Terrence had never been in a helicopter. He’d wanted to, a couple years back when he’d visited Niagara Falls, but he couldn’t afford it. He wasn’t footing the bill now, though; that privilege belonged to the US Marine Corps. Although, now that he considered it, he wasn’t sure if the Marine Corps were US anymore, or if they even were still really a thing.
He couldn’t see the gargantuan cruise ship yet, but he could make out the massive aircraft carrier that tailed it everywhere like a pompous watchdog. The sky around it was filled with the white trails of fighter jets, and as the helicopter came closer, he could see the score of battleships, destroyers, and supply ships that surrounded something that gleamed white in the sunlight.
The U.S.S. Exodus, despite the name, was not a naval vessel; it was a colossal luxury liner, designed to accommodate nearly seven thousand passengers, although at present it held one-fifth that number. Every member of Congress, the entire Senate, all seven Justices of the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Vice President, and, of course, the President himself, were, along with their collective support staff, sitting below Terrence, indulging themselves in what was the world’s largest floating five-star hotel, that, at the moment, stood dead in the water.
The helicopter bumped down on the ship. Terrence hoisted up his bag and stepped out on the helipad, blinking in the bright sunlight, to see a Marine in formal dress waiting for him. The Marine gestured for Terrence to follow and strode away without looking back. Terrence had never been a cruise ship before either, but he couldn’t enjoy it like the helicopter ride. He was led into the ship and down the swaying corridors until he stood in front of the double doors to a room that held the President of the United State. He took a deep breath and went inside.
There were nearly a dozen men in the office, but Terrence’s eyes were drawn to man behind the desk, the only man in the room sitting. The President looked him in the eyes.
“Well, son, d’ya care to explain what this is all about?”
Terrence glanced around. “I’m sorry, sir, but the deal was that I meet you alone. Everyone else will have to leave.”
“Ah, don’t mind them, son, they’re just advisers an’ busybodies, they can’t do any harm.” The President’s tone was easygoing, but his the smile he wore didn’t reach his eyes. Terrence steeled himself. They chose you because they thought you could do this, he reminded himself.
“Sir, either they leave, or I do.”
There was a long silence, and then the President nodded. The other men slowly filed out of the room. With just the President left, the room seemed a lot larger. Terrence sat down across from the President, putting down his bag on the floor between chair legs, so that the rocking of the waves couldn’t knock it across the room. The President leaned forward, all folksy charm gone.
“Now, why don’t you explain what’s going on? Do you represent the hackers?”
“There are no hackers, sir.”
“No hackers?” The President raised an eyebrow. “Then who shut down our communications? Who took control of the George H.W. Bush’s computers and threatened to have our own ships fire on us?” The President’s tone grew more aggressive. “Is it the Chinese? The Russians?”
“That would be the folks at US Strategic Command,” said Terrence calmly.
“US Strateg- absurd! Why would our own people do this to us?!!”
“They aren’t ‘your people’ anymore.” Terrence opened his bag and took out the iPad, plugged in the antenna they told him would allow him to connect to the internet, and opened up the browser, loading the first video. He handed the iPad to the President.
The President watched the first video, and then the second, the third. Terrence didn’t need to watch with him; he already knew it all, all the details of the utopia that had sprung up over the last two weeks. So many of the ‘intractable’ problems solved, some by innovation and creativity, some by simple cooperation and effort. The President sat, silent and motionless in the undulating room, and watched his excuses proved lies, as Terrence watched the President’s unreadable expression.
Finally, the President put down the iPad and looked up. Terrence spoke gently.
“I’m here to tell you that we no longer require your services, and that you are no longer welcome in our country.”
The silence that stretched on after this pronouncement was broken as a particularly large wave shook the room, sending a paperweight crashing the floor. Terrence ignored it and waited to hear if the President would respect his- the peoples- wishes.
The President opened his mouth, closed it, and open it again. He started speak, but was interrupted as another wave crashed into the ship. Terrence nearly lost his seat, and was straightening himself out as the door burst open and a naval officer rushed in, speaking frantically.
“Sir, our seismographs are picking up massive activity from the coast, causing these waves.”
The president stood. “It’s an earthquake?”
“We have no communications, sir, and we can’t call home to analyze the readings…” the officer shook his head. “We just don’t know.”
Terrence reached forward and took the iPad off the desk where the President left it. He logged on to Twitter- he figured none of the news sites would have any official info yet. He clicked on the first tweet, a link to a picture, and stared at it. Then he turned the iPad around to show the President.
At last, he was able to shock him. Terrence supposed that it was only appropriate that a man as greedy and small as the President was unimpressed by people’s capacity for good, but could be stunned by an evil greater than even him. The mushroom cloud on Terrence’s iPad seemed to do the trick.
“Where?” breathed the President.
Terrence tried to load his feed again, but it wouldn’t work. He tried to load Google. Error, server not found. He looked up. “Everywhere.”
They were interrupted again by yet another naval officer. This man rushed in, pale and shaking, and saluted while speaking.
“Sir, short range sensors indicate two incoming ICBMs to our position. Two minutes to impact.”
“SO?! GET US OUT OF HERE!!” the President roared.
“Sir, we won’t… we couldn’t get far away enough.”
The President stared at him, suddenly resolute. “Who did this? I’ll be damned if we go out without a fight.” He looked over at Terrence. “Computers don’t control our nuclear missiles, you bastard. It’s the one thing we have left.”
The naval officer looked helpless. “We don’t know, sir… all our long range sensors were taken out by the hackers. The fleet has enough missiles to target the capitals of all possible nuclear hostiles, though… What are your order, sir?”
Target all possible hostiles? thought Terrence incredulously. He means to nuke Moscow, Beijing, Islamabad, Pyongyang, and Tehran just to make sure he gets the right one? He reached into his bag and pulled out the other item he brought with him.
The President was nodding grimly. “Launch n-” he started to say before he realized what Terrence was holding up.
Terrence grasped the cold grip of his handgun. He had never fired a gun before either, so this might be a whole day of firsts. And lasts, he thought, and fought the maniac, irrational urge to giggle.
“I guess utopia could only last a few weeks,” said Terrence slowly, “but I won’t let you ruin its legacy. The world still has a chance.”
He raised up the gun and squeezed the trigger, but the sound of the gun firing was drowned out by something. Something impossibly loud, impossibly hot, and overwhelmingly, impossibly bright.