The Ajax Protocol

CHAPTER 21

While Nick and the others were making their way through the Alaskan forest, General Louis Westlake was having dinner at his club with Senator Martinez. They sat at a table in the corner, away from the rest of the diners. They could talk without being overheard.

"We had good results in Novosibirsk," Westlake said, "but Thorpe wants some modifications before we move to the next part of the plan."

Alistair Thorpe was the research engineer who had developed Ajax. He'd based Ajax on designs developed by Nazi scientists in World War II as part of Hitler's Wunderwaffe secret weapons program. The Germans had built an electron accelerator called the Rheotron. It projected hard x-ray beams to disrupt the engines of enemy planes. From there it wasn't much of a leap to target the pilot and a prototype of a radio transmitter that disrupted brain function had been designed. In April of 1945, the Americans captured the Rheotron and the designs for the transmitter near Hamburg.

The German scientists had found a new home in America and a patron in the Pentagon. Their research had continued. 70 some years later, it had borne fruit in Ajax.

Martinez sipped his martini. "What did you have in mind?"

"I want to repeat the test."

"Where?"

"Riyadh. It will give the Saudis something to think about."

Martinez nodded. "I like it. We can give them a taste of what's to come if they don't cooperate once we've taken over. "

"A receiving unit's already in place," Westlake said. "Thorpe is on his way to Alaska to install the new circuit boards. He says it should improve intensity by twelve percent or better."

"Twelve percent? Excellent. When do they arrive on site?"

"Tomorrow morning. It shouldn't take long to upgrade the system. Then we can reprogram the satellite and give the sheiks a lesson."

Martinez toyed with his glass. "Riyadh should be enough. After that we could go ahead and implement here."

"We've already discussed this, Senator. London is the best test. We have to see how a Western democracy reacts when the population of a major city starts trashing everything in sight. How will the government respond? Whatever they do, it will provide on the spot, real-time data for what's going to happen here. We can anticipate and influence the course of events, but the more data we have, the more certain we are of success. Besides, it diverts attention."

"It does make sense," Martinez said. He speared the olive in his glass with a toothpick and ate it.

"We have to be patient," Westlake said. "We've waited this long, another week or two isn't going to make much difference."

"What about Prometheus?"

Prometheus was another, different kind of satellite, named for the Greek god who defied Zeus and brought fire to humans.

"What about it?"

"Those in the Pentagon who oppose the new order could use it against us."

Westlake smiled. For some reason, that smile made the Senate Majority Leader uneasy.

"You don't need to worry about Prometheus," Westlake said. "I've already taken steps to ensure that can't happen."

Martinez picked up the heavy menu.

"Try the duck," Westlake said. "It's very good here."