Читать книгу Natalia’s Game - - Страница 17

Helsing speaks first.

“I call to order the Second Quarter Board Meeting of the SRI. Major Balan, please record the date, time, and attendees and keep the minutes.”

Balan gets right to work, scribbling away. She not-so-casually glances at me, lingering for a moment and giving me this odd sexy look before returning to her work. Oh, boy.

Helsing continues, “Our agenda today is in the Board book in front of you. It is short.”

Major General Grecu gives his intro a little snort, leafing through the book’s pages.

Helsing summarizes. “We will discuss Intelligence gathered over the past year, and we have invited General Thomas as a special guest.” Some light clapping fills the room; Balan claps audibly louder than anyone else.

“Any questions before we begin?” Helsing waits for the others to answer, but no one reacts. Then he turns to me and continues: “General Thomas, I hope your trip was smooth and your lodging is acceptable. Thank you for your willingness to discuss our complex world and where it might head.”

I observe protocol. “Thank you for having me. My accommodations are excellent, and the service by your staff is impeccable. I realize the importance of your topic since Romania is one of the former states under the influence of the Soviet Union. That’s becoming a hot topic under President Putin.”

I pause to hold their attention.

Grecu uses the opportunity to jump right in.

“Excuse me. What are we doing here? Chairman Helsing, will we discuss our National Strategy with the senior commander of the American CIA?” Others are nodding, and it’s clear they have chosen Grecu to put me on the spot. Helsing doesn’t like Grecu and is anticipating the worst. Generals don’t like to be called by their first names in formal meetings…

“Ion, the world is changing. Either we change with it, or we die. General Thomas has an extraordinary view of where the world might be going. We can learn. Early in his career, General Thomas produced a report that challenged intelligence-gathering forever. ‘Analysis and Assessment of the Gateway Process’ provided a framework for expanding human consciousness, out-of-body experiments (OBE), and altered states of mind. If you haven’t yet read the report, please do. The first section provides a timeline of key historical events that led the CIA to investigate paranormal skills. The second section discusses the principles of various theories required for mastery of hypnosis and transcendental meditation. The last section outlines the steps to transcend space and time.”

Grecu is quiet but maintains eye contact with me. That stalemate lasts only a few seconds before he blurts out, “So what role did you play in the report?

I answer, “The report was written about me. I understand you have tried to explore the quantum sciences. Perhaps I can be of help. Our two nations are bound together by friendship and trust.” Eyebrows shoot up around the room.

Helsing: “There are photos of Thomas near the Berlin Wall when it fell in 1989 and again that year at Tiananmen Square. There is a record of him traveling to Mogadishu in 1993, where two American Black Hawk helicopters went down in hostile territory. Most of the crew died, but a few survived the crash. Shortly after Thomas arrived, a team of fewer than ten men rescued the trapped soldiers and somehow found a way back through congested, enemy-filled streets while killing 1000 Somali crazies who were peppering them with bullets and bombs.

“Thomas was photographed during Saddam Hussein’s capture in 2004 and again with McChrystal in 2007 during the Iraq Surge. He was on the ship in 2011 when the Navy Seals dumped Bin Laden’s body into the ocean.

“He negotiated Operation Bright Light with our former President. The US rewarded us handsomely for their black-ops site in Bucharest. That facility led to the arrest of Sheikh Mohammed, who bombed the World Trade Center. Mohammed eventually led us to the capture of Bin Laden. Bright Light is a deal that worked for both sides. As you know, Bright Light paid for the missile defense system that protects us from the

Russians and continues to pay our salaries in this perpetually tough economy.”

Grecu is a stocky guy who looks like someone stufef d him into a uniform a size too small. He shrinks back but glares at me, though I think I’ve won the others.

I say, “Gentlemen, should I continue?”

Helsing firmly says, “General, my apologies for this opening. Please continue and know that you are a proven friend of Romania.”

With that statement, I’m on stage. “Gentlemen and lady, to begin, there is dissatisfaction in Moscow with the current alignment in Eastern Europe. That’s concerning. I’m unsure if I can help, but I’m happy to provide my frank views. ”

“Our relationship with Romania is valued. Though your media paints a false picture, Operation Bright Light has been a success for both countries. Our government now holds Romania in high esteem. We view you as a partner.

“The Russians are becoming a problem. They annexed Crimea and now have their eye on critical portions of Ukraine.” I carefully check each participant’s body language. Balan sits next to Ponoru and takes notes. Most of the others sit back in their chairs, arms and legs crossed. Negative and disinterested they are. That is about to change.

“The United States, China, and Russia are the three dominant players on the world stage. Everyone else is a second-, third-, or fourth-tier player, frankly not worthy of today’s discussion. The United States has a four-year planning horizon. Russia operates under a ten-year plan though they go to press with only half of it. The Chinese have a one-hundred-year plan unavailable for viewing by anyone outside Communist Party leadership or the People’s Liberation Army.

“The US owns the most powerful military machine and the second-largest nuclear arsenal. The Chinese are second in military strength. The Russians are weak, nearly bankrupt, and disorganized. But they have the largest nuclear arsenal.

“The US has the most robust economy. The Chinese are second, with the Russians being broke and needing a higher oil price to meet ends.

“All three countries are exploring bio-weapons. Each has a significant cyberattack initiative and has joined the race to develop hypersonic missiles that travel at five times the speed of sound. The US has a definite edge in military technology because our technical universities – schools like MIT, the University of Chicago, Stanford, and Cal Tech – cooperate closely with the Department of Defense. That said, the Chinese have infiltrated our universities with PhD-level grad students, many of whom work for the PLA.

“The unknown frontier of war combines cyber with artif-i cial intelligence. An unstoppable trend is AI-controlled robots trained to kill and make autonomous decisions on taking life in battle. There are no ethics roadmaps in place to constrain this from happening. The Chinese are ten to fifteen years ahead of everyone else in this technology. ”

I can see that everyone in the room is fully engaged and paying attention – even Grecu.

“Recently, there have been reports of a lab in China working on coronaviruses with our own National Institutes of Health. That same Chinese lab has military connections.

“We need to stop believing that China is our friend. It is not. The nation with the most powerful bio-weapon capability will own a significant competitive advantage. The country with the best cyber-hacking capability could shut down a large piece of the world, then blow it up with hypersonic missiles.

“Given political trends and money flow, the Chinese will have the world’s strongest military machine and economy within the next seven years. It’s inevitable – knowing this, neither the US nor Russia trusts the Chinese. The Americans and Russians will eventually cut a deal to hedge world domination by China. It will be an uneasy alliance based on fear, not on love. Usually, those don’t last.”

I now see folks creeping forward to the edge of the table. Romanians tend to have a parochial, narrow view of the world. In this room, they are beginning to see doom. To make matters worse, I’m just warming up.

“Many focus on the 9-dash lines of the Chinese growth plan. There used to be 11-dash lines on that map. Politics interfered, and the Chinese only recently started advertising 9-lines. Their One-Hundred-Year Plan talks about 15-lines. You should expect the Chinese to take hundreds of islands in the Senkaku chain away from Japan. It’s a fish- and oil-rich territory and the Chinese don’t have enough food or oil. The Japanese lack nuclear weapons and have only a treaty with distant Americans to defend them. No leverage at all. The Senkaku Islands go to the Chinese.

“Taiwan falls, followed by many islands in Indonesia, which the Chinese have gradually populated for the past decade. The subsequent acquisition will be their next-door neighbor, oil-rich Brunei, a country having no solid allies. Ninety percent of its proven oil reserves are untapped. Finally, the Chinese will take Australia, which has the raw materials to power its manufacturing industries.

“China’s destiny is to become the world’s wealthiest nation. Game theory and military simulations indicate that the targeted countries can do little, if anything, to stop them, including the United States.

“As for the United States, we are tied up in knots by our politics and a flawed code of law. We will not be able to conquer our way to growth. So we must form alliances. Since many countries have nuclear weapons, nuclear game theory is nearing center stage. Expect the unexpected. A Muslim terrorist organization will eventually launch a nuclear-tipped missile, making politics more fragile.

“The US recently formed a sixth fighting force, the U.S. Space Force, independently funded and managed. It is not part of our Air Force. Internal politics. The impetus was Russian and Chinese advances in laser weapons capable of taking down our satellites or even a space station. We believe long-term independence for the US comes from winning the race to deep space, and I expect the U.S. Space Force to take the lead in our military organization structure.

“Here is the good news, well, at least for us: Northrop Grumman has completed production of our first hypersonic missile. Lockheed Martin is close behind. The Chinese will get nervous when the Russians go live with their missiles. A future alliance with the US and Russia then becomes possible. The Chinese are obsessed with catching up.

“Russian strategy? You can expect the Russians to take Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and countries bordering the Black Sea, including Romania. At some point, the Russians get strong enough that NATO can’t stand in the way. Once they control the North Atlantic and the Black Sea, their final frontier is the Arctic Circle. So the Russians will move to control the Arctic oil treasures. Whether Sun Tsu, Miyamoto Musashi, Attila the Hun, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Julius Caesar, all great military minds know you must take the high ground.

“The only territory that is higher is space. Three countries will land on Mars, the foothold for reaching deep space within the following twenty years. The US, Russia, and China are investing heavily to be first. Each will soon have its own inter-terrestrial space station.”

“Let me guess,” Grecu starts. “The US wins that race?’

I nod in confirmation.

“The US will win this race and eventually look to the Space Railway tether into deep space, where they form alliances with alien civilizations.

“Finally, on the ground, cyber hacking will soon include quantum physics principles.” I try not to look at Grecu after this comment, but I can feel his eyes on me. I’d rather not touch more on that controversy in this audience.

“That, gentlemen – and even more importantly, lady – is my view of the world and where we are heading.”

Grecu speaks first. “General, do you mean to say the Russians are coming for us?” His eyes are fierce, and his tone is elevated.

“Yes, no question. Controlling the Black Sea and Northern Atlantic ports will allow them to control the energy markets and build wealth. All of Europe will critically rely on Russia for energy. They have undoubtedly cut a quiet deal with Turkey to remain on the sidelines concerning Romania. Let’s not forget that Putin is a KGB grad. His lifelong goal is to put the Soviet Union back together.”

Grecu can’t help himself and slams his fist on the table. “Let them try!”

I calm him. “General Grecu, the US shares your concern. Operation Bright Light began our relationship. You earned more respect when you contributed soldiers to our surge in Iraq. I suggest both countries continue to expand this friendship.”

Helsing breaks in: “Gentlemen, our time is up. I suggest we take a ten-minute break before beginning our next section. We could spend hours discussing the fine points of General Thomas’s views. For now, I want to thank him and suggest we further discuss his views privately.” Helsing approaches me, hand warmly extended.

“General Thomas, thank you. Please extend our best wishes to your colleagues at the CIA and the Department of Defense. We look forward to building the relationship.”

Helsing leaves the room. He has a few urgent wake-up phone calls to make. The second half of our board meeting will begin ten minutes after we take a break.

Alina Balan rises to show me out. She takes my arm; what? and propels me to the reception area.