Latham was dumbfounded. He hoped this might bring in more business, but this was guaranteed income that would help move his small yard into the big leagues. It would also repay the company and the city all it had invested and then some. He didn’t know what to say.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the President said as he extended his hand.
“Y-Yes, sir. That will be very welcome news. We thank you,” he said taking the President’s hand.
The CNO was next in line. “We really do appreciate it, Mister Latham, and we look forward to working with you,” he said. “There will be an Admiral Shranski calling on you sometime next week. He’ll help get things set up.”
The men said a few more words then the President left for Air Force One and his return flight home. The CNO rode with him. The President was curious about one thing. “Admiral, you mentioned you had someone in mind to command the ship. Mind telling me who?”
The CNO took a breath. “You may not like it,” he said. Then he told him the name. To his surprise, the President liked the idea a lot.
“Comrades we have an extremely dangerous situation before us, said Minister Inu Che, special delegate to the People’s Congress. Che was the head of the Bank of China and well respected by the Party and its members. Today he was attending a closed door Politburo meeting with select high level leaders. They were seated in the Politburo offices overlooking Tiananmen Square. The sunlight streamed in through the windows making it a little warm. Che was dressed in a western style business suit.
“Our Communist brothers to the south decided to assert themselves a few weeks ago and, although they did not attack our nation, we are experiencing serious repercussions,” he said solemnly. “I believe we have all known that our brothers might do things rashly on occasion; however, I do not think anyone in this room expected them to attack the United States in the way they have. While doing relatively little damage to the population of the country, they nevertheless did bring the United States temporarily to its knees.”
“However, I do not believe this caused the political turmoil that our neighbors expected. Had they sought our wisdom in this matter, we would have gladly shared our experiences in dealing with the United States. In this case, instead of dividing and segregating the people, we know through our contacts that the opposite has occurred. Their President, whom they considered a weak newcomer to the political arena, has demonstrated extreme leadership and foresight. His decision-making powers were sorely underestimated, even by our own intelligence services. Where we initially estimated it would take at least six months before order would be restored, we now know it returned within one week. We know that their free press has been curtailed and there are forces at work within their military. However, because of the loss of communications and the news blackout, we have been unable to ascertain what measures have been taken or what the plans are.”
“So their news media, such as CNN, are not reporting the news?” asked a delegate.
“Yes, comrade, the news media, through its now limited resources, has begun reporting news, but it is being read only and is obviously censored. As you recall, comrades the effect of the nuclear attack was to damage all of their electronic capability. This includes their satellites. Where before there was strong centralized control of the news by a few people, that has now relegated to local news reporting and a limited amount of news on a national scale. In the past we could count on getting a good idea of what the Americans were doing through their media, but this is no longer the case,” Che said flatly. “Unfortunately, our intelligence assets are hampered by what our brothers did as well. The energy pulse disrupted the communications and there are severe restrictions on who can use them. Our contacts can get word to us only through diplomatic bags delivered once per week.”
“So, comrades our communist brothers to the south have seriously misjudged the effect of their attack on the Americans. First, by using nuclear devices, they have displayed the most open and deadliest form of aggression. I will note that two of the weapons actually detonated on the ground. The Americans are using the figure of 1.7 million people dead. Second, they misjudged the anger of the American people. Many remember what anger was generated when the Japanese performed a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The result of that error was the almost total ruin of Japan. Third, they misjudged the resourcefulness of the Americans. Instead of wallowing in the aftermath of an attack, they jumped back aggressively and restored basic services. Lastly, they misjudged the political will and leadership of the American President. The man has clearly demonstrated firm resolve and control,” Che said.
“It is obvious there have been errors, Comrade, but why should the People’s Congress be concerned?” asked another delegate.
“Very simple, Comrade. With this attack, the United States changed its buying patterns.”
Some of the men around the table laughed. “And how does this affect the Party?” the delegate snickered.
Che smiled. “Comrades, many years ago you sent me to learn banking from the Americans and the British. In that time, I did not forget my dedication to the party and our political system, nor did I waste time by learning just the basics. I tried my best to understand why the system works as it does and what it responds to. Since that time, our nation has embraced what some would call a more capitalistic outlook. We did this for good reason. It allows us to operate in a world market and have influence in areas where our former comrades the Soviet Union could not. As you have seen, their system failed, where ours continues to flourish. In this case, we trade with the Americans and other free nations to earn hard currency that we can use to purchase technology and expertise we do not have. For example, to drill for oil, we use American equipment and expertise. Our computers are licensed from IBM, our automobiles are American designs — even much of our food comes from the United States. We all know our communist ideals are spreading slowly but surely; however, by adapting our methods we are able to continue the progress over the long term while assuring our people are happy and our appearance to the world is a benevolent one.”
“In particular, the People’s Republic of China brings in approximately four billion dollars a week in revenues from the United States alone. This is from their purchase of clothing, electronics, ore, toys, porcelains, any number of items. Do you know how much was brought in this past week? Zero,” Che said forming a circle with his fingers to emphasize the point. It was a shame he had to lead them by the hand, but it had to be done.
That figure got the attention of everyone at the table. The men started conversing with the delegates seated beside them. After a moment, a gavel was heard from the front of the table and order was restored.
Che continued his remarks. “Thank you, Comrade Chairman. So you see, comrades, although politically we are against the United States and firmly behind our communist brothers in Korea, economically, we must make a decision on who we shall openly support and the consequences of our decisions. If we firmly support Korea, we risk losing our largest paying customer and most influential player in the geopolitics of the world. However, if we support the United States openly, we provide conflicting messages to our own people and the politics of our own nation. We also send messages to our allies that may not be what we desire. It is a most difficult set of decisions comrades,” he said finally seating himself in his chair.