The Phoenix Project Read Free Page B

Teacher.”
         "I saw a coming calamity
last night as I wandered in the future,” Alexander said. “At a crucial point a
member of the military will be called on to take part in some very sensitive
negotiations. They won’t assign you to that position.”
         “No they won’t, but we aren’t
going to give them a choice. We are elevating you to the rank of Lieutenant General
in the Diplomatic Branch of the Coalition's fleet. The current General will be
removed."
         “Thank—you, my Teacher.”
         “Be careful, Nadine. You will
meet a dangerous man in these negotiations,” Catherine said.
         “May I ask who he is?”
         “Vice Admiral Elliot
Fredericks.”
         “Is he a Defensive?” Nadine
asked.
         “Very astute, my student. Yes,
he is a Defensive and he studied under Michael DePietro, among others. I’ve
never known any Aggressive who has been able to pierce his mind,” Catherine
replied.
         “I’ll be careful.”
         “He has concealed his identity
from the rest of the Alliance
military, the same as you have from ours. You won’t be able to point him out by
black irises,” Catherine said.
         “I understand.”
         “In the meantime, something
near the borders of the Solar System has attracted our attention. We thought
the Alliance
had destroyed some of our sensor platforms, but as it turns out, there is an
anomaly out there of unknown origin,” Catherine said.
         “That’s incredible.”
         “Isn’t it? We have the
possibility of first contact with another intelligent species. Even if this
isn’t the case, we need someone out there we can trust.”
         “When should I leave?” Nadine
asked.
         “Immediately,” Catherine replied
as a guard gave her a link with coordinates. “Take a shuttle back to the battle
group and depart for the coordinates indicated on that link. Return and report
to us once you have done a proper analysis.”
         Nadine nodded and left the
room at a motivated pace. Once the doors closed, Catherine focused her
attention on Alexander.
         “I wish you could have been
more specific. That one is incredibly valuable to us. One day, she will replace
me as Prime Counsel.”
         “I believe I interpreted the
symbols correctly,” Alexander said.
         “And Nadine must be there when
the, what did you say they were, Alexander?”
         “Cats. They were docile cats,”
Alexander replied.
         “When these “cats” come to
Earth.”
         “What are these cats supposed
to be, Alexander?” Napoleon asked from his left.
         “They could be a play on the
idea of pets. Perhaps servants of some kind that arrive here and cause
upheaval,” Alexander said.
         “Well, this will ensure we are
well prepared,” Catherine said. “Now, it’s time we returned to our schedule.”
         The Twelve returned to their
regular activities, deciding on legislation and policy for the Coalition.

     MERA, the Modern Enterprise
Religious Aggregate, and the Cooperative can trace their roots back to several
different religions of the twentieth century that eventually found it necessary
to amalgamate into their current form. MERA was an agreed upon unification of
the old Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic faiths and became the dominant
eastern religion. The Cooperative came from the old Buddhist, Native and Hindu
religions and formed the dominant western religion.
         No one knows exactly why so
many major religions decided on this action but it has been speculated that
internal monetary problems forced the mergers.

 
    A Retrospective on Twenty—Third
Century Religion
    By Crassus Bixby

 
    Chapter II

 
    This was a problem that Lathiel was unsure he could overcome. A large,
heavy alloy beam had fallen across his chest, pinning him to the floor of the demolished
command center.
         “Ranik?” Lathiel called out