CRESCENT MOON RISING

RD FORTH
-1Chapter six
Atlanta, 9:10 A.M.
Leigh drummed her fingers on the conference table. In the last forty-five minute
s, James Pittman, CNN producer, had left the room and suspended the interview se
veral times. Given the magnitude of power failure news coverage crowding the air
ways, it was a miracle Pittman had not just cancelled the interview.
Chaos reined in the areas where power was no longer available. Newscasters, broa
dcasting to almost no one in the effected areas, continued to preempt regular sc
heduling, creating a doomsday atmosphere regarding the massive power outage. Rep
orters on site and with portable satellite systems, painted scenes of dismay and
disaster on a background of panic and speculation. No one had come forth with a
ny answers as to who or what was behind the catastrophe.
The TV monitor closest to the door recaptured her attention. Leigh saw the face
of Willem Gorse, Secretary of State. With him were two other men identified as P
aul Neuberger, public relations VP for Mid-Atlantic Power and Electric and Edwar
d Bumstead, Chairman of Sandstone, a Washington area think-tank that specialized
in Middle-East situations. Leigh adjusted the volume higher to listen to the qu
estion-andanswer session.
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
CNN's anchor reporter, Beth Farmington, made the introductions. Gorse and Bumste
ad were in D.C. and Neuberger was in Trenton, New Jersey. Trenton was one of the
blacked out zones and CNN was using a battery operated portable satellite syste
m to feed from Trenton. Farmington then opened with the question most in the min
ds of the audience, "Mr. Secretary, is there any evidence that terrorists are be
hind the massive power failures?"
Willem Gorse answered, "Beth, at this time, we can neither confirm nor deny terr
orist involvement. As you know, several splinter organizations have claimed resp
onsibility for our power losses, but we have found no substantiating evidence fo
r their claims."
Beth said, "But is it not true that one of those splinter groups, Blue Fire Comm
and, has repeatedly threatened to bring terrorism to American cities? Mr. Bumste
ad, what's your opinion?"
The think-tank Chairman said, "I have to agree with Secretary Gorse, for now. I
find it hard to believe that any of the small militant groups such as Blue Fire
Command has the sophistication required to effect widespread damage of any sort.
Particularly so since no explosive devices have been associated with any of the
power grids in question. However, there are a number of terrorist organizations
that have the ability to create extensive havoc and chaos. These groups are not
like the more splintered and disorganized terrorists we commonly hear about.”
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
“Who are you referring to, Mr. Bumstead?” asked Beth.
“Well, the New Millennium Jihad and the Brotherhood of the Sarsour Boqross are t
wo that come to mind.”
“Sar-what?”
Bumstead chuckled, “Sarsour Boqross. Means stinging or biting cockroach.”
Beth, half-sneering and half-grimacing, questioned, “Is that not a rather odd na
me for a terrorist group?”
“Perhaps,’ said Bumstead. “The cockroach they refer to is quite common in the Mi
d-east and known to be rather aggressive. The implication would seem to be that
they are numerous, aggressive and hard to kill. In any case, they are well funde
d and either have or can buy most of the expertise required for some pretty soph
isticated activities.”
Farmington frowned for the camera. “You can envision one of these groups capable
of causing disastrous power outages here? In the United States?”
“Don’t forget Beth,” answered Bumstead. “They are terrorists and they are not ab
ove coercing others to do their dirty-work. If they do not have or cannot buy wh
at they
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
want, innocent lives mean very little to them compared to the holy cause.”
"That poses the question for you, Mr. Neuberger, " the CNN anchor said. "What do
es Mid-Atlantic see as the source of so many grid failures? Do you feel terroris
ts are mounting attacks against your company and how could this have happened on
such a wide scale?"
Mr. Neuberger was obviously uncomfortable, Leigh thought. She recognized from pa
st interviews she had conducted, the telltale body language that preceded I don
t know, but here s some bullshit answers.
Neuberger flicked his eyes left and right before answering, "Actually, we do not
at this time have any evidence to support claims of terrorist activity and we r
eally don’t necessarily consider the, ah, situation widespread. The involved pow
er systems could be thought of as individual pumps for the same reservoir. When
one fails, it increases the burden for the other pumps. If two should happen to
fail at the same time, well, almost any, ah, scenario is possible."
"Interesting analogy, Mr. Neuberger, " commented Beth.
"You see a running rat too, don t you Farmington?" Leigh was talking to the TV a
nd herself.
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
Beth indeed saw the rat and pressed, "Then, Mr. Neuberger, what have your engine
ers pinpointed as the cause of so many concurrent grid failures?"
The VP moved back in his chair, avoidance body language, and said, "I did not me
an to imply we had, ah, specifically identified any one cause for, ah, any syste
m downtime. In fact, ah, in several instances we have brought power components b
ack on line only to have them fail again after a few hours of operation."
"That was dumb, you jerk," said Leigh.
Willem Gorse interrupted, "Ms. Farmington, if I could just add a comment. . . ?"
Leigh said to the TV, "He s protecting the asshole, Beth. That means the jerk mi
ght blurt something Gorse doesn t want heard."
Beth was reluctant to release Neuberger, but one did not gain by ignoring a US S
ecretary. "Yes, Mr. Secretary."
"What the Mid-Atlantic spokesperson, Mr. Neuberger, is graciously declining to m
ention is that most of the US power systems are heavily interconnected and the s
ource of the problem may lie outside Mid-Atlantic s control." Gorse gave the cam
era his best full-face smile of confidence. "The Federal Power Commission and th
e Federal Energy Administration are working with Homeland Security as well as ex
perts around
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
the country to resolve and correct the situation as rapidly as possible. No one
expects to find terrorists in the cabinets or under the sinks. The last thing we
want to happen is for the good citizens of these United States to panic over un
substantiated media theories. The fact that millions of Americans are without po
wer is indeed a very grave situation but most of those closest to the problem fe
el that we can identify the culprit switch or whatever and restore power and ord
er fairly quickly.”
"Bullshit!" Leigh folded her arms and waited to see what Farmington would do bac
k off or nail the Secretary.
Beth furrowed her brow and asked in a tone suggesting increased concern, "Are yo
u concerned at all, Mr. Secretary, that we could see a further spread of power f
ailures from a source perhaps outside the Mid-Atlantic region?"
Leigh grinned and said, "Way to go, Beth! Sic the weasel bastard!"
To his credit, Gorse did not falter, "Not at all. What I meant was, the haystack
in which we are looking for a pin may be larger than the region directly affect
ed. We have absolutely no reasons to believe that situation will spread or worse
n in any way."
Farmington said, "I am certain our viewers appreciate that assurance, Mr. Secret
ary. My last question is directed to each of you. Are there any concerns that po
wer will not be restored in a reasonable short period of time? Mr. Bumstead, you
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
first."
Edward Bumstead said, "I really cannot comment except to reiterate that we see n
o evidence that the US is under any kind of attack by a foreign group or power a
nd yet, we have no evidence to the contrary either. Other than that, I have no i
dea."
Farmington said, "Mr. Neuberger, you are closest to the problem."
Neuberger launched into a well-prepared reply, "Mid-Atlantic is exerting every e
ffort to restore power to all affected areas as rapidly as possible. We are, I a
ssure you, foremost concerned for the welfare of our subscribers and customers.
I am confident our engineers, with Federal assistance of course, will achieve a
solution very quickly."
Leigh muttered, "What a fucking phony!"
Beth continued, "Secretary Gorse, your view? You have about twenty seconds."
"I m assured Mid-Atlantic has a good handle on the combination of circumstances
that brought about this unfortunate occurrence. The appropriate government agenc
ies are on board and assisting wherever possible." Gorse reapplied his confident
smile for the camera. “The important thing is for viewers and, indeed, all Amer
icans to remain calm and be assured that best efforts are being applied to corre
ct this situation in a timely manner. I would also…
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
Beth interrupted, "Thank you gentlemen. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest in deve
lopments in America s widest-ever power failure. Coming up, we will go live to s
ome of the disaster relief centers organizing in several of the blacked-out area
s.
When Pittman came bustling back to resume the interview, he found Leigh scribbli
ng rapidly on a legal pad. He peered over her shoulder to read her notes. Leigh
said, "What do you think Gorse is trying to hide? Whatever it is, I think we had
better find out, and quickly."
Pittman picked Leigh s notepad off her lap and tore off the top sheet of notes s
he had jotted down. He read them and then reread more carefully. He observed, "I
think you re right Ms. Roper. Let s go upstairs and arrange your flight to Wash
ington. You still have to interview with Bob Miller in our Washington bureau but
I ll call ahead and ask him to be nice. OK?"
Leigh smiled and took back her notes. "Let s go, Mr. Pittman."
Washington, D.C., White House situation room, 10:40 A.M.
Samuel Douglass threw down his fountain pen and shouted at Energy Department Und
er-Secretary Frank Glass, "What the holy Hell do you mean, the power systems are
not going to come back on line? We ve got, what is it Horton, ah, thirteen or
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
fourteen million people without power?"
Horton Timmons answered, "We estimate thirteen point six mill, Mr. President."
"Right, thirteen point six million men, women and children, Frank. If that power
doesn t come back on, and pretty damned quick, we are facing martial law in par
ts of four states. Remember the blackout in New York? The crime and the looting?
That was a frigging nightmare of a few days! What you re saying, Frank, is that
close to fourteen million citizens are faced with a minimum of weeks of depriva
tion and violent disorder. That s a Goddamned recipe for social cataclysm! And t
hat, my friend, is not going to happen. I don t care what we have to do."
Frank Glass, jaws clenched, said, "If I may, Mr. President, let me explain in de
tail the facts as we now know them."
"Frank, you can explain all you want but I want to hear some solutions too."
Glass took a seat and began, "The situation is this. Mid-Atlantic cannot get the
power distribution control systems to stay on line. Every time they replace a f
aulty circuit board, the replacement board fails within a few hours. As of five
A.M. this morning, they were out of replacement components and circuitry. It s a
s if the control systems are completely infected with a computer virus; one that
attacks from multiple internal sources. It s like a virus but it s different. A
virus is a software program that attacks data
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
or sometimes other programs. What we are faced with is something that affects lo
gic circuits, or more accurately stated, the Adder circuits within the computers
. Are you with me so far?"
Douglass answered with a question, "Why not replace the whole system or at least
all the circuit boards at one time? Have they tried those options?"
Glass said, "Yes, sir, they have. That s one reason they ran out of replacement
circuit boards so quickly. Wholesale replacements were attempted three times and
the restored systems were kept isolated from infected units. Not one of the res
tored systems stayed up for more than a few hours. The Adder circuits produce ra
ndom errors that accumulate until the master control program can t function and
the system locks up."
Vice President Rivera, after quietly listening to Glass and Douglass, asked her
first question, "I don t think I understand how some random addition errors coul
d do much more than produce erroneous data output. Why would that cause the whol
e system to fail?"
Glass explained, "When you reduce what any computer does to its lowest level, it
only adds. When a computer subtracts, it changes the sign of the subtrahend and
adds the two numbers. A divide operation is nothing more than a series of subtr
actions. Similarly, a multiply operation is a series of adds. Adds are even used
to move data
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
from one memory area to another. The data is subtracted from the initial area an
d added to the receiving area of memory. So you see, when Adder circuits introdu
ce random errors, every aspect of the system suffers. When it suffers enough, th
e system dies and fails to function at all."
Horton asked, "What about replacements from other power companies and the comput
er parts suppliers?"
"On the way, Mr. Horton. At least what could be located. But that probably won t
help because we don t know how the virus or whatever it is, re-infects a system
. For that matter, no one is clear how the systems were initially infected. Our
best hope is in a complete control system coming from TXU Utilities in southeast
Texas but it won t arrive for two to three days."
Douglass exclaimed, "Why not? We can send a C-47 or a Starlifter or whatever it
takes to get that damn system here."
"Transport is not the problem, Mr. President. TXU has to disassemble and crate t
he system and we re talking a roomful of equipment. Mid-Atlantic is sending a te
am of engineers to assist. Any more warm bodies would only get in the way. And t
hat is not the worst news."
Douglass fumed, "Jesus Christ, what now!"
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
Frank hesitated and then plunged on, "At 8:19 this morning, Mid Atlantic began t
o lose turbines. Although their power stations had not been able to distribute p
ower, they managed to keep generating, at least until now. They lost eleven turb
ines before they were able to shut down."
Douglass asked, "What do you mean by lost?"
"Ruined, Mr. President. The infected computers that control the turbines apparen
tly either overrode or ignored the safety sensors and spun the turbines up beyon
d tolerance levels. These are not the same computers that control power distribu
tion and we are not talking Adder circuit errors this time. We don t know how ye
t but the turbines were sabotaged. Turbine blades were caused to run out of cont
rol, with safety controls disabled, until the turbines overheated and all Hell b
roke loose. In two instances, a blade disintegrated and riddled the room with de
adly shrapnel. Several engineers were killed or badly injured. All eleven turbin
es are damaged beyond repair, engineers are dead or seriously wounded. In my min
d, we have sabotage and murder to deal with in addition to whatever is destroyin
g the turbines and disabling the power distribution control systems."
Horton spoke again, "How long before Mid-Atlantic can get replacement turbines,
Frank?"
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
"Our best hope is to bring in backup units from other power companies. Some of t
hose companies are not going to want to cooperate but new turbines will take mon
ths to build and ship over." Glass stopped and waited for the next question he k
new was coming.
Samuel Douglass glared at Frank and said, "Well, whom do we have to grab by the
balls to get new ones built ASAP?"
"Yamahoto Industries in Japan, " Frank said. "I spoke with them just before I jo
ined you here, sir. They will get back to us later today but it looks like . . .
September delivery at best."
Dead silence followed, broken after a long minute by the scratching of President
Douglass s pen. When Samuel finished, he handed Glass what he had written. "Thi
s is your authorization to seize, under national emergency procedures, excess tu
rbines from power companies that refuse to understand their patriotic duty or th
e plight of millions of their fellow Americans. If they give you any crap, any a
t all, tell them their President will call to explain just how I ll national the
ir asses if they don t jump to it."
Timothy Horton asked, "Should I contact Yamahoto in your name, Mr. President?"
"No, Horton. I ll get Commerce and State to come up with something that will get
the greedy little bastards pumping and humping. Elizabeth, you ramrod that acti
on.
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
Horton, bring in the FBI on the murder and sabotage issue, and stay on top of th
e action there. Frank, who else makes these turbines?"
"General Electric and Bailey Controls. Neither can deliver before January, proba
bly later. We are dealing with very, very large turbines built to order with exa
ct specifications. They aren t very interchangeable and it takes a long time to
put one together."
Douglass growled, "Get cracking, people. Frank! I don t care how you do it but s
tart getting some power rerouted to the blacked out areas, and I mean now!"
Samuel considered a myriad of questions for a few moments and then reached for h
is briefcase. He extracted the CMR profile report that had been prepared for him
. He now studied with renewed interest the section on Mustafaa Ibrahaim Daoudi,
founder and chairman of Crescent Moon Rising. He read:
". . . thirty-six years of age, born of Syrian-Palestinian father and Italian mo
ther. Mustafaa has never married and has no known offspring. Educated in Germany
and Switzerland with banking and finance degrees. Heir to a Lebanese bank, Cypr
ess International, with listed assets of approximately $640 billions, US equival
ent. Personal assets listed between sixty and eighty millions, US. No direct lin
ks to known militant or terrorist groups. No political aspirations evident in pa
st history. CIA lists Daoudi with minimal threat potential."
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
Douglass wondered out loud, "Just who the hell are you Daoudi and what are you r
eally after?"
Tripoli, Lebanon, 1:38 P.M., Mustafaa s personal quarters
Oragi Shomi, Strikingly beautiful and deadly to an extreme, sipped her champagne
a few drops at a time. She was considering how best to further her understandin
g of the enigma, Mustafaa Daoudi. Her bed was, perhaps one way. Oragi s masters
expected, had indeed urged her to use sex to discover his otherwise guarded inte
ntions. She now thought another tact might be more productive. Mustafaa was obvi
ously a troubled man. One moment he appeared very Western and conservative and t
hen, in swift counterpoint, Mustafaa s Arab side would emerge in vehement emotio
nal outcries, deriding all Jews and Westerners. Oragi could sense the war of cul
tures raging in his blood. Half Western and half Arab, Daoudi would seek out mos
t often, a confidant who could soothe his internal conflict. Oragi thought the r
ole of Geisha more promising than the role of consort. She would create for Must
afaa a haven of feminine solace where his heart and mind could empty troubling c
oncerns into the ears of a beguiling receptacle. Sex would later seal the arrang
ement.
"Daoudi-san, " Oragi whispered in a light, high voice, "Have you ever enjoyed an
evening of Japanese food and entertainment in a tranquil garden setting?"
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
"No, I have not, Miss Shomi, but it sounds delightful."
"Oh, it is more than delightful, Daoudi-san. It has been said to transport those
in attendance to another world. A world where only music, the scent of flowers
and exquisite culinary creations are allowed to touch one s life-force. I though
t, perhaps, that after the stress of so much business activity, you might find s
uch an evening a pleasant diversion. Many men in my country think it so."
Mustafaa mused over the thought of a relaxing evening in the company of an intri
guing, lovely Japanese spy. How does one relax in the presence of a beautiful sp
y, he thought? By allowing one s senses to participate in relative silence he an
swered himself. "I would be most pleased to attend but who will bring about this
wonderful garden of enchantment?"
"I would be most honored to do so, Daoudi-san. I shall prepare most carefully in
order to please your every need. I will send an associate to guide you to the l
ocation I select."
"Until then, Oragi Shomi." Mustafaa stood and escorted the diminutive woman to h
is door. "And thank you for the pleasure of your company this afternoon. I am su
re you will be an invaluable asset to our organization - a perfect emerald in a
sea of diamonds."
"You are too kind, Daoudi-san. Until tonight."
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
"Not so kind at all, " thought Mustafaa, "When Ishmere learns of your intentions
, there will be a viper seeking your jugular, Oragi." Ishmere, daughter of Esam
Jamal (Mustafaa’s closest friend and confidant), was outrageously in love with M
ustafaa. Outrageous because she would kill any woman tempting her man. Outrageou
s because she spied on all of Mustafaa’s activities. Outrageous because she was
a paranoid psychopath.
Daoudi was preparing to bathe when Esam Jamal burst through his front door, call
ing loudly for Mustafaa s immediate presence.
"Mustafaa, by the holy sword of Islam! The Americans have been sorely afflicted
and I think our friends in Japan may be responsible." Esam walked, almost ran, t
o the television which he tuned to CNN. "Look, Mustafaa! Look! The American Mid-
Atlantic coast is without power. They are in total confusion. It is marvelous, m
y friend, marvelous, eh?"
Mustafaa waved Esam quiet and watched the broadcast for several minutes before s
peaking, "Place a call to Iragawa, immediately. Do not allow yourself to be put
off, Esam. I must speak to him without delay!" Mustafaa returned his attention t
o the television broadcast while Esam bellowed and wheedled his way through Irag
awa s defenses of secretaries and aides. After almost an hour, a senior assistan
t promised that Iragawa would return Daoudi s call in a matter of minutes. Esam
informed Mustafaa
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
of his progress.
"Very well, Esam. Thank you. Mustafaa watched his friend closely for a reaction
and asked, "Do you believe it possible, the Japanese are capable of destroying e
lectronic systems other than military ones, Esam?"
Jamal considered for a moment and said, "I am sure the Japanese are technologica
lly capable of many things, Daoudi. But I see what you mean, I think. If they ca
n negate power systems, why not other public and commercial equipment as well. W
hy not trains and subways or commercial aircraft? The list of possibilities is a
lmost endless."
"More importantly, Esam, it would mean the Japanese not only planned a defense a
gainst the United States’ military might, they planned an attack on America as w
ell. If this is so, then no nation is safe from a similar attack by the Japanese
. We invited a tiger to dine with us. We may have awakened a dragon that will co
nsume the world."
"Then what will we do, Mustafaa?"
"The only thing we can do, Jamal. We must force the dragon into a terrible fight
with our enemies and hope such travails will eventually reveal to us a weak poi
nt in the demon s scaly armor."
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
"But how can we cause this to happen, Mustafaa?"
"We stand behind the dragon and threaten our enemies with the wrath of its terri
ble fire unless they accede to our every demand. Among those demands must be one
which cannot be satisfied and will provoke America into open combat with the dr
agon."
Before Esam or Mustafaa could say more, Iragawa s call came through and they lea
rned that, yes, Japan had caused the American power outage. Furthermore, Iragawa
wished CMR Corporation to threaten more catastrophes for the United States unle
ss President Douglass renounced and rescinded his so-called Fair Trade Laws. Mus
tafaa congratulated Iragawa on his brilliant foresight in planning and promised
to do as asked most expeditiously. Daoudi suggested he meet with Iragawa and his
associates in Japan to discuss future actions and reprisals against America, Is
rael and their allies. Iragawa politely declined and promised to send a trusted
aide to act as liaison on matters as they arose. After this revealing bit of inf
ormation, Iragawa abruptly broke the connection.
Esam, who had been listening on an extension, gave Mustafaa a pained look and sa
id, "It is much worse than we feared. The dragon pushes us in front of the enemy
while he waits in the shadows and readies his next attack."
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
"Iragawa has requested we proffer his demand as our own to the Americans. I thin
k we will also add an interesting demand of our own. Esam, contact our brothers
in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Yemen. They need to be advised of the true nature of
our Japanese partners. No doubt, some of them will want to assist in the crafti
ng of the dictates we shall hand the Americans. . . and others."
Washington, D.C.
That evening, Lebanon time, a cable was transmitted to the US State Department.
In it, CMR Corporation claimed responsibility for the massive American power out
age. The cable went on to threaten even more damaging outages in principle US ci
ties unless the American administration cancelled further attempts at unbalancin
g world trade and Congress repealed Douglass sponsored trade law atrocities. The
cable s closing statement sent on duty State Department employees scrambling to
reach senior officials. President Douglass was interrupted in less than 15 minu
tes, and presented with the most unbelievable communiqué in American history. Th
e last paragraph riveted his attention:
"CMR Corporation believes that in the interest of world peace, all Jews must be
stripped of wealth and influence and immediately removed to locations where they
cannot bring pressure to bear on more responsible members of the International
community."
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
It went on to specify Israel as the destination for European Jews, Belize for So
uth and Central American Jews and finally, the lower two-thirds of New Mexico fo
r North America s Jewish population. President Douglass had 12 hours to signal a
cceptance and deter more attacks and additional pointless sufferings.
Samuel Arthur Douglass let both hands fall to his side, still clutching the cabl
e in his left and surveyed the others watching him. "Well, people. What have we
got here? Any chance these idiots are for real?"
Secretary of State, Willem Gorse, spoke first, "Absolute bullshit, Mr. President
! The sons-a-bitches are using an unfortunate situation to stay in the limelight
and bash an age-old enemy. Just, just more dune-time rhetoric, take my word for
it."
Douglass pushed his tongue against his lips, evidencing his distaste, and said,
"Thank you, Willem. Any other views?"
Vice President Elizabeth Rivera tried next, "Mr. President, this is not another
nation threatening the United States with acts of aggression. At best, this CMR
Corporation is a white-collar band of terrorists with curious ties to some wealt
hy Russian and Japanese business leaders. As terrorists, we should treat them as
such and engage them in dialog until we can ascertain their real threat potenti
al. Unless I am misinformed, we still have no idea as to the root problem concer
ning the power failures. Until we do, I see no reason for precipitous actions or
language on our part."
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
"Elizabeth, You re suggesting a wait and see policy?" Samuel was tapping his fou
ntain pen and added, "That about right?" The VP opened her mouth to answer but t
he President cut her off, "Martin, what about you. What s your take on the situa
tion?"
Martin Delany, Secretary of Defense, preferred speaking out only when he had car
efully prepared beforehand. This was guesswork, not his forte. He reluctantly of
fered, "I believe we should exercise prudent caution, Mr. President. It is entir
ely possible we are dealing with madmen and madmen are capable of extraordinary
feats. I might add that defending against madmen is difficult to impossible, dep
ending upon how reckless and irresponsible the antagonists choose to be."
Douglass said, "What would you recommend we do, Martin?"
This was exactly what Delany wanted to avoid but holding back now was impossible
. "Although I hesitate to suggest such a course of action, I believe strike opti
ons against those supporting CMR should be prepared and reviewed."
"My God, " exclaimed Vice President Rivera, "You are proposing we prepare for wa
r with half the Middle East, the Russian Republic and Japan? Have you lost your
mind, Delany?"
Martin snapped back, "Would you prefer we blunder around in the dark with our
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
hands tied, Elizabeth?"
"Let s not lose our heads ladies and gentlemen, " Douglass interposed. "Elizabet
h, I think what Martin is proposing has some merit; however, we should proceed w
ith the utmost caution and with the proviso of absolute secrecy concerning the r
eview of these options. Martin, keep in mind, this is a limited confrontation an
d no one here envisions anything on a grander scale." Samuel turned to Stan Brow
nell, FBI Director. "Stan, what progress have you made toward identifying the ca
use and/or culprits in the power outage situation?"
Brownell referred to his notes and said, "Computer experts from the FBI and Lawr
ence Livermore Laboratory have concluded sabotage in the case of power generatin
g turbines. They still don t know the exact manner in which the systems were com
promised. They are still examining the evidence but we expect a breakthrough any
time. As far as the power distribution control systems that failed, the turbine
sabotage dictates we assume similar outside involvement. We have experts from MI
T, Sanders and IBM on board full time until we have some concrete findings. Only
theories have emerged thus far but the general thinking is that the hardware or
microcode has been tampered with somehow."
"Keep me posted on your findings, Stan." Douglass started to move on, then stopp
ed and asked, "What about terrorist movements? Have your people detected anythin
g unusual or indicative?"
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
Brownell shook his head negatively and Douglass shifted his gaze to the CIA Dire
ctor, implying the same question.
Pieter Zawslewski loved to demonstrate his grasp of world situations, but this w
as not one of those moments. "Nothing of any import, Mr. President, I. . ."
"I ll decide the God-damned import, son! Now do you or don t you have something
to contribute?" Without realizing, Douglass was bracing his arms with two fists
against the table, the cable crumpled in one whitened fist. Angrily he turned aw
ay from the CIA chief who declined to answer and sat back in his chair, arms and
legs both defensively crossed.
The President next spoke quietly but through gritted teeth, "I ll tell you this,
people. No one - nation, corporation or assemblage thereof - will threaten thes
e United States, while I am President, and walk away unscathed. Willem, tell CMR
Corporation to go to hell, properly phrased of course. Then lodge official prot
ests with each of the governments that harbor a CMR participant. Elizabeth, plea
se contact the UN Secretary General and make him aware of the threat we have rec
eived and then schedule a meeting of the UN Security Council. In the meantime, I
want the FBI and the CIA on full alert. I want to know if a flea farts on a ter
rorist s ass and I want complete security teams at every power station that supp
lies electricity to a population center of four hundred thousand or more people.
Use State and local police to augment Federal personnel, but
CRESCENT MOON RISING
RD FORTH
make it happen. I don t know what we ve got a hold of here, people, but I don t
like it. I don t like it one Goddamned bit." That said, President Douglass storm
ed out of the room, leaving behind a forbidding sense of disaster for the others
to contemplate.
After a long night and a morning vigil, President Douglass learned a portion of
the truth. Beginning precisely at 8:17 A.M., That morning, the lights went out i
n Boston, New Haven, Portland (ME), Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
As renewed panic gripped the nation and President Douglass s team searched frant
ically for answers, three satellites moved ( were translated), into new geosynch
ronous orbits. Japanese communications satellites were now permanently over Wash
ington, D.C. and Los Angeles while a Russian spy satellite assumed a stationary
position above Pearl Harbor.