There were thousands of reports and videos about the incident in the archive, so Sarah refined the search to ‘fallout’. There were still hundreds of reports and videos, so she decided to add another search term — ‘graphic’.
She started to view the videos — reports by military scientists on the horrifying casualties from the explosion. Children burned, people walking around naked, clothes burned or torn from their bodies. Corpses, thousands of them — the fatalities were staggering, millions of people dead in seconds, millions more dead in the months following.
Sarah spent hours in the archive, unable to stop herself from watching. One report was created only two years before, and it gave a sobering assessment of the long-term effects of the nuclear explosion. The report painted a bleak picture of a land completely toxic — nothing lived there, nothing could be grown. The land was completely poisoned. Teheran was never rebuilt. It was deserted, left as a sickening reminder of the destructiveness of mankind.
Leaning back in her chair, Sarah realised she’d been clenching her jaw and fists for the last few hours watching the videos. She felt drained. What was she thinking? Could they really do this to their own land? She questioned her own sanity, confused about how she could go to General Stephens now. Before, she had been evangelical about the plan — she thought it was a stroke of strategic genius to remove the ransom that was holding Australia hostage. Now, however, she realised the gravity of this decision, the terrible consequences that it could have on the people of Australia — on the future generations.
MiLA rang. It was General Stephens. ‘Can you please come in here, Sarah?’
‘Of course, I’ll be right there,’ she replied, rubbing her face and standing up.
Sarah knocked on his door and went in. Fletcher was already there, seated opposite the general.
‘Come in, Sarah. Take a seat. Fletch tells me that the feasibility report is looking good for your idea.’
Sarah felt unsteady. Your idea. She didn’t want this to be her idea anymore. She wanted distance from it. In truth, she wanted nothing more to do with it after what she had seen in the archives.
‘Yes, sir. Connor and his team have reviewed the plan and believe that Operation Fulcrum has potential, though there are significant risks and side effects.’
‘Yes, I’m sure there are,’ replied General Stephens. ‘I’ll read the report later, but I have a pretty good idea of what it will say — and Fletch has briefed me. What I want to know is: are we doing the right thing? Are we thinking of Australia’s best interests, for now and in the future?’
Fletcher started. ‘I’ve considered all of our military options. We don’t have any moves left. We’re hamstrung because this country is effectively under siege. Our resources are too valuable and we’re gambling with the lives of innocent people. Conventional tactics are not going to win this war, and neither have guerrilla tactics. There is no way around it.’
General Stephens nodded. ‘I agree. There is nothing more we can do from a conventional military perspective. Sarah — your thoughts?’
‘Well sir,’ Sarah began, ‘I agree that we cannot progress with our current military strategy. We have the diplomatic option, which we know will achieve nothing for us. We can independently set about getting on with rebuilding our nation by redrawing our borders — effectively walking away from the mining industry. But then, whatever wealth we create in the future will be at the mercy of the Chinese. Our third and final option is the nuclear one, Operation Fulcrum,’ she took a deep breath and looked down at the desk. ‘An option that I am increasingly uncertain about.’
‘Uncertain?’ repeated General Stephens in disbelief. ‘This was your idea, Sarah. Are you having doubts?’
Sarah raised her head to meet General Stephens’ eye. ‘Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. This may have been my idea initially, but I do not wish to own or champion this strategy. I realise now that the nuclear option is one that will change this country forever. I can’t carry the burden of that responsibility — this cannot be “my idea”, sir.’
General Stephens stared right back at Sarah, his grey eyes cold. ‘No one is saying that you will carry the responsibility of this decision, Sarah. I alone will labour with that load. However, if you want a seat at the grown-ups’ table, you need to make — and live with — some hard decisions.’
Sarah blinked. Her mouth dropped open. The general had never spoken to her like that before. ‘Sir, I just… I realise now what it means to take the nuclear option.’
‘Why, because you’ve watched a few videos? Read a few reports? Seen some statistics? You have no idea, Sarah, until you see it first-hand,’ Stephens said, glaring at the young woman across from him. ‘You cannot comprehend the destruction. Like Fletch, I’ve seen the horror of nuclear weapons and, since taking control of this country, I dared not consider the possibility of a nuclear scenario. I couldn’t let myself think it, even for a second, in case the thought took hold and then, God forbid, became a reality.’
General Stephens stood up, feeling too constrained by his chair. He had to move. ‘Sarah, unfortunately, the evil we face with China scares me more than the evil of a controlled nuclear explosion — which is why we need to make a decision and act on it in total secrecy. There can be no debate, no discussion, outside of this room. I alone will make the decision and I will live with the consequences.’
The room fell silent. Fletcher and Sarah remained motionless. They all felt the decision had been made.
‘So, what next?’ asked Fletcher. ‘If we’re going to do this, we need to start evacuating people as soon as we can.’
Sarah sat forward. ‘We do it under the guise of relenting to Chinese dominance — have the military start moving people out of the area so that there is as little questioning as possible. If the Chinese ask what’s going on we just say that we’re redrawing our sovereign borders — that the mining region is all theirs.’
General Stephens nodded. ‘Yes, I agree. Fletch, can you please instruct the military to suspend all operations? We need the Chinese to think that we’re submitting.’
Fletcher nodded.
‘Sarah,’ continued General Stephens, ‘handle the evacuation — I don’t want one Australian citizen to be anywhere near the area.’
‘Yes, of course, General’ she replied.
‘All right, then. Get to work. And remember, not a word to anyone. I’m going to make a call to President Allen and see if he would be willing to help.’
Chapter 18
Days of planning all merged into one. Sarah was exhausted. Getting home after midnight, she checked MiLA and noticed four missed calls from Matt — she had been screening calls all day. Too tired to call him now, she threw MiLA on the couch and stumbled into bed, falling asleep half-dressed.
In the morning, her ambient alarm system brightened the room at 6 am. Waking groggily, Sarah felt like she had been asleep for all of five minutes. After a quick shower and getting dressed, she headed out the door, calling Matt.
He answered immediately. ‘Morning. I was trying to get hold of you all day yesterday. I even came by the house, but you weren’t there.’
‘No, sorry. Yesterday was a manic day like you wouldn’t believe,’ she said, getting into her car.
On the other end of the line, Matt paused. ‘You’re doing it, aren’t you? You’re planning to detonate a nuke in South Australia.’
‘Matt, don’t be ridiculous,’ Sarah replied immediately. ‘We were talking hypothetically the other day.’