"ohhell" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brede Branson)

Oh Hell!
Oh Hell!
Brede Branson
The marine guard escort saluted, turned, and left the room, closing the door. The man behind the desk, who had been sitting impassively, jumped to his feet. "Dave, I am the president of the United States. I do not expect to need to have the military go out and get my top people to get a report from them! You do not keep secrets from the head of the government, not in this country, not with this administration!" David Reynolds' face was already pale. He glanced around the room nervously, then gave the president a questioning look. The man behind the mahogany desk slammed his hand down with a crack. "Damn it, David, I am losing my patience! This room is secure. If you are afraid of something here, then maybe Adams is right and you have gone completely around the bend." "I'm sorry Mr. President. After what I've been through in the past week, I wouldn't take much to convince me that I was not completely sane." "Cut the Mr. President crap. You and I were freshman senators together. We've known each other too well for too long. Now tell me what is going on. I will not put up with any more of the stone wall business." Reynolds cleared his throat. Then took a deep breath. He started to speak, then seemingly changed his mind. Finally he shook his head. "Jack, I just don't know where to start. This whole business is... Well, frankly, it's just plain unbelievable. If I hadn't been there watching it all unfold, then I probably wouldn't believe it myself." The president ran his hand through his trademark steel gray hair, made a theatrically obvious effort to control himself, then, in a stern, fatherly voice advised, "Begin at the beginning, Dave. This whole thing is about the current shuttle mission. Let's start there." The head of NASA stood, paced a few steps, then sat down, looking like a trapped animal. "Jack, it's not that easy.... Oh, hell! All right." He stared at the floor for several seconds. "Okay. The current shuttle mission. Right. "Everything started out just fine. It was a routine mission: put up a satellite, run a bunch of scientific experiments, come back down. Piece of cake. Nothing special at all. Well it didn't work out that way." He shook his head, looked at the floor, then closed his eyes before continuing. "When they were preparing to put the satellite out of the orbiter, one of the crew saw something, something very strange. Astronauts have been seeing things in orbit since, well... John Glenn saw things. It's an occupational hazard. There's a lot of junk floating around up there. "But this time it was different. Not only did he see something, he was able to get it on the camera. It was, well, it was peculiar enough that we cut over to secure communications. Hell, they thought it was some kind of old Soviet station, or a weapons platform, or something." The president made as if to object and Reynolds raised his hand. "Yeah, I know, there never was any such thing. But this was big and they didn't know what it was. So dropping a security curtain seemed the best move at the time." He shuddered slightly. "I'm just glad we did. I can't imagine what would have happened if we were on regular comm when this thing broke." He shook his head, staring at the floor. The president let the silence continue for a couple of minutes before prompting the other man. "Okay, you haven't told me anything that isn't general knowledge. They saw something in orbit. Everyone knows that and it has every tabloid and crackpot on the planet dreaming up all sorts of wild stories: space aliens, nuclear bombs in space, dead soviet astronauts. Even the legitimate news networks are speculating about what it is that we are conspiring to hide from the public. This is the worst broadside my administration has taken to date and I want to know why we are taking it! What is behind all of this? What did they see up there?" Reynolds gave a half hearted laugh. "Well, my dad always said truth is stranger than fiction. If he were alive today, I'd... I don't know what I'd do." The president cleared his throat. "Dave. I can see that this is upsetting you. But you are going to explain to me what is going on. And you are going to do it right now." David laughed again, trying and failing to choke it off. "Yeah. Okay. Well, they were able to maneuver the orbiter close enough to get a good look at the object. It is a permanent, orbiting structure. It corrects itself in orbit, we've established that. Not how it does it, but that it does. It's roughly twice the size of the Freedom. Well, twice the size of the original Freedom plans. Not huge, but big enough." He looked at the president's face for a moment, then dropped his eyes again. "Jack. Let me go through this part all in one piece, and don't interrupt me. That's probably best. I'm not handling this well, I know. But trust me, you'll understand when I'm through. "It was a stupid risk, but we had two astronauts go EVA to the structure. They were able to identify and use a hatch to get in. Inside they found, well, records. I'm not really sure how they work, but the crew members who were exposed to them say they are kind of like a virtual reality movie, but without all the helmets, gloves and stuff. The first one they hit on was a playback of standard stellar physics. You know, big bang, gas clouds condensing into stars, planets forming, volcanoes, the whole nine yards. Allen Cho, one of the mission specialists, said it was like the old Disney sequence from Fantasia, complete with the dinosaurs and all, except that it was absolutely realistic, just like being there. "They found other records, lots of others. A lot of them seem to be historical documentaries on primitive tribes. Then..." He stood and started pacing. "I don't know any other way to put this. They found records of what has got to be Noah and the flood. Not exactly the way the Bible portrays it, but close enough to see the resemblance. And Moses, Jack. They have an actual audio visual recording of Moses receiving the original ten commandments!" The president pushed himself upright and started to speak. He had a troubled look on his face, but Reynolds waved him back. "No, Jack. I know this sounds completely crazy, but you've got to let me finish. "It's all there, Jack. They found the life of Jesus, all recorded in this weird, virtual reality movie thing. They said it was quite surprising how unlike the Bible it actually was, without actually contradicting the record as presented in the book." He shook his head. "And that's not all. They found a complete record of the life of Gautama Buddha. And of Mohammed. It's all there. They say that experiencing these recordings seems to take a lifetime, but each one actually only lasts a few minutes." "This is the hardest part to describe, but... How do I...?" He clenched his jaw. "For crying out loud!" He took a deep breath. "Jack. There's a final recording. Taken in order, it's the last one in the set. It appears to have been made during World War Two. There's apparently a lot of time spent on Hitler, a lot about the various military conflicts, and some on Patton. Cho is a Patton buff. He says he's seen all the actual footage of Patton in existence, and he can authenticate that this is really Patton, but there's no way anyone could have taken these. It's, well, it's just as unbelievable as the rest of it. "Unlike all the others, this last record shifts to the object in space. In the structure there is a central room, set up kind of like a courtroom. The last part of the record takes place in that room. "Now, Jack, please bear with me. These people in the orbiter, they are some of the best people, the best minds we've got. Each one of them have reviewed the recording, and they all agree with the description of what it records. "They say that it shows a being. This being looks vaguely like a man, but is indistinct in some way. What he is doing is conducting a review, a judgment. He reviews everything, all the recordings, one by one. As he does so, from time to time, a person from the recording will appear beside the being, then move to one side. He is joined, they estimate, by about a hundred or so people. Don't ask me how they all fit in that little place, that's the least of my questions. They're there. Then, when the review of World War II is complete, this being stands and pronounces some sort of judgment. After that, the being and the people with him seem to move away into the distance, until they fade away, and the recording ends with the place empty, just like it was when our people got there." The room was very quiet. Reynolds could hear the sound of tourists on Pennsylvania Avenue filtering through the thick walls "Jack, I don't know what to do. My people up there are almost out of supplies, I'm going to have to bring them back down. I have sequestered everyone in Houston, and at all the other facilities, who have even the vaguest idea of what's going on. But we can't keep this up! This story is going to break. I'm frankly amazed that more hasn't gotten out already. "And if you think the media is going nuts now, just wait until they get their hands on the real facts!" The president stood slowly. His expression was a mixture of wariness and concern. "Now, David. Please let me make sure that I am understanding what I think you are trying to tell me..." Reynolds jumped up, his face red. "Damn it, Jack, I am not crazy! I've grilled every last one of my people on that shuttle and they are all completely convinced. And whether or not they're right, when that shuttle hits the ground the whole world is going to know that an American shuttle crew believes they have discovered the throne of God, and that they firmly believe Judgment Day has already passed!" The head of NASA pointed wildly out the window, to the crowds marching in the park across the way, towards the ramshackle tent city thrown up by the homeless, towards the grimy reddish haze which hung over the city. "Jack, what if they're right? "What if we've already been judged and this is Hell!?"

Oh Hell!
Oh Hell!
Brede Branson
The marine guard escort saluted, turned, and left the room, closing the door. The man behind the desk, who had been sitting impassively, jumped to his feet. "Dave, I am the president of the United States. I do not expect to need to have the military go out and get my top people to get a report from them! You do not keep secrets from the head of the government, not in this country, not with this administration!" David Reynolds' face was already pale. He glanced around the room nervously, then gave the president a questioning look. The man behind the mahogany desk slammed his hand down with a crack. "Damn it, David, I am losing my patience! This room is secure. If you are afraid of something here, then maybe Adams is right and you have gone completely around the bend." "I'm sorry Mr. President. After what I've been through in the past week, I wouldn't take much to convince me that I was not completely sane." "Cut the Mr. President crap. You and I were freshman senators together. We've known each other too well for too long. Now tell me what is going on. I will not put up with any more of the stone wall business." Reynolds cleared his throat. Then took a deep breath. He started to speak, then seemingly changed his mind. Finally he shook his head. "Jack, I just don't know where to start. This whole business is... Well, frankly, it's just plain unbelievable. If I hadn't been there watching it all unfold, then I probably wouldn't believe it myself." The president ran his hand through his trademark steel gray hair, made a theatrically obvious effort to control himself, then, in a stern, fatherly voice advised, "Begin at the beginning, Dave. This whole thing is about the current shuttle mission. Let's start there." The head of NASA stood, paced a few steps, then sat down, looking like a trapped animal. "Jack, it's not that easy.... Oh, hell! All right." He stared at the floor for several seconds. "Okay. The current shuttle mission. Right. "Everything started out just fine. It was a routine mission: put up a satellite, run a bunch of scientific experiments, come back down. Piece of cake. Nothing special at all. Well it didn't work out that way." He shook his head, looked at the floor, then closed his eyes before continuing. "When they were preparing to put the satellite out of the orbiter, one of the crew saw something, something very strange. Astronauts have been seeing things in orbit since, well... John Glenn saw things. It's an occupational hazard. There's a lot of junk floating around up there. "But this time it was different. Not only did he see something, he was able to get it on the camera. It was, well, it was peculiar enough that we cut over to secure communications. Hell, they thought it was some kind of old Soviet station, or a weapons platform, or something." The president made as if to object and Reynolds raised his hand. "Yeah, I know, there never was any such thing. But this was big and they didn't know what it was. So dropping a security curtain seemed the best move at the time." He shuddered slightly. "I'm just glad we did. I can't imagine what would have happened if we were on regular comm when this thing broke." He shook his head, staring at the floor. The president let the silence continue for a couple of minutes before prompting the other man. "Okay, you haven't told me anything that isn't general knowledge. They saw something in orbit. Everyone knows that and it has every tabloid and crackpot on the planet dreaming up all sorts of wild stories: space aliens, nuclear bombs in space, dead soviet astronauts. Even the legitimate news networks are speculating about what it is that we are conspiring to hide from the public. This is the worst broadside my administration has taken to date and I want to know why we are taking it! What is behind all of this? What did they see up there?" Reynolds gave a half hearted laugh. "Well, my dad always said truth is stranger than fiction. If he were alive today, I'd... I don't know what I'd do." The president cleared his throat. "Dave. I can see that this is upsetting you. But you are going to explain to me what is going on. And you are going to do it right now." David laughed again, trying and failing to choke it off. "Yeah. Okay. Well, they were able to maneuver the orbiter close enough to get a good look at the object. It is a permanent, orbiting structure. It corrects itself in orbit, we've established that. Not how it does it, but that it does. It's roughly twice the size of the Freedom. Well, twice the size of the original Freedom plans. Not huge, but big enough." He looked at the president's face for a moment, then dropped his eyes again. "Jack. Let me go through this part all in one piece, and don't interrupt me. That's probably best. I'm not handling this well, I know. But trust me, you'll understand when I'm through. "It was a stupid risk, but we had two astronauts go EVA to the structure. They were able to identify and use a hatch to get in. Inside they found, well, records. I'm not really sure how they work, but the crew members who were exposed to them say they are kind of like a virtual reality movie, but without all the helmets, gloves and stuff. The first one they hit on was a playback of standard stellar physics. You know, big bang, gas clouds condensing into stars, planets forming, volcanoes, the whole nine yards. Allen Cho, one of the mission specialists, said it was like the old Disney sequence from Fantasia, complete with the dinosaurs and all, except that it was absolutely realistic, just like being there. "They found other records, lots of others. A lot of them seem to be historical documentaries on primitive tribes. Then..." He stood and started pacing. "I don't know any other way to put this. They found records of what has got to be Noah and the flood. Not exactly the way the Bible portrays it, but close enough to see the resemblance. And Moses, Jack. They have an actual audio visual recording of Moses receiving the original ten commandments!" The president pushed himself upright and started to speak. He had a troubled look on his face, but Reynolds waved him back. "No, Jack. I know this sounds completely crazy, but you've got to let me finish. "It's all there, Jack. They found the life of Jesus, all recorded in this weird, virtual reality movie thing. They said it was quite surprising how unlike the Bible it actually was, without actually contradicting the record as presented in the book." He shook his head. "And that's not all. They found a complete record of the life of Gautama Buddha. And of Mohammed. It's all there. They say that experiencing these recordings seems to take a lifetime, but each one actually only lasts a few minutes." "This is the hardest part to describe, but... How do I...?" He clenched his jaw. "For crying out loud!" He took a deep breath. "Jack. There's a final recording. Taken in order, it's the last one in the set. It appears to have been made during World War Two. There's apparently a lot of time spent on Hitler, a lot about the various military conflicts, and some on Patton. Cho is a Patton buff. He says he's seen all the actual footage of Patton in existence, and he can authenticate that this is really Patton, but there's no way anyone could have taken these. It's, well, it's just as unbelievable as the rest of it. "Unlike all the others, this last record shifts to the object in space. In the structure there is a central room, set up kind of like a courtroom. The last part of the record takes place in that room. "Now, Jack, please bear with me. These people in the orbiter, they are some of the best people, the best minds we've got. Each one of them have reviewed the recording, and they all agree with the description of what it records. "They say that it shows a being. This being looks vaguely like a man, but is indistinct in some way. What he is doing is conducting a review, a judgment. He reviews everything, all the recordings, one by one. As he does so, from time to time, a person from the recording will appear beside the being, then move to one side. He is joined, they estimate, by about a hundred or so people. Don't ask me how they all fit in that little place, that's the least of my questions. They're there. Then, when the review of World War II is complete, this being stands and pronounces some sort of judgment. After that, the being and the people with him seem to move away into the distance, until they fade away, and the recording ends with the place empty, just like it was when our people got there." The room was very quiet. Reynolds could hear the sound of tourists on Pennsylvania Avenue filtering through the thick walls "Jack, I don't know what to do. My people up there are almost out of supplies, I'm going to have to bring them back down. I have sequestered everyone in Houston, and at all the other facilities, who have even the vaguest idea of what's going on. But we can't keep this up! This story is going to break. I'm frankly amazed that more hasn't gotten out already. "And if you think the media is going nuts now, just wait until they get their hands on the real facts!" The president stood slowly. His expression was a mixture of wariness and concern. "Now, David. Please let me make sure that I am understanding what I think you are trying to tell me..." Reynolds jumped up, his face red. "Damn it, Jack, I am not crazy! I've grilled every last one of my people on that shuttle and they are all completely convinced. And whether or not they're right, when that shuttle hits the ground the whole world is going to know that an American shuttle crew believes they have discovered the throne of God, and that they firmly believe Judgment Day has already passed!" The head of NASA pointed wildly out the window, to the crowds marching in the park across the way, towards the ramshackle tent city thrown up by the homeless, towards the grimy reddish haze which hung over the city. "Jack, what if they're right? "What if we've already been judged and this is Hell!?"