King nodded grimly. Several of his staff had been lured away to companies interested in their future knowledge. The thought of what a 21C fighter pilot could teach a 20C company had the executives drooling in their coffee. The thought of developing a viable television network, as the returnees suggested, was exciting and terrifying newspaper owners.
“There’s also the fact that the British have called an… ah, Imperial Conference of their empire,” Roosevelt continued calmly. “Some of the isolationists see that as a threatening act; they think that they intend to reassert control.”
“In the original timeline, you handled the British empire pretty badly,” King said. “With the benefit of hindsight and the most powerful force in the world, they might be able to build something stronger in its place, something based on democracy.”
“And they’ve invaded French North Africa,” Roosevelt said. “Apparently, they intend to develop it as an independent nation, instead of keeping it in trust for the French. Not everyone believes them, you see.”
“And, what do you think?” King asked. “For myself, I think they don’t mean you any harm.”
“But they’re keeping some of our people,” Roosevelt said. “There are people, such as Admiral King, who fear the power of the new British. They’ve fought Germany to a stalemate, if the war news is to be believed.”
King waved a hand at the mobile phone on Roosevelt’s belt. There were only a handful of the new phones in America; they were being shipped over slowly, with the American-based corporations that had offshoots in Britain trying to take the lead. They were competing with British companies that had suddenly seen a vast new market for their old models opening up, calling in every favour the government owed them to get preferential treatment in the limited shipping available.
“It’s very difficult to get away with a lie in 2015,” he said. “They’re telling the truth.”
Roosevelt shrugged. The air war over Europe had died down as both sides licked their wounds and rebuilt their forces. The Germans had deployed primitive cruise missiles, V1-type aircraft, and were tossing them at Britain in swarms of one to two hundred a day. The British were concentrating on going after the German factories and rail links, but the Germans simply had a larger industrial base, even if it was more primitive.
The worse news was that the Germans had been developing kamikaze tactics, either fanatical nazis or press-ganged Italians, and using them against the modern ships. Three more British 2015 ships had joined HMS Manchester under the sea, victims of a German plane loaded with explosives. Through swarm tactics, some considerable skill and sheer determination, the Germans had limited British activities in the Mediterranean Sea. Submarines still moved under the waves, launching cruise missiles from time to time, but for the moment the war had stalemated.
But not all of it. “You know the Nazi Germany remains undeterred,” King said, referring to the invasions of Yugoslavia, Greece and the occupation of Romania. The Soviets – which meant Stalin – had taken half of the nation in a thieves’ pact, before beginning the long process of shipping the Romanians to gulags in Siberia.
“I don’t understand,” Roosevelt said. “I understood that the Romanians were Hitler’s allies?”
“They were, until 1944,when they switched sides,” King said grimly. “Hitler is destroying his own command structure, and the bastard doesn’t care! Thousands of people are dying for being the wrong race, the wrong colour, the wrong religion! Look at the reports from Poland; they’re turning the entire nation into a slave camp!”
“I saw,” Roosevelt said. “If the Polish constituency had their way, I would declare war on Hitler and Stalin tomorrow. The problem is that not everyone cares; they believe that the US can stay out of the war and assimilate the new technologies you’ve brought us. And, of course, we have the movie stars, the producers, the writers… all of whom want royalties from countless copies of movies they haven’t made yet.”
King snorted. “Good luck to them,” he said. The case of Spike Milligan had been a wonder in the UK; as had the handful of growing cases like it as the ripples spread out. “A lot of movies entered the public domain when their companies folded; others should never have been made at all.” He snickered. “Just wait until Hoover and his cohorts sees the snuff movies.”
“I don’t want to know,” Roosevelt said sharply. Suddenly, he looked very old indeed, despite the course of medication the embassy doctor had prescribed for him. He knew now that he would die in four years; if the stress of how the United States was reacting to the future Britain didn’t kill him first. “What’s your thoughts on the Japanese situation?”
“I think that Herr Hitler must have shared something with them,” King said. The British had sent Ambassador Quinn a detailed report, now that global communications had been re-established, and Quinn had shared it with him. “They now know that they are doomed to lose a war against the United States, should they choose to launch one. They also know that the newly-arrived British have weapons that can sink the Japanese fleet in an afternoon and they won’t want to tangle with them.
“And at the same time, they’re clearly preparing for war,” he continued. “Most of the original intelligence sources are still active, including someone within the Russian Embassy, and the Japanese are preparing for a major war. We don’t have very good sources within their establishment, but it seems like there’s been a major upheaval. I suspect – and MI5 agrees – that they’re planning to launch a war to snatch the British and French possessions in East Asia before the new weapons can get to the Pacific.
“They’ve already marched into Indochina and – and I quote – accepted the request for ‘liberation’ by Indochina’s natives,” he concluded. “British Intelligence believes that they have every intention of snatching the resources they need, without involving you in the war.”
Roosevelt scowled. “Can they do it?”
King laughed. “You’re the President,” he said. “You tell me.”
“I hesitate to answer,” Roosevelt said wryly. He took one final look at the beginnings of an airport. “Was it a mistake not to push the Paney Incident?”
“Quite possibly,” King said. “Every President has to handle the mistakes of his predecessors.”
“Thank you,” Roosevelt said dryly. “One final point; the British have these atomic weapons, right?” King nodded. “So why haven’t they used one on the Germans?”
“I think that the Prime Minister refused to even consider the option,” King said. “Atomic weapons are not simple firecrackers, you know.”
“So General Groves assures me,” Roosevelt said. “He was astounded at getting the command, two years early, but he now believes that we can have a simple device completed within two to three years, particularly with the computers you’ve given us as assistance. There’s just one question; are the named Soviet spies really Soviet spies?”
“The list was compiled by American researchers following the end of the Cold War,” King said. “I understand your meaning – the British are taking a childish revenge and not sharing information on atomics with you – but I don’t think that they sabotaged it at all.”
“Good,” Roosevelt said. “I’m not certain what to do with you, so for the moment you will remain as official liaison to Ambassador Quinn. I’m not quite certain why some of the men of your detachment insisted on remaining with you as a guard” – King looked sharply at him, meeting nothing, but innocent eyes – “but the Secret Service has issued the necessary documents for them. Take care of yourself.”