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  “Did you see anyone? Anyone alive?”

  “Sir, I did not. Not a single soul,” Terry told him.

  “Anything else you want to add?”

  “Sir, I don’t know how we are going to stop these things before they destroy everything in their path. I don’t even understand what kind of weaponry they are using.”

  “I understand. I feel the same way,” he assured the Lieutenant.

  The President turned to the last Marine. He was a Master Sergeant and he looked to be the oldest of the three men.

  “You are?”

  “Gunny.”

  “That’s your real name?”

  “That’s been it most of my time in the Marines,” he said.

  “Fine. ‘Gunny’ Baker,” he said, reading his last name on his uniform. Please, give me your version.”

  “Sir, I’ve fought in Mogadishu, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and other places. I’ve seen death and destruction time and time again but I have never seen anything like this. Whatever they are using, it has amazing power. I’m just guessing but I believe they have found a way to use plasma as a weapon. Sir, lightning is basically a form of plasma. I think they have found a way to control it and focus it on specific targets.”

  “Plasma? Could another country develop such a weapon?”

  “I guess so but how would they do it without someone letting the secret out? The only country that I think could do such a thing is China. No one really knows what they are up to. If it is them, they are going to be able to walk right in and take over the country. But to what end? There would be nothing useful left. It will be a wasteland.”

  “So what are you suggesting Gunny?”

  “We are facing an unknown force from someplace not of this planet. We are being invaded from space, sir.”

  “I agree. That seems to be the general consensus. America would be of little value to anyone else considering the amount of destruction being done. Any thoughts on how we can fight these things?”

  “Sir, I know I am just a grunt, but I did attend MIT for three years until my father died and I had to take care of my mother. I do know that plasma is difficult to control the way it is being used. They are certainly beyond our capabilities at this point. I also read someplace that plasma can be disrupted in such a way as to render it less harmful and possibly stopped.”

  The President sat up and leaned forward with his hands clasped.

  “Go on.”

  “Well sir, I don’t know everything about it but I was always interested in that field so I read everything I could find on it. The last article was about cytoplasm. I don’t know who wrote it but it indicated that by introducing twin streams of plasma that it would disrupt the primary stream and cause it to become unstable,” Gunny told him.

  The other Marines, including the General, were watching the exchange with their mouths open. A grunt was giving the President of the United States a physics lesson.

  “Do you still have the article?”

  “I doubt it sir. It was in my quarters when this all hit the fan,” he replied.

  “What else do you remember?”

  “It is a theory more than anything.”

  “Go on please,” the President urged.

  “For streamed plasma like they seem to be using, you need an atmosphere that is oxygen heavy. That is one of the main requirements needed for it to work. Converting the atmosphere into plasma is a key function. That is probably one reason they decided we would be easy to invade. It would have done them little good to target Mars or even our own moon.”

  “But that doesn’t answer the question of why come at all,” the President said.

  “Do you want to hear what I think Mr. President?” Gunny asked.

  “I most certainly do. Please speak freely.”

  “I think they are just an advance preparation party. Their mission is to destroy everything on the planet and let it basically start over. The fact that they just appeared proves that they have advanced capabilities. I would imagine they are preparing planets for future expansion. Maybe in a thousand years or ten thousand years. Who knows what they use for marking time since time is relative to the society. I doubt our days, months, and years are remotely close to theirs,” he told the President.

  “Astounding,” the President replied.

  “Not really when you think about it.”

  “No, I meant, here you are, an enlisted man and you have given me more insight than anyone in this bunker. Gunny, if you don’t mind, I would like for you to stay and discuss this further. General, gentlemen, thank you for your report. You are dismissed. Gunny, you stay.”

  The President could see the General's neck getting red but at this point he didn’t care. Information that could help them was more important than a few toes being stepped on. He would have to make certain that the Sergeant was well protected from any retaliation by the General.

  After the men had filed out, the President said, “So Gunny. Do you have any ideas on how we can make a, what was it called?”

  “I’m not sure of the scientific name but it would be something like a twin plasma disruptor. Who and how it would be built is the real challenge. Not to mention the fact that we need someone who really understands how to convert atmosphere into plasma that we could direct.”

  “But it could be done.”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. In theory it can, but do we have the right person to build such a device? That I can’t begin to answer. So few people seem to be left alive. The chances of finding such a person is slim to none Mr. President.”

  “Gunny. I am giving you a special commission. You are going to join my advisory staff. You will answer directly to me until this is all over. I will inform General Preston.”

  “Sir he isn’t going to like that very much,” the Sergeant said bluntly.

  “I doubt he will but he answers to me and I determine who does what, not the General.”

  “Yes sir,” Gunny replied.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The DUSEL (Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory) called Homestake, is located 8000 feet underground in South Dakota. It is now the deepest facility of its kind in the world, surpassing the SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

  They knew immediately that something had gone wrong above when they lost all communication with the operation facility above ground.

  “What the hell. We have lost everything,” Director Paul Lemmings said when all the screens and gauges suddenly went dead. They had had minor glitches since they opened but nothing like this.

  The lights suddenly came back on as the emergency generator kicked in. They still had no outside readings.

  “A breach in the main trunk line?” Sarah Knott, his assistant director suggested.

  “No way. We have triple redundancy on every system. Even the RTS (Rapid Transport System) to the surface has triple systems. Something topside is causing the problem.”

  “I’ll go up and see what I can find out,” Sarah replied.

  “No, I’ll go. If it is a major flaw in the system I need to know about it firsthand. You keep an eye on things here and I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

  “You’re sure you don’t want me to go?”

  “I've got it. You just keep everyone calm while we sort this out.”

  The DUSEL facility was primarily built to study extremely rare nuclear physics processes. Things like neutrino scattering, neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter interactions. The only way to study them is in the absence of cosmic rays.

  Cosmic ray muons, caused by the Earth’s surface create background interference in these types of detectors, but the particles cannot penetrate to that great depth, especially in rock. Access to these tremendous depths will allow new insights into geomicrobiology and geoscience.

  Doctor Paul Lemmings had been chosen to be the first director of the facility that had only been completed the year before. A brilliant scientist he had few interpersonal skills and that had caused a grea
t deal of tension and staff turnover the first few months.

  It wasn’t until the arrival of Doctor Sarah Knott that things began to settle down. She was a people person as well as being an excellent scientist in her own right. She could take the gruff words of Paul and turn them into something more acceptable.

  It wasn’t so much that Lemmings was arrogant; he simply had no people skills. It was not so much what he said as the way he said it. He just didn’t stop to think how it would sound to others when he spoke.

  It was after they lost two of the world’s foremost authorities on geosciences that it was decided to bring in Doctor Knott.

  “Okay, I’ll hold down the fort. I think I should make an announcement that you are going topside to check into the matter firsthand,” she told him.

  “Do whatever you want,” was his blunt reply.

  She didn’t take it personally. She had learned to deal with his abruptness quite some time ago.

  Without another word he headed to the Rapid Transfer System which nothing more than a bullet shaped elevator that traveled at almost 1.5 miles an hour. Even at then it would take a little over an hour to reach the surface.

  Lemmings strapped himself in, picked up his book and hit the up button. He could feel the force as the bullet started to ascend to the surface. The RTS was still working because it used air pressure generated from the underground facility. That had been designed as an integral component from the beginning. There had to be a system to get out in case of total support failure from the surface. That is exactly what they were currently facing.

  **

  Sarah wasn’t exactly sure what to tell the staff but she knew they needed assurance that everything was going to be alright.

  “Attention staff. You all realize we have had a glitch with the upper support system. Chief Engineer Franks has gone over our entire system and we are in good shape and can certainly maintain our current status for as long as it takes to make the repairs. Director Lemmings has taken the RTS to the surface to see if he can ascertain what the problem is and determine what should be done next. I wanted you to be aware that both the RTS and the ERTS are working so we are in no danger.”

  Sarah was referring to the Emergency Rapid Transit Systems. Each bullet could hold twenty people at a time. While they traveled slower, taking almost two hours to reach the surface, they were their lifeline if all else failed.

  “When Director Lemmings returns we will give you a full update as to what the next steps will be. For now, I request that you to go about your normal routine. What we do down here is extremely important and I would like to ask you to continue. Thank you,” she said and released the button.

  As soon as she did she thought of four or five things she probably should have said. Like most people, almost as soon as you stop talking you can think of other things you could have said better or should have included.

  “That should keep them perked up,” Willy Franks, the Chief Engineer said.

  “All three generators are working?”

  “Yep. I checked each one myself. You do know we only have one on line presently. We don’t need all three. The others are for backup in case one fails.”

  “Yeah, I know. I just wanted to make sure they would work if we did need them.”

  “They will,” he assured her.

  **

  What the...? Lemmings thought when he opened the door of the RTS. He shook his head, not comprehending what he was seeing. The operation building was gone. Just a pile of rubble remained. He could see giant flashes of lightning a mile or so from where he stood with his mouth agape.

  He shook his head trying to put into perspective what he was witnessing. He looked up and could see the huge round lights but they made no sense to him at all. Closer to the ground, bolts of lightning were visible everywhere.

  He took a step forward and felt the pavement crunch under his feet. Reaching down he could see that the molecular structure had been altered. Even as a scientist it was perplexing to him. Nothing he had ever encountered in all his years had prepared him for what he was looking at. He was fully aware that lightning strikes could change the composition of materials but not to this extent and not over such a wide scale area.

  He walked over to where the operations building once stood and shook his head. Everything was gone. Generators, air supply and exhaust systems had vanished.

  He had to laugh. When they were first building the DUSEL he had told them that it was over engineered. Now he was grateful that they hadn’t listened to him.

  What the hell was he going to report back? he thought. That was when it struck him. Several of those that worked underground had families in the area and as far as he could see, nothing was left standing. The implication was crystal clear. He would tell Sarah and have her break it to the others.

  **

  Sarah was waiting for him when he stepped out of the RTS.

  “Well?” she said.

  “Let’s go to my office,” he replied and started off without waiting for her.

  As soon as she was inside he closed the door and dropped down on the couch.

  “So?”

  “I don’t even know where to begin,” Lemmings said, rubbing his face.

  “Is it bad?”

  “Beyond bad. That doesn’t even begin to describe what happened.”

  “Some sort of accident?”

  “Sarah. You are just going to have to accept what I tell you at face value.”

  “Okay. Just tell me then,” she replied.

  “When I got out of the RTS I immediately saw that the operation building was no longer there. It was totally obliterated. There is absolutely nothing left, no building, no equipment, no people. Everything has been destroyed.”

  “Destroyed? An explosion?”

  “I don’t think so in the general sense of the word. When I say nothing exists I mean for as far as the eye can see, not just the operations facility,” he told her.

  “You mean the outer buildings?’

  “I mean every building. No houses, no buildings, no people. Nothing,” Lemming replied.

  “I don’t understand. How can there be nothing left? Was it a bomb or something?”

  “I doubt it. It was something that I have never experienced before. Even the molecular structure of the concrete and asphalt has been altered. I brought back a chunk of each for us to analyze and see if we can make any sense of it,” he said, handing her the samples.

  “Doctor Lemmings. Are you telling me that someone attacked this area and destroyed everything? What about the families of the staff down here?”

  He didn’t say anything. He just looked at her.

  “Oh my God. Everyone is dead?”

  He shook his head slowly.

  “But how? That can’t be? Who would do such a thing?” she said, her hands starting to shake as the realization of what she was being told started to really sink in.”

  “I think the damage is even more widely spread. I could see something taking place off in the distance. I estimate around a mile off. A huge bright circle was in the sky with what appeared to be some kind of beam coming down. Below that thousands of lightning strikes were taking place. I surmise it was a weapon of some kind.”

  “A weapon? Who would do such a thing? Who could even build such a thing?” Sarah asked, sitting back.

  “I don’t have any answers or any real proof but I’m just telling you what I saw. It appeared that whatever it was is doing the same thing as it did here. Total destruction.”

  “But why?”

  “I simply don’t have an answer to that right now. We need more information.”

  “What should I tell the staff?”

  “I don’t know. The minute they find out what happened topside they will want to go up and see what happened. I don’t have a problem with that except for the fact that those things I saw may come back. Then what?”

  “We can’t make them stay here. They have a right to go if they want to,” Sarah s
aid.

  “I’m not saying that they don’t. I’m just saying that it could be the death of them if whatever it is comes back this way.”

  “We still have to inform them and let them make up their own minds,” Sarah insisted.

  “Fine by me. You find a way to let them know that the world they knew it and everyone they loved is probably dead,” he replied.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “They are within range sir,” the soldier said to General Erickson.

  “The SAMs are locked on?”

  “All of them.”

  “Everyone stand by,” the General said over the microphone as he watched them edge their way towards the base.

  “Ready. Fire all missiles,” he commanded.

  Thirty-eight missiles broke free of their containers and ignited, immediately streaking towards the advancing disks.

  He watched as the SAMS closed in on the targets. The first two exploded before reaching the tethers. Then a third and fourth one were destroyed.

  The fifth missile was the first to hit the tether. It exploded in a huge fire ball slicing the cable. The disk dropped down and detonated in an earth shattering explosion. Several more found their targets before the disks were suddenly drawn back up into the clouds.

  There was no cheering. It was more of a stunned silence. They appeared to be invincible and now six of the disks were nothing but a smoldering heap of twisted metal.

  I have to admit, the General thought, I never really expected it to work. Several of the soldiers walked over to the General.

  “Sir, do you think we stopped them?”

  “Probably not for good. I think we caught then unaware. I doubt they were expecting any real resistance. They are probably evaluating their options. It won’t be long before they decide to try again,” he told them.

  “Should we reload the SAMS?”

  “As fast as possible. We are going to go after the thing in the sky next. I doubt they will expect us to try something like that. At this point I don’t see any other options.”

  **