someone upload a digital copy to the White House.'
'Yes, sir.' Tolland went back to work.
Ekstrom moved on. When he arrived at the north wall, he was encouraged to find the habisphere's 'press area' had come together nicely. A large blue carpet had been rolled out on the ice. Centered on the rug sat a long symposium table with several microphones, a NASA drape, and an enormous American flag as a backdrop. To complete the visual drama, the meteorite had been transported on a palette sled to its position of honor, directly in front of the symposium table.
Ekstrom was pleased to see the mood in the press area was one of celebration. Much of his staff was now crowded around the meteorite, holding their hands out over its still-warm mass like campers around a campfire.
Ekstrom decided that this was the moment. He walked over to several cardboard boxes sitting on the ice behind the press area. He'd had the boxes flown in from Greenland this morning.
'Drinks are on me!' he yelled, handing out cans of beer to his cavorting staff.
'Hey, boss!' someone yelled. 'Thanks! It's even cold!'
Ekstrom gave a rare smile. 'I've been keeping it on ice.'
Everyone laughed.
'Wait a minute!' someone else yelled, scowling good-naturedly at his can. 'This stuff's Canadian! Where's your patriotism?'
'We're on a budget, here, folks. Cheapest stuff I could find.'
More laughter.
'Attention shoppers,' one of the NASA television crew yelled into a megaphone. 'We're about to switch to media lighting. You may experience temporary blindness.'
'And no kissing in the dark,' someone yelled. 'This is a family program!'
Ekstrom chuckled, enjoying the raillery as his crew made final adjustments to the spotlights and accent lighting.
'Switching to media lighting in five, four, three, two… '
The dome's interior dimmed rapidly as the halogen lamps shut down. Within seconds, all the lights were off. An impenetrable darkness engulfed the dome.
Someone let out a mock scream.
'Who pinched my ass?' someone yelled, laughing.
The blackness lasted only a moment before it was pierced by the intense glare of media spotlights. Everyone squinted. The transformation was now complete; the north quadrant of the NASA habisphere had become a television studio. The remainder of the dome now looked like a gaping barn at night. The only light in the other sections was the muted reflection of the media lights reflecting off the arched ceiling and throwing long shadows across the now deserted work stations.
Ekstrom stepped back into the shadows, gratified to see his team carousing around the illuminated meteorite. He felt like a father at Christmas, watching his kids enjoy themselves around the tree.
God knows they deserve it, Ekstrom thought, never suspecting what calamity lay ahead.
31
The weather was changing.
Like a mournful harbinger of impending conflict, the katabatic wind let out a plaintive howl and gusted hard against the Delta Force's shelter. Delta-One finished battening down the storm coverings and went back inside to his two partners. They'd been through this before. It would soon pass.
Delta-Two was staring at the live video feed from the microbot. 'You better look at this,' he said.
Delta-One came over. The inside of the habisphere was in total darkness except for the bright lighting on the north side of the dome near the stage. The remainder of the habisphere appeared only as a dim outline. 'It's nothing,' he said. 'They're just testing their television lighting for tonight.'
'The lighting's not the problem.' Delta-Two pointed to the dark blob in the middle of the ice-the water- filled hole from which the meteorite had been extracted. 'That's the problem.'
Delta-One looked at the hole. It was still surrounded by pylons, and the surface of the water appeared calm. 'I don't see anything.'
'Look again.' He maneuvered the joystick, spiraling the microbot down toward the surface of the hole.
As Delta-One studied the darkened pool of melted water more closely, he saw something that caused him to recoil in shock. 'What the…?'
Delta-Three came over and looked. He too looked stunned. 'My God. Is that the extraction pit? Is the water supposed to be doing that?'
'No,' Delta-One said. 'It sure as hell isn't.'
32
Although Rachel Sexton was currently sitting inside a large metal box situated three thousand miles from Washington, D.C., she felt the same pressure as if she'd been summoned to the White House. The videophone monitor before her displayed a crystal clear image of President Zach Herney seated in the White House communications room before the presidential seal. The digital audio connection was flawless, and with the exception of an almost imperceptible delay, the man could have been in the next room.
Their conversation was upbeat and direct. The President seemed pleased, though not at all surprised, by Rachel's favorable assessment of NASA's find and of his choice to use Michael Tolland's captivating persona as a spokesman. The President's mood was good-natured and jocular.
'As I'm sure you will agree,' Herney said, his voice growing more serious now, 'in a perfect world, the ramifications of this discovery would be purely scientific in nature.' He paused, leaning forward, his face filling the screen. 'Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and this NASA triumph is going to be a political football the moment I announce it.'
'Considering the conclusive proof and who you've recruited for endorsements, I can't imagine how the public or any of your opposition will be able to do anything other than accept this discovery as confirmed fact.'
Herney gave an almost sad chuckle. 'My political opponents will believe what they see, Rachel. My concerns are that they won't like what they see.'
Rachel noted how careful the President was being not to mention her father. He spoke only in terms of 'the opposition' or 'political opponents.' 'And you think your opposition will cry conspiracy simply for political reasons?' she asked.
'That is the nature of the game. All anyone needs to do is cast a faint doubt, saying that this discovery is some kind of political fraud concocted by NASA and the White House, and all of a sudden, I'm facing an inquiry. The newspapers forget NASA has found proof of extraterrestrial life, and the media starts focusing on uncovering evidence of a conspiracy. Sadly, any innuendo of conspiracy with respect to this discovery will be bad for science, bad for the White House, bad for NASA, and, quite frankly, bad for the country.'
'Which is why you postponed announcing until you had full confirmation and some reputable civilian endorsements.'
'My goal is to present this data in so incontrovertible a way that any cynicism is nipped in the bud. I want this discovery celebrated with the untainted dignity it deserves. NASA merits no less.'
Rachel's intuition was tingling now. What does he want from me?
'Obviously,' he continued, 'you're in a unique position to help me. Your experience as an analyst as well as your obvious ties to my opponent give you enormous credibility with respect to this discovery.'
Rachel felt a growing disillusionment. He wants to use me… just like Pickering said he would!
'That said,' Herney continued, 'I would like to ask that you endorse this discovery personally, for the
