Kingdom of Monsters by John Schneider (microsoft ebook reader .TXT) 📗

it wasn't laid out so graphically, and with such brutal simplicity, right in front of him.

Screens and various open files were left open and organized like a child's playroom – the busiest toys laid out right in front for use.

It all told its story as obvious as a dog's footprints leading to the empty hamburger tray on the counter.

Otto was a parrot.  He used the language and words in front of him.  If you showed him math, he read math.  If you showed him digital functions, he saw the basic binary codes.  Tom imagined he would have been very good at counting cards in Vegas.

There were at least three of the little bastards on the ISS with him.  Possibly more.

Quantum-level gremlins.

It was at least helpful that they made no effort to hide their intent, or their work in progress, although probably hadn't anticipated the need in space.  They even used all the standard military language and codes.

Tom also found map-diagrams marked 'human-habitation', and 'Big Rex' – code-named directly from military files.

A gremlin, alright.

An ornery genocidal gremlin.

Tom had periodically been repeating his mayday to General Rhodes.  He knew his message had been received, and was likely going through relays, but now he finally received his first reply, from someone identifying as Lieutenant Hicks.

Tom gave it to him in thirty words or less.

There was a pause, before Hicks responded soberly.

“I'll get you through to the General, sir,” he said.

That had been ten minutes ago.  Tom had spent it perusing Otto's little virtual dioramas, all of which stood every chance of being transformed into physical reality.

One file contained a list of documented blooms over the last year, along with containment efforts.  Nuke a bloom, burn a bud, pretty much summed up the strategy.

Accompanying this response-list was an inventory of functional nuclear assets.

Again, lined out like a kid's toy-set – a submarine, a single silo, and a single squadron of planes armed with a dozen missiles – two operational.

Acting on a hunch, Tom checked the satellite cameras, and found most of them currently aimed right at the center of the Rockies – right at the Mount.

The maps all diagrammed segments of this region, and Tom pulled back the satellite resolution to encompass the surrounding three states.

That was the thing about the Food of the Gods – it generated tremendous energy within an organism, and it radiated out like excessive body heat.

Early on, he had learned to decipher the ultra-violet signature, and how it differed from energy generated from natural sources like geothermal.

When he scanned the targeted perimeter, the results stood out like florescence under a black-light – and sure enough, a pre-generated topography model popped up beside it, separating the geothermal from targeted areas highlighted in green.

The radio blared again, and this time it was the voice of General Nathan Rhodes.

“Major Corbett?”

“Right here, sir.”

“Son, it's awful good to hear from you.  We'd pretty much given you up for lost.  We've had our hands full.  Things seem to be heating up again.”

“That's no accident, sir,” Tom replied.

Tom glanced at the screens.

“I'm afraid you've got two problems, General,” Tom said.  “The first is that I've just detected a very large bloom on satellite.  It's one of the biggest on record, and it's headed your way.”

Tom shut his eyes.

“It's bait sir,” he said.  “As of now, all your nuclear options are compromised.”

Chapter 26

Dr. Shriver placed the sound-proofed glass case over Otto's cage.

Sally leaned in, watching the apparently oblivious little lizard blinking back, absorbing their words like a sponge.

Lieutenant Hicks had rerouted Major Tom to the lab and Rhodes had him on speaker.

The General was already pacing.  If the Major's report was accurate, the Mount itself could be in trouble.

“I've got satellite confirmation,” Tom informed them, his voice echoing in the glass acoustics of the sealed lab.  “About two-hundred miles west of your position.”

Rhodes turned to Sally.

“I want a roll-call report,” he said.  “All our nuclear assets.  Yesterday.”

The sub was the first to report back – Captain Mason.

“Standing-by on alert, sir.”

Which meant prepped to assume launch depth, pending targeting and launch commands.

“You got any tomfoolery out your way?  Anything unusual at all?”

There was a pause on the line.  “No, sir.”

Major Travis from the Northwest site was next, reporting that he'd had a convoy attacked, and picked up a couple of refugees.

“However, sir,” Travis said, “we do seem to have a problem with lizards.”

Rhodes had glanced in Sally's direction.  Shriver nodded.

“Hold that thought,” Rhodes replied to Travis, “I may need you on-deck.”

He switched the line to hold.  “Anything from Maelstrom?” he asked.

Sally shook her head.  “Nothing, sir.”

Rhodes swore under his breath.

“Get Hicks over there with a combat-unit.  I want boots and eyes on the ground.  Tell them to let me know the second they've got anything.”

Dr. Shriver checked the coordinates Major Tom had provided.  He looked somberly at Rhodes.

“If we can't nuke it,” Shriver said, “the Mount is in range.”

Rhodes rubbed his eyes.

“We are still reacting,” Shriver said, “as if this were all just a disaster, and not the actions of a deliberate, intelligent enemy.  Now, remaining population centers are being targeted.  We have to recognize our opponent and learn how it operates.”

“And,” Rhodes added, “it just so happens that our one high-intelligence asset that could maybe help us out with that, is also down in the area.  We can't nuke the place even if we could.”

The General took a deep breath, his feet set, back deliberately straight, like a man about to lift a difficult weight.

He turned to Sally.

“How many people currently living in the facility?” he asked.  “Last census?  And how fast could we realistically get them out?”

Sally blinked as she realized what she was being asked.  Was Rhodes actually talking about abandoning the Mount?

Under what kind of time-frame?

That was not to beg the question of where would they evacuate to?

Rhodes took Sally's aghast expression for his answer, turning instead to Shriver.

“This site was built to withstand nuclear strikes,” Rhodes said.  “What would be its chances against a ground-zero bloom?”

“It's the nature of the beast,”