Pentagon
0230GMT 2100 local- 5/3/2010
Henry Schneider was waiting for Gates inside his room. He was exactly acting the way Schneider wanted him to. He just needed the codes…
“So you are still here? I have debriefed the plan to the general.”
“Without even consulting me?”
Gates sighed, “I don’t need to ask you about my responsibilities, for God’s sake.”
Schneider paused for a moment, “So, what’s your brilliant plan?”
“We wait for the scientists to reach safe haven. Then we attack with the SWAT team. Kill all the damn bastards we find inside.”
“That’s what your problem is, Gates. You feel that every problem has this pathetic solution. What will the SWAT do? They can’t combat people who have an arsenal of guns which literally shock you to death.”
“So what should I do? Wait for them to get cancer? I just can’t stand here and watch in silence while they infiltrate the whole defense of USA. What other option do I have? ”
Schneider took a crucial moment of silence, “Well, there is always the atomic bomb.”
Gates went speechless. He couldn't get the exact words to describe that idea. After a few moments, he got his speech back, “ARE YOU INSANE? Do you realize that 10 towns are close-by? The whole district is in danger, JAGUAR IS IN DANGER.”
“Look at the big picture, Gates. How many people know that a laboratory exists near that area? You can easily relocate those people. Just give a false alarm… tornado or something. Then give a damn nuke to those *************. You can do that. Then a send team to seal off the area; absorb all the radiations; Clear the area and you’re done”
“What about Jaguar?”
“I can HACK into it. Just give me the codes to blue gene.”
“NEVER”, Gates would never give someone something as precious as the password codes to Blue Gene.
“Listen, you send some damn team, and lose half the members in the fight, which has a 30% success rate. With a nuke attack, its 100% sure; they all will be minced meat. We have a day, just clear the area, and go full out. And about Jaguar, I know you are in love with that supercomputer; to save that we need the help of another supercomputer. Blue Gene is capable of hacking into Jaguar. We transfer all the files, set up temporary workstations and Blue Gene will be as fast as Jaguar. If you help, I might actually save Jaguar. Just go for it, tiger.”
Gates thought for a while. Then, “ OK, but you will NOT get the codes. I will come with you.”
After a pause, “Agreed”.
Gates went to inform the meteorology department about a tornado strike in Tennessee. While he was preparing for the nuclear attack, Henry Seinfeld Schneider smiled inwardly. He was finally going to get access to Blue Gene.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
05000GMT 0015 local-5/3/2010
Peter was walking down the aisle with Joshua, heading for Cray Jaguar. He was still unable to say anything; gaping at the person who he thought died six months ago. How was it possible? He wanted answers, and he wanted it right now!
Joshua sensed his curiosity and tried to explain the whole matter, “I'm really sorry, P. It was part of the act. Collingwood told me about Schneider, and his devious plan. So we decided that it was best for me to feign death. He was almost about to know that I’m a time sequencer, and I possibly couldn’t give away that position, so there. I hope you understand.”
“No, I don’t. I didn’t understand a single effing thing. First of all, who is this Blackadder or Schneider? What did he want from me? Why did he mistake me for you? AND WHO THE HELL IS A TIME SEQUENCER?!”
“Boy, didn’t Collingwood explain you time sequences?”
“That’s the only thing he did.”
“Oh boy, there’s a lot of explaining to do. We better go there.” saying that he grabbed hold of peter, and peter suddenly felt as if he was made to sit on a totally gruesome roller coaster, with no start or end. Surprisingly, this experience lasted only for 1 second. When he opened his eyes, he saw the whole team staring at him.
Pentagon
0330GMT 2200 local- 5/3/2010
Schneider was waiting for Gates; he was still working on the mass evacuation plan in Tennessee. It had been almost an hour. Schneider was thinking about his next move. After Gates gives in the code, he will no longer be needed; a simple piece of waste.
“Sorry for being late, let’s go.”
“About freaking time, what took you so long?”
“Sending a message to the president. Apparently, he was busy. Some sort of urgent meeting.”
Schneider felt silent. Ever since he started co-operating with Gates, Collingwood was always one step ahead of him. It was widely known that Gates was the President’s personal puppy; he would blabber everything in front of him, what if…
“Here we are; presenting before you- Blue Gene.”
Schneider was awestruck. All the answers to his questions were sealed inside this computer. It was a majestic beauty. He was able to see all the workstations through the glass panel. he couldn't resist the temptation.But he had to wait. He had to be patient.
“Only one server is limited to the user”, Gates said, pointing towards a mainframe desktop situated at the extreme right corner.
While they were walking, Schneider was trying to diverge Gates’ mind from the current matter.
“Tell me Gates. Why is Pentagon still going on with Blue Gene? No development on it at all.”
Gates chuckled. “We always give hoax information about Pentagon. Blue Gene is currently the fastest computer in the world. The speed is nearly a petaFLOP. Most of the technological resources are hell bent on making Blue Gene faster and more efficient. We are successfully able to maneuver automated rockets thanks to Blue Gene. We can hack into any mini-computer in seconds. Pentagon even has the capabilities to develop a fully operational human clone. But we just have to limit our usage, because we believe that China is closely monitoring our moves. If they get to know, then..." he sighed "anyways, here we are.”
Gates typed in the codes for running Blue Gene manually. When he finished typing the 16-digit code, he turned towards Schneider,a crack sound from out of nowhere, and then world around him turned numb and black…
