The Gemini Experiment by Brian Pinkerton

Author:Brian Pinkerton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
Published: 2019-04-29T12:06:39+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Alex sat at the long, mahogany table with eight other men and one woman representing intelligence and military agencies of the Kremlin, including the Foreign Intelligence Service and Federal Security Service. General Popov was joined by two solemn defense chiefs. Large Russian flags stood firmly in stands at the front of the room, and the heavy drapes were closed, only admitting a hint of outside light. Alex tried not to squirm in his white, upholstered chair. The aftermath of Ares’ destructive stroll was not pleasant and required more cover up than the country’s ugliest fashion model. But Alex quickly focused on the positive – and the long term.

“Ares was the first in a new generation of Russian warriors,” he said in a measured tone. “He will not be the last. We will rebuild. We have the knowledge and expertise. We can now perform our own digitization of human consciousness. We can construct our own shells to host the digitized mind. There is nothing the Americans can do that we cannot duplicate and improve upon.”

His words were met with silence.

To fill the silence, Alex continued talking. “We are already ahead of them. The integration of a digitized mind and military forces isn’t even on their radar. They are taking baby steps while we—”

“We can’t be so sure,” spoke up Boris Spakov. Spakov was a thin-lipped, frowning official from Foreign Intelligence Services and a former KGB man. “We have new intelligence that gives us reason to be concerned. There may be more happening in America than meets the eye.”

Alex looked at him. “In all my years with that team, I never heard a word—”

“Don’t expect to know everything, comrade,” Spakov said. “Please listen to what I have to say. All of you. Our US surveillance team has reported a meeting between Giamatti and the president of the United States that took place at the White House on Thursday afternoon.”

“They are friends. They have been friends for a long time, going back to the president’s days in Congress,” said Alex.

“This was official business,” Spakov said. “While we do not know the nature of their meeting, we do know it was highly classified and involved top members of their government.”

“We don’t know what they talked about?”

“No,” said Spakov. “But we’re determined to find out. One possibility is that they, too, are pursuing a marriage of this technology with their country’s military capabilities.”

Alex found the conclusion slightly paranoid but chose not to voice this opinion.

Tomas, a broad-shouldered man with dark hair and rimless spectacles, and the head of the Russian Federal Security Service, spoke next. “We intend to find out. For every plan by the United States, we must have a counter plan.”

“Our intelligence team in the United States is stepping up its surveillance of key individuals and we hope to learn more,” said Spakov. “While the White House is a very difficult target, we feel we have a good chance with Mr. Giamatti and members of his inner circle.”

“We still have a very important asset belonging to Mr.

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