accomplished. And the computer is capable of retaliation literally at the speed of light.'
'Then what are you suggesting?'
As I stared at the screen displaying the senators, something Fielding had said about Trinity's possible quantum capabilities came to me.
'Excuse me, General,' I interrupted. 'Our communi¬cations are being transmitted over long lines or satellite links, right? Trinity will be listening to everything we say here.'
John Skow stood and gave me a patronizing look. 'We're using 128-bit encryption for all communications, and we're using secure fiber-optic lines. It takes the fastest supercomputer in the world ninety-six hours to crack 128- bit encryption. That's for each message. Even assuming that Trinity's projected capabilities prove out, we have a considerable window of communications safety.'
'You can't assume anything about Trinity,' I said. 'Andrew Fielding believed that the human brain pos¬sesses quantum capabilities. If that's true, and Trinity has harnessed them, it could crack your 128-bit codes instantaneously.'
Ravi Nara raised his hand. 'There is zero chance of that, General Bauer. Fielding was a genius, but his views on quantum computing in the brain were crackpot stuff. Science fiction.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' said General Bauer.
'You ignore Andrew Fielding at great risk,' I warned.
'I'm content to leave those matters to the experts, Dr. Tennant,' said Senator Jackson. 'What's your plan, General?'
'Senator, I propose that we attack our own country with a nuclear EMP strike as soon as possible.'
A dozen voices spoke at once. General Bauer nodded to a technician, who routed an animated image of a B-52 bomber to the screens around the room. A bulky missile dropped from the belly of the huge plane, fell behind it for a few seconds, then ignited and arced toward the heavens. High above the earth a colossal nuclear explo¬sion followed, and then cartoonlike waves began radiat¬ing from the bomb, covering the entire United States.
'For those who don't know what I'm talking about,' said General Bauer, 'an EMP strike is very simple. A large nuclear device detonated at sufficient altitude cre¬ates an electromagnetic pulse-a massive burst of elec¬tromagnetic radiation-that can destroy or shut down every modern electrical circuit in the United States, Computers are especially vulnerable to this energy pulse. Because of the high altitude of the explosion, the bomb itself would cause minimal loss of life, yet the ability of the Trinity computer to retaliate against us would be neutralized almost instantly.'
There was total silence in the Situation Room. 'Why do I think you're oversimplifying this scenario, General?' asked McCaskell. 'There's got to be a down¬side to this plan.'
General Bauer took a deep breath, then began speak¬ing in a manner reminiscent of George Patton. The sub¬text of his argument was you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
'By knocking out our own computer networks,' Bauer summarized, 'we would be causing some of the very consequences Trinity has threatened us with. Widespread confusion, injuries, some loss of life. Vehicular traffic would come to a standstill, and all broadcasting would be instantly terminated. But because it's Friday night, financial repercussions would be mini¬mized. The consequences of industrial accidents could be grave, particularly where power stations, chemical plants, and air and rail traffic are concerned. But-'
'Think Bhopal, India,' I said. 'A minor taste of what would happen.'
General Bauer glared at me. 'Compared to what Trinity can do if it decides to throw its weight at us, the consequences of an EMP strike are insignificant.' He looked up at the senators. 'In short, I'm talking about acceptable levels of disorder. Acceptable losses.'
'I'm an old soldier,' said Senator Jackson. 'Whenever I hear that phrase, I get very nervous. What about hospitals, people on life support, things like that?'
'There will be loss of life,' General Bauer repeated. 'But again, compared to what we're facing now, negligi¬ble. And this crisis would be over.'
'How long would it take to implement such an attack?' asked McCaskell.
General Bauer looked into every face, then the video conferencing screen. 'Approximately thirty minutes.'
Thirty minutes! I'd known something like this was possible, but I hadn't thought the military could put it together so fast.
'Two hours ago,' General Bauer said, 'when Trinity was still orienting itself, I spoke to the commander of Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana. He's a very old friend of mine. He's got six squadrons of B-52s under his command, and every one of those bombers can carry silver bullets.'
'Silver bullets?' echoed Senator Jackson.
'Nuclear bombs. There are over five hundred stock¬piled at Barksdale. Some are gravity bombs, others can be delivered by air-launched cruise missiles. The crews don't fly training missions with live bombs anymore, but the commander can have them loaded aboard without much trouble. I convinced him that today was a good day for a live training run. A B-52 out of Barksdale is airborne now, and it's carrying one very special silver bullet.'
'What kind of weapon are you talking about?' asked McCaskell.
'A short-range heavy missile called a Vulcan. It was designed to deliver a massive EMP strike without having to launch an ICBM, which is easily detectable by Russian surveillance satellites. Vulcan hurls its payload two hundred miles straight up, detonates, and the lights go off across the country. All Trinity will see on the NORAD radar screens is a bomber on a training run over the central U.S. But what Vulcan will deliver…' General Bauer held up a fist, then flipped it open, extending his fingers like rays from the sun.
'Exactly what does this Vulcan carry?' asked Senator Jackson.
'A fifteen-megaton thermonuclear warhead.'
Several senators gasped.
'Sweet Lord,' murmured a silver-haired man at the back of the table. 'That's a thousand times the size of the Hiroshima blast.'
'Eighteen hundred times,' said General Bauer. 'That's what it takes to do this job in one go. Our B-52 will reach the launch point in thirty minutes. Its code is Arcangel. You can order the Vulcan launched, or have the bomber circle indefinitely. I realize I acted without authorization, but we're in an extraordinary situation. I wanted you to have the option.'
The silence that followed this revelation was absolute.
'Would we attempt to minimize the damage of this weapon beforehand?' asked Senator Jackson. 'Warn the populace?'
'No. By doing so, we'd alert Trinity to our plans.'
'Where exactly would this warhead be detonated? Over what state?'
'It must detonated very near the geographic center of the country.'
'I asked you what state,' Jackson repeated.
The general hesitated, then barked his answer. ' Kansas, sir.'
' Kansas?' cried one of the senators. 'That son of a bitch wants to vaporize my home state!'
'What kind of damage would we be looking at on the ground?' asked Senator Jackson. 'From fallout and things like that? Long-term damage.'
'Surprisingly little, sir. There'll be windblown fallout, but the prevailing winds are westerly, and at that alti¬tude, much of it would be carried out to the Atlantic before it did much damage. We could get contaminated rainfall. There could be long-term consequences for the grain harvest.'
'Define long term,' said the senator from Kansas.
'A thousand years,' I said.
'That's a gross exaggeration,' said General Bauer. 'Senators, you have to balance these effects against what could happen if Trinity chooses to act on the threats it's made. And we have to assume that it eventually will. Unless…'
'What?' asked Jackson.
'We surrender.' Bauer's tone made it clear what he thought of that option.
The senators began talking among themselves. Ewan McCaskell seemed to be taking his own counsel. Again, memories of Fielding rose in my mind. If he were here, he would not be silent.
'If you attempt this mission,' I said loudly, 'you'll cause the very destruction you're trying to avert. This country will be destroyed.'
