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The main characters are introduced, also hard science, political and religious intrigue. |
| FADE IN: EXT. LONG AERIAL SHOT OF THE WHITE HOUSE ZOOM IN TO CLOSEUP DISSOLVE TO: INT: CONFERENCE ROOM. Several men, some in uniform, are seated around a large table. These include BILL MURRAUGH, Director of the CIA, BILL FREER, Director of the FBI, GENERAL DAVID APPELHOFF, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President's Science Advisor. There is a built-in television in one wall. The door at the far end of the room opens and a man in a dark suit, PRESIDENT FOREST, enters. The Director of the CIA speaks. BILL MURRAUGH Mr. President, we have a situation developing in Georgia. PRESIDENT FOREST (IRRITABLY) I assume you're the one who called this meeting of the NSC. BILL MURRAUGH Yes, Sir, right after we received this. Murraugh slides a thick manila folder across the table to the President. Forest looks at the file, but doesn't open it. PRESIDENT FOREST Georgia? Isn't that Puchinskiy's problem? BILL MURRAUGH Not their Georgia, Sir, ours? Roswell, outside of Atlanta, to be exact. PRESIDENT FOREST (sarcastically) Well, what do we have now, communists under the kitchen sink? There aren't any more now, you know, except in China and Cuba. BILL MURRAUGH (attempting to look confident) No, Sir. This is closer to home. If you'll just look at the report? Forest folds back the front cover of the folder and leafs through the first few pages. PRESIDENT FOREST What is this? BILL FREER (eagerly) It's a preliminary transcript of an arraignment that was held in Roswell, Georgia, this morning. The President looks down, not really reading the paperwork. PRESIDENT FOREST What does a local arraignment have to do with National Security? BILL MURRAUGH Sir, if you will, please at least read the executive summary. The President's eyes focus and then grow wide as he reads. PRESIDENT FOREST (sharply) Wait a minute! This is UFO crap. Bill Clinton declassified all that Blue Book garbage back in the nineties. You guys experimenting over populated areas now?" The President hits the CJS with a piercing glare. GENERAL APPLEHOFF (defensively) No, Sir! Please read the whole thing. Besides, there are still some files we didn't turn loose. The President looks down again for a few moments, slowly turning pages. PRESIDENT FOREST From what I see is that some citizen was arrested last night after a UFO was sighted over his backyard. BILL MURRAUGH There's much more, Sir. The President turns his attention again to the folder on the table. After a few moments, PRESIDENT FOREST You know I hate reading this stuff, why not just tell me what's going on? BILL MURRAUGH Sir, at about 0100 Zulu today, a Mr. Michael Angel, also known as Michael Angelskov, was apprehended by the Roswell, Georgia, police department for having a UFO in his backyard. PRESIDENT FOREST And? BILL MURRAUGH (continuing) It turns out, that this Angel is a retired Navy Seal and a multi- billionaire. PRESIDENT FOREST (QUIZZICALLY, EYES WIDENING) From what we pay servicemen? He's got a better retirement than I do, then. BILL MURRAUGH No, Sir, he's also a private inventor. Please read the entire report. President Forest again turns to the papers on the desk for a moment. He looks around the table with a scowl. PRESIDENT FOREST C'mon guys, give me the bottom line. Murraugh looks at Applehoff and Freer, then back to the President. BILL MURRAUGH Sir, we believe this man is harboring new technologies that will put NASA and the Pentagon to shame. PRESIDENT FOREST (with interest now, cocking his head to one side) How so? BILL MURRAUGH Sir, if you'll check, when the local SWAT team went to arrest him, their weapons exploded injuring four men. The President flips a page before looking up again. PRESIDENT FOREST I see that. It says here that he is going to take total responsibility for any injuries. BILL MURRAUGH Yes, Sir, it does. Nevertheless, the point is that he has something that renders conventional weapons 100 percent ineffective. Please keep reading. The President's eyes go back to the papers before him. He turns several more pages before looking up. PRESIDENT FOREST He told the judge that he was 'entertaining guests from out of town'? BILL MURRAUGH It gets better, Sir. The President's head goes down again for a few moments. PRESIDENT FOREST They were looking for Roswell and got the States mixed up? BILL MURRAUGH Yes, Sir. That's what he told the detectives and the judge. PRESIDENT FOREST (annoyed) Then get some of your people down there to interrogate him. GENERAL APPLEHOFF That's a lot easier to say than to do, Sir. PRESIDENT FOREST What do you mean? Here we have a man in custody, with a possible UFO sighting, giving some outrageous story to a superior court judge. We should be able to question him at will. Bill Murraugh looks at his hands before raising his head. BILL MURRAUGH (quietly with embarrassment) The judge dismissed the charges. PRESIDENT FOREST So? Have Bill pick him up and question him. BILL MURRAUGH Not as easy as it sounds. PRESIDENT FOREST Why not? BILL MURRAUGH Well, (Murraugh turns to the CJS) We can't get at him. PRESIDENT FOREST What do you mean you 'can't get at him'? If he's in some local lockup, just go down and pull him out. BILL MURRAUGH Well, Sir. It seems the judge turned him loose because he hadn't broken any laws and the police were out of line in this case. Since he was released from local custody, he managed to get back on to his property and has erected some sort of barrier that we can't penetrate. PRESIDENT FOREST Can't penetrate? What does he have, a half-dozen al-Qaeda sharpshooters on the roof. Bring him in for questioning! The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff looks at his hands at this point. GENERAL APPLEHOFF (without looking up) Sir, we can't get within five feet of him. There's a barrier completely around his house. We can see through it, but can't penetrate it. Not even bullets can get through. PRESIDENT FOREST You tried shooting him, then? GENERAL APPLEHOFF Several times until he got annoyed and knocked my sniper out of a tree at two hundred yards. I've got an entire Air Reserve squadron from Dobbins surrounding him, and we can't do a thing. PRESIDENT FOREST I don't believe this. You've got one man in the middle of the Atlanta suburbs holding off an entire squadron of trained airmen? GENERAL APPLEHOFF (nervously) That's about it, Sir. The CJS nervously opens a briefcase and produces a video cassette. GENERAL APPLEHOFF (CONT'D) (standing) If I might, Mr. President, I think this will bring it into better perspective. The President nods and the General walks over to a large screen television and inserts the cassette. He picks up the remote and sits back at his seat as the set warms up. GENERAL APPLEHOFF This first shot is right after he flew back into his property. PRESIDENT FOREST (voice rising and eyes widen) He flew in? GENERAL APPLEHOFF Yes, Sir. He has some type of backpack flying device that's very silent; not like the stuff we have. He just flew in past my men and dropped down into the yard. The President shakes his head in disbelief as the image of a well-tanned, well-muscled, blonde, middle-aged man, MIKE ANGEL comes onto the screen of the television. In the background, the President can see several Air Force officers standing in the street of an obviously residential neighborhood as the audio comes on. The man is speaking to an Air Force General, obviously reservist because of an ill- fitting uniform, standing in the roadway. There is an Air Force Major with adjutant's blue shoulder cord. The major is dressed as if he has just stepped from a recruiting poster, in contrast with the general's disheveled appearance. MIKE ANGEL I really wish you would call off your boys. Mike removes a SCUBA-like backpack with three cylinders attached to it and sets it down on the grass of the lawn. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) It's not necessary, and they can't hit me in here anyway. This could really turn into a pain-in-the-butt. Zoom in to full-screen on television. EXT: SUBURBAN FRONT YARD AIR FORCE GENERAL (blustering) This area is under military control. How did you get in there? MIKE ANGEL I just knocked and came in the back door and he let me in. The house likes me. AIR FORCE GENERAL (barking and getting red-faced) Surrender now and come out! MIKE ANGEL (patiently as if speaking to a child) Number one: you're not controlling anything except the traffic on the street in front of my yard and being a royal pain in the butt to my neighbors. Number two: this is my property, bought and paid for in the State of Georgia and deeded in the County of Fulton. Until you serve me with eminent domain papers from a legitimate state court, I'd have to assume it would be you who was trespassing-and I don't think Judge McHenry is about to grant you that. Number three: under the law of Posse Comitatus, you really have zip authority here, regardless of what you've been told. The military cannot override civil law at their will. Besides, I seem to remember that there's an amendment in the Bill of Rights that says you can't arbitrarily confiscate civilian property for military use. I know Mrs. Kaminski can't be too thrilled with you setting up shop in her living room. If you're really nice to her, though, I'll bet she'll feed you. She makes a mean okra casserole. Everything inside this wall is under civilian authority. AIR FORCE GENERAL (Sputtering) I have my orders directly from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. I believe they override whatever objections you have. Pull back to show the President looking over at the CJS who nods back as the man on the video continues, MIKE ANGEL Not really. He's just a Presidential Advisor, not a member of the executive branch or even a cabinet officer. Even if he were a cabinet officer, there is a minor matter of due process that involves the judicial branch of our government. So, even if you were Jesus Christ, I would have a legal objection in this country to your claim over my property, either real or intellectual. In this case, you're trying to bully me out of both. Now if you don't mind, I'd just as soon you go away and play soldier somewhere else and leave me alone. The camera zooms in again to full screen on the television as Mike grabs his backpack and headed for the house. A few minutes later he reappears loaded down with a folding chair, TV tray, small cooler, and what looks like a laptop computer with a camera attached to the top of the screen. MIKE ANGEL You still here? Mike says nonchalantly to the general as he unfolds his chair and table and places the laptop on the table. CUT TO: INT: CONFERENCE ROOM PRESIDENT FOREST How did you get this video? BILL MURRAUGH He's broadcasting it, Sir. President Forest's eyes widen and his jaw drops. PRESIDENT FOREST (almost a shout) He's what? BILL MURRAUGH (quietly) He has this on the Internet and now the news services have picked it up. Don't forget that CNN is just down the road from him and this is happening in their backyard. The President shakes his head as the man on the screen slowly unfolds the chair and adjusts the camera on the laptop. He nonchalantly sits down no more than five feet from where the General is standing and crosses his legs, looking for the entire world as if he were out in the yard enjoying the sun. He presses several keys on the laptop and adjusts it so that the camera picks up both him and anything on the street. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. FRONT YARD - LAPTOP CAMERA MIKE ANGEL Esads? ESADS (OS) Chirp. MIKE ANGEL (turning to laptop) Set up NetMeeting on the web site so that this is public information. ESADS (OS) (pleasant male voice) It's already done since you arrived. Mike turns to the general in the street. MIKE ANGEL Now general, what exactly are your orders? AIR FORCE GENERAL (flatly) We are to capture you and confiscate all technology in your possession as a threat to the security and welfare of the United States. This is a matter of National Security! Mike makes a sour face. MIKE ANGEL (frustrated and patronizing) Aw get off it, General. For your information, I have made no threat against any citizen or territory of the United States...yet. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) The technology I am experimenting with is a matter of public knowledge in any good library or on the Internet. I personally hold the critical patents to what is worrying the NSA and others and I have zero intention of turning them over to any government, much less mine. Frankly, I'll bet the boys at Greenbelt and Langley are probably wetting their pants to get their hands on Esads. He multi-processes 1000 channels simultaneously while maintaining an internal awareness of each for correlation. The spooks could do some major spying with him. This particular force field, for instance, as well as the personal anti-grav flyer I came in on would be of major interest to all of the Joint Chiefs, I'm sure. Dream on, not during your lifetime! I developed it, I built it, I own it, it's mine, and you can't have it! AIR FORCE GENERAL (frustrated and shouting) You can't do that. It's your duty as a citizen to contribute to the public welfare and safety by cooperating with your government! This shield alone would save thousands of soldiers in our hands! MIKE ANGEL (sarcastic) Yeah, right! Lives put on the line by overweight slobs like you that don't leave the operations tent 100 miles from the front! I don't freaking think so! By the way, you ain't seen nothing yet. Stick around a while and I'm sure you'll be even more impressed and jealous. The General turns redder, makes an abrupt about face and storms off down the street toward a jeep parked across the road trailed by the Major. CUT TO: INT: CONFERENCE ROOM, WIDE The President holds up a hand and General Applehoff puts the video on pause. PRESIDENT FOREST What is the Esads he's talking about? BILL FREER We believe it's a massive super computer that he's got in there. It's in the transcript we gave you. This Mike Angel told the judge that it's an Electronically Simulated Artificial Development System. Some of our people have been experimenting with things like that. They call it 'genetic programming'. The President nods and the CJS restarts the video. CUT TO: EXT: SUBURBAN YARD The Major has returned, not even wilted by the Georgia heat. A square jaw and the looks of a model in an immaculate uniform and shoes that could have been patent leather tips everyone off that this fellow also isn't regular Air Force. The officer turns to the Mike in the lawn chair. AIR FORCE MAJOR You understand that you are guilty of treason and sedition by not surrendering your equipment! MIKE ANGEL (amused) CIA, right! Maybe black ops or NSA. Definitely skunk works. You didn't look like regular Air Force or even reserves like the General. I got enough experience with your type in the SEALS and I'll tell you now, that my team never seemed to manage to bring many of you back alive. The Major stiffens and clenches his fists. AIR FORCE MAJOR It doesn't matter to whom I report, you are responsible to the government of the United States of America and it's your duty to turn this over to those that know how to use it properly. You should be more worried about your situation, than about who I am. Your noncompliance could have serious consequences. Mike's face turns stern and it's obvious that play time is over. MIKE ANGEL I know full well what my duty is. I spent 20 years working with spooks like you and am firmly convinced that none of you has a freaking clue what reality is according to the real world! I'll tell you right here and now that if I had a mind to, I have the capability of not only overthrowing the government of the United States, but of destroying the civilized world as you know it. I don't have the inclination to do that now, but I really wouldn't recommend pushing too hard here. You're treading on some very thin ice, and if that son-of-a-gun in the tree down there fires off another shot, I'm going to have to show you what a mistake you all are making. Zing! A ricochet rings out as if on cue. Mike flinches and makes a sour face. He then stretches and rises from the lawn chair. He turns and smiles at the Major. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Be right back. Don't go away. Mike enters the house through a side door and returns in a few moments with what looks like an RPG or bazooka rocket launcher, except it has three cylinders and all ends are closed off. He walks over to where he had been sitting and the Major is still standing. MIKE ANGEL Your man is really starting to annoy me. Watch and learn. He raises the weapon to his shoulder and a slight whine comes from the device as Mike adjusts several controls on a drop-down panel in front of him. MIKE ANGEL (calmly) I'm going to knock him out of his position and try not to hurt him. He aims the weapon toward the tree hiding the sniper and pulls the trigger. A slight whump comes from down the street as leaves fly from the tree, some still attached to their branches. So does the sniper, dropping about 20 feet to the ground and losing his rifle along the way. MIKE ANGEL Please inform General what's-his- face that was only a 2G force. I can do a whale of a lot worse if he continues to bug me. The Major does an abrupt about face and Mike calls after his back. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) You can also tell him that I have no intention of picking up his people's retirement if they're injured during this engagement. Like they said on the old TV show; don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me very well when I'm angry. The Major follows the General's tracks across the street to the front door of a house as Mike sits back in his lawn chair, laying his weapon the grass next to him. He opens the cooler, extracts a can of Guinness Draught, and places it on the TV tray next to the laptop. MIKE ANGEL(CONT'D) I think it's going to be a long afternoon. ESADS(OS) Chirp. MIKE ANGEL (annoyed) And stop that damn chirping! You speak English as well and I do, along with several dozen other languages better than I. ESADS (OS) If you wish. MIKE ANGEL Yes, I wish. Thanks. CUT TO: INT: CONFERENCE ROOM General Appelhoff pauses the video once again. GENERAL APPLEHOFF That was early this morning. It hasn't gotten any better since. President Forest shows that he is an extremely unhappy man. When the President isn't happy, it is certain his staff isn't happy either. PRESIDENT FOREST (sternly) It can get worse than a private citizen making the military of the United States look like incompetent idiots on television? And you tell me that this was on CNN? BILL FREER This first part wasn't. NSA stumbled across it from a Relcom server on the Internet. CNN only discovered it just before the next section. PRESIDENT FOREST (voice goes up a notch) This is coming off of a Russian server? Then cut his phone lines; knock out his broadband; kill his electricity. The Director of the FBI pushes another large folder across the table. BILL FREER We've tried that, and it doesn't work. Evidently, he has some self-contained source of power and connects to the Internet through satellites. In addition, we have intel now that shows that last night wasn't his first launch. He's been launching these satellites from his back yard for quite a while. The President looks incredulous at this as the Director sits back in his chair. PRESIDENT FOREST You're telling me that this guy is setting off rockets from Georgia? BILL FREER No, sir. From what we determined so far, these aren't rockets. They appear to be something entirely new. PRESIDENT FOREST Why haven't we heard anything about this before? BILL MURRAUGH Sir, we just heard about this around midnight when the FBI received an inquiry from the local police. His launch last night was large enough that his neighbors saw and reported it. They thought it was a flying saucer. PRESIDENT FOREST His last launch? How many of these things has he got up there? BILL MURRAUGH As far as we know, he has just this one large satellite. But if you'll check the report, NSA moved some of their birds around and got pictures of at least 18 smaller objects that we didn't know of before. Forest makes a face and removes a sheaf of satellite photographs and spreads them out in front of him. Most of the images are of the small communication variety, but one shows a large cylindrical object with one end rounded and four smaller cylinders around its periphery. PRESIDENT FOREST This is what's sitting over Georgia? GENERAL APPLEHOFF Yes, sir. This is the object he launched last night into a stationary orbit. We are still trying to assess the threat level. PRESIDENT FOREST (hotly) I'd say the threat level is off the scale, General. When we have somebody who can put something like that into space from inside the country and we didn't know a damn thing about it, and, according to this report, he can use it to squash a 30-million dollar laser like a bug. I'd call that a threat! Most of the attendees are now visibly squirming in their seats. Forest is quiet for a moment, examining the photographs before looking back up at his staff. PRESIDENT FOREST I've got a private citizen in the middle of one of this country's largest cities putting God know what into orbit. We have a local magistrate chasing the FBI, the FBI for God's sake, out of the courthouse after helping this person escape. In addition, you tell me that your weekend warriors can't get through a wall. Get some Delta Force in a helicopter and drop them on the roof! GENERAL APPLEHOFF (quietly, looking at hands) We can't, Sir. "Radar shows this thing goes up at least twenty miles. SCIENCE ADVISOR (scoffing) Oh come now general. Such a thing just isn't possible. GENERAL APPLEHOFF (turning to the science advisor angrily) Then I suggest you hop in your car, head down to Atlanta, and drive into this guy's driveway at 40 miles an hour! The General glares and a vein on President Forest's forehead begins to throb. PRESIDENT FOREST What am I running here; government by Monty Python? When is Alan Funt supposed to come through the door? The entire National Security Council shrinks in their seats. The situation is a mess and they know it. Intelligence has screwed up on this and so has the FBI. Making matters worse, the military has messed up too. The President turns to the General Appelhoff. PRESIDENT FOREST There's more? GENERAL APPLEHOFF (pressing start button on the remote) Yes, Sir. It gets worse. PRESIDENT FOREST I don't see how. The President lets out a "harrumph" as the picture resumes. The Major reappears on the screen and as he gets close, Mike, who is sitting comfortably sipping stout and looking bored, can see that his jaw is twitching madly. CUT TO: EXT: FRONT YARD AIR FORCE MAJOR You have five minutes to turn off this barricade and surrender. MIKE ANGEL (mockingly) Sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. AIR FORCE MAJOR You have no choice. At this minute the Attorney General is preparing a warrant for your arrest as a threat to National Security. MIKE ANGEL Bovine feces. So far, I haven't threatened anybody; I just want you to leave me alone to tinker with my toys. I am an inventor with rights like everyone else. Just because some of my creations look interesting to the military doesn't give you the right to bully or harass me. Your tactics won't succeed; I won't turn over any of my inventions to you or the government or anyone else. Nice try, but it won't work. At this point, a man rather incongruously dressed in light casual jacket, white shirt and tie, the letters ATF stamped on his jacket, joins the Major on the street. ATF MAN (reading from a paper in his hands) Michael Angelskov?" MIKE ANGEL Mike. And it's Angel, not Angelskov. ATF MAN I have a Federal warrant for your arrest and the confiscation of all weapons on the premises. Mike makes absolutely no effort to get up. MIKE ANGEL (sarcastically) Geez, my tax dollars at work. You guys really can move fast when you put your mind to it. I think you're a bit out of your jurisdiction here. I've only got ten cases of Guinness and four liters of Stolichnaya, 20 cartons of cigarettes and absolutely no firearms or explosives. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) (He points over his shoulder to a sign in the yard prohibiting firearms) I think I proved last night that you can't bring any of that stuff onto the property. ATF MAN We have probable cause to believe that you are harboring weapons of mass destruction in this area. (the agent points to a large building behind the main house) You are to be arrested and all equipment removed as evidence. Mike stands and puts his hands in his pockets. MIKE ANGEL Wrong Kemosabe! Some of my inventions might be classed as weapons, which is why I will not surrender them to the military or the US government. Mike looks pointedly at the Major, who's jaw now vibrates so hard he has to clench his teeth to stop them chattering. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) I've already said as much to the Major, here. Einstein thought atomic energy would be used for peaceful purposes and look at the first thing you guys did with it! The Captain clenches his fists once more, but still stands like a board. The ATF agent tentatively reaches out a hand toward Mike until it meets resistance and quickly withdraws it. MIKE ANGEL (nonchalantly) That's an intensified gravity field pointing up. Anything that encounters it gets pushed toward space. It won't hurt you, unless you're coming at it at 40 miles an hour. Then it's a brick wall. The agent turns stiffly and starts across the street to the house the General had gone into. Down the street are several airmen removing a tarp from a device on the back of a flat bed truck parked in a vacant lot and begin working on cabling. The machine looks like a squat Howitzer, but the electronics as well as the large generator on the trailer clearly indicate it is something else. MIKE ANGEL (TO LAPTOP) What do you make of that, Esads? ESADS (OS) I would say it is a high intensity laser, sir. MIKE ANGEL (TO LAPTOP) Ship? PROTOTYPE (OS) Chirp. MIKE ANGEL (frustrated) Knock that off and talk to me. PROTOTYPE (OS) (pleasant feminine voice) Yes sir. MIKE ANGEL (TO LAPTOP) Can you see what's going on down here? PROTOTYPE (OS) Of course! My optics are functioning perfectly and I can see very clearly. The entire block is surrounded by about 200 military personnel and at least two dozen others that I assume are Federal law enforcement. Mike turns to the Major in the street. MIKE ANGEL Major, would you mind asking your people to stand back about 50 feet from that device, please? The Major's twitch now includes his left eye making it appear that he is winking at Mike. AIR FORCE MAJOR No. I have my orders and so do they. MIKE ANGEL Well, I figure you people think that because you can see me, light gets through the field. That would mean that a laser could penetrate it and get me. Oink! Wrong! You've seen what happens when someone fires a shot at me. Think of how much worse the ricochet would be if you ordered that laser to fire. This protective barrier may not seem strong to you, but I assure you, Captain, that it is fully capable of repelling whatever you might shoot at it. Do you really want to kill half your squadron? Please ask them to move back at least fifty feet. I can intensify the field and block light, but that's a pain; it interferes with my tan. I just don't want to have to hurt anybody that's following stupid orders. AIR FORCE MAJOR They will continue until their mission is accomplished. Mike turns back to the laptop. MIKE ANGEL House, can you get me this guy's boss on the line? Try for the SecDef or CJS. CUT TO: INT: CONFERENCE ROOM The President again glances toward the Chairman, who nods back. GENERAL APPLEHOFF That's the XL-71 portable field laser system that Lockheed- Martin's developing for us. The President nods and turns back to the screen. CUT TO: EXT: FRONT YARD Mike turns to watch the activity down the street, pulls another Guinness from the cooler, and opens it. He leans back on the lawn chair, looking very relaxed. The day has heated up and the Major is beginning to appear uncomfortable in his dark blue uniform. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Sir, I have the Secretary of Defense on the phone. MIKE ANGEL Thank you. (beat) Mr. Secretary, this is Mike Angel in Atlanta. SECDEF (OS) That's what I understand. What is it you want? MIKE ANGEL We seem to have a problem here. I've got half the reservists in the State of Georgia playing war games in front of my house, there's a surly CIA type with no sense of humor in my face, and an ATF representative who thinks I'm harboring weapons of mass destruction. The FBI hasn't shown yet, but they're probably just stuck in traffic and should be here any minute. And if that's not enough, some of your weekend warriors are building a laser down the street. SECDEF (OS) I am aware of that. I authorized them. We want your weapons and designs. Your inventions could pose a serious threat to the safety of our nation. You can't expect me to take your word for it that you won't use your capabilities against your government. Until you're willing to surrender yourself into military custody, I have no choice but to use force. SECDEF (OS; CONT'D) Do you have any understanding what your force shield alone could do for our troops? Can you imagine bombers driven by your propulsion units and protected with that shield? Moreover, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs told me you have a portable force weapon as well as a personal flyer. Your country needs these and it's your duty as a citizen to turn them over. MIKE ANGEL Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got the party line already from the General and the Major. Like I told them; not going to happen. I hold the global patents on all of this technology for the next 18 years and I'm not licensing them out to anybody. It's too dangerous to be in the hands of people whose business is war. I have too many peaceful uses planned to allow that. SECDEF (OS) (coldly) Our business is defense. They don't declare war on anybody. That's up to the Congress. MIKE ANGEL (sarcastic) And I've got this beachfront property near Phoenix you might be interested in, or possibly you might want a nice bridge in New York? Look, I made a career of killing people for you folks and I'm not about to be responsible for that again. As far as I can determine, the only difference between the Boy Scouts and these guys out here is that the Boy Scouts have adult leadership! Now why don't you do you and the taxpayers a favor and tell your people their afternoon recreation is over and call everybody out of the pool? Mike grins broadly, as he hears the Secretary sputtering at the other end of the line. He notices that the Major's knuckles had turned white from clenching them too tightly. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) To get to the point at hand, the Major here refuses to order his men down the street away from their laser for a couple of minutes. As his commander, I would like you to tell them to stand off about 50 feet for five minutes while I stage a little demonstration of why it's not a good idea to get me too riled. SECDEF (OS) Why should I? MIKE ANGEL Because, like I just said, I'm tired of hurting people. If they are within 50 feet of the truck in five minutes, six minutes from now you'll have to wipe them up with a Kleenex. Instead of getting second-hand reports, why not point your personal computer to mikeangel.ru and watch first- hand? I have a web cam covering the area and I'm broadcasting all of this. In fact, (Mike glances at the screen) several of the news services and CNN have already picked it up. SECDEF (OS) (sputtering) You can't do that! This is a matter of National Security. MIKE ANGEL Too late; did it already. Besides, I was under the distinct impression that in the United States the public has an inalienable right to know, especially when it concerns National Security and the goings on from the government. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) I don't intend the public to get the wrong idea about me from either the press or your spin- doctors - the people can see and hear everything live and form their own opinions. Now will you order these people back, or will you be responsible for their widows collecting their government insurance? There is silence for about a half minute before the Secretary speaks again. SECDEF(OS) Is the Major there? AIR FORCE MAJOR (stiffening) Yes Sir. SECDEF (OS) Please tell the men to stand down for five minutes only. AIR FORCE MAJOR Yes Sir! The Major makes a smart about-face and marches down the street to where they are busily assembling the weapon. Mike watches him briefly speak to a staff sergeant before turning back to return. The troops on the truck begin getting down and assembling in the front of a house a bit further down the road. MIKE ANGEL Thank you sir. Please excuse me for just a second. Mike picks up device that looks like a cellphone. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Ship, can you target the weapon down the street? PROTOTYPE (OS) Of course I can. I'm not stupid and I've monitored your conversation. I already have it in a narrow beam. MIKE ANGEL Then give me a 100G pulse for two seconds as soon as everyone is clear. I don't want any collateral damage. PROTOTYPE (OS) (beat) Ready. MIKE ANGEL Fire when ready, Gridley. The ground trembles and there is a louder whump. Where the truck and laser had been is now a flat sheet of metal less than 6 inches thick. The ground where the truck had been parked is depressed a foot and the surface looks glazed over at this distance. SECDEF (OS) (incredulous, yelling) You have a weapon in orbit? That's against all treaties we have regarding space! MIKE ANGEL No Sir. The peaceful propulsion system, however, can be reversed and focused. I just had the ship increase the effect of gravity around the truck 100 fold and it collapsed. It is not a weapon in the right hands -- mine. That's why I really don't think you need it. Besides, you have broken most of the weapons treaties we've ever signed and it's just a matter of time before you put some sort of weapons platform in space. SECDEF (OS) I am the President's representative for the defense of this nation! He is the elected representative of the majority of your fellow citizens. So I speak for him and for the United States when I say that this device must be controlled by the government! MIKE ANGEL (snorting) Don't get me started! As I remember it, he's the elected representative of a majority of the Electoral College. I seem to recollect he lost the popular vote hands down. Therefore, you speak for a couple hundred members of the Electoral College and the majority of the Supreme Court. As a private citizen who is, frankly, scared witless of the both of you, I say you neither need my device nor are responsible enough to control its use. There is a long silence and then a distinct click as the telephone hangs up the other end. AIR FORCE MAJOR (officious tone) You can't talk about the President that way. MIKE ANGEL (shrugging) I just did. Get used to it. CUT TO: INT DAY: CONFERENCE ROOM The Chairman stops the display and ejects the cassette. PRESIDENT FOREST (white faced with eyes bulging) He did that from space? BILL MURRAUGH Yes, Sir. We believe that was the satellite he launched last night. PRESIDENT FOREST Then who were the others he was talking to? BILL MURRAUGH Sir, NSA and my people believe those are the artificially intelligent computer systems this Mike Angel told the judge about. PRESIDENT FOREST (turning to the Science Advisor) Computers? Do we have anything like that?" The advisor looks at his hands and shakes his head. SCIENCE ADVISOR Nothing quite that sophisticated. We have voice recognition that can run simple programs, but these appear almost independent. Forest thinks for a moment as his face gets darker before looking up at the CJS. PRESIDENT FOREST Now get out of here General, and take Larry, Moe, and Curly with you. I want everyone back here at six this afternoon with answers. I want to know everything there is about this man, his machines and his intentions. Moreover, I want to know what we can do about him. Is that understood? There are nods around the room as the President rises. CUT TO: INT. OFFICE The Secretary of Defense is sitting behind a large desk and presses a button on a box in front of him. SECDEF Alice, I want the President's Science Advisor and the Director of Central Intelligence in here immediately. ALICE (OS) Yes sir. A few moments later, a civilian in a suit comes in through a side door. Unlike most federal employees, this person was in light gray tweed instead of the standard issue black. SCIENCE ADVISOR You wanted to see me? SECDEF (motions the advisor to a chair) Sit down, George. I need your evaluation of this situation. SCIENCE ADVISOR Sir, this crackpot's claims go against every law of physics I'm aware of. Even though I read the report and watched the tape, I say he's a total nutcase and should be treated as one. SECDEF This crackpot, as you call him, has just destroyed a 30-million dollar top-secret laser we had in development and has erected an impenetrable force field preventing us from touching him. In addition, he did this from orbit! He's not claiming anything, he's demonstrating!" SCIENCE ADVISOR (quietly) I know. I saw it, remember? SECDEF (irritably) If you really think that he's making outrageous claims, then turn on CNN, or any other news channel. They are re-running pictures of our 30-million dollar flatbed truck reduced to a block of scrap-metal. I figure he's going to be on Discovery channel any day now or with that Australian nut on Animal Planet nuking kangaroos from space. Now get out your slide rule and figure out how the hell he does it and how we can stop him! The Science Advisor shrinks back into the chair at this, knowing that whatever is going on is well beyond his expertise. Nevertheless, he knows that he has to try something. SCIENCE ADVISOR Thank you Mr. Secretary, will there be anything else? The Secretary of Defense shakes his head and the Science Advisor leaves, passing Bill Murraugh on his way. Replete with dark glasses, black suit and shoes, the DCI enters the office. SECDEF Bill. What's your Intel and what are our options. BILL MURRAUGH Intel is still zip at this point. We're getting more from CNN than from our assets. This guy came out of nowhere yesterday. He doesn't show a red flag in any database. Retired vet, Navy Seal, decorated several times, but has a service jacket three inches thick that's filled with his making his own rules. He got the job done, but his way every time. Brought up on charges twelve times during his career, all of them dismissed. Mostly insubordination and disobeying direct orders, but since he exceeded his missions, they always dropped charges. He earned two PhDs while still in the service and mustered out on a medical because he didn't run fast enough from a charge he set in Afghanistan. A total loner, never married, perfect score on the GCT/ARI tests and an IQ approaching 180. SECDEF Can we recall him? BILL MURRAUGH I don't think we can legally. He was enlisted - they tried for years to get him to go OCS. Recalling one person not during a time of war, especially one with a medical discharge, would pose a problem and a PR nightmare. He served his full time and didn't have to do active reserve. The medical is secondary. BILL MURRAUGH (CONT'D) Evidently, he insisted in serving the full enlistment before retiring to avoid any recall. He's off the reserve list and his age puts him above what we can draft. SECDEF Do you have any other good news? BILL MURRAUGH From what we can trace so far, he's acquired several billion dollars since he left the Navy, mostly from lottery winnings. The Secretary's eyes bulge. SECDEF How can that be? BILL MURRAUGH Unknown. Tracking through about 50 holding companies he owns, he's not only won every major money lottery in every state since he left the service, but also holds 750 patents on everything from computers to power supplies and synthetic fuels. None of his corporations appears to produce anything except patents and copyrights. Apparently, they are just fronts for his other operations, whatever those are. We're checking now on the legitimacy of them. IRS reports that all taxes are impeccable and, in fact, most appear overpaid. However, we can find no trace of the money in any bank that reports to the FED. SECDEF Now that's got to be illegal; we can get him on money laundering, BILL MURRAUGH Not if the master corporation is legitimately registered overseas. We're still working on that aspect. I hope to have it solved by this afternoon. BILL MURRAUGH (CONT'D) The biggest problem is that this person is Snow White: model citizen, low profile, not even a parking violation that we can find. He just has an unusual way of making money and has no other visible means of support. SECDEF (sourly) Yeah. That and he launches satellites from his backyard as a hobby. A Marine knocks once, enters through the main door, and hands a sheaf of papers to the CIA Director. The Director leafs through the folder. BILL MURRAUGH Evidently our man has spent several million dollars in the past few years on Internet auction sites buying computer parts. He paid through accounts in Grand Cayman, Zurich, and Khabarovsk, Russia. He's also been purchasing from local companies. Mostly machine tools, odd chemicals, liquid helium; the list goes on, but I don't see anything illegal except the funneling of money out of the country and that's questionable whether or not it can be prosecuted. SECDEF Questionable or not, this man has developed weapons that threaten the security of the entire free world. He has to be stopped now by any means we can and this technology brought under our control. The main door opens again and a woman enters. She appears to be in her mid-fifties or maybe early sixties but still quite attractive. She hands the Secretary an open padded envelope. ALICE Sir, this came for you. We thought you needed to see it as soon as it passed security. It's from that man in Atlanta. SECDEF Thank you Alice. He takes the envelope as the woman turns and leaves the office. He takes out a plastic jewel case containing a home-burned CDROM. The camera can see it is labeled "Interstellar Drive Specifications". The Defense Secretary hands this to Bill Murraugh. SECDEF Put your best people on this right away. Bring in NSA if you have to. I want to know what's on it! The CIA Director accepts the plastic case, nods, and immediately leaves the room through the side door. FADE TO: EXT. EVENING FRONT YARD As darkness falls, Mike picks up his communicator and laptop, leaving the lawn chair, table, and cooler behind. He opens the side door to the house. CUT TO: INT. HOUSE HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Bill Simmonds for you, Sir. MIKE ANGEL Who? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Bill Simmonds. Johnson Controls, remember? MIKE ANGEL Oh yeah, put him on. Mike puts the laptop on the table and sits down. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Bill! I haven't talked to you in months. BILL SIMMONDS (OS) Right! I hit the road for a month and when I come home half the city's blocked off, my client's face is plastered all over the television, and I haven't seen this many uniforms since I took my son to a scout jamboree. What the heck is going on? MIKE ANGEL Oh, not much. Same sleepy bedroom community except the reservists decided to bivouac in my front yard. BILL SIMMONDS What did you do? Rob Fort Knox? MIKE ANGEL (laughing) No. Remember the stuff I bought from you a couple of months ago? BILL SIMMONDS Sure. A bunch of cryogenic monitors and control equipment with computer interfaces. Why? MIKE ANGEL Well, I put it in orbit last night and the President is having a cow. BILL SIMMONDS (incredulous) You did what? MIKE ANGEL Some of the equipment was to beef up security around my house, but the rest was for a prototype I was building for space travel. BILL SIMMONDS (incredulous) You launched a rocket in your back yard? MIKE ANGEL No, not really a rocket: a space vehicle. BILL SIMMONDS You're insane! MIKE ANGEL A lot of people are telling me that lately. BILL SIMMONDS You used our stuff to build a space shuttle at home and launched it into space? MIKE ANGEL Basically, yeah. BILL SIMMONDS How? Those were off-the-shelf sensors and interfaces! It was stuff we had in the warehouse, for Pete's sake! MIKE ANGEL I know. That's why I picked you. I could walk up to the counter and get what I needed without a lot of hassle or paperwork. BILL SIMMONDS It wasn't even MIL-spec. Those were standard industrial parts for refrigeration and air conditioning! MIKE ANGEL I know. No offense, but the MIL- spec stuff is crap. Tell your engineers that the production models are good enough for me. If NASA wants to hold your feet to the fire with off-the-wall specs, so be it. That's their problem. You had what I needed, so I bought it. It worked. BILL SIMMONDS You're certifiable, you know that? MIKE ANGEL (smiling) Don't say that too loud. They haven't tried that angle yet. BILL SIMMONDS You really put my stuff in space? MIKE ANGEL Yup. And if things work out the way I hope they do, you'll be getting a much bigger order in a couple of months. BILL SIMMONDS What do you mean? MIKE ANGEL You've got a permanent staff over at Lockheed-Martin, right? BILL SIMMONDS Yes. We've got people to service sensors and controls for some of the planes they produce. MIKE ANGEL Well, if it works out, I'm going to have them build me a bigger version of the prototype I launched the other day and I'll need more of your stuff. BILL SIMMONDS You're not kidding, are you? MIKE ANGEL Dead serious. I'm going to need some installers on the line over there and somebody with clearance to finish the work here. BILL SIMMONDS (hesitant) Most of our people have FBI clearances, so that should be no problem. MIKE ANGEL Good. However, the FBI isn't good enough for me. Tell you what; send a couple of resumes and background data over to Jim McKinney, my security chief. He'll let you know who we need. BILL SIMMONDS You really are crazy, you know that? Let me know what you need and I'll work up a proposal for you. MIKE ANGEL What do I need a proposal for? I know what I want - you make it; I'll buy it. Simple as that! BILL SIMMONDS You're putting me on. MIKE ANGEL No. This isn't up for bids. I'm not going to bring Honeywell or Siemens in on the deal. You currently make exactly what I need at a good price and it's in your catalogue so I'll buy from you. Look, I checked everybody before I started messing around with this and you have exactly what I need. Tell you what, when I make the order, instead of spending a week preparing proposals, give your admins a day off with pay instead. OK? BILL SIMMONDS You're freaking nuts! You got a deal. Mike looks weary as he stands and walks into a kitchen. MIKE ANGEL (to himself) So much for faith in humanity. FADE OUT: Ben W. Gardner Sedona, Arizona "I do not fear computers. I fear lack of them." --Isaac Asimov http://ca.geocities.com/vladilyich/ In The Beginning - ISBN: 1-4116-3848-4 Just In Time - ISBN 1-4116-3851-4 Ad Astra - ISBN: 978-1-84728-518-8 In stores and at Amazon.Com http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-1761779-3946261?url=search-alias%3Daps&... |
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