Jayne looked up, lifting one eyebrow. “Former alien sceptic?”
“Yes,” Robertson said. “Buckley was one of the people who publically questioned the alien motives in visiting Earth. For some reason, they actually invited him to their base in Nevada — where he underwent a conversion. Since then, he’s been telling everyone he can reach just how wonderful the aliens are and how many benefits they will bring to Earth. It’s created quite a stir in right-wing circles. Everyone is asking if he’s been replaced by a pod person.”
Jayne blinked. “Pod person?”
“There was an old science-fiction movie that had everyone dropping asleep and being replaced with a pod version of themselves,” Robertson explained. “The pod people were… well, non-aggressive beings. I can’t remember the rest of the story; the point is that someone got to Buckley and turned him into an alien supporter.”
Jayne considered it. “But how do we know that he didn’t see something that made him change his mind?”
“If you changed your mind about going out with me on Saturday night, you’d know why,” Robertson pointed out. “But what has Buckley told his friends, his family, his legions of fans…? Sweet fuck-all. He’s said nothing about why he’s decided to convert to alien-worshipping; the platitudes he mouths to his fans are the same the aliens have been given us ever since they made that speech at the UN. So what happened to him and why?”
“You think they got to him,” Jayne said. “And what did they do to him?”
Robertson grinned. “You’ve never wished for the power to change a person’s mind? You’ve never wanted to force your editor to give you a massive raise? The CIA has been working on brainwashing techniques for decades; they talked about taking a Russian spy and brainwashing him into becoming a loyal American. And people like Joe Buckley reach a wide spectrum of Americans, even the ones who think he’s an insane right-wing nut who serves as a good advert for gun control.
“I bet you anything you care to put forward that your alien friends did something to him while he was at that base and turned him into their ally,” he concluded. “And if you could find proof of that…”
“We’d have proof that they meddled with people’s minds,” Jayne said. It wasn’t hard to follow his logic. “But how do we prove something like that?”
“Carefully,” Robertson said. He made a show of stoking his chin. “It really depends on what they did to him. They might have stuck an implant in his brain — there was a whole series of novels based around a Nazi UFO base in Antarctica where they abducted people and stuck implants in their heads. Or they might have some kind of conditioning system that allows them to stamp new ideas into a person’s mind. Hypnosis doesn’t actually work like they have it in the movies. You can’t actually program a person into believing something different without a great deal of preparation…”
“And I’m sure that that’s a big relief to all those girls who feared that someone would hypnotise their way into their pants,” Jayne injected. “What do you think we can do about it?”
“I’m honestly not sure,” Robertson admitted. “Most of the literature on this kind of stuff is highly speculative or highly classified. I think we could probably start by scanning his brain and looking for any foreign matter… but I don’t know if we could find a doctor with the right attitude for this. Hell, Buckley himself could be counted on to object.”
“If he’s under alien control, yes,” Jayne agreed. “How do we get access to Joe Buckley?”
Robertson grinned and pulled out a brightly-coloured sheet of paper. “Joe Buckley, world-famous science-fiction author, will be one of the guest speakers at the Welcome Foundation as it incorporates as a charitable organisation bent on ensuring that humanity joins the Galactic Federation,” he said. He passed her the glossy sheet and Jayne scanned it quickly. “We’d at least be able to talk to him there, assuming you’re up for a visit…”
Jayne nodded. “Why not? In fact…”
An alarm rang. “That’s the breaking news alarm,” Robertson said, with some alarm. “The President is going to be making a statement on Live TV.”
The White House Press Room was as full as ever, with hundreds of reporters, television cameras and bystanders watching as the President made his speech. Toby noticed a number of familiar faces in the crowd, some of them political enemies of the President and his Party, others reporters who could be counted upon to put the best face on political disaster. But maybe all the old certainties no longer applied. The Mainstream Media had practically transformed itself into a cheerleading squad for the aliens. And a number of bloggers who had opposed the aliens, no matter how ineffectually, were dead.
He scowled as quiet gradually fell over the room. Outside, the shouting of the protesters could vaguely be heard, even though the soundproofing. If anything, the crowds seemed to be getting bigger; the Washington PD had reported that the protest organisers seemed to be funnelling more and more people towards the White House. There were even rumours that the Secret Service had ordered plans to evacuate the White House to be put into high gear, although Toby knew that the President would object strongly. Running from a crowd of his own citizens would utterly destroy his presidency.
“My Fellow Americans,” the President said. “One month ago, the world changed forever when we finally discovered that there was an entire universe of intelligent beings living beyond the solar system. They brought gifts and words of warning; we, the human race, were on the verge of destroying ourselves. We had trapped ourselves within the gravity well at the time we needed to be heading outwards and ensuring that we would no longer have all our eggs in one basket. The Galactic Federation has offered us help in climbing to the stars, but that help comes with a price. You have all heard the terms they have demanded in exchange for their assistance.
“Congress and the Senate have debated the matter intensively over the past week,” the President continued. That was, Toby knew, technically true. On the other hand, one of the Congressmen who’d been briefed had probably been the one who had leaked the details of the alien demands to the Mainstream Media. “We have had to make some hard choices. If we refused to comply with the alien demands, we would be frozen out of the new era — and flying in the face of public opinion. And yet, complying with the terms would be extremely difficult and costly. We would have to rid ourselves of nuclear weapons. Our proud Navy which has defended our freedom ever since our country was born would have to be scrapped; the military force we built will have to be discarded.
“And yet, the rewards promise to be literally astronomical in scope.
“My Fellow Americans, after urgent discussions on Capitol Hill, I can confirm that it is the intention of the United States Government to accept the alien terms. We will reach out and boldly stride into an shining future where everyone has enough to eat, where everyone has enough to drink and where everyone has the promise of Galactic technology to lift them to the stars. There are those who will say that we will pay a high price for those benefits, but we are looking at the realisation of mankind’s dreams! Peace, prosperity and challenges that can be met peacefully. There is a whole universe out there waiting for us!”
Toby watched the reaction of the Press Corps as the President finished his speech. Some seemed shocked, even though they’d clearly anticipated it; others seemed delighted, convinced that the President had just personally inaugurated a whole new era for the human race — and for them personally. Who knew what the Galactic Federation intended to do with the Earth? The President had just ordered the disbanding of the one force that might be able to slow, or even stop, the invasion.