seawasp | FENRIR: Chapter 26 (Reply)

There was some required testing to be done before Carpathia could even work...

Chapter 26.A Worrisome Success

Days to Launch: 425

Jeanne stood on the review stand, Roger on one side, Director Bronson on the other, looking out over the wide red-brown-gray desert with its patches of dark green scrub; the only manmade things visible in binoculars were three squat buildings, each widely separated from the others, and each with a flag numbered 1, 2, or 3. "I would really feel better if you were in the bunker, Madam President," Roger said in his most formal tones.

"No can do, Roger. This is one of the points we have to make on our progress; that we believe we've made this form of nuclear detonation safe."

"But what if we're wrong?" Stephanie said, biting her lip in nervousness. "Maybe you should –"

"Are we going to abort this project?" Jeanne asked quietly.

"We can't," Stephanie answered reflexively. "It's the only chance we have!"

"Then we have to assume we are not wrong and that we have, in fact, taken all the necessary precautions," York Dobyns said serenely. "Having the senior staff here shows our confidence. Also challenges all the news organizations to show they've got the guts to watch alongside us. Right, Captain?"

Hàorán Lín sketched a quick bow in York's direction. "Exactly right, Doctor. If they all attend, they give tacit approval, whether that is their intent or not. And," he nodded to the crowded Press section of the stands, "it appears that they have done exactly that."

"Boiler Pressure One, nominal ten kilotons, detonation in sixty seconds," crackled the calm voice from the speaker. "Detonation plug in place. All personnel report clear."

Jeanne heard a buzz, saw Stephanie take a deep breath and activate her direct comm to control. "Director Bronson here."

"Final decision point, Director. Go or no-go?"

She closed her eyes, then nodded. "Control, we are a go. Repeat, we are go."

"Go for Boiler Pressure One," the speakers announced. "Detonation in thirty seconds.

"Twenty seconds.

"Ten seconds."

As the annunciator, and the large digital display, counted down the final seconds, everyone leaned forward, eyes fixed on the expanse of desert and the distant, tiny flag with a simple "1" displayed as it flapped in the wind.

"Detonation."

For an instant, it seemed nothing had happened. Then a puff of dust spurted up and a shockwave ran visibly outward, throwing up a ring of sand and earth as it radiated away from the flag in the center; people on the stands stumbled or swayed as the massive jolt passed. The ground there heaved upward and then dropped, sinking noticeably. Traces of steam, smoke or fog rose from the center.

Tentative cheering began from the scientists' area of the stands, spreading as others realized the first detonation had been a success.

Or seems to be, Jeanne told herself. The question was not so much whether the device went "boom," but whether it had exploded in the expected manner, with the expected results.

"Initial analysis underway. Please stand by."

The clapping and cheering faded as seconds ticked by, and soon the assembled crowd was silent, awaiting the verdict of the unseen analysts and the data they had gathered.

"Current analysis results," the speakers finally said. "Detonation total energy nine point nine eight kilotons. Radiation release post detonation negligible – figures to follow. Detonation radiation release successfully confined."

Now the cheers returned and redoubled, and Jeanne saw Director Bronson sink into her seat with an expression of immense relief. "Worried, Director?" she asked with a smile.

"Terrified, Madame President," she answered. "First antimatter-triggered nuclear detonation? So much was riding on that working."

"Director," came the voice of Control, "Boiler Pressure Two requests the go-ahead."

Stephanie looked over to the scientific and engineering group. "They'll kill me if we don't," she said with a touch of a smile. "Setting two records today – number of nuclear tests in a short time. Control, Boiler Pressure Two is go. Repeat, Two is a go."

"Commencing countdown for Boiler Pressure Two," the speakers blared. "Detonation in five minutes."

Jeanne looked out at the little building labeled "2". Boiler Pressure Two was the smallest of the three, testing the ability of the ICAN-II derived technology to catalyze nuclear detonations at sizes lower than any produced previously.

"Boiler Pressure Two, nominal five tons, repeat, five tons, detonation in two minutes thirty seconds."

When the second bomb went off, the shockwave was far lighter, a mere puff and rumble, and the distant flagged building barely settled at all. The analysis confirmed an explosive force of just over five tons of TNT.

Boiler Pressure Three also went off without a hitch, producing its planned one-half kiloton blast.

"So do we expect more radiation to leak from those sites as time goes on?" Jeanne asked.

"Some, perhaps," York replied. "However, all the current readings indicate orders of magnitude less radiation from these detonations than from any previous nuclear explosions. The starting material is ordinary U-238 and lithium deuteride, and while the explosion does generate some radionuclides, it's far fewer than the conventional methods."

"And each of them required only a very small amount of antimatter, yes?"

"About one nanogram each," confirmed Stephanie. "We had a microgram shipped in for the tests, but as we expected we've had to use very little of it." She pointed to a large, squat truck exiting one of the bunkers. "There it goes – transporting it to the ALTS facility nearer Carpathia."

"ALTS?" repeated Audrey Milliner, joining the group from her seats lower in the stands; the Secret Service knew her and didn't bar her path.

"Antimatter Long-Term Storage Facility," Stephanie said. "That microgram's a good stability test for ALTS; we're of course having to develop the best long-term storage methods for antimatter possible, since we'll be absolutely dependent on the stuff on our way out and back."

"Speaking of coming back," Jeanne said, "Assuming you fix or otherwise rescue Fenrir, how do you bring it back? How does it land?"

"Land?" Jeanne felt a momentary surge of embarrassment as Stephanie restrained obvious laughter before getting her expression under control. "Sorry, Madame President – but even Carpathia won't be landing again."

"Wait. Why not? You certainly have the power to do so."

"Power isn't the problem." That was Eva Filipek, who had been mostly a silent but interested observer through the tests. "The problem, put bluntly, is that if you are descending on a chain of nuclear explosions, your entire ship will end up going through multiple nuclear fireballs and immediate aftermath, rather than effectively running from all of it. The plate is proof against such things; the rest of the ship, likely not."

"We sure don't want to risk it," Stephanie agreed, "not until we've had a good long time to study how it all works in real life, anyway. So both Carpathia and Fenrir are staying in space. If we can work it out, get Fenrir into Earth orbit, and then we can shuttle things up and down as needed; pay Daire Young to do that if we have to, but I'll bet that Fenrir has space-to-ground shuttles of its own, and some should still be intact."

"Excuse me, Madame President," Roger said, "but we need to get moving. You have a meeting with FORT tomorrow morning, and –"

Jeanne sighed. Despite the importance of the event, the Boiler Pressure tests had been something of a little break for her. "Back to the grind, yes, Roger." She shook hands all around, and then her Secret Service detail closed in as they moved off and entered the Presidential limousine.

"Thanks as always, Roger," she said as the car began to move. "You're right; I'd also like to get back to Washington in time to have a late dinner with my actual family."

"We'll get you there," he assured her.

She looked back at the viewing stands, vanishing in the distance and frowned.

"Something bothering you, Jeanne?"

She didn't answer immediately – not because she hadn't heard, but because she was analyzing her own reactions. "That went far too smoothly."

"It kind of had to, didn't it?"

"I'm not talking about the tests themselves; Director Bronson and CENT wouldn't have scheduled it if they weren't as close to certain as possible that they would go off without a hitch." She waved a hand around the entire area. "It's all this. That demonstration had everyone who matters present, and that meant it had also drawn off huge numbers of personnel from other vital locations. Why didn't our unseen adversaries do anything?"

"Maybe they were going to and our security measures turned them back? I'm more relieved than anything; all of you up there on the review stands made very good targets."

Jeanne nodded. "That's the point, though. The best security in the world can still miss things. Any of us – or any part of Carpathia – could be targeted. It's been too quiet."

Roger made a face. "You're right, Jeanne. I can't argue it; you know we'd projected a pretty high probability there'd be an attempt on either personnel or Carpathia itself today. And I don't think they've given up."

"Our analysts at DHS and the other agencies don't think so either," Jeanne said. "So… if they haven't given up, and passed up this chance… what are they waiting for?"

An excellent question. I know the answer but I'm not telling, nyah!