Mitchelson nodded and said, “Go on, Peri.”
“Events that may – or may not – be attributable to a non-terrestrial source. At least, a source that we can’t explain through our understanding of terrestrial mathematics, physics and chemistry. I think I see the tie to the UNTNC that you mentioned earlier. There are some events that we can conceive of, and that we need to plan for, even though we can’t explain them except in preternatural terms.”
Mitchelson leaned across the table and looked Peri right in the eye. “Listen, Peri, and listen carefully. This is not an abstract debate. We are not considering events that we can conceive of as thought experiments. We are in the business of dealing with reality. Humans have been forced to take extreme action against entities that can best be described as monsters, and more than once. We may not have scientific explanations of these things, but they are a clear danger to all of us.”
Peri blinked at his intensity. “Extreme action? How do you hide that?”
Rostovich spoke. “Chernobyl. Something manifested in a nuclear power station and had to be eliminated. Explained away by bombing the reactor to fake a meltdown.”
Montrache added, “Armero, Colombia, 1953. Something melted all the snow-caps and glaciers on a mountain, twenty thousand dead. Explained by a volcanic eruption.”
Mitchelson contributed, “Nagasaki, 1945. After seeing the effect of the bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese told us about something in Nagasaki that they begged us to take care of. I think we all know the result.”
Wilkinson offered, “Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Something killed two thousand people. Explained by a limnic eruption.”
Mitchelson again. “Mount Saint Helens, 1980. We had to blow up half the freakin’ mountain to deal with the thing that was bottled up there.”
Finally Li contributed. “Do you think we wanted to flood the Three Gorges?”
Peri gaped at them. “They were all… all… alien infestations of some kind?”
“We think so. At least some of them,” said Mitchelson. “Remember Clark’s Third Law? For all we know, they were magical creatures. We know a lot less than we would like to.”
“Where did they come from?” asked Peri.
The answer from Rostovich was an eloquent shrug. “Who knows? There are speculative theories, but no science.”
Peri slumped in her seat, and cradled her head in her hands. “This is mad.” She looked up again. “You are seriously saying that Earth has been attacked by monstrous creatures, that may or not be extra-terrestrial, several times? And that the true causes have successfully been concealed, over and over?”
Wilkinson gave her a smile that was almost apologetic, and simply said, “Yes.”
She nodded. “Yes, actually, when I think about it, I can see it working. Offer a simple but plausibly natural explanation, and people will leap at accepting that, over an alternative that is, essentially, ‘Demons did it.’ Am I right?”
Li nodded. “You have done very well, Peri. You clearly have a mind that is at once receptive, undogmatic, analytical and open.” She looked at Wilkinson, and added, “She will do very well, Damon. I propose that we appoint her at once.”
“Seconded,” said Rostovich.
“Agreed,” said Mitchelson.
“Carried unanimously, I think,” said Montrache.
Wilkinson nodded. “I’ll make it happen.”
“Whoa!” Peri exclaimed. “What’s the rush? Come to that, what’s the sodding job? And you said I’d get a chance to decline…”
Mitchelson laughed. “Does she really want us to shoot her, Damon?”
Li shook her head, and said, “Really, Dwight. Peri, let me try to answer your questions. We are recruiting a new head of a small team that works under the auspices of the UNSC. The position is primarily about assessing and managing risks to the whole of humanity arising from preternatural sources. It will involve open source research, information management, analysis, risk identification and mitigation planning. There will be some classified information feeds from the intelligence services of our five nations, and some reporting to them, but that should be low volume and of minor importance. The team leader – you – will be responsible for overseeing the work of the team.”
“How big is the team?” asked Peri.
“Today? Yourself and two researchers. But I expect early recommendations about the necessary size and composition of the team for the future, based on an assessment of threats and workload.
“There will also be international liaison work, which I expect will fall to the team leader and will of course be facilitated by this committee. Only a handful of countries have any organisation or plans in this area. Our five, plus select allies, are aware and are networked. Others are active but tend to operate independently of each other.
“As to the rush… the team leader post has just become open. In fact, the first task I would like you undertake is to look into how he died.”
“What? Died?” Peri was shocked. “When did this happen?”
“His body was recovered from the sea yesterday.”
Wilkinson spoke up. “He was in North Wales, so we have you booked on a flight to Heathrow today…”
“Hold it, hold it!” Peri protested. “What do you mean you have me booked today? My knowledge of the subject matter and what the job entails is approximately the square root of fuck-all. Be reasonable! Give me the weekend to think it over and decide, then we can arrange whatever…”
“You want to think it over? You have ten seconds, Peri,” said Wilkinson.
“What?”
“Nine.”
“Ah, shit.”
“Eight.”
“When’s the flight?”
“JFK, seven fifty-five. Seven.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s just not possible.”
“Yes, it is. Six.”
“All right! I’ll do it, but not on a five to eight flight. Come on, I need to get to Brooklyn Heights to pack some things, get to JFK, check in, go through security…”
Wilkinson looked smug. “Your luggage is at the airport already, and NYPD will blue-light you right to the door of the plane.”
Peri gaped at him. “That’s why Ewan and Janice stayed behind?”
“I want you on your way by six forty-five at the latest, which means I have less than an hour for a briefing.”
“You just told me to shut up and listen, didn’t you?”
Wilkinson nodded.
“We will give you the room, Damon,” said Li. “It was a great pleasure talking to you, Peri. I look forward to working with you.”
Wilkinson did not utter another word until he had swept the room with a hand-held detector that had been in his briefcase. Peri could not sit still. She paced, and finally broke the silence. “Aren’t we all friends here?”
He held up a raised finger for silence and carried on. Only when he was satisfied did he reply. “We are better described as ‘frenemies’. We work together on certain areas, but our national philosophies differ, and in some cases, remain fundamentally at odds.”
“Shame. I liked Colonel Li.”
He scowled. “I could see that she liked you, and I can’t say I’m altogether happy about that. Solidarity of the geeks, perhaps. You’re GCHQ and she’s…”
“Third Department of the PLA Joint Staff. China’s SIGINT service. Why would you be unhappy that she liked me?”
“Later. Pay and rations first. You’re on a temp promotion now, aren’t you, so with this appointment you get made substantive plus you get a temp to the next grade up. Officially, you are no longer a liaison between Cheltenham and the UK Mission here, you are seconded to the UN Security Council as an adviser. Clear?”