Tobias Weiss.

Chapter 12

                       © 2013 by tore56789 (GOS) All rights reserved.

                                                    Chapter 12

Spy satellites were a lot more complicated in the year 2051. They were able to move about independently, to various area of interest on the planet, given to them as assignments, without any assistance from some ground instillation.  They monitored activity then.  And only reported back to a military base, when perimeters in their programming peaked with concern.

A satellite from the S.H.P -5 Series (Stealth, high penetration, fifth generation fleet) had sat above North Korea an hour before everything happened.  It had monitored all frequencies simultaneously.  Its interests peaked when while scanning encrypted military traffic; it picked up a data transmission with the right access code to a highly secret Beta W.O.T.D. satellite, been tested by the US military.  (W.O.T.D. standing for, Weapon of Total destruction) It logged the code had been relayed from one military base, to another, in that country.  As programmed, it left its orbit then, to reposition itself in a slot over the United States.  Reaching its new position, it sent down a handshake greeting.  On ground, a computer came back answering the handshake, with the correct code; to prove it was the legit uplink, standing by for its downlink transmission.  The S.H.P -5 then flagged the transmission as extremely urgent!  And requested human intervention immediately!  Some moments later, the ground computer came back to it with the reply: That it was unable to process the request!

The S.H.P -5 quickly responded with a Why?  And got the response back; because no human intervention had been detected for over ten minutes?  It signed off then.  As it was unable to transmit the data it had gathered; for fear of hostile takeover at the secret military base where its uplink was coming from.  Its programming then instructed it to contact Colossus.  (See there was no reason why there couldn’t be human intervention.  As the military base was run 24/7 by personal.  And had complete backup in case of power outage? In fact, the min – to max allowable time before it was programmed to act independently, was only eight minutes)

Colossus, which was a huge tonnage of weaponry in space, at least a mile across, sat proudly over the North Pole.  Its many satellites acting like eyes facing away from the planet, in a world, wide grid, against rogue asteroids.  Even though, those on Earth saw its presence there as a last hope option for the planet –like President Regan’s proposed Star War’s project back in the 1980s –and to all purposes it was for that.  Colossus also had another agenda.  This was as a strike back weapon for the United States –if their country was attacked by nuclear weapons.  And was to be deployed, if no human intervention with the correct encryption stop-codes didn’t intervened, before the clock had counted down to zero. The countdown could be halted though, if Colossus saw an immediate threat.

At that moment, it had been examining the heavens.  It’s alert status to possible human threats, Green.  Meaning, it saw no immediate dangers.

But after it received a Red status from the S.H.P -5?  Examined all its data?  Right down to the spy’s suspicions that the North Korean government had gotten hold of the access codes to the W.O.T.D.  Along with the fact the W.H.P-5 couldn’t reach any personal on ground.  It immediately swung into action.  One: trying to call home.  When this failed, and it received the same message: No human intervention is possible; which the S.H.P -5 had gotten previously.  It switched into 2: turning its eyes around to examine the planet.  Its immediate concern was the Unites States of America.  So, using its huge complex array of sensors, which scanned everything from infra red to radio, to visual, it probed the greater Western Continent.  First the major populated zones which ran down along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, from the State of Maine, right through to Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and farther on down to Delaware, Virginia, and past.  It didn’t have to examine any farther.  Even though, lots of TV and radio stations were still active; in the various cities.  Other communications such as cell phones, emergency services, police, military, were silent on all frequencies.

It also zoomed on massive areas of collateral damage, with its powerful optical zoom technology; which had previously been engineered to spot various rock sizes from space heading on an Earth’s trajectory.  Seeing this, devastation, which covered right from the US into northern Canada, right over to Western Europe, made it follow its programming, and immediately deploy a missile strike against the W.O.T.D –at its last known coordinates.

Having it successfully destroyed, moments later.  It used its eyes then, and information attained from the S.H.P -5, to target, and remove, the hot zones, in the reported hostile country, by launching missiles.  Using stealth technology, so that the war heads could avoid radar, and electronic jamming equipment, designed to affect their sensitive guidance software.  Once this was done, and Colossus had confirmation, no other hostile presences were being observed in that country.  It went back to what it had been doing previously –guarding the heavens.  After having first instructed spy satellites to remain above the now smouldering country, to keep it informed, in case more of its intervention was going to be needed.

As a sentinel, it had after all disciplined the guilty.  Its function was now to guard the planet once more.  For what was left of the human race.  All this happened in moments of the W.O.T.D. been launched against the USA.

The Koreans would have succeeded in their plan, if their intelligence had been better informed, no doubt.  As it was, an immature little man, who wanted world domination.  And who ruled his country like it was but an amusement for a naughty child, had received in the end, the obliteration of his country, along with a massive proportion of its people.  All because his hands, his denial, had just reached out far too much, too greedily, with not the least idea of what the word “NO,” represented.  Because all his life he had been given everything he ever wanted.  Even going away back to his first perception of discomfort on the planet?  When the royal doctor had held him upside down in the Royal Bedchamber, at the Royal Palace, and after whacking him hard on the bottom, said to his parents, “His cry is proof he’s to be a powerful leader.”

With which his father had remarked, “Only, I hope, a fair one.”

With which the doctor had nodded.  As they both knew. Only time would decide that.

Like many a dictator, Pong Jung, would never have dreamt too, death was going to come so suddenly. Especially from the same place he had had the dooms day weapon deployed only moments before.  Neither, would he have believed, his judge, jury and executioner, could be a colder force than he –which had absolutely no understanding at all of the values of what it was like to be human.  Because, like all other dictators before him, he too had fooled himself into thinking he was immortal.