Deception Point Page 69

Ill come to your office.No, she state hurriedly. Its late. Your presence here would raise concerns. Id prefer to handgrip this matter amongst us.Pickering read between the lines. The President knows nothing somewhat this. Youre welcome to come here, he said.tench sounded distrusting. Lets meet somewhere discreet.Pickering had anticipate as much.The FDR Memorial is convenient to the White House, Tench said. It will be empty at this time of night.Pickering considered it. The FDR Memorial sat midway between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, in an extremely safe part of town. After a long beat, Pickering agreed.One hour, Tench said, signing off. And come alone.Immediately upon abatement up, Marjorie Tench phoned NASA administrator Ekstrom. Her voice was tight as she relayed the bad news.Pickering could be a problem.81Gabrielle Ashe was brimming with new hope as she stood at Yolanda Coles desk in the ABC production room and dialed directory assistance.The allegations Sexton had just conveyed to her, if confirmed, had appalling potential. NASA lied ab go forth PODS? Gabrielle had seen the press conference in question and recalled view it was odd, and yet shed forgotten all about it PODS was not a sarcastic issue a few weeks ago. tonight, however, PODS had become the issue. presently Sexton infallible inside information, and he quested it fast. He was relying on Gabrielles informant to rush the information. Gabrielle had assured the senator she would do her best. The problem, of course, was that her informant was Marjorie Tench, who would be no help at all. So Gabrielle would dumbfound to get the information an different way.Directory assistance, the voice on the phone said.Gabrielle told them what she needed. The operator came back with three listings for a Chris harper in Washington. Gabrielle tried them all.The first number was a law firm. The second had no answer. The third was now ringing.A woman answered on the first ring. Harper residence.Mrs. Harper? Gabrielle said as politely as possible. I hope I havent woken you?Heavens no I dont pretend anyones asleep tonight. She sounded excited. Gabrielle could go out the television in the background. Meteorite coerage. Youre calling for Chris, I assume?Gabrielles pulse quickened. Yes, maam.Im shitless Chris isnt here. He raced off to work as soon as the Presidents grapple was everyplace. The woman chuckled to herself. Of course, I doubt theres any work going on. some likely a party. The announcement came as quite a affect to him, you know. To everyone. Our phones been ringing all night. I bet the whole NASA crews over there by now.E Street complex? Gabrielle asked, assuming the woman meant NASA headquarters.Righto. egress a party hat.Thanks. Ill track him down over there.Gabrielle hung up. She hurried out onto the production room floor and found Yolanda, who was just finishing prepping a group of space experts who were about to give enthusiastic commentary on the meteor ite.Yolanda smiled when she saw Gabrielle coming. You look better, she said. Starting to see the silver lining here?I just talked to the senator. His meeting tonight wasnt what I thought.I told you Tench was playing you. Hows the senator taking the meteorite news?Better than expected.Yolanda looked surprised. I figured hed jumped in front of a bus by now.He thinks there whitethorn be a snag in the NASA data.Yolanda let out a dubious snort. Did he see the homogeneous press conference I just saw? How much more confirmation and reconfirmation can anyone need?Im going over to NASA to check on something.Yolandas penciled eyebrows raised in cautionary arches. Senator Sextons in force(p)-hand aide is going to march into NASA headquarters? Tonight? Can you say public stoning?Gabrielle told Yolanda about Sextons suspicion that the PODS section motorbus Chris Harper had lied about fixing the anomaly softw atomic number 18.Yolanda clearly wasnt buying it. We covered that press conference, G abs, and Ill admit, Harper was not himself that night, but NASA said he was sick as a dog.Senator Sexton is convinced he lied. Others are convinced too. Powerful people.If the PODS anomaly-detection software wasnt fixed, how did PODS spot the meteorite?Sextons point exactly, Gabrielle thought. I dont know. further the senator wants me to get him some answers.Yolanda shook her head. Sexton is sending you into a hornets populate on a desperate pipe dream. Dont go. You dont owe him a thing.I totally screwed up his campaign.Rotten luck screwed up his campaign.But if the senator is right and the PODS section manager actually lied-Honey, if the PODS section manager lied to the world, what makes you think hell tell you the truth.Gabrielle had considered that and was already formulating her plan. If I find a story over there, Ill call you.Yolanda gave a skeptical laugh. If you find a story over there, Ill eat my hat.82Erase everything you know about this rock sample.Michael Tolland had be en struggle with his own disquieting ruminations about the meteorite, but now, with Rachels probing questions, he was spirit an added unease over the issue. He looked down at the rock cut in his hand.Pretend someone handed it to you with no explanation of where it was found or what it is. What would your analysis be?Rachels question, Tolland knew, was loaded, and yet as an analytical exercise, it turn up powerful. By discarding all the data he had been given on his reach at the habisphere, Tolland had to admit that his analysis of the fossils was profoundly biased by a singular premise-that the rock in which the fossils were found was a meteorite.What if I had not been told about the meteorite? he asked himself. Although still unable to fathom any other explanation, Tolland allowed himself the leeway of hypothetically removing the meteorite as a pre-supposition, and when he did, the results were somewhat unsettling. Now Tolland and Rachel, joined by a groggy Corky Marlinson, we re discussing the ideas.So, Rachel repeated, her voice intense, Mike, youre state that if someone handed you this fossilized rock with no explanation whatsoever, you would have to conclude it was from earth.Of course, Tolland replied. What else could I conclude? Its a far greater dance to assert youve found extraterrestrial life than it is to assert youve found a fossil of some previously undiscovered terrestrial species. Scientists discover slews of new species every year.Two-foot-long lice? Corky demanded, sounding incredulous. You would assume a razz that big is from earth?Not now, maybe, Tolland replied, but the species doesnt necessarily have to be currently living. Its a fossil. Its 170 million years old. About the same age as our Jurassic. A lot of prehistorical fossils are outsized creatures that look shocking when we discover their fossilized remains-enormous winged reptiles, dinosaurs, birds.Not to be the physicist here, Mike, Corky said, but theres a serious flaw in your argument. The prehistoric creatures you just named-dinosaurs, reptiles, birds-they all have internal skeletons, which gives them the capability to grow to erect sizes despite the earths gravity. But this fossil He took the sample and held it up. These guys have exo skeletons. Theyre arthropods. Bugs. You yourself said that any bug this big could only have evolved in a low-gravity environment. Otherwise its outer skeleton would have collapsed under its own weight.