The White Death Read Free Page A

meeting rooms.”
    “Laboratories for what?” asked Thomas. If this concerned human or alien forced experimentation, then he was going to have a very frank discussion with both these individuals and make the first decision of his presidency.
    “Experimental technology, Mr. President,” replied Richards, opening his red military folder and flicking through it. “Climate control stabilizers, oil replication, food technology, medical science, geothermal networking—the list goes on. We have some of the best minds working down there.”
    “Human minds?”
    “Yes, Mr. President. The only alien in residence in Section 51 is a woman called Freda. She is our point of contact. Freda has been the official representative of the Council for this region of space. She’s been with us since 1903,” explained Richards.
    “You see, Mr. President,” began Houston, leaning forward with his mug of tea, “the Council represents the four main space-faring civilizations known to exist, controlling roughly a third of our galaxy. Apparently, intelligent life is indeed very rare. The Council was set up to provide assistance and watch over fledgling civilizations such as ours, helping them progress and to provide protection from pirates. There are six ‘fledglings,’ as Freda calls them, which includes us. The Council chooses a representative for each planet, and they are to guide the inhabitants of that planet and report back on progress made. Not only that, the representative must also protect the health of the planet itself. Habitable worlds are extremely rare, and the Council will protect them just as much as a species. Freda has catered for Earth for over 100 years now.”
    “And not aged a day,” quipped Richards.
    “Slightly envious?” asked Thomas. “Have you worked for Section 51?”
    “I work for the United States,” said Richards. “I’ve worked alongside Section 51 since the age of twenty-five.”
    “Okay,” said Thomas. His tired mind was surprisingly keeping up, despite the late hour. He mused to himself. He was sitting in the White House Oval Office, being informed about aliens and councils, while the rest of the country slept. This was something he certainly did not foresee. “To be honest, this isn’t totally mindboggling. I believe most reasonable and rational people accept the possibility of aliens. It would be the height of hubris to assume we are the only intelligent life in existence. What does shock me, though, is the government’s ability to have kept this all under wraps.”
    “Hence the small number of people who know about it. Every president is sworn to secrecy. There are other reasons why U.S. presidents receive such substantial Secret Service protection when they leave office. It’s a gentle reminder that they may have left office, but the government is still with them. Watching and listening,” said Houston.
    “Charming,” replied Thomas, thinking ahead to his own retirement. He at least took solace that all U.S. presidents had lived long lives in the past hundred years. “Can I ask why they haven’t intervened in helping us with this genetic problem?”
    “They provide us with a blueprint and nudge us in the right direction of what we can achieve and how it can benefit the world,” said Richards carefully. He looked at George for support.
    “Mr. President, ever since the Second World War, Freda and the Council have been reluctant to provide us with anything more than theory and postulation about what is possible and what is not worth pursuing. They will show the way, but that’s it.”
    “Please explain,” ordered Thomas, glancing between the two. “With our race on the brink of possible destruction, wouldn’t they do everything they could to help us survive?”
    “Two words: nuclear power. When nuclear power was provided to another civilization to remedy a crippling pollution and energy crisis, what happened? That race created nuclear weapons instead and significantly changed