into effect and the inaugurations and convening of Congress will be suspended until we can assess where our country stands after the full impact of the comet strikes are known. There are some very tough decisions to be made in the coming months. Millions of lives will be lost initially, followed by millions more who will die from injuries, starvation, and disease. There’s a distinct possibility those numbers could skyrocket if the comet breaks into several pieces as it enters the earth’s atmosphere. General Hanken, as I’m sure you’re well aware, is eminently qualified to take the mantle of leadership at this difficult time. Everyone felt he could better position the country for an optimal chance to survive this threat. Having an inexperienced President with a Cabinet that has yet to be formed…well, it was a formula for disaster…they all agreed it would be impossible to get up to speed quick enough. Alex is very concerned that the American people would begin to view him as a power hungry dictator…he is anything but that. He and Sandi were right in the middle of packing for their much anticipated return to California, looking forward to a well-deserved retirement when this situation arose. George, I am asking you to help frame the news to portray General Hanken as the country’s best hope for survival. With Alex at the helm...we have a good chance of surviving this catastrophe.”
“You let me handle the PR Mr. President. I can assure you the country is going to want Alex at the helm during this crisis, no offense intended to you of course. Off the record how do you feel our chances of surviving are at this time?” Neff asked.
“Preliminary analysis does point to a very high survival probability for our nation, but without a doubt the nation will suffer severe damage. If we have ocean strikes then our coasts are at risk. There are post event effects to take into account, acid rain, crop and food distribution interruptions, and potential disease pandemics that circle the earth. These things will take their toll as you might expect, but again the calculations don’t anticipate the U.S. to incur as much destruction as the European and Asian countries.
“Well, at least there’s a ray of hope in all of this gloom,” Neff said. “Mr. President might I add, your action to step aside, is not only selfless…it’s an ultimate expression of your patriotism.”
“Alex is scheduled to speak to the UN assembly at ten a.m. Eastern. I’d like to address the nation at seven p.m. with Alex going live to the country after I’m finished. Can you arrange this?”
“No problem sir, consider it done. Mr. President, how will you tell the average American there won’t be enough shelters to house two hundred sixty million people in time? What can they do or what should they do?”
“Let’s reserve that issue for Alex to address…I’m sure he has the perfect answer for that…we need to remind ourselves he has been here before.”
“I need to track General Hanken down to get more details from him.”
“Yes, I’ll call his office at the Pentagon maybe he’s there.”
Alex had just finished a phone call with Brad Cole at Nellis AFB, when his secretary announced.
“Sir, it’s the President.”
“Mr. President.”
“Alex, I have this pesky George Neff guy who wishes to speak to you about upcoming events. I’ve already filled him in on things and the need to maintain secrecy until after you’ve made the announcement.”
“Thank you sir, please put George on the phone.”
“General, why am I getting a déjà vu feeling about all of this?”
“You and me both, can you be at my office at say 2:00 this afternoon?”
“I’ll be there you can count on it.”
“Good, see you then.”
As George Neff approached the massive Pentagon complex his thoughts bounced around in his head like electronic balls in a game—get the story—to get reassurance everything will be okay—to stark terror. Walking into Alex’s office he was met by Alex and Sandi, the now famous Dynamic Duo as they were dubbed, who had put together the far reaching survival plan in reaction to the false asteroid threat. Sandi excused herself.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I have a full agenda waiting for me,” Sandi said as she left Alex’s office.
Neff sat down across from Alex and briefly stared at him. Both men’s eyes peering deeply into to each other’s mind then…Neff spoke first.
Alex let him speak uninterrupted; he knew this was a process every American would go through. Several times Neff would start a conversation only to have his emotions pour forth preventing him from speaking. After what felt like an eternity Neff summoned control and asked a coherent
