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locked into a defense-only kind of role. But our security policy still
requires an effective means of attack." He swept his eyes around the table to
invite support. "My suggestion is this: Since Brunnermont is ruled out, we get
together another scientific team, probably with the nucleus from ACRE, and
figure out how to build another one. After all, the design data for
Brunnermont itself is all available; it shouldn't be too difficult."
Cleary pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I'm afraid it wouldn't work, Don. You see, the essential part of any other
machine that's built to work on the same principles would be the artificial
black hole that sits inside the J-reactor. The hole constitutes an intense
emission source of hi-radiation; it would stand out like a lighthouse in the
local regions of space."
"So?"
"The Brunnermont surveillance mechanism would detect it straight away.
The whole system has been programmed to function as a never-sleeping watchdog,
if you like...in hi-space. It will fire automatically on any phenomenon of
that kind that it identifies. In other words, if we build another J-bomb,
Brunnermont will blow it sky-high the first instant we switch it on."
Reyes looked at him aghast.
"You mean here...in our own country? If we built one here and turned it on,
we'd get zapped off the planet?"
"That is exactly what I mean."
Reyes thought for a moment; his face slowly formed into a frown. He looked up
again.
"But that's crazy. It leaves us wide open. What happens if the other side hits
on the same technology? Their system wouldn't have any of these lunatic
programs. They'd be able to blow us all to hell over here, and we wouldn't be
in a position to even turn on anything to hit back with."
Cleary was shaking his head again before Reyes had finished.
"Not so. Brunnermont would fire on any black hole that they tried to turn on
as well. If they did make one, they'd never be able to use it."
"But..." Reyes was getting confused again. "But I thought you said
Brunnermont wouldn't fire outside the West. You don't expect that Peking would
set up their J-bomb in the Nevada desert or somewhere, do you...just to make
it easy for us to wipe it out?"
"They've been rather cunning," Cleary replied. "Or rather, Clifford has.
You see, the limitations on the range of the target coordinates that the
system will accept only apply to fire commands issued through the operator
interface programs; they don't apply to fire commands issued by the watchdog
programs. So if the operator tries to hit a target, say, in Mongolia, the
system simply won't work. But if somebody puts a J-bomb in Mongolia and
switches it on, it'll get blasted automatically. It's neat. We can't build
another one and they can't build another one."
"In fact, when you think about it, the whole thing is very subtle,"
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Foreshaw came in. "There can be no question now of keeping a security blanket
over our k-technology. If anyone anywhere in the world -- maybe in some
research lab somewhere or in a university in the middle of a city -- quite
innocently stumbles on the same thing and makes himself a piece of equipment
similar to the GRASER that they built at Sudbury, Brunnermont will fire on it.
We have to publish full details of all the facts -- and fast."
"We're already working on a preliminary statement for communication through
diplomatic channels and for all the news media," the Secretary of
State informed them from his seat next to Sherman. "It should be going out any
time now."
Reyes sighed with exasperation as he turned it all over again in his mind. The
West had the world's one and only J-bomb, it was true, but it had no value as
a tool for exerting international leverage or for extracting concessions, for
it would only respond to deliberate commands if the West were physically
attacked...or at least inside prescribed geographic limits, which amounted to
the same thing. As long as Brunnermont remained functioning, there was no way
out of it.
"Tell me again why we don't just turn it off," he said at last.
"Because we can't," Cleary told him simply.
"But, hell -- it can't stay sealed off all the time. Every machine ever built
has to be maintained. Somebody has to be able to get in sooner or later, if
only to do routine maintenance on..." He caught the look on Cleary's face.
"No...? Why? Don't tell me it'll never need it."
"Oh, you're right enough about that. It's just that it isn't sealed off...for
that very reason. You could walk right into any part of it now if you wanted
to."
"Really?"
"Really."
"So why couldn't I just do that and pull out all the right wires while
I'm in there?"
"Because..." Cleary's voice became very sober, "if you did that, you would
completely eliminate the United States from the world scene as a viable
military power."
"I...don't understand. What d'you mean?"
Cleary took a deep breath and placed his hands firmly palms-down on the table
in front of him.
"All the critical components of the system have power regulators that will
keep the voltages on the power lines high enough for the circuits to carry on
functioning for a couple of seconds after the power supplies are cut.
They are also equipped with sensor circuits that will detect the falling
supply-line voltages and automatically transfer control of the computers to a
power-down routine. The first function that that routine will perform will be
to activate a special fire-control sequence for the J-bomb; its effect would
be to blow up the White House, the Pentagon, and just about every major
military base and installation in the country. In short, you don't tamper with
it."
Reyes stared at him, openly appalled.
"That's insane."
"Those are the facts."
Reyes turned toward Sherman as if pleading for a note of reason to be
reinjected into the conversation.
"Alex, you can't let them get away with that. They're both mad."
Sherman shrugged.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Well, damn it, you're the President. Use your Presidential authority.
Order them to disarm it."
"There'd be no point, Don. I wouldn't expose the Presidential image to the
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