The Rise of MAN: Battle for Earth by Elbert Lewis Jr

Author:Elbert Lewis Jr. [Lewis Jr., Elbert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
ISBN: 9781491759400
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2015-05-05T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

James Ashton Hillenbrand V sat in his lavishly furnished library. He was contemplating the family crest displayed in the center of the photographs of seven generations of Hillenbrands—New Hampshire Hillenbrands. They were American royalty, if ever there were such a thing. The family fortune was not huge anymore when compared to the technology whiz kids, but the Hillenbrand name was recognized and respected in banking on both sides of the Atlantic.

“What do’ya think, Mr. Hillenbrand… Sir?”

Hillenbrand pulled his gaze away from the crest to refocus on his visitor. It was the first time he’d allowed a courier into his home. Previously, Hillenbrand had Craig Stoddard, his chief of security, meet with couriers at a prearranged location far away from his estate. However, the council had deemed it prudent to streamline their communications as much as possible. It had taken the redneck five minutes to stop gawking and pay attention long enough to deliver his message. This is what it had come to. The leaders of the Movement were terrified of using the telephone—or any other means of electronic communication—for fear that the FBI, the NSA, or worse, the UEAF Military Intelligence could be monitoring the calls. They knew from their few remaining assets inside the government that the President and his administration were working closely with the UEAF. They were using advanced technology supplied by Logan to increase the surveillance capabilities of spy agencies to a level undreamed of by the allies or the communists during the cold war. Hence, all communications were accomplished strictly by word of mouth via a cadre of couriers who were reliable soldiers of the Movement.

Hillenbrand wondered which one of his fellow members of the Council of Nine had deemed reliable this ignoramus sitting across from him. He turned an imperious gaze upon the courier. He was not accustomed to anyone hurrying his deliberations, and he most certainly wasn’t in the habit of sharing his thoughts with the hired help. The courier, a hardened combat veteran of America’s antiterrorism wars, wilted under the intensity of Hillenbrand’s contemptuous stare.

“I mean… I… well… I just thought you didn’t understand what I said. I might’na got it kinda’ mixed up or som… something,” he stammered out.

“I understood you perfectly, and I understand the implications of the latest developments to a degree you will never comprehend,” Hillenbrand’s voice dripped with condescension. The courier winced in reaction to the insult then grew red and angry, but wisely held his tongue.

As a member of the high council of the Movement, Hillenbrand had one of nine votes on their next course of action. He was aware that a strong effort to organize and finance a colonization project of Movement members was gaining support. The GOD Project had gained widespread acceptance among the general population of Americans and the rest of the world. How else to explain the endless string of technological marvels coming out of the UE Research and Development Projects and Technology Resource Offices? Soldiers of the Movement were not immune from the promises of a so-called golden age.

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