AmEarth

The health care directive to curb population growth was rational and made no allusion to alien subject matter. It was easy for the president to give truthful speeches without jeopardizing his position, so Peter decided to make a surprise visit to Columbia University with Barbara. This way, he could make her happy and visit Scott at the same time. He would speak on the education portion of the population directive, which would look great with the backdrop being his alma mater. Rosemary arranged everything and they were in the helicopter the next morning, making the short hop from Brooklyn to Harlem.

President Johansen was greeted by a crowd of thousands at the college grounds in front of the famous marble cupola structure known as the Library, even though it wasn’t one. Rosemary had arranged for Scott to be on stage with him and had advised him to dress up. They sat in lawn chairs on the wooden stage that had been built for the occasion; a large canvas backdrop hung from the frieze of the building. It sported a very large graphic of the official seal of AmEarth. The pair looked remarkablyssimilar with their dark blazers and dark ties—,lmost like twins. The temperature was a perfect sixty degrees. These were the days that made living on the East Coast so beautiful in the autumn. Peter touched his son’s knee.

“I need to talk to you about my investigation,” Peter said. This was one of the first times he had been alone with Scott in some time.

“Here? Now?” Scott said, trying to keep his expression from changing too much.

“I don’t want to speak to you on a device. I came here to give this speech so that I could see you. I took your suspicions seriously.”

“I told you!”

“Stop it. Don’t look excited. We’re being filmed, and there are a thousand lip readers out there. Look at me and listen. Don’t speak.”

“Okay.”

Peter talked to Scott as he scratched at his nose. He looked like he had an itchy nose, but in reality, the gesture blocked his lips from all the main camera angles.

“You were right, but you need to keep what you know a secret. It’s very important. And very dangerous if you don’t. Nod if you understand me?”

Scott nodded.

“This is the hardest part. You can’t confirm to anyone that there is no alien threat to our planet. Not even to your mom or Bri.”

“You’re not telling Mom?” Scott asked, surprised.

“Not sure yet. Now, Scott, who else knows about this? How are they connected to us? Cover your mouth.”

“Only a professor at the high school. He knew people in New Zealand.”

“So you don’t see him anymore?”

“No,” Scott lied, and immediately felt bad.

“What’s his name?”

“What will happen to him?”

“Nothing,” Peter replied honestly; it pained him to hear such distrust in his son’s voice.

“Please, just keep him out of this. He’s harmless,” Scott pleaded.

“Fine, just tell me what you know about the artist.”

Before Scott answered, Peter moved on to rubbing his eyebrows and temples, essentially covering his face.

“Ramirez-Bulatov?”

“Yes, keep your lips covered. Whisper in my ear.”

Scott casually placed his hand on one side of his cheek and whispered the entire love affair of Sergio into his hand, cupping it to direct the sound to his father’s ear. He threw out Weta studios, Peter Jackson, the girlfriend—everything that he knew. The more Peter heard, the more he felt like he understood Ramirez-Bulatov’s attitude at the meeting the day before. At that moment, the president of the college began to speak; he would bring Peter to the podium at any moment.

“Scott—keep this to yourself. I mean it!” Peter said urgently.

“Yes sir,” Scott promised.

Scott was exhilarated. He had been right, and now the president of the world knew the truth—all thanks to him. He felt overjoyed, but tried to act naturally. He felt like a kid trapped in a candy store, but he was also proud of his dad.

Peter made his way to the podium and began a rather boring speech on the virtues of education and parental responsibility. He had purposefully made the speech short. He ended by sharing his warm feelings toward his alma mater.

“So, as we stand here in this campus of higher education, which gives me such wonderful memories, I reiterate to the student body that it is not unreasonable to legislate childbirth. I don’t even think it conflicts with your present plans. This directive might not prevent all of the world’s problems, but it will steer us onto the path toward sustainable life. I sincerely hope that you understand the purpose of this new legislation and that it will allow you to become responsible, healthy, and happy adults. Now, I’m going to visit my son’s classes and his dorm room. After all, I’m a parent before a president.”

The audience clapped, but far in the back, Peter could see some detractors with signs that had crossed-out lines over the AmEarth logo, a few with Alien Lies posters, and even some Jesus posters scattered in there. However, the vast majority of the campus, like the vast majority of the world, liked Peter. Peter signaled Scott to get up from his chair and stand with him at the podium. Scott was reluctant, but Barbara, the ever-proud mother standing next to Peter, motioned for Scott to get off his butt. He couldn’t say no to her. All three saluted the crowd and then the trio exited the stage.

“Barbara, go with the Secret Service to the helicopter. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes,” Peter instructed her.

“But I’d like to see his dorm as well,” Barbara argued.

“Barb, this is important. I’ll explain later.”

Barbara shrugged her shoulders and headed toward the helicopter. Peter was left alone with Scott.

“Where is your computer?” Peter whispered in Scott’s ear.

“In my room,” Scott replied.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Peter smiled at the crowd, shaking hands and signing some autographs as he moved through them. The Secret Service scrambled in a web around him and Scott, pushing the crowd away as they made it out of the stage area and onto the path that led to John Jay Hall. Peter walked at a determined pace, and Scott struggled to keep up. Then, Peter grabbed Scott affectionately by the neck and slowed to walk with him at the same pace. It was a rare gesture from his father, and Scott felt a wave of reassurance. They stayed ahead of the Secret Service detail of six men, who followed closely, in addition to about thirty other agents on roofs and in doorways, offering support to the local police. Once they entered the hall, Scott found his room and they entered, stopping at the threshold to instruct the detail waiting outside.

“No one comes in. Not even the roommate. Is that clear?” Peter told the head of the detail.

“Yes, sir,” the stocky man answered.

Peter closed the door behind them. The small dorm room had two old beds, two wardrobes, two dressers, and two desks all crammed into a rather tiny space. It looked like the desks repelled the articles that should have been on them, and the smell of dirty clothes permeated the room. Nothing was where Peter would have imagined it to be.

“Okay, get it,” Peter said simply.

“Get what?” Scott responded, not catching on.

“The computer. Let me see it.”

Peter opened the laptop and waited. He typed in Kepler 3763 in the search bar. Nothing showed up.

“Where is it?” Peter demanded.

“I deleted it,” Scott answered, trying to sound convincing.

“Do you have a printed copy?”

“No.”

“The only copy you ever read was in here?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to have to destroy this computer.”

“What? No! I have all my shit on there! I’ll flunk!”

“You have ten seconds to show me the document or you can kiss this computer good-bye.” Scott could see that his father was not kidding.

“Fine.”

Scott typed a new search term:

01

The computer immediately showed a folder. Scott clicked the folder, and it opened to reveal a PDF also named 01. He opened it, and the Kepler document appeared.

“Okay, now move,” Peter commanded.

Peter sat at the computer and dragged the file to the trash, where he then used a secure empty trash.

“All that crap about responsibility in your speech and you don’t even trust your own son,” Scott said, although he knew that it was a weak argument.

“Well, you lied, and you’re too young to understand, anyway,” Peter snapped back.

“But I wasn’t going to show it to anyone.”

“That’s not the point. A lot of things could happen. Your roommate could find it. You might have your computer cloned or spied on by enemies of AmEarth and the first family. I don’t know and I don’t care. This needs to be erased from our lives.”

“You hate me.”

“Don’t be silly, Scott. I’m doing this to protect you.”

“But AmEarth can be destroyed with that evidence. Others have it.”

“Scott, listen to me closely. If others use it, then they will be the only thing that will be destroyed. AmEarth will survive as long as the directives are followed.”

“How do you know this?”

“I asked the supercomputer,” Peter lied.

“Did you ask what would happen if everyone knew Kepler 3763 didn’t sustain life?”

“Not in those words, but it did say that aliens do exist. And they probably do.”

“But we’re not in touch with them.” Scott wasn’t going to roll over on this issue that easily.

“So what? It’s us against them. Period. That fact has united the world. Don’t you see? If Kepler is debunked, there are other planets to take its place. AmEarth can and will say whatever it needs to survive. Always. AmEarth controls the information that reaches eight billion people. No one has ever been able to handle that power. Who will inform eight billion people, credibly, that those Kepler aliens don’t exist? I doubt YouTube could handle it.”

“Dad. I’m sorry for lying, but…”

“It’s okay, Scott. I understand your desire for the truth. Believe me, I’m shocked myself, but we need to be on the winning side. You can’t survive with ideals alone. Governing is about the spin placed on the truth to perpetuate the work needed to advance our civilization.”

“I’m just disappointed.”

“I know. Me too.”

After a short pause, Peter continued with a more important thought.

“You can only talk to me about this, Scott. And even then, only in person and absolutely nothing on your wafer. We should have a code when we need to meet in person.”

“I’ll tell you I am worried about Han.”

“Okay, Han it is.”

They hugged, another rare moment of affection between the two men, as though this secret bonded them more than their blood.

“Come with me to the helicopter. Do you want to come home with us tonight?” Peter asked, hoping his son would agree.

“No, I’ll just say good-bye to Mom. I need to study.”

“Okay. And Scott, clean this mess up and do your laundry, for god’s sake!”

“Yes sir!” Scott agreed and laughed.

Scott actually thought that deleting the Kepler document was a relief. Mr. Landon still had his copy, though. He could do whatever he wanted with it, but Scott had to warn him of the consequences!

Scott felt that he was now free to study and go on with his life. A great weight was lifted off his back that afternoon. The same weight shifted on to Peter’s back, but he gladly accepted it in his role as a father.