Joe Haldeman - The Coming

“Point well taken. Speaking of Washington… please join me.” The room shimmered and snapped and suddenly Rory found herself sitting at a round table in the White House, evidently. A large window behind Pauling showed a manicured lawn with a high wall, the Washington Monument beyond.

She didn’t know you could do that, without setting it up beforehand. It was an impressive demonstration.

Even the governor was caught off guard. “Nice… uh…” He cleared his throat. “Nice place you have here.”

“It’s the people’s place, of course,” Pauling said, deadpan. “It belongs to you more than to me.”

“What sort of cooperation are you talking about?” Bacharach asked, not hiding his hostility. “You want Professor Bell to keep the facts from the public, the press?”

“Under some extreme circumstances, yes.” He put his elbows on the table and looked at Bacharach over steepled fingers. “And under such circumstances, I think you would agree with me.”

“Being?”

“Panic. When Dr. Bell mentioned a million megatons this morning, and the possible destruction of the planet… that was unfortunate.”

“A calculation anyone could make,” Rory said. “Any student computer would give you the answer immediately.”

“Ah, but only if you asked the questions. And the student asking that question wouldn’t have a hundred million people watching her on cube.” He shook his head. “You’re right, though. It’s not a good example. A sufficiently bright college student could make the calculation.”

“A sufficiently bright junior-high-school student, Dr. Pauling,” Bacharach said, almost hissing. “Do you actually have a doctorate in science?”

“Al…” Chancellor Barrett said.

“ Political science , Dr. Bacharach. And a bachelor’s degree in life science.”

“Dean Bacharach does not mean to imply—”

“Of course he did,” Pauling said. To Bacharach: “I trust you are satisfied with my credentials… to be a politician?”

“Eminently satisfied.”

“I think we’ll get along together splendidly. For as long as you stay on the project.” He sat back slowly. “Now. The Department of Defense is assembling a task force to deal with the military aspects of this problem. They’ll be in touch with you, Governor.”

“What military aspects?” Rory said. “Do they plan to attack this thing?”

“Not so long as its intentions are peaceful.”

She laughed. “Do you have any idea of how much energy a million megatons represents?”

“Of course I do. Our largest Peace Reserve weapon is a hundred megatons. That would be ten thousand times as large.”

“So isn’t it rather like ants plotting to destroy an elephant?”

He smiled at her. “An interesting analogy, Dr. Bell. If the ants worked together, they could sting the elephant, and make it change course.”

Deedee Whittier spoke for the first time. “Rory, would you be practical for once in your life? Do you think we’ll get a nickel of federal money if we don’t let the generals come in and play their games? This is going to be an expensive project, and the state is flat broke. Is it not, Governor?”

“Well, I wouldn’t actually say we were, uh, broke.”

“I like your directness,” Pauling said to Whittier. “Let me return it: your state’s worse than broke; it’s in debt up to its panhandle. Largely because of a government so corrupt it makes my fragrant city seem honest by comparison.”

“Corrupt?” the governor said. “Young man, that’s simply not the case.”

“Not your office, Governor.” He made a placating gesture with one hand. “Lower down, though, surely you’re aware…”

“Yes, well, yes. Government attracts both good and bad.” Tierny’s administration hadn’t attracted a surplus of good people. He was the kind of governor only a newspaper cartoonist could love, and he would have long since been impeached if his machine hadn’t owned the senate and judiciary before he came into office.

“I suspect you won’t have much to do with the Defense people,” Pauling said. “Most of the resources that come into Florida will come through Cape Kennedy.”

“More good news,” Rory said. “No surprise, though.”

“The NASA can get things done when they’re allowed to,” Deedee said. “Your own gamma-ray satellite, didn’t it go up ahead of schedule?”

“My one gamma-ray satellite. The backup is rusting away in some shed down at the Cape.”

“Perhaps something can be done about that,” Pauling said smoothly. “Gamma-ray astronomy seems a little more important than it was yesterday. I’ll have my office look into it.” Rory just nodded.

The governor cleared his throat loudly. “One reason I wanted to be in on this meeting was to ask you educated folks a simple question. I don’t think it has a simple answer, though.” He paused dramatically, looking around the table. “Have you given any thought to the possibility that the thing what’s behind this thing… is God?”

“What?” Rory said. Whittier rolled her eyes. Bacharach studied the back of one large hand. Pauling openly stared at the governor.

“It might not be obvious to you scientist types, but that’s just what your man in the street is going to think of first. All that thing said was ‘We’re coming.’ What if it’s the Second Coming?”

“Are you serious, Governor?” Pauling said.

He sat up straight and returned the man’s stare. “Do you think I am the kind of man who would exploit religion for political gain?”

Rory decided not to laugh. “Why should God be so roundabout? Why not have the Second Coming in Jerusalem, or the White House lawn?”

“Actually, ma’am, I have given that some thought. It could be that God meant to give us three months to ready ourselves. Cleanse ourselves.”

“He might be more specific,” Deedee said. “The last time, he told everyone who would listen.”

“God works in mysterious ways.”

“So does the government.” Deedee reached out of the holo field and brought back a plastic cup. “Let’s leave that part to the holy joes, okay?” She sipped coffee and set the cup down. It hovered a disconcerting inch over the table.

“It is something we’ll have to deal with,” Chancellor Barrett said. “If that becomes a commonly accepted explanation, there may be some public resistance to our research. Even organized resistance.”

“That’s true, Mal,” Deedee said, “but what can we do about it ahead of time?”

“There’s the obvious end run,” Pauling said. “Does your university have a religion department?”

The chancellor shook his head. “Philosophy. There are subheads in comparative religion and ‘philosophies of social and religious morality.’”

“Well, find one of them who’s ordained, if you can—a tame one—and make him a pro forma member of your committee.”

“Hold it,” the governor broke in. “You all act like this was some kind of a game. You’ll look pretty sorry if it turns out that God really is behind it.”

This time they all stared at him. He seemed dead serious. “Now, I’m not saying that business and science aren’t important. But this could be the biggest thing in history. Second biggest thing.”

It actually was calculation, Rory decided. The idea had come to him while he was sitting there, and now he was going to hang on to it with all of his famous “bull ’gator” tenacity. He probably didn’t have much support from organized religion, so he was going to milk this for votes.

“Now I understand the church and state thing,” he continued, “and anyhow you scientists won’t do much about the God end of it. Wouldn’t expect you to. But Dr. Pauling’s right. To be fair about it, you have to put some religious people on your committee.”