Best Intentions

“Mark, it appears that your charitable activities have drawn the attention of members of the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have been monitoring any references to System Mineral Resources and communications within and between those two agencies suggest that an active investigation has begun.”

“When did this start, CJ? When we started selling precious metals?”

“Negative, Mark. The investigation appears to have been instigated by the large donations to the children’s charities.”

“So they didn’t care how we made the money, just that we are giving it away? Boy, that’s lame! Will the company stand up to their scrutiny?”

“That depends upon the level of competence of the investigating personnel.”

“That sounds like the setup for a good joke. Well, I guess after moving so much money around it was inevitable it would attract the wrong kind of attention. We can’t count on them being totally incompetent though.” Mark sighed. “Please let me know when they get close to figuring it out.”

“Affirmative.”

“Since this program will be coming to an end, I want to fund as many charities as possible in the time remaining. How much is left in the corporate accounts and what are we still waiting for?”

“At present there is roughly two hundred million dollars in the accounts with another one hundred million in receivables.”

“Not too bad considering I used to work for less then eight hundred dollars a week,” Mark thought.

“Let’s stop taking new orders and fulfill the one’s that have already been placed.”

“What would you like done with the funds?”

“Lets split the bulk of it among the last of the charities we have earmarked. Hold back a few million though.”

“How should the remaining money be utilized?”

“That’s easy, CJ. Hire us the best law firm to fight the investigation. The longer we can tie everything up, the more time we have to finish that part of our work without their interference.”

“Affirmative, Mark. Everything will be handled as you directed.”

Mark put the matter out of his mind knowing that CJ would handle it, leaving Mark focus on other matters. “By the way CJ, how is our construction project coming along?”

“Assembly will be completed and the structure ready for deployment within six hours.”

“That’s great, CJ. I’m tired of looking at that hole in the ground in New York. Something should have been built or at least started there, already. We’ll put it up when the investigation of SM&R gets close to discovering the truth. It should prove most distracting. Let’s have a look at it, please.”

“Affirmative, Mark. It is on the screen now.”

The holographic viewer switched from its current view of the Earth from the orbital surveillance satellites to the construction area two hundred meters off CJ’s starboard side. There was a dark shape surrounded by hundreds of pieces of construction machinery.

“Let’s have some light on the subject please, CJ.”

As the floods came on, the shape took on sharp contours. Faceted like some gigantic jewel, the structure floated in place.

“Wow, that’s beautiful,” Mark thought. “Won’t everyone be surprised!”

“How about the display system, is it fully functional yet?” I’d like to see the message please, CJ.”

The sides of the structure glowed and words scrolled around the sides. They were small down near one end and became progressively larger as the moved along the surface. GREETINGS TO THE PEOPLE OF….

“Perfect,” Mark thought.

“Thanks, CJ. That is exceptional work. I can’t wait until we deliver it!”

The investigation dragged out for almost three months while the government butted heads with the corporate lawyers, but eventually Mark received a call from the firm with the bad news. All legal avenues had been exhausted and court orders were forthcoming. SMR would be forced to turn over all operating and financial records.

“Ok, CJ. I guess that is that! Can you make System Mineral Resources disappear? Pay the lawyers and move the remaining money into accounts in a different bank?”

“The transactions will be completed within one half hour, Mark. All computer records will be expunged. No trace of the corporation’s existence will remain. The investigating agencies files will be deleted as well.”

“Good, I want them to be confused. So, now that you’re taking care of that, maybe it’s time we took a more direct hand in the world’s future. The ocean cleanup has been going well. Have you pinpointed other areas that need to be cleaned?”

“Affirmative, Mark. Governments have ignored numerous contaminated areas. Large quantities of radioactive waste materials are being stored around nuclear power plants as well. Short-term storage of this level of hazardous waste is insufficient, it must be neutralized.”

“Can you do anything about that, CJ? I thought your people had not used these types of reactors for a long time?”

“That is true, Mark. However, radioactive waste material left over from the past century was stored and needed to be eliminated. Bioengineering proved effective for this task. Cadmium based bacterium was developed which is able to feed on radioactivity from the waste as well as the contaminated materials rendering it neutral.”

“That’s great, but do you have any of the bacteria on the board, or are you able to produce any of it?”

“Affirmative, Mark. A small supply is kept in stasis for the decontamination of mineralogical specimens. They will become active upon their introduction to any radiation source.”

“CJ, what happens to them after they finish their work? Could they be dangerous to the Earth?”

“Negative, Mark. They become attuned to the specific wavelengths of radiation and require a constant source to survive. When the radiation is depleted they will cease to function and die. The engineered biology does not allow for any type of mutation to survive.”

CJ’s explanation gave Mark another idea how they could be used. “Could they be used in other ways, like maybe to deactivate nuclear weapons?”

“Affirmative, Mark. If they were paired with Nano-scale construction machinery, they would be capable of penetrating the weapons’ outer casings. They would decay the radioactive core of a weapon even faster than ordinary waste due to the greater concentration of radioactivity.”

“Would anyone be able to detect the change while they are in progress?”

“Human designed radiation detectors would not detect the degradation of a weapons core until it had progressed beyond the point of effectiveness.”

“CJ, I think you just told me how to make the world a little bit safer. Here’s how I think we should handle this.”

Five days later several small transports loaded with new equipment left one of the ship’s small craft bays and headed to Earth. They activated the shielding that rendered them undetectable then went their separate ways.

The first one released capsules of the radiation-consuming bacteria into storage pools up and down the eastern half of the United States where they started to feed.

Another covered the few in the western U.S. and then moved on to Canada.

Two others covered most of Eastern Europe and one each was assigned to England and France.

One of the ships however had a special mission. It headed towards North Korea carrying the modified Nanotech machines CJ had constructed that could penetrate the storage facilities where their supply of nuclear material was kept as well as the casings of the completed nuclear weapons themselves.

“Within a week or so, the world will be a somewhat safer place,” Mark thought to himself.

He toyed with the idea of using this technology on all of the weapons of the world’s nuclear arsenals, but decided against it for the time being. That wouldn’t get him cooperation from the major world governments, and he would need that cooperation eventually.

CJ dispatched several modules to deal with more conventional contaminated sites around the world. Toxic waste dumping sites and the oil and fuel soaked tailings from open pit mines were scooped up in the night and decontaminated.

News reports of strange happenings all over the world appeared. People were beginning to take notice.

“Well, CJ. I guess when a mountain of garbage disappears overnight someone is bound to notice. Maybe it is time to let the world know who its benefactor has been. We can start with our construction project. When can you arrange to deliver it?”

“A storm will be over the New York metropolitan area tonight. Cloud seeding can enhance it to cover the activity at the construction site.”

“That’s perfect, CJ. Let’s do it!”

Under cover of the rainstorm, three of CJ’s modules dropped out of the sky with a large glassy cylinder between them held in tow beams.

As they approached the ground, a swarm of smaller crafts exits one of them and heads into the pit. Intense heat beams spear into the earth turning bedrock molten. The modules lower the building and pilings projecting from its base sink into the liquid rock sizzling from the rain’s contact.

Deeper they went until the actual building bottom hit and spread the molten rock which welled up the sides until it was level with the street.

The lava was smoothed and cooled by machines. The building was now anchored to the earth. One of the modules drops to the ground and a ramp extended from one facet.

Mobile construction machines exited and began to sculpt the grounds around the tower and build the memorials, within two hours the work was complete. Machines spent the last few minutes removing fencing that surrounded the construction pit. The drones filed back aboard and the ships lifted back into the sky.

“That went well, CJ. No one saw anything, is that correct?” Mark said while he sat watching an enhanced view of the process.

“Scanners in the modules did not detect anyone in the vicinity of the construction and the rainfall concealed the work from anyone farther away.”

“That is just what I had hoped for, CJ.” Mark smiled thinking that things should be pretty darn interesting come morning. “Please activate the message just before dawn local time.”

“Affirmative, Mark.”

“Meanwhile, prepare to leave the Moon’s orbit, CJ. I think it’s time we headed closer to Earth. Put us into orbit over the United States, please.”

“Affirmative, Mark. Five thousand kilometers should be an effective orbital height for observation. I will utilize the shields to mask our presence.”

“Yes, CJ. Let’s take this slow. This ship is big and we don’t want to scare anyone.”

The next morning an early express bus passed the World Trade Center site as it had every morning since the tower debris had been cleared. This morning the driver slammed on his brakes instead of just driving by. Everyone sat and stared at the dark glass tower sitting where there had been nothing but a fenced off hole in the ground yesterday.

People started to gather around the structure, craning their necks and staring upwards but the smooth sides disappeared in the remains of the early morning fog. People several blocks away could see the building reappear above the fog and continue up into the sky.

Except for its height, it didn’t appear much different from other glass-sided skyscrapers.

Blocky three-dimensional holographic letters marched across the surface and around the sides about ten meters above the ground. They were also duplicated in larger sizes higher up the sides, but the message was the same.

GREETINGS TO THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK;

WELCOME TO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER MEMORIAL TOWER.

The message repeated scrolling around the structure again and again. The crowd of onlookers grew to street clogging proportions before police and news crews arrived on the scene, setting up barricades to keep the curious back.

Pictures were broadcast and helicopters flew alongside and over the top. A path led up to the base of the hexagonal-shaped structure, but there was no entrance visible. A police officer walked up and placed his hands on the surface, leaning against it as he tried to look into the building. People in the crowd chuckled when his hands slipped off and he nearly landed on his face on the ground.

“This glass or whatever material it is, it’s slippery!” he exclaimed, sliding his hands over the frictionless surface. His hand did not even leave a smudge.

The officers walked toward a group of strange objects some distance from the building in a small park-like setting. There were two dozen of the three-meter tall crystals that shone with a soft inner light. Most of them were transparent, but one was blue and three were red.

When the police got close enough they noticed the three-dimensional names floating inside the crystals, twenty on each of the six facets. One officer started reading the names in the blue crystal and as he read each one, it lit up from the inside and the light faded over the course of a couple of minutes.

“These are the names of the police officers that were killed in the world trade center attack!” he exclaimed. Other officers looked into the red and clear crystals and saw that the red ones contained the names of the firefighters who were killed, and the clear held the names of all the civilians who had died.

A seam line appeared in the face of the building at the center of the path and split, sliding open to the left and right leaving a wide opening to the interior of the tower.

The crowd backed off, but when nothing else happened, they relaxed. The officer peered around the corner but the interior was dark. He stepped inside the opening.

Lights came on and the entire huge lobby was revealed through the glass walls. The ceiling must have been more than twenty meters high and the floor resembled gray and black marble laid out in an intricate mosaic pattern. The cop whistled and the echo could be heard outside. The people laughed at the sound.

Mayor Hall arrived along with the deputy mayor and the police commissioner. They were directed first to the memorial and looked at the beautiful work. They then went inside the building and just stared.

Giant screens hanging in the air were broadcasting many news and financial channels. Banks of elevators on two levels had sleek escalators leading to the upper banks. Several concierge and security desks dotted the giant space.

“Hello, Mayor Hall,” said Mark’s voice from thin air in the atrium. “How do you like my gift?”

“Hello, who is this and where are you? How did this building get here?”

Mark’s image appeared on all of the screens. “My name is Mark Richards, Mr. Mayor. As to where I am, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. As to how this building got here, let’s just say I just got tired of being reminded of the terrorist attack by this big hole in the ground. I happen to have a talented friend and this building is a small example of what he can do.”

Staring up at one of the screens Mayor Hall replied, “That’s a touching memorial you added outside in the park.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I was a witness to the terrible events of that day and wouldn’t want anyone to think I forgot the people who lost their lives.”

“You said I wouldn’t believe where you are, Mr. Richards. Why don’t you try me and we’ll see.”

“Well, let me put it this way, if you take the elevator to the top floor, you will still be four thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight kilometers below me.”

Reflexively looking up, the mayor said, “While that sounds fantastic, so is the overnight appearance of a huge building. I believe what you say, just don’t quote me on that to the papers.”

The mayor could hear Mark chuckling. “Thanks Mr. Mayor. Please feel free to have a look around. I suggest a trip to the rooftop observation deck. It’s a hell of a view!”

The doors to one of the elevator cars opened across the lobby and the mayor and his party walked over and got in. The mayor pressed the button for floor 400: Sky-Deck, the doors closed and the car accelerated.

The trip took less than two and a half minutes to complete, making it one of the fastest elevators in the world. When the doors opened, they were in a vast open space under a cube composed of a perfectly transparent material, which gave an unobstructed 360-degree view.

Looking up and out the sides while walking over to the outer wall the mayor exclaimed, “This is fantastic! What a view. Mr. Richards, you say this is a gift to New York? A building like this must have cost hundreds of millions to construct.”

“That is correct, Mr. Mayor. I mean that it is a gift, not the cost. You see it cost me less to build this structure than to ride the subway. The materials come from the asteroids, and robots did all the labor.”

“That is completely fantastic, Mr. Richards.”

“Let me give you a brief rundown of the buildings features. You can also get this information from any of the public access terminals throughout the structure. It is 1,776 meters tall and has 400 floors, 385 of which are office space. The remaining floors consist of five sky lobbies and ten observation floors including this one. It is completely self-contained and self-sufficient, so no connection to the power grid or water and sewage is necessary. Don’t ask me to explain the technology that makes that possible though, it’s beyond me.” Mark laughed. “New York should hold the record for the world’s tallest building for quite some time to come.”

“Thank you for this on behalf of all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Hall. “This is an amazing gift for the city.”

“While I appreciate your thanks, Mr. Mayor, they aren’t necessary. New York is my home city and helping to keep it great is my pleasure.”

“If I may ask, Mr. Richards, how did you acquire the ability to travel in space and build something like this incredible building?”

“That’s a long story, Mr. Mayor, and one I’m not quite ready to tell yet. I have to sign off now but enjoy the building.”

“Oh, I assure you, we will, and thank you again.”

The Mayor was wrong, at least at first.

Military and government personnel moved in and took over the site. No one was allowed to enter or occupy the building. Not until, they determined it to be safe. Mark knew that the government would try to wring any secrets out of it, but CJ assured him that they would learn nothing.

Telescopes and satellites scanned the skies over New York and indeed all around the globe looking for some kind of space ship. Nothing was found. This led to some ridiculous speculation that the whole thing was some enormous hoax.

The U.S. government went through the motions, only to avoid letting people know that they already had information on the mysterious Mark Richards.

****

“Well, Roger. We have been monitoring Mark Richard’s activities and suppressing them where possible, which has not been easy I can tell you. But now it looks like he has decided to go public in a big way. At least we can study that building for clues regarding that ship’s technology.”

“Ok, Doug. Send a team to New York to investigate the building, but somehow I just don’t think it will be that easy.”

The men sent to New York studied the building intently. Everything seemed to be exactly as Mark had said. There were no connections evident for power or water to the outside, but there was electricity in every office and public space and clean water from every tap as well.

They went down to the lowest sub-level; five stories belowground and tried to cut into the foundation. Nothing they had could penetrate the impossibly hard material. Half a dozen diamond-tipped drill heads shattered trying to penetrate it.

Ultrasound probing from several locations revealed a two-meter diameter sphere of a dense, but liquid mass below the building. Its purpose was unknown and the scientists speculated correctly that it was some sort of energy reservoir for the structure.

The outer surface of the building looked like glass, was steel-tough and coated with a substance that rendered it as close to completely frictionless as could be measured.

There were even controls to tint, or clear the strange material in every office space, but from the outside it always looked the same. Even though the building was over a mile in height, no sway to the structure could be detected despite the wind.

Engineers claimed that that was impossible without some sort of tremendous counterweight near the top of the building, but one did not exist.

“Doug, it’s been a month and the men you sent haven’t learned anything,” said President Stone. “We receive daily calls from both New York’s mayor and governor. They want to know when our men will be finished with the inspection. I think it’s time we let the building be occupied. We can’t keep delaying it.”

“Yes, Roger. I guess you’re right. It galls me that we haven’t been able to learn anything though!”