The Flash of Brilliance - 3. Chapter 3: The Beginning...

(Lance Houston)

I knew it was a mistake, they should never have shown Ken those intelligence reports about Ahmad. As a soldier, you know never to reveal your cards to anyone, even your friends. I’ve kept that mindset even as a civilian leader. Yet, I was overruled by David MacDonald, the President’s Chief of Staff, who only saw the money that a high-profile LGBT billionaire can donate to his party’s election campaign. As the current US Secretary of Defense and former military commander, I know about Washington politics and the cruel compromises that I have to make, including telling friends what no parent should ever hear about their child. I have dealt with all manner of death from accidental tragic deaths to the heinous and brutal crimes committed against innocent people. Despite how the American people like to imagine the world running on a certain moral compass, where God will always favor life and offer mercy, the real world is much less kind and merciful, especially toward people who do not conform to certain views.

Ahmad was born as a biological female, named Amira. He was separated from his parents during the second Russian-Chechen war. Ken and Daniel adopted him from a refugee program in 2003, bringing him to the United States. From what I had seen of their interaction, I know Ken loved his son deeply and the circumstance of what happened shocked him. Before all the revelations, Ken was a humanitarian and technologist, who believed in the ideals of peace and progress. I can’t completely hate the man for what he has done after seeing what he did and having lost Daniel, a few years earlier under other ugly circumstances.

I met Ken and his family in 2009 when I was in charge of the US Army Corps civil infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. Daniel was one of my engineers, who worked to integrate Afghanistan into the Central Asian Power System, named CAPS. This system was an antiquated Soviet-era power grid that connected Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan across 83 supply plants. Daniel was one of those “jack-of-all-trades” types of civil engineers, who figured out how to establish links with impossible materials. Sadly, before the substation he was working on could be finished, he was kidnapped outside Kabul by ISIS fighters. Ken offered to pay ISIS money for his husband’s release but they learned about Daniel’s sexuality as a result. In a fit of rage, they killed Daniel and dropped his body in front of a barracks, naked and castrated. I was able to shield the worst of it from Ken, not allowing photography and cremating the remains for delivery back home. There’s a visceral ugliness to torture and death that few men are ready to see. Sadly, I couldn’t do the same later.

Ahmad’s plight was no better since the Chechens have been hunting LGBT people for two decades, it was a dangerous place for a trans male like Ahmad. However, he received word that his parents were alive and wanted to see him. Ken encouraged him to reconnect with his birth parents, which in hindsight might be another reason why he held so much guilt after the revelation. For months, no word came back from Chechnya, except in the form of emails that kept asking Ken to wire money. US intelligence had already known about Ahmad being sent to a camp, his torture, and his death, but his story was just one of the thousands that get reported every day.

People complain that US surveillance is ubiquitous and harms private interactions, but you know what happens with all this knowledge most of the time, nothing. There’s no action done to help victims of ethnic cleansing, discrimination, or genocide because our ability to know what is happening does not mean we can stop it. Like Roosevelt and Churchill before us, who knew about Auschwitz and Buchenwald, we just don’t have that kind of reach. Yet, instead of allowing Ken to live in blissful ignorance and being a cash cow for the cruel regime that had murdered his son, David got the President to declassify the information and gave it to Ken. That happened 6 years ago.

Today, we’re seeing the results of that miscalculation. Ken, along with a throng of reporters, including Richard Gillespie at his side, is now sitting in one of the White House’s many conferences rooms. Opposite him are the ambassadors of China and Russia. The Russian ambassador appeared calm and cold, but I knew he must be sweating on the inside. Ken had targeted Chechnya on purpose, then started carpet bombing Russian military installations with what amounted to bunker busters. Reports were also coming in of strikes against key oil refineries and mines across the vast Russian frontier. Ken had not targeted any US or Chinese installations, yet. With their nuclear arsenal now ineffective as well, it should be quite frightening sitting across from the person who had made it all happen.

As the President sat, I situated myself behind him. Being the Secretary of Defense and a friend of Ken Savage, my knowledge and advice would be instrumental in de-escalating this. Even if Ken has no other delivery system for his device, they are still strong enough to destroy nations. The energy source is by far the most intriguing thing that has all the big-brain boys at Los Alamos and MIT scratching their heads.

We all sat in silence for an uncomfortable moment, before Ken opens up.

“I will cut to the chase, I don’t want money, resources, lands, or power. These are not negotiations, they are orders, pure and simple. The former world order of nations, belief systems, and ideologies are dead as of today. The three nations situated here, who represented the most powerful entities on the earth, cannot exert any influence or authority against what I am prepared to bring to bear,” directing his glare at the Russian ambassador, “Ambassador Dobrynin, I will not mince words. I targeted your nation for personal reasons. At this moment, a report from the CIA and a video from the FSB has been delivered to every major media outlet in the world, detailing what Russian officials did to my son along with many others in your camps. Your people’s only chance at survival is complete capitulation, not a negotiated surrender. Any city, town, and village that submits will be spared. Otherwise, I shall destroy every inch of non-compliance in your nation.”

That’s a grandiose claim, one that I fear he could back up.

Ambassador Dobrynin though appears unfazed, “You have attacked our nation and people, we do not cower before fascists, nor Pidor like you. We shall prevail in any struggle of extermination that you wish to deliver on us because God is with us. Your threats will be meaningless if you die from a bullet.”

A new silence fell in the conference room as the mutual threats settled. It was perhaps two minutes before someone spoke, but this time it was a member of the Press.

“Oh, Shit! Those plasma bolts just struck Danilov Monastery in Moscow…They are hitting religious sites across Russia.”

Ambassador Dobrynin in a shock points his finger at Ken, “You disgusting creature, do you not fear…”

Ken cut him off, “Fear your military, which I have already dismantled. Fear your weapons, which I have disabled or proven ineffective. Fear your God, whom I can match in power. Even if I die here or elsewhere, the quantum computing program that runs the system will continue and adapt to further my goals. If others intervene on your behalf, it will begin the same process on them, unless I command it otherwise.”

China’s ambassador Zemin shakes his head and offers,” Murdering innocent people for a perceived crime committed by others is a dangerous concept. Even if what you believe occurred to your son is true, should it not be brought before a court of justice? Surely, legal measures can be reached to prosecute responsible parties.”

As expected, China through its ambassador was trying to portray itself as a neutral arbiter as they usually try, but I know ultimately, they are hoping to buy time and insights into the weapon systems that Ken has created. The Chinese diplomatic tactics are based on a “critical data” strategy, gathering information and upon ascertaining enough functional details, waiting for an opening to make a move. Unlike Russia’s bold movements, China prefers subterfuge and longer-term arrangements. A public trial would offer them the best chances.

However, Ken laughs at the suggestion, “Ambassador Zemin, your idea of seeking a legal framework to prosecute and offer peaceful settlement would work under the old system of world powers, but we all know that international law does not apply to nations such as your treatment of your minorities or US’ treatment of African Americans domestically. No, the law is merely a tool to legitimize those in power to do as they wish. I do not want power; though justice and fairness across all peoples would be ideal goals. As Mao had said, “War can only be abolished through war”. Only death can balance the scales of terror.”

I knew Ken’s political stances were techno-progressive by nature. Law and order did not appeal to men like him, who see it as merely an arbitrary system without any basis beyond control and management of resources. Unlike the traditional liberal or progressive-minded folks, he does not believe in the suitability of legal protections beyond short-term stakes for participants. He believes in the need to support progress by building continuously better systems and patching flaws. It makes sense for technologists, but socially, it would result in a continuous and unstable situation. Sadly, it’s the natural extreme of the dominant far-right fundamentalism and restrictions that was prevalent throughout the world.

The aging US President attempts to moderate Ken, “Mr. Savage, you possess weapons of unimaginable destructive power as you have demonstrated today. There are millions of innocent people that have died from your actions, and millions more who will die due to the effects of the weather conditions created by your weapon on uninvolved nations such as Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. You speak of seeking justice for what happened to your son and others, then I must ask, what about justice for your victims?”

For a moment, I saw the pain in Ken’s face. My assessment of the man in my debriefing to the President an hour earlier was that Ken isn’t a cold-blooded murderer by nature, but he is driven and focused beyond any other man I’ve known. As a humanitarian, he helped bring light and heat to millions of people worldwide in the memory of Daniel. Yet, the moment passed and stared at me rather than the President. He shook his head, then turned away.

“Mr. President, all those countries you have listed have been no friends of me, my son, or the LGBT community at large. Between acceptance of Russia’s genocide or outright purges under their misguided belief systems, you will forgive me for not shedding a tear. While I know many innocent advocates and members of my community were among the dead, I did not have the means to persuade leaders or an army to liberate these people from their horrible conditions. What I do have is superior weaponry and position to end future suffering,” he pauses to emphasize his point, “I know all of you are thinking that my satellite will eventually run out of energy, run out of ammunition, or require maintenance at some point. You can be assured that none of that will happen for several generations. The satellite uses an electromagnetic field that repels space debris and reduces the effects of solar radiation. The ammunition is derived from Earth’s atmosphere, so as long as we breathe, there is no shortage of plasma bolts. Finally, the power system is based on a fundamental unseen force in the universe, gravity itself. Coupled with advances in circuitry from the US and quantum computers from China, the automated system will remain operational for at least 108 years continuously. Entropy is eternal in the universe, but it will not occur within our lifetimes.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped at the description and the massive implications this will mean for the future.

Ambassador Zemin in a conciliatory tone asks, “What do you desire from all of us? With Russia, it was revenge, but what about the world at large? A nation of your own for your people, perhaps.”

Ken smirks at the suggestion, “I said before I do not want power or land, if the LGBT community wishes to form a nation-state after this, it will be up to better people than me to craft it. However, my orders for the world are simple. First, demilitarization across all nations. At this moment, no national military can prevent orbital bombardment, nor stop the devices that can reshape the landscape of the earth. The era of national rivalries and threats of your militaries is over. Second, the reform of the United Nations to create a World Parliament, where there will no longer be a security council with unlimited veto power for arbitrary permanent members and equal representation of all nations based on population and economic influence. Third, all nations will make efforts to end the use or production of fossil fuels or their byproducts. The energy generated from my devices is equivalent to that produced by the sun, we have more than sufficient power for all mankind. Fourth, all nations will cease to enforce religious or ideological rules on their populace. I have no issues with people maintaining cultural traditions or rituals as backward as some of them may be, but there is no room for intolerance or hate under such practices. Lastly, I am only here to establish and enforce this peace on mankind, I know I have wronged many and deserve to be punished accordingly, so during the completion of my goals, I wish all my actions to be recorded and public knowledge to everyone. As such, Mr. Richard Gillespie will present live updates and critiques. I do not wish to be deified, nor demonized, but rather I want humanity to judge my actions from now to the end of our civilization.”

And so it begins…