Wednesday October 15, 1969
Nevada Desert
Robert Fisher was driving his own Kentworth tractor-trailer truck on a two-lane highway crossing the Nevada desert. He was carrying a load of corrugated sheet steel to the surface base of the Uptimers. Even though he was a Minnesota resident this was where the work was and the fact that he was an independent owner-operator was also a factor in his continued employment. The Uptimers continued their flat out refusal to hire anyone connected to a union, especially the Teamsters.
He was still ten miles out from the front gate of the base when a county sheriff's car came up behind his unit and started flashing the lights. Bob decided to pull over but as he did he hit the panic button on the GPS unit installed in the tractor as instructed by the Uptimers. Unless there was another emergency to deal with the alert squad of Rangers would shortly come out.
After both vehicles came to a full stop the deputy sheriff walked up to truck.
He spoke to Fisher.
“Sir, do you know why you were pulled over?”
“No.”
“You were speeding.”
Fisher shook his head.
“Deputy,” he said, “I’m carrying too much weight to be speeding.”
The deputy was clearly upset that Fisher had rebuked him.
“My radar gun says you were speeding!”
The GPS unit beeped. Fisher briefly turned to read the text message on the screen. The alert squad of Rangers was on the way.
He decided to talk the deputy out of this nonsense before the Rangers showed up.
“Deputy,” he said, “this tractor unit is fitted with a Global Positioning System unit.”
“So what?”
“The GPS was developed on the original timeline by the United States Navy to precisely track the position and speed of ballistic missile submarines. The People from the future brought a full set of GPS satellites and ground units with them in case they had to do work on the Earth. And according my GPS tracker I wasn’t speeding.”
The deputy was now visibly angry. He pulled out his service revolver.
“Get out of the truck! Now!”
Suddenly there were two sonic booms. The deputy looked up in shock.
Fisher spoke again.
“Deputy, I called for assistance from the Uptimers, you should place the gun on the ground and your hands on top of your head.”
The deputy raised his revolver higher and shouted again.
“GET OUT OF THE TRUCK! NOW!”
There was a sudden flash of light. Fisher looked down and saw that apart from the skull, spinal column and rib cage, which had turned to carbon, every part of the deputy above the pelvis had been turned to smoke.
“Shit.” He said.
Fisher had seen similar but far bloodier fatal injuries inflicted by the Communists on his fellow Marines in the Korean War.
The four Rangers stepped out of the squad lander as it slowly passed over the site. The landing jets on the suits slowed their descent to landing. The squad leader bounced up to where Fisher was parked. He then opened his helmet to speak.
“Damn.” He said. “He asked for it.”
“He was clearly not paying attention, Sergeant Burnette.”
Fisher could see the name and rank of the Ranger printed in black on the front of the suit. The insignia used straight chevrons similar to those used by the Israelis, but in this case the rank of Staff Sergeant was indicated by four stripes.
“Okay,” said Staff Sergeant Burnette, “this idiot pulls you over for speeding even though you weren’t, and then pulls his weapon on you when you argued with him.”
“Yes,” said Fisher, “and he got real upset when the lander and the gunship appeared.”
“Dumb,” said Burnette, “a real prereformation cop, a really stupid prereformation cop.”
Bob Fisher could only nod. He had not yet read the full story on The Reformation but from what little information he had it was clearly a cleanup of a serious mess.
Burnette looked about before speaking again.
“What we can do is this, we can have the squad lander and gunship fly overhead and my guys can ride on the trailer the rest of the way to the base.”
“That’ll work.” Fisher replied.
In his office Senator Edward Kennedy received a visitor. Douglas Green was employed by the Republican National Committee in Washington. But for some reason he needed to speak to the senator immediately and in private.
“So what is this about?” Said Kennedy.
“You’ve heard about the publication of The Concept Of Government?”
“Yes,” said Kennedy, “I’ve been told that it’s a load of fascist trash”
“There’s an unexpurgated version being distributed within the Republican Party. And it’s worse than that--much worse.”
Green opened a small brown paper bag like those used by certain bookstores, pulled out a copy of a soft cover book, and handed it to Kennedy. The title was the same but the name of the author was clearly printed on the cover.
The author was named Allen Keller.
“In what way is this version worse?” Kennedy asked.
Green answered.
“This version gives a clear history of the event the Uptimers call The Reformation, basically the extermination of the Democratic Party. And it gives the identity of those who carried it out, including the founder of the successor state, The Federation.”
“And who carried out the murders and founded this so-called federation?”
“The then sitting governor of the state of Minnesota, John Andrew March.”
As Kennedy paged through the copy he didn’t notice the four digit number stamped on the inside of the cover. And he had absolutely no clue that there was a printed computer chip incorporated into the spine of the book.
His thought at the time was that something would have to be done about those monsters.
At the Ground Base in Nevada Lieutenant March was meeting with Bob Fisher.
“Bob, when was the last time you went home to see your family?’
“About a month ago, why?”
“Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to leave the area until things calm down. According to my list here we have a load going outbound to Minneapolis. Interested/”
Fisher nodded.
“Yes.” He said.
“Okay, it’s going out tomorrow to Honeywell.”
At that moment a message popped up with a beep on her desktop screen.
March spoke again.
“Bob, I have to meet with someone, can you go out the side door?”
“Yes.”
Once Fisher was clear of her office she pressed down on the intercom button.
“Okay, bring him in.”
Two Rangers dragged a bound and gagged man in mock western attire into the office and dropped him on the floor. He was a member of the county board. March walked around her desk and bent down to pull off the piece of duct tape from his mouth.
She then spoke.
“So what do you have to say for yourself?”
He spat back.
“You fucking bitch!”
“Really,” she replied, “do you understand the concept of courtesy, let along the meaning of the word No?”
“You have nothing on me, bitch!”
“On the contrary, the county sheriff was very clear when he said that you ordered the harassment of truckers making deliveries here.”
“That lying son of a bitch!”
March shook her head.
“No. It’s amazing how truthful someone can be when a gun is placed directly on the forehead. Your effort to get a piece of our action has only annoyed us and resulted in the death of one of your deputies. Needless to say it has to end.”
“You bitch! You won’t get away with this!”
“I’m not getting away with anything.” She calmly relied.
Lieutenant March then drew her sidearm, a M1911A1, and placed a single round in the commissioner’s head.
And then came the paperwork.
Showing posts with label Stupid Police Tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stupid Police Tricks. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 02, 2014
This Is Disgusting
A three year old girl in a wheelchair is abused by TSA screeners and the stuffed toy lamb is confiscated.
What is wrong with these people?
The answer is that they are following orders of their political masters without any thought at all. And the political masters will not identify and attack the source of the problem, which is Islam. Until we are absolutely ready and willing to identify and treat the false creed of Islam as being fundamentally toxic to human life then no solution to the problem of war and terror is possible.
Step Back - Part 20
It was a quiet Saturday morning at the Nevada Base as Harry Barnes fired up his personal laptop computer. It had been issued one by the Uptimers for his own use from the stockpile they brought along for the mission to the Solar System.
At first he checked the base network for news. Seeing that the Soviets had decided not to launch a first strike on the United States, and that the first of the prisoners of war rescued from North Vietnam were returning to their families here in the mainland, he brought up the word processor program. For the first draft of the paper he decided to use Times New Roman instead of the Courier New font.
To understand the actions of the Uptimers requires knowledge of the nature and purpose of Government. In both cases, the action against the police in Minneapolis and the execution of William Grant in Dallas, the individuals from Uptime were responding to the failure of the local police agencies. Although the Uptimers had agreed to follow the laws of the United States in both cases the local agencies that upheld those laws were clearly not functioning.
In both cases the Uptimers had found themselves in a practical state of anarchy.
In Minneapolis the failure began when the patrol officers were not informed of the visit of Mission Commander Evelyn Boatman to several high technology firms in the Twin Cities area and of his specific physical condition. This was inexcusable as the Saint Paul Police Department had informed their patrol officers of the visit without any difficulty. The second point of failure was the overtly hostile and unprofessional attitude taken with respect to Commander Boatman and his escort from NASA which was followed by a physical assault.
Under the circumstances Commander Boatman had no choice but to use deadly force to protect himself.
The third point of failure was during the mission by the Uptimers to retrieve Commander Boatman from the city. The Federal Authorities had ordered the Minneapolis Police to stand down as the Commander and his NASA escort boarded the lander sent to retrieve them. But a police marksman had taken it upon himself to shoot Commander Boatman in the back with a scoped rifle. With their commander down the squad of Rangers proceeded to clear the area of the landing zone of apparent hostiles.
The summary execution of the televangelist William Grant in the city of Dallas was again a response to the failure of the function of local government.
Judith Grant, the daughter of the televangelist, was brought into the Emergency Room of Parkland Hospital with severe injuries inflicted by her father in a beating. When the doctor who treated her requested the arrest of the assailant the policeman present refused because of Grant's local political connections. When the doctor informed the policeman that Judith could die of her injuries the officer responded by saying that an innocent man would be found and prosecuted for the crime.
The circumstances of the incident were far more disgusting. Judith had been beaten to a pulp for possessing a paperback copy of Atlas Shrugged. And what the policeman actually told Doctor Goldman in the ER was disgusting beyond belief.
Doctor Barnes continued to write.
The ER Physician had called upon the Uptimers for assistance and the Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Alice Boatman had arrived at Parkland Hospital by lander and upon consulting with the ER Physician the decision was made to transfer Judith to the starship Eagle for further treatment. It was at this time that the televangelist William Grant had entered the ER and physically blocked the transfer of the patient.
The Dallas police officers present refused to remove the physically and now verbally abusive father from the path of the Uptimers, it was at this point that Doctor Boatman used her personal weapon to perform a Saigon Special on William Grant.
As the Objectivist representative to the Uptimers Doctor Barnes had been made aware of the Doctor Boatman's personal background and the appalling circumstances of her early life. That she had grown up to be a fully rational woman was nothing short of amazing. That she had calmly treated her encounter with the televangelist as a clinical problem, such as the removal of a cancerous tumor, was in some respects frightening.
Harry then sat back and thought. The next part of the article would place the actions of the Uptimers in context.
The future colonists of Alpha Centauri properly hold that the use of retaliatory force must be placed under objective control and thus delegated to government in a rational society. But in both cases the local government had failed to carry out this function. As a result of this failure the Uptimers hold that the authority and responsibility to act with force reverts back to the individual. As an example they cite the actions of General Loan during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.
The situation on this day in Saigon was pure chaos. No one on the ground could have been sure that there would be a functioning government on the next day. Into this situation a Viet Cong terrorist had been captured after he murdered the family of a National Police officer. General Loan as the commander of the National Police had no idea if the terrorist could ever be prosecuted and punished for his actions. So in the absence of a clearly functional authority he personally carried out the judgment and execution of the murderer.
It was no secret on the base that the Uptimers view General Loan as a hero.
At this point Doctor Barnes sent the document to the printer.
At first he checked the base network for news. Seeing that the Soviets had decided not to launch a first strike on the United States, and that the first of the prisoners of war rescued from North Vietnam were returning to their families here in the mainland, he brought up the word processor program. For the first draft of the paper he decided to use Times New Roman instead of the Courier New font.
To understand the actions of the Uptimers requires knowledge of the nature and purpose of Government. In both cases, the action against the police in Minneapolis and the execution of William Grant in Dallas, the individuals from Uptime were responding to the failure of the local police agencies. Although the Uptimers had agreed to follow the laws of the United States in both cases the local agencies that upheld those laws were clearly not functioning.
In both cases the Uptimers had found themselves in a practical state of anarchy.
In Minneapolis the failure began when the patrol officers were not informed of the visit of Mission Commander Evelyn Boatman to several high technology firms in the Twin Cities area and of his specific physical condition. This was inexcusable as the Saint Paul Police Department had informed their patrol officers of the visit without any difficulty. The second point of failure was the overtly hostile and unprofessional attitude taken with respect to Commander Boatman and his escort from NASA which was followed by a physical assault.
Under the circumstances Commander Boatman had no choice but to use deadly force to protect himself.
The third point of failure was during the mission by the Uptimers to retrieve Commander Boatman from the city. The Federal Authorities had ordered the Minneapolis Police to stand down as the Commander and his NASA escort boarded the lander sent to retrieve them. But a police marksman had taken it upon himself to shoot Commander Boatman in the back with a scoped rifle. With their commander down the squad of Rangers proceeded to clear the area of the landing zone of apparent hostiles.
The summary execution of the televangelist William Grant in the city of Dallas was again a response to the failure of the function of local government.
Judith Grant, the daughter of the televangelist, was brought into the Emergency Room of Parkland Hospital with severe injuries inflicted by her father in a beating. When the doctor who treated her requested the arrest of the assailant the policeman present refused because of Grant's local political connections. When the doctor informed the policeman that Judith could die of her injuries the officer responded by saying that an innocent man would be found and prosecuted for the crime.
The circumstances of the incident were far more disgusting. Judith had been beaten to a pulp for possessing a paperback copy of Atlas Shrugged. And what the policeman actually told Doctor Goldman in the ER was disgusting beyond belief.
Doctor Barnes continued to write.
The ER Physician had called upon the Uptimers for assistance and the Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Alice Boatman had arrived at Parkland Hospital by lander and upon consulting with the ER Physician the decision was made to transfer Judith to the starship Eagle for further treatment. It was at this time that the televangelist William Grant had entered the ER and physically blocked the transfer of the patient.
The Dallas police officers present refused to remove the physically and now verbally abusive father from the path of the Uptimers, it was at this point that Doctor Boatman used her personal weapon to perform a Saigon Special on William Grant.
As the Objectivist representative to the Uptimers Doctor Barnes had been made aware of the Doctor Boatman's personal background and the appalling circumstances of her early life. That she had grown up to be a fully rational woman was nothing short of amazing. That she had calmly treated her encounter with the televangelist as a clinical problem, such as the removal of a cancerous tumor, was in some respects frightening.
Harry then sat back and thought. The next part of the article would place the actions of the Uptimers in context.
The future colonists of Alpha Centauri properly hold that the use of retaliatory force must be placed under objective control and thus delegated to government in a rational society. But in both cases the local government had failed to carry out this function. As a result of this failure the Uptimers hold that the authority and responsibility to act with force reverts back to the individual. As an example they cite the actions of General Loan during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.
The situation on this day in Saigon was pure chaos. No one on the ground could have been sure that there would be a functioning government on the next day. Into this situation a Viet Cong terrorist had been captured after he murdered the family of a National Police officer. General Loan as the commander of the National Police had no idea if the terrorist could ever be prosecuted and punished for his actions. So in the absence of a clearly functional authority he personally carried out the judgment and execution of the murderer.
It was no secret on the base that the Uptimers view General Loan as a hero.
At this point Doctor Barnes sent the document to the printer.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Step Back -- Part 17
“Final burn completed.”
Lieutenant Cook, the commander of this mission, looked about the command deck of the subordinate craft. Even with the return to free fall everyone and everything was working smoothly. This was especially true with the Downtime American volunteers who made up part of the crew for the mission.
“Very good.” He said.
The Falcon, along with her sisters Harrier, Kite, Owl and Osprey, were the largest subordinate craft carried aboard the Eagle on the mission to Sol. As with th Eagle they had been fitted with the FTL Drive. And as with the Eagle the FTL Drive had been disconnected from the control and energy systems of the vessels. For this mission the drive had actually been dismantled and placed in storage to improve the mass fraction of the craft.
The image on the primary screen of the command deck was split with a virtually straight line between a field pf stars and a the night side upper atmosphere of the planet Jupiter. The flashes of lightning that could be seen from this orbit would put the electrical output of a Terrestrial hurricane to shame.
But their mission wasn’t to play tourist, the Falcon was here for fuel.
Although the Eagle was designed and constructed to use a quantum singularity as the primary power source, the auxiliary generators, as well as the primary powerplants of the auxiliary craft and surface installations were fusion reactors.
Fusion reactors used Deuterium and Helium-3 for fuel. While Deuterium could be found on Earth the sources for any reasonable quantity of Helium-3 were the large gas giants. In the history of the primary timeline Jupiter and Saturn were robotically mined for Helium-3. For the mission to Sol the necessary mining machines were duplicated and brought along to support the mission.
Lieutenant Cook switched on the intercom and spoke to the crew of the Falcon.
“This is the commander, we have arrived, let’s get to work.”
Back on Earth in her Arlington office Lieutenant Commander Keller was having another meeting with Colonel Short.
“Walt,” she said,” you asked why we have a fundamental contempt for the constabulary. There is an answer but you may not like it.”
Walter Short thought for a moment before responding.
“So?” He said. “If we are not willing to face an unpleasant truth we may as well be dead.”
Keller smiled. What Short just said to her was a verbatim statement straight from the historic record.
She replied.
“There is a long history of abuses that led up to The Reformation--I’ve included several works on the subject on this memory chip that you can read on your laptop...”
She handed him a memory chip encased in bright blue plastic.
“...but the major incident that touched off The Reformation was the Oakland Massacre. After the president elect was assassinated at the orders of President Null, he issued an additional command for the civilian police forces to use deadly force on any demonstrations in opposition to his continued rule.”
“That’s a war crime!” Said Colonel Short.
“Yes.” Keller replied. “It was.”
Keller entered a command into the her desktop workstation. The large video screen on a wall lit up with an image of the Oakland Police in action. The Oakland cops wore dark blue uniforms with body armor and carried military grade carbines.
Colonel Short spoke up.
“Those aren’t cops!” He said.
“Not by the current standards.” Commander Keller replied. “Up to the time of the Last Election both parties had pursued a policy of police militarization.”
“Why?”
“It was deemed expedient in the pursuit of other policies.”
Short shook his head in apparent disgust.
On the screen civilians were peacefully gathered. Some of them carried signs that simply said: “Resign!” Other demonstrators carried signs with something that Colonel Short recognized as the European road sign symbol forbidding an action over the number zero.
“No Zero?” He said.
“Yes.” Keller replied. “At that time President Null was also called The Big Zero.”
“Ouch.” Short replied.
The video then showed a man with a flak vest civilian attire leaning over to speak to the lead policeman. The Police Captain then spoke through a megaphone to command the demonstrators to disperse.
One of the demonstrators shouted back.
“We The People are the sovereign authority, we give the orders to you!”
The civilian in the flak vest appeared to be clearly outraged and apparently issued another order to the Police Captain.
The Police Captain then shouted orders to his men.
“Take aim and fire!”
Apparently the camera operator was hit in the initial volley. Then another person picked up the camera and ran away with it.
“And this was broadcast?” Said Colonel Short.
“Yes, on the Internet.” Commander Keller replied.
Short had read about the construction of the Internet. It was originally intended to be a system for military communication during a nuclear war based on the fiber optic lines and multiple dispersed nodes. The transfer of the Internet to civilian use and the further commercial expansion of it effectively ended the days of a centralized and controllable mass media.
Colonel Short whistled.
“And this led to the radical reforms of the police?”
“Yes.” Keller replied. “After The Reformation the civilian constabulary was demilitarized and largely disarmed. The doctrines originally put forth by Sir Robert Peel were adopted and policemen were recruited exclusively from veterans of the Federal Service.”
“And it worked? Even with serious criminals?”
“Well what you call serious criminals were put to death. That’s another reform, sir.”
And all Colonel Short could do at that point was nod.
Lieutenant Cook, the commander of this mission, looked about the command deck of the subordinate craft. Even with the return to free fall everyone and everything was working smoothly. This was especially true with the Downtime American volunteers who made up part of the crew for the mission.
“Very good.” He said.
The Falcon, along with her sisters Harrier, Kite, Owl and Osprey, were the largest subordinate craft carried aboard the Eagle on the mission to Sol. As with th Eagle they had been fitted with the FTL Drive. And as with the Eagle the FTL Drive had been disconnected from the control and energy systems of the vessels. For this mission the drive had actually been dismantled and placed in storage to improve the mass fraction of the craft.
The image on the primary screen of the command deck was split with a virtually straight line between a field pf stars and a the night side upper atmosphere of the planet Jupiter. The flashes of lightning that could be seen from this orbit would put the electrical output of a Terrestrial hurricane to shame.
But their mission wasn’t to play tourist, the Falcon was here for fuel.
Although the Eagle was designed and constructed to use a quantum singularity as the primary power source, the auxiliary generators, as well as the primary powerplants of the auxiliary craft and surface installations were fusion reactors.
Fusion reactors used Deuterium and Helium-3 for fuel. While Deuterium could be found on Earth the sources for any reasonable quantity of Helium-3 were the large gas giants. In the history of the primary timeline Jupiter and Saturn were robotically mined for Helium-3. For the mission to Sol the necessary mining machines were duplicated and brought along to support the mission.
Lieutenant Cook switched on the intercom and spoke to the crew of the Falcon.
“This is the commander, we have arrived, let’s get to work.”
Back on Earth in her Arlington office Lieutenant Commander Keller was having another meeting with Colonel Short.
“Walt,” she said,” you asked why we have a fundamental contempt for the constabulary. There is an answer but you may not like it.”
Walter Short thought for a moment before responding.
“So?” He said. “If we are not willing to face an unpleasant truth we may as well be dead.”
Keller smiled. What Short just said to her was a verbatim statement straight from the historic record.
She replied.
“There is a long history of abuses that led up to The Reformation--I’ve included several works on the subject on this memory chip that you can read on your laptop...”
She handed him a memory chip encased in bright blue plastic.
“...but the major incident that touched off The Reformation was the Oakland Massacre. After the president elect was assassinated at the orders of President Null, he issued an additional command for the civilian police forces to use deadly force on any demonstrations in opposition to his continued rule.”
“That’s a war crime!” Said Colonel Short.
“Yes.” Keller replied. “It was.”
Keller entered a command into the her desktop workstation. The large video screen on a wall lit up with an image of the Oakland Police in action. The Oakland cops wore dark blue uniforms with body armor and carried military grade carbines.
Colonel Short spoke up.
“Those aren’t cops!” He said.
“Not by the current standards.” Commander Keller replied. “Up to the time of the Last Election both parties had pursued a policy of police militarization.”
“Why?”
“It was deemed expedient in the pursuit of other policies.”
Short shook his head in apparent disgust.
On the screen civilians were peacefully gathered. Some of them carried signs that simply said: “Resign!” Other demonstrators carried signs with something that Colonel Short recognized as the European road sign symbol forbidding an action over the number zero.
“No Zero?” He said.
“Yes.” Keller replied. “At that time President Null was also called The Big Zero.”
“Ouch.” Short replied.
The video then showed a man with a flak vest civilian attire leaning over to speak to the lead policeman. The Police Captain then spoke through a megaphone to command the demonstrators to disperse.
One of the demonstrators shouted back.
“We The People are the sovereign authority, we give the orders to you!”
The civilian in the flak vest appeared to be clearly outraged and apparently issued another order to the Police Captain.
The Police Captain then shouted orders to his men.
“Take aim and fire!”
Apparently the camera operator was hit in the initial volley. Then another person picked up the camera and ran away with it.
“And this was broadcast?” Said Colonel Short.
“Yes, on the Internet.” Commander Keller replied.
Short had read about the construction of the Internet. It was originally intended to be a system for military communication during a nuclear war based on the fiber optic lines and multiple dispersed nodes. The transfer of the Internet to civilian use and the further commercial expansion of it effectively ended the days of a centralized and controllable mass media.
Colonel Short whistled.
“And this led to the radical reforms of the police?”
“Yes.” Keller replied. “After The Reformation the civilian constabulary was demilitarized and largely disarmed. The doctrines originally put forth by Sir Robert Peel were adopted and policemen were recruited exclusively from veterans of the Federal Service.”
“And it worked? Even with serious criminals?”
“Well what you call serious criminals were put to death. That’s another reform, sir.”
And all Colonel Short could do at that point was nod.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Second Episode
September 19, 1969
Evelyn Boatman slowly awakened.
He was laying in a hospital bed under full terrestrial gravity. He could feel an oxygen tube in place on his nose. When he opened his eyes he saw a familiar figure standing beside the bed. A woman in scrubs and a white lab coat and holding a clipboard. The ship’s surgeon and his adopted daughter Alice.
“Hi Dad.” She said.
“What happened?” He replied. “Where am I?”
“We’re at our ground base. You seriously stirred up a nest of shrieks dirtside.”
The current ground base for the Eagle mission was at the U.S. Government’s Secret Area 51 in New Mexico.
He nodded, then replied.
“In the Terran context it should be hornets.”
“Whatever.” She replied. “What was the last thing you remember?”
He thought for a moment before answering.
“We had found temporary sanctuary at the local FBI office. The squad lander had set down in front of the Federal Building on Third Avenue and the Ranger squad was deployed in a circle. John and I had almost made it to the lander when something hit me in the back.”
Alice nodded and replied.
“It was a thirty caliber rifle fired by a police marksman. He apparently thought that the Federal order to not shoot you didn’t apply to him. The Rangers responded and killed every Minneapolis cop in sight. The dirtside press are now calling the incident the Minneapolis Massacre.”
“Morons.” He said.
“The cops or the press?” She replied.
“Both.”
Alice nodded.
He had another question.
“So how’s John?”
“He’s unharmed and back with his family in Huntsville.” She said. “Everyone at NASA Huntsville is seriously angry about the incident. And apparently Werner was actually cursing in Deutsche, something about the SS not being that stupid.”
Boatman could only nod. Doctor Von Braun’s personal history was something that not discussed.
Alice spoke again.
“So what happened to you? Well the bullet missed the heart but the right lung did collapse and we had to reinflate it. I want to keep you in bed until I’m certain it remains inflated. Do you understand?”
He looked up at Alice, she had her serious doctor look on her face.
“Yes ma’am.” He replied.
In Washington President Richard Milhous Nixon was not looking forward to the coming meeting. The Minneapolis Massacre had become a political nightmare for the administration. Although the Uptimers were fully cooperating with the FBI and fully presenting their case to the press the various news outlets were not presenting all of the facts. There appeared to be a concerted effort on the press to place the full blame for the incident on the Uptimers and the federal agencies that supported them.
The meeting would be held in the cabinet room in the West Wing. Along with the president would be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle Wheeler of the United States Army, and the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. The Uptimers would be represented by executive officer of the Eagle, Lieutenant Commander Michelle Keller. Commander Keller had brought a one of the spare laptop computers from the Eagle with her for the meeting.
The other side would be represented by Senators Hubert Humphrey and Edward Kennedy.
An aide poked his head into the cabinet room and spoke.
“Mister President, the senators are here.”
“Send them in.”
“Yes sir.”
The three men stood up while Commander Keller remained seated.
As in the current norm the men shook hands then Senator Humphrey turned towards Commander Keller and put forth his hand with the expectation of a handshake. The Commander only responded with a cold stare.
President Nixon had read the full history of the United States up to the historical event the Uptimers called The Reformation. Given what he read he had expected the Uptimers to have a full hatred of the Democratic Party. What he found truly disturbing was their cold and clinical contempt for the Democrats instead of the emotional state of hatred.
Humphrey spoke.
“Do you understand courtesy?”
Commander Keller coldly responded.
“Where we come from the proper response to the presence of a Democrat is one round in the head in the old Soviet style.”
Both senators were shocked, their eyes widened.
Commander Keller pointed to the chairs as a command motion to sit.
The temperature in the cabinet room seemed to have dropped as the senators silently sat down.
Nixon had also read of the efforts of the political successors of the Democrats to prevent the construction of the sublight starships that would carry humans from the path of the oncoming neutron star that was expected to destroy Human Civilization in the Solar System.
As one of the Germans at Huntsville who also read the report had put it--those fools could have given Nietzsche several pointers on the philosophy of Nihilism.
Even so the clinical contempt of the Uptimers remained disturbing to the president.
President Nixon spoke.
“The subject of the discussion is the incident in Minneapolis yesterday.”
“Yes,” said Humphrey, “when will those murderers be brought to justice?”
Commander Keller calmly responded.
“Mister Humphrey, your police in Minneapolis chose to behave as predatory animals and were identified and dealt with as such. Justice has already been properly served.”
Humphrey face turned red as he raised his voice in response.
“THAT IS A LIE!”
Commander Keller said nothing in response. Instead she opened the laptop computer and positioned it so everyone at the table could see the screen and entered the command to play the audio-video file recorded by the lapel camera worn by Evelyn Boatman. Only after the file had completely played did she respond.
“As you can see the two officers in the initial incident failed to comply with the operational standards of a proper civil constabulary. Under the circumstances Mission Commander Boatman had no choice but to defend himself with deadly force.”
Both Director Hoover and General Wheeler nodded in agreement.
General Wheeler spoke up.
“Your cops were also ordered to stand down. Instead one of them shot Commander Boatman and the squad responded to that action in accordance to proper infantry doctrine.”
All of the television network news programs had shown newsreel footage of the Ranger squad, in their powered armor suits, engaging the Minneapolis Police on the ground. But the networks had consistently not shown the rifle shot that struck Boatman.
Humphrey spoke again.
“The Minneapolis police were slaughtered like animals! They didn’t know what they were up against!”
Director Hoover shook his head and replied.
“Senator, all the police departments in the Twin Cities area were notified of Commander Boatman’s visit to the area. The Saint Paul police informed their officers on duty of this. The Minneapolis police did not. So whose fault is this?”
Humphrey was struck silent, Kennedy now spoke up.
“So when will these monsters be disarmed?”
Commander Keller replied with a level voice.
“The citizens are the sovereign authority, those who seek to disarm them are traitors to the nation and should be put to death.”
Kennedy’s face turned red and he shouted in response.
“SHUT UP!”
President Nixon now interjected himself.
“Commander, I believe the senator is referring to your nuclear weapons.”
The planners of the Eagle expedition had no idea if anyone was still alive in the Solar System or how they would respond to a mission from Alpha Centauri. It was assumed that a hostile response was possible and that the expedition should be prepared for it. The Eagle at present carried more nuclear warheads than were in the arsenals of the United Kingdom, France, China, and Israel. Only the United States and Soviet Union outnumbered them in nuclear bombs and warheads.
“It simply won’t happen, sir.” She replied. “And Eagle is presently parked in geosynchronous orbit at about the longitude of Omaha, Nebraska. Our onboard laser batteries are presently providing coverage against a possible Soviet ballistic missile attack on the United States. If a hostile government were to come to power in the United States we would have withdraw our block against Soviet actions.”
What she left unsaid was that if a hostile president were elected it would be a very good idea to not be in Washington on Inauguration Day.
“You are the criminals!” Kennedy shouted.
Commander Keller slightly smiled, looked straight at Kennedy, and then she calmly spoke.
“Speaking of actual criminals, how is Mary Jo?”
Kennedy’s eyes widened. He shouted in response.
“HOW DARE YOU!”
Commander Keller’s eyes lit up as she spoke in response.
“Teddy, a proper government holds it’s elected officers to the highest reasonable standards, and the act of leaving a helpless young woman to slowly suffocate to death is something we treat as a capital crime.”
Well yes, the young woman in question was a Democrat, but a valid law must be applied to everyone without exception.
Kennedy quickly stood up and left the cabinet room.
President Nixon then spoke.
“Senator Humphrey, it appears that this meeting is over.”
Evelyn Boatman slowly awakened.
He was laying in a hospital bed under full terrestrial gravity. He could feel an oxygen tube in place on his nose. When he opened his eyes he saw a familiar figure standing beside the bed. A woman in scrubs and a white lab coat and holding a clipboard. The ship’s surgeon and his adopted daughter Alice.
“Hi Dad.” She said.
“What happened?” He replied. “Where am I?”
“We’re at our ground base. You seriously stirred up a nest of shrieks dirtside.”
The current ground base for the Eagle mission was at the U.S. Government’s Secret Area 51 in New Mexico.
He nodded, then replied.
“In the Terran context it should be hornets.”
“Whatever.” She replied. “What was the last thing you remember?”
He thought for a moment before answering.
“We had found temporary sanctuary at the local FBI office. The squad lander had set down in front of the Federal Building on Third Avenue and the Ranger squad was deployed in a circle. John and I had almost made it to the lander when something hit me in the back.”
Alice nodded and replied.
“It was a thirty caliber rifle fired by a police marksman. He apparently thought that the Federal order to not shoot you didn’t apply to him. The Rangers responded and killed every Minneapolis cop in sight. The dirtside press are now calling the incident the Minneapolis Massacre.”
“Morons.” He said.
“The cops or the press?” She replied.
“Both.”
Alice nodded.
He had another question.
“So how’s John?”
“He’s unharmed and back with his family in Huntsville.” She said. “Everyone at NASA Huntsville is seriously angry about the incident. And apparently Werner was actually cursing in Deutsche, something about the SS not being that stupid.”
Boatman could only nod. Doctor Von Braun’s personal history was something that not discussed.
Alice spoke again.
“So what happened to you? Well the bullet missed the heart but the right lung did collapse and we had to reinflate it. I want to keep you in bed until I’m certain it remains inflated. Do you understand?”
He looked up at Alice, she had her serious doctor look on her face.
“Yes ma’am.” He replied.
In Washington President Richard Milhous Nixon was not looking forward to the coming meeting. The Minneapolis Massacre had become a political nightmare for the administration. Although the Uptimers were fully cooperating with the FBI and fully presenting their case to the press the various news outlets were not presenting all of the facts. There appeared to be a concerted effort on the press to place the full blame for the incident on the Uptimers and the federal agencies that supported them.
The meeting would be held in the cabinet room in the West Wing. Along with the president would be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle Wheeler of the United States Army, and the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. The Uptimers would be represented by executive officer of the Eagle, Lieutenant Commander Michelle Keller. Commander Keller had brought a one of the spare laptop computers from the Eagle with her for the meeting.
The other side would be represented by Senators Hubert Humphrey and Edward Kennedy.
An aide poked his head into the cabinet room and spoke.
“Mister President, the senators are here.”
“Send them in.”
“Yes sir.”
The three men stood up while Commander Keller remained seated.
As in the current norm the men shook hands then Senator Humphrey turned towards Commander Keller and put forth his hand with the expectation of a handshake. The Commander only responded with a cold stare.
President Nixon had read the full history of the United States up to the historical event the Uptimers called The Reformation. Given what he read he had expected the Uptimers to have a full hatred of the Democratic Party. What he found truly disturbing was their cold and clinical contempt for the Democrats instead of the emotional state of hatred.
Humphrey spoke.
“Do you understand courtesy?”
Commander Keller coldly responded.
“Where we come from the proper response to the presence of a Democrat is one round in the head in the old Soviet style.”
Both senators were shocked, their eyes widened.
Commander Keller pointed to the chairs as a command motion to sit.
The temperature in the cabinet room seemed to have dropped as the senators silently sat down.
Nixon had also read of the efforts of the political successors of the Democrats to prevent the construction of the sublight starships that would carry humans from the path of the oncoming neutron star that was expected to destroy Human Civilization in the Solar System.
As one of the Germans at Huntsville who also read the report had put it--those fools could have given Nietzsche several pointers on the philosophy of Nihilism.
Even so the clinical contempt of the Uptimers remained disturbing to the president.
President Nixon spoke.
“The subject of the discussion is the incident in Minneapolis yesterday.”
“Yes,” said Humphrey, “when will those murderers be brought to justice?”
Commander Keller calmly responded.
“Mister Humphrey, your police in Minneapolis chose to behave as predatory animals and were identified and dealt with as such. Justice has already been properly served.”
Humphrey face turned red as he raised his voice in response.
“THAT IS A LIE!”
Commander Keller said nothing in response. Instead she opened the laptop computer and positioned it so everyone at the table could see the screen and entered the command to play the audio-video file recorded by the lapel camera worn by Evelyn Boatman. Only after the file had completely played did she respond.
“As you can see the two officers in the initial incident failed to comply with the operational standards of a proper civil constabulary. Under the circumstances Mission Commander Boatman had no choice but to defend himself with deadly force.”
Both Director Hoover and General Wheeler nodded in agreement.
General Wheeler spoke up.
“Your cops were also ordered to stand down. Instead one of them shot Commander Boatman and the squad responded to that action in accordance to proper infantry doctrine.”
All of the television network news programs had shown newsreel footage of the Ranger squad, in their powered armor suits, engaging the Minneapolis Police on the ground. But the networks had consistently not shown the rifle shot that struck Boatman.
Humphrey spoke again.
“The Minneapolis police were slaughtered like animals! They didn’t know what they were up against!”
Director Hoover shook his head and replied.
“Senator, all the police departments in the Twin Cities area were notified of Commander Boatman’s visit to the area. The Saint Paul police informed their officers on duty of this. The Minneapolis police did not. So whose fault is this?”
Humphrey was struck silent, Kennedy now spoke up.
“So when will these monsters be disarmed?”
Commander Keller replied with a level voice.
“The citizens are the sovereign authority, those who seek to disarm them are traitors to the nation and should be put to death.”
Kennedy’s face turned red and he shouted in response.
“SHUT UP!”
President Nixon now interjected himself.
“Commander, I believe the senator is referring to your nuclear weapons.”
The planners of the Eagle expedition had no idea if anyone was still alive in the Solar System or how they would respond to a mission from Alpha Centauri. It was assumed that a hostile response was possible and that the expedition should be prepared for it. The Eagle at present carried more nuclear warheads than were in the arsenals of the United Kingdom, France, China, and Israel. Only the United States and Soviet Union outnumbered them in nuclear bombs and warheads.
“It simply won’t happen, sir.” She replied. “And Eagle is presently parked in geosynchronous orbit at about the longitude of Omaha, Nebraska. Our onboard laser batteries are presently providing coverage against a possible Soviet ballistic missile attack on the United States. If a hostile government were to come to power in the United States we would have withdraw our block against Soviet actions.”
What she left unsaid was that if a hostile president were elected it would be a very good idea to not be in Washington on Inauguration Day.
“You are the criminals!” Kennedy shouted.
Commander Keller slightly smiled, looked straight at Kennedy, and then she calmly spoke.
“Speaking of actual criminals, how is Mary Jo?”
Kennedy’s eyes widened. He shouted in response.
“HOW DARE YOU!”
Commander Keller’s eyes lit up as she spoke in response.
“Teddy, a proper government holds it’s elected officers to the highest reasonable standards, and the act of leaving a helpless young woman to slowly suffocate to death is something we treat as a capital crime.”
Well yes, the young woman in question was a Democrat, but a valid law must be applied to everyone without exception.
Kennedy quickly stood up and left the cabinet room.
President Nixon then spoke.
“Senator Humphrey, it appears that this meeting is over.”
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
This is related to my current literary project
On Thursday September 18, 1969, it was time for lunch.
There was a White Castle restaurant on the corner of 4th street and Central Avenue in Minneapolis. It was built at the north end of the parking lot of a strip mall and was one of the prefabricated units in while porcelain and stainless steel that were still in operation on this day. Roughly half an hour after the local noon two men stepped inside. The first was in his early sixties and wore an off the rack grey suit. The second appeared to no older than 14 years old. He wore a custom tailored navy blue suit in the Nehru pattern. The suit jacket was worn loose and unbuttoned with a round silver and glass pin at about the position of the left lapel.
In New York he had been criticized for apparent Third-world style of his choice of attire by a certain little old lady from Leningrad.
“Miss Rand,” he responded with a clearly adult tone of voice, “In spaceflight a necktie is a useless mass and it floats up into the face in free-fall conditions, and I will die before I put on a bow tie.”
The apparently young man also had a short haircut that was more comfortable than fashionable and carried himself as if he were far older.
The apparently younger man spoke to his older companion.
“Do you want anything, John?”
The older man replied with a trace of an educated German accent.
“No sir, go ahead.”
The young man stepped up to the counter and spoke.
“I’ll have four cheeseburgers with catsup and no pickle, fries and a coke please.”
“Yes sir.” The clerk replied.
In the memory of the apparently younger man it had been nearly two centuries since he came to Earth and discovered the White Castle hamburger. He had been born in the primary habitat of Ganymede and had come to Earth for his college education. After the synthetic food he grew up with even the basic slider was a joy to consume.
Even though it was theoretically impossible he and his companions had traveled backwards in time. No one on the crew and science staff aboard the Eagle had any idea how it happened. But now that Evelyn Boatman and his crew were back in 1969 they would have to live with it.
As they waited for the order to come up two Minneapolis Police officers wearing their standard uniform hats entered the restaurant. To John they reminded him of the Secret State Police of the Reich, what was commonly known in his native Germany as the Gestapo. To Boatman they brought forth memories of the stone age sentient reptilian natives of Eden, one of the two habitable planets of the Alpha Centauri system. Vermin who were nearly exterminated by the second wave of Human colonists.
Boatman consciously suppressed the urge to bring out the pistol concealed under his suit jacket.
The senior of the two cops spotted Boatman and spoke.
“Hey kid, why aren’t you in school?”
Boatman turned and calmly replied to the first cop with a clearly adult tone of voice.
“I am not a student.”
John felt it was time for him to speak up to the uniformed thugs.
“Gentlemen, we’re with NASA.”
The second cop turned towards John and growled.
“Shut up!”
The first cop didn’t understand what he saw. What he had identified as the mere teenage boy standing before him should have descended into a visible state of fear. Instead the boy had calmly assumed the position of adult authority.
And even though the boy had a military grade haircut he was still dressed in what the cop had identified as a hippy suit. That made the boy someone he could beat to a pulp without an adverse consequence.
The cop stepped forward and reached to grab the boy with his right hand. He only got off two words before there was a response.
“Listen punk...”
As the cop’s right hand touched the left side on his suit jacket Boatman brought his own right hand down on top of that of the cop. With his left hand he seized the cop’s elbow, spun right with the entire force of his body and pushed forward on the elbow. He could hear the elbow snap. Then with the right hand open he struck the cop with the palm up to the chin of the cop. Boatman could hear the neck of the cop snap.
Boatman then reached back under his jacket drew his pistol and aimed it at the head of the second cop.
The second cop didn’t recognize the weapon as a currently manufactured handgun. He sneered with full rage.
“Use a real gun, punk!”
Boatman pulled the trigger. There was no report of a gunpowder weapon. Only a crack of a projectile moving at slightly above the speed of sound combined with the impact of the projectile upon the head of the thug.
The weapon was manufactured on Zion, the second world colonized in the Alpha Centauri system. It used magnetic force to propel a bullet made of a 2 centimeter core of depleted uranium wrapped in a centimeter sheath of mild steel at slightly above the speed of sound.
The second cop dropped to the floor.
Evelyn Boatman looked up at his companion and spoke.
“Well, that was rude.”
Doctor Johannes Linden reverted to the language of his homeland.
“Ja.”
Boatman then looked over to the manager and staff of the White Castle.
“Sorry about the mess,” he said, “I guess we’ll have to skip lunch.”
He then turned back to his companion and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
As then walked back to the rented car Boatman spoke again.
“If I recall correctly there is a Federal building on Third Avenue in downtown, there should be a FBI office there.”
When Central Avenue crossed the Mississippi River it became Third Avenue South. They should find sanctuary from the local cops at the FBI office.
As John pulled the car out of the shopping center’s parking lot Boatman reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a device. He needed to make a call.
There was a White Castle restaurant on the corner of 4th street and Central Avenue in Minneapolis. It was built at the north end of the parking lot of a strip mall and was one of the prefabricated units in while porcelain and stainless steel that were still in operation on this day. Roughly half an hour after the local noon two men stepped inside. The first was in his early sixties and wore an off the rack grey suit. The second appeared to no older than 14 years old. He wore a custom tailored navy blue suit in the Nehru pattern. The suit jacket was worn loose and unbuttoned with a round silver and glass pin at about the position of the left lapel.
In New York he had been criticized for apparent Third-world style of his choice of attire by a certain little old lady from Leningrad.
“Miss Rand,” he responded with a clearly adult tone of voice, “In spaceflight a necktie is a useless mass and it floats up into the face in free-fall conditions, and I will die before I put on a bow tie.”
The apparently young man also had a short haircut that was more comfortable than fashionable and carried himself as if he were far older.
The apparently younger man spoke to his older companion.
“Do you want anything, John?”
The older man replied with a trace of an educated German accent.
“No sir, go ahead.”
The young man stepped up to the counter and spoke.
“I’ll have four cheeseburgers with catsup and no pickle, fries and a coke please.”
“Yes sir.” The clerk replied.
In the memory of the apparently younger man it had been nearly two centuries since he came to Earth and discovered the White Castle hamburger. He had been born in the primary habitat of Ganymede and had come to Earth for his college education. After the synthetic food he grew up with even the basic slider was a joy to consume.
Even though it was theoretically impossible he and his companions had traveled backwards in time. No one on the crew and science staff aboard the Eagle had any idea how it happened. But now that Evelyn Boatman and his crew were back in 1969 they would have to live with it.
As they waited for the order to come up two Minneapolis Police officers wearing their standard uniform hats entered the restaurant. To John they reminded him of the Secret State Police of the Reich, what was commonly known in his native Germany as the Gestapo. To Boatman they brought forth memories of the stone age sentient reptilian natives of Eden, one of the two habitable planets of the Alpha Centauri system. Vermin who were nearly exterminated by the second wave of Human colonists.
Boatman consciously suppressed the urge to bring out the pistol concealed under his suit jacket.
The senior of the two cops spotted Boatman and spoke.
“Hey kid, why aren’t you in school?”
Boatman turned and calmly replied to the first cop with a clearly adult tone of voice.
“I am not a student.”
John felt it was time for him to speak up to the uniformed thugs.
“Gentlemen, we’re with NASA.”
The second cop turned towards John and growled.
“Shut up!”
The first cop didn’t understand what he saw. What he had identified as the mere teenage boy standing before him should have descended into a visible state of fear. Instead the boy had calmly assumed the position of adult authority.
And even though the boy had a military grade haircut he was still dressed in what the cop had identified as a hippy suit. That made the boy someone he could beat to a pulp without an adverse consequence.
The cop stepped forward and reached to grab the boy with his right hand. He only got off two words before there was a response.
“Listen punk...”
As the cop’s right hand touched the left side on his suit jacket Boatman brought his own right hand down on top of that of the cop. With his left hand he seized the cop’s elbow, spun right with the entire force of his body and pushed forward on the elbow. He could hear the elbow snap. Then with the right hand open he struck the cop with the palm up to the chin of the cop. Boatman could hear the neck of the cop snap.
Boatman then reached back under his jacket drew his pistol and aimed it at the head of the second cop.
The second cop didn’t recognize the weapon as a currently manufactured handgun. He sneered with full rage.
“Use a real gun, punk!”
Boatman pulled the trigger. There was no report of a gunpowder weapon. Only a crack of a projectile moving at slightly above the speed of sound combined with the impact of the projectile upon the head of the thug.
The weapon was manufactured on Zion, the second world colonized in the Alpha Centauri system. It used magnetic force to propel a bullet made of a 2 centimeter core of depleted uranium wrapped in a centimeter sheath of mild steel at slightly above the speed of sound.
The second cop dropped to the floor.
Evelyn Boatman looked up at his companion and spoke.
“Well, that was rude.”
Doctor Johannes Linden reverted to the language of his homeland.
“Ja.”
Boatman then looked over to the manager and staff of the White Castle.
“Sorry about the mess,” he said, “I guess we’ll have to skip lunch.”
He then turned back to his companion and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
As then walked back to the rented car Boatman spoke again.
“If I recall correctly there is a Federal building on Third Avenue in downtown, there should be a FBI office there.”
When Central Avenue crossed the Mississippi River it became Third Avenue South. They should find sanctuary from the local cops at the FBI office.
As John pulled the car out of the shopping center’s parking lot Boatman reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a device. He needed to make a call.
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