The captains of the Colossus ships began issuing SOS signals and declaring that they were abandoning ship.
“Eric, we certainly want to do our duty,” Max said. “Let’s throw out a couple of life rafts and then get out of here.”
“Aye, sir.”
While he took care of that, Max called Linda to find out what happened to Juan.
* * *
—
Juan dug his fingers into the grating at the bottom of the catwalk and caught himself before he tumbled into the roiling water.
The dangling end of the catwalk was near the vat-topped walkway. He couldn’t climb back up, so Juan swung himself over and landed on the metal walkway.
He looked up and saw Linc and Murph still up on the catwalk.
“Are you all right?” Linc called down over the rushing water’s roar.
“Bumps and bruises! You?”
“We’re okay. We’ll be down in a minute to get you.”
“No!” Juan yelled. “Get off the ship now. That’s an order!”
“Aye, Chairman. See you on the Gator.” He pushed Murph forward, and they ran toward the bow.
That way was blocked for Juan, the explosion taking out most of the vat he’d have to cross. The water level was already three-quarters of the way up the sides of the vats.
He raced for the stern. About halfway there, his path was blocked by a huge pipe knocked off its base by a flying girder.
Xavier Carlton was trapped underneath it, his legs pinned by the enormous metal cylinder. He was still conscious, his face contorted in agony. Juan tried lifting the pipe, but it was no use. It had to weigh more than half a ton.
When he saw Juan, he gritted his teeth and said, “Do you realize what you’ve done?”
“I’ve kept you from unleashing a deadly force that you couldn’t possibly hope to control.”
Carlton shook his head. “You fool. You’ve killed us all. Colossus was the only thing that could stop Romir Mallik and the Vajra satellites.”
“We already know about the Vajra electromagnetic pulse weapon. Mallik is planning to use it for the Indian military. He already used it on Diego Garcia. His newest satellite is going up any day now.”
The water continued to rise. Juan had to leave soon if he was going to get out of the hold alive.
Carlton shook his head even more violently and grabbed Juan’s arm.
“You don’t understand anything! Vajra wasn’t designed as a weapon. He’s going to shut down everything.”
“What do you mean, everything?”
“Once he has all twenty satellites in orbit, Mallik will activate them all simultaneously. It will set up a resonant wave that will multiply the effect of the individual satellites and wipe out all computers across the world.”
“Are you sure?”
Carlton nodded, and grimaced as he spoke. “I had a mole in his organization. He showed me the calculations.”
“How long will the effect last?”
“For as long as the satellites are in orbit and have power. Fifty years. Maybe a hundred. Nobody knows. But for all that time, no computer on the face of the planet will work again, not unless it’s deep underground or under the water.”
The water had risen to the top of the vat. It began to cover Carlton’s body.
Juan needed to hear more. He tried again to move the pipe, but it was futile.
“Get Mallik!” Carlton screeched in a terrified wail as he attempted to keep his head above the water. “Don’t let him stop the world! Don’t let him—”
The water covered Carlton’s face, and his arms thrashed for a few more moments before sinking out of sight.
Juan splashed through the water toward the emergency exit. By the time he climbed up to the door, the Colossus 5 was already beginning to list as it sank toward the bottom of the Suez Canal. During his entire journey back to the Gator, Carlton’s chilling last words echoed in his mind.
Don’t let him stop the world.
SIXTY
THE ARABIAN SEA
As soon as Mallik got word the next day that the Colossus ships had sunk in the Suez Canal, he invited Torkan to the dining room of his yacht, the Paara, for a celebratory lunch. With the frigates Maurya and Kalinga circling twenty miles out, he felt confident and secure in staying on his opulent custom-built yacht, which was tied up to the satellite launch command ship. Not that he was expecting any interference with his plans now. Not with Carlton dead and Colossus destroyed.
Rain pounded against the windows, otherwise Mallik would have taken the meal on the deck outside. The servants laid out a sumptuous feast for the two of them. Torkan, a devout Muslim, didn’t drink, so no alcohol was served. Instead, they toasted with Darjeeling tea.
“To our allies against Carlton, whoever they may be,” Mallik said, lifting his cup.
Torkan followed suit and took a sip, but he didn’t look happy. “I would like to know how it happened.”
“Is that important now?”
“I suppose not. But, it still bothers me about running into the same men at your party and on the dock by the Colossus 5.”
“Stop worrying. You came out victorious, as you always do. Your brother would be proud of you. Our vision is about to be realized once this irritating storm has passed.”
The monsoon had lingered over the launch site longer than they’d expected. They could move the launch platform and command ship, but that would take more time than simply waiting it out.
“Do you think Colossus really would have become a thinking artificial intelligence?” Torkan asked.
“I know it would have, otherwise I wouldn’t have invested billions of rupees of my own money in Vajra.”
“It’s hard to believe the Nine came so close to achieving it.”
“It was millennia in the making,” Mallik said. “They really thought it was their destiny.”
Torkan swirled his teacup. “And you think someone will try again.”
“I have no doubt about that as well. Artificial intelligence has already permeated our daily lives to a degree that we can’t appreciate. It’s everywhere, from credit card fraud detection and help line language processing to facial recognition and self-guided cars. It’s only becoming more insidious, and soon we will be in real danger of being replaced. A thinking AI would simply be the final step. Then that machine would someday understand that not only are we of no use to it but that we are a very real threat to it.”
“People are weak. They need everything done for them. I look forward to a time when we can think for ourselves again.”
Mallik smiled. He was glad to hear how much Torkan had come around to his way of thinking.
“When the people realize how I have freed them from the tyranny of computers, they will hail me as a liberator. Think about how many jobs in this world have been killed by computerization, robotics, and automation. People will have purpose again.”
“How long do you think we’ll have to ride out the chaos on board the Paara?”
Mallik shrugged. “It depends on how fast world governments compensate for the demise of the systems that have made them dependent on computers. Of course, I’ve prepared India for the coming change, and we are still a very agricultural society. Many of our vehicles will work just fine because they have no computer chips in them, and our farms will still produce all the food we need.”
“There will be turmoil, though,” Torkan said. “It will be ugly for a while.”
“Especially in technologically advanced societies. China, Europe, and the United States will suffer the most. Planes will fall from the sky, nuclear plants will melt down, the millions of people in megacities will begin to starve. But the governments will go on. We had civilization for thousands of years before computers and we will continue to have it for many more centuries now that I’m about to wipe out
the specter of extinction by AI.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
Mallik thought for a moment, then said, “Five years. Ten years at most. After that, I don’t think the world will look much different than it did in the 1950s. Without computers, we developed cars, jet planes, hydroelectric dams, nuclear power, and buildings that have stood for thousands of years. The only things we’ll lose in the process are the ills that computers and the internet have visited on us: loss of privacy, universal surveillance, vast government databases of our most intimate information, and people burying themselves in the screens they’re holding instead of talking face-to-face like we are now.”
Torkan gave him a rare smile. “You’re practicing your political speech, aren’t you?”
Mallik laughed. “You know me well. India is going to emerge as the world’s greatest superpower when the dust settles. Who better to lead it?”
“Don’t forget Iran. With our numbers, and Israel’s technological advantage wiped out, we should become the dominant force in the Middle East.”
Mallik raised his cup again. “To a new world.”
“A new world.” After another drink, Torkan frowned. “Is there any way the Vajra satellites can be taken down once they are operating together?”
Mallik shook his head. “For the precision needed to knock down a satellite, you would need a computer guidance system, which obviously won’t work once Vajra is operational globally. I’ve also prevented any chance that my files will provide a clue for how to neutralize the satellites even by a government with a computer hidden in a bunker far underground and linked to a satellite dish. The hack into my laptop was a wake-up call for me. This morning, I went into my corporate computers and deleted all files related to the development of Vajra and verified that all critical paper records were destroyed.”
Torkan raised an eyebrow at that. “What if this satellite launch fails?”
“It won’t. But if it does, I downloaded the only copies left onto my computer on board the yacht. When we have verification that Vajra is operational, I’ll toss it in the ocean.”
“Cautious, but smart.”
“I’ve been planning this for years. I’ve thought of everything.”
“I hope you’ve thought about what would happen if you got blamed for the catastrophe that’s coming.”
“I think for the first couple of years, people will be more focused on survival than finding someone to blame.”
“And how many do you think will die in that time?”
Mallik leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling before saying matter-of-factly, “Based on loss of transportation infrastructure, farm failures from disabled machinery, and resulting starvation rates, I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose more than two billion people.”
SIXTY-ONE
THE RED SEA
Extricating the Oregon from the Suez Canal mess took until the morning, when the sandstorm died down. The Egyptian authorities were eager to clear the canal so they could begin salvage operations and get it back to its normal operational capabilities as soon as possible. Having four ships sink in the middle of one of the most important waterways in the world wasn’t good publicity.
Juan put the rescued prisoners ashore at the Port of Suez on their way out of the canal under the guise of Good Samaritans who were simply in the right place at the right time. The explanation worked as well as it had at Jhootha Island, and Interpol assisted in making them safe and secure until consular officers from the prisoners’ home countries could arrive. Since it was reported that all four of the ships sank because of internal malfunctions, the Egyptians let the Oregon go, as they did the other ships that had been in Great Bitter Lake at the time.
The Arabian Sea was the Oregon’s next destination. The two-day trip would have them arriving at the location of Mallik’s satellite launch platform floating west of India. In the meantime, they’d be able to plan what they were going to do to stop Vajra from being activated.
Juan had just spent the last thirty minutes in his cabin briefing Langston Overholt on the situation. The CIA officer scowled from the computer screen on his desk.
“Are Stone and Murphy sure that Carlton’s allegations are correct?” Overholt asked.
“They’ve scoured the limited data that Murph was able to download from Mallik’s files. Based on the formulas they found, they’re fairly certain that the Vajra satellites can disable all the computers on the planet.”
“Fairly certain? That leaves a lot of wiggle room.”
Juan shrugged. “It’s all theoretical until Vajra goes into operation. But the math checks out. And we have the evidence from Diego Garcia that the EMP effect can be triggered by the satellites.”
“If it does work, we won’t get a second chance to shut it down.”
“Not according to Carlton. And he did seem certain that it was going to happen.”
Overholt stared up at the ceiling in thought before saying, “Then, we have to keep Mallik from launching the satellite. And, going through the Indian military is probably not a good idea.”
“Linc and Eddie said Mallik seemed pretty tight with some of the Indian brass at his party. Even if they’re not in on it, it’s likely he has enough influence to convince them that the idea of a worldwide threat is a hoax. It would take weeks for them to investigate it.”
“We don’t have that much time. My sources say he’s planning to launch as soon as the monsoon has passed.”
“Which is in two days,” Juan said. “We’ve checked the forecast. What about sending our own Navy to take down the rocket?”
Overholt scoffed. “And create an international incident with a friendly nation by shooting down one of their communications satellites? We might as well just declare war on them now.”
Juan smiled. “I thought you’d say that.”
“Where are you now?”
“Fifty miles south of Suez, on our way to the Arabian Sea.”
That got a chuckle. “I suppose you know what I’m going to say now, too.”
“I have an inkling,” Juan said.
Overholt cleared his throat and leaned in to the camera. “Vajra is a clear and present danger to the entire world. Your assignment is to stop that launch. By any means necessary.”
SIXTY-TWO
THE ARABIAN SEA
The monsoon had finally passed, and Mallik sat in his chair overlooking the mission control room aboard the launch command ship. The huge picture window in the side of the 400-foot-long ship’s large central superstructure gave a magnificent view of the launch platform three miles to the north. The backdrop of the red and orange sky produced by the rising sun could have served as a publicity photo for his satellite business.
The thirty engineers in the spacious room were busily going about their tasks to make sure that today went smoothly. Only a handful knew about Vajra, and only one of them was aware of its full potential. Mallik would have the honor of activating the system.
A speedboat cut through the glassy sea on its way back from the platform.
“Did they report any issues?” Mallik asked flight director Kapoor, pointing at the boat. The men returning were maintenance workers doing a final check of the launch site.
“None,” Kapoor said. “We are still go for launch. T minus forty-three minutes and counting.” The last step was fueling the rocket, which would be completed fifteen minutes before it took off.
“Alert the Indian Coast Guard that we are moving ahead with the launch.” Even though they were a hundred and fifty miles from the nearest land, the rocket’s flight path would take it over the Indian subcontinent.
“Yes, sir.” Kapoor picked up the phone. At the same time, Torkan burst into the room and made a beeline for Mallik with a concerned look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Mallik asked.
Torkan
lowered his voice and said, “A ship has intruded on our security zone. They’re ignoring the Maurya’s hails to steer clear.”
“How far away are they?”
“Twenty-five miles and closing fast.”
“The Indian Navy?”
Torkan shook his head. “They’re coming from the west. The Maurya reports that it looks like a cargo ship, but it’s going at an unbelievable speed for a ship that big.”
Kapoor overheard the conversation. “Sir, if we have a ship in the security zone, perhaps we should delay the launch until it’s out of danger.”
“No,” Mallik said, “we are going to launch that rocket.”
“But protocol states—”
“We are launching!” Mallik’s shout silenced the room.
He nodded at Torkan, who went to the door and called two of his security men to come into mission control with their assault rifles at the ready.
Mallik stared daggers at Kapoor. “We are launching no matter what. Do you understand?”
Kapoor looked at the two heavily armed men and gulped. The other engineers studiously went back to work, avoiding Mallik’s glare.
“T minus forty-two minutes and counting,” Kapoor said.
Mallik smiled, then turned to Torkan.
“Tell the captain of the Maurya to intercept that ship. If she continues to be unresponsive, sink her.”
* * *
—
Juan watched the frigate speeding toward them on the op center’s main screen. It was now ten miles away, still out of gun range for both ships. The Oregon was quickly closing the distance. Mallik’s launch platform was over the horizon, but they hadn’t seen the telltale smoke trail of a launch in the cloudless azure sky.
“We’re being hailed by the Maurya again,” Hali said.
“Continue ignoring them,” Juan said. “We know what they’re going to say.”
“I also intercepted a call to the Indian Coast Guard. The launch is in less than forty-two minutes.”