When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony Read Free Page B

along with the nations to get the world government implemented. We currently have a draft constitution and bill of rights in place, but the devil is in the details, and we are continuing to hammer them out. I was just told yesterday by the Russian envoy that they would consider participating if one of their officers could have the executive officer position on the Vella Gulf the next time it goes out.” She looked at the president for guidance on the request.
    The president saw Calvin’s hand go up but waved him off. “I am reluctant to grant them anything like this,” said the president, who knew it was more of a ‘demand’ than a ‘request.’ “If we give in at the start, they’ll always expect special treatment. Still, we need Russia’s support, for a number of reasons. Please let them know officially that we really want their participation, but we can’t guarantee any military postings, as those are made by a joint body of officers. Unofficially, you can tell them that if they join the government now, in full good faith, their officer will have the United States’ vote, as well as everyone else that we can convince.” That must have been good enough, the president saw, because Calvin put his hand back down.
    “OK,” said the vice president. “Next up, Treasury.”
    “I don’t think that we are going to be able to make the target of spending 30% of our gross domestic product (GDP) on defense this year,” he advised. “There were just too many other priorities that we already had to fund. Going forward, though, we ought to be able to meet the target as we shift around some of our spending. With everyone now expected to work, we should be able to cut some of the federal assistance programs, which will make a big difference. We are also going to reclassify some of the spending that we are doing that is related to defense, like opening new mines, under the category of ‘defense spending.’” He nodded. “We’ll get there next year.”
    The president also nodded; he had been briefed on that earlier. “Good, thanks,” he said.
    “Defense?” asked the vice president.
    “We’re proceeding across a wide variety of fronts,” replied the Secretary of Defense. “With regard to our immediate security, we have mined the two stargates into the Solar System. Heavily. We estimate that any ship that is battleship-sized or smaller will be instantly destroyed, as well as several more after that, depending on their size. We are continuing to develop additional types of defenses for the stargates. If we don’t stop them there, we have little hope of stopping them.” Once again, the president nodded. Nothing new there.
    “As far as future operations go, ” the Secretary of Defense continued, “we are still expecting to send the Vella Gulf back out in seven months. We have got to get either a replicator that can build ships, or find an ally to sell us some. We need to develop a fleet before the Drakuls show up.” Most heads around the table nodded; several secretaries that stood to lose money to Defense looked less than thrilled.
    That was the big question, the president knew. When would the Drakuls show up? As they were 10’ tall bloodsucking frogs, the president hoped the answer was never; however, the Psiclopes had said that they thought the Drakuls were close by and moving in the Earth’s direction. Time was running out.
    “When the Gulf goes out, it will also have a more integrated crew,” the Secretary of Defense added. “The executive officer of the ship on its last cruise will be promoted to commanding officer. LCDR Hobbs will remain in charge of both the space fighter squadron and attached special forces platoon. We are hoping to have a full squadron of space fighters this time, including six with the new laser technology that we got on the last mission. That will make them more capable, although they will still be a relatively ‘light’ force if they run into a group of bigger combatants.”