***
Jake had always known welding was not an easy job - he did not expect anything to come easy, but he really could not come to terms with what he was about to do. Flipping the protective visor and donning a pair of really snug-fitting gloves – Jo claimed they were flame-proof, flame-retardant, self-cooling, heat-proof, tear-proof and idiot-proof, the ultimate Wanda-Glove. Must be another one of the government’s best kept secrets, like the fancy sand-polymer, the PTI and of course, a multi-fitted nuclear weapons delivery system, he figured.Life could not get any more confusing. He had spent the whole of last night reading up on Dynaco and land development laws. Dynaco had recently been the talk of the town, with mentions in every single newspaper, economics and finance magazine, politico-blogs and all forms of media. It was no surprise that Chris had picked up on it. He had even asked the right people about it.
A land developing company that had only recently started making the news, it seemed that most media companies did not even know much about it. What they did know, however, was that it was American-owned and it was going up in flames. Not a single public figure headed the company, and most statements were released via an official spokesperson – and he/she/it was never present or seen.
Dynaco took credit for some of the most massive developments in the country, dating back to the early 1900s, when America was growing its fastest. The elusive company had survived the Great Depression, two world-wars, multiple economic crashes, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, it was like one of those strange, weird companies that never died out or even suffered a dent, kind of like the company that made post-it notes, Jake mused comically. Now it was going up in flames, as stated by the mysterious spokesperson - the elusive spokesperson. All correspondence was via radio-interviews and net-based transmissions. He did not even know where their head office was.
Conspiracy theorists claimed that Dynaco was just a shell company co-owned by the DOD, NORAD, SITE – which he had learned stood for Search for International Terrorist Entities, an intelligence group, and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. What puzzled Jake, however, was the link between land acquisition, its development and all these violent-sounding agencies and companies. And how 1 trillion dollars of “unsupported accounting entries” was tied into it. And where had these theorists learned about this connection? Was it pure conjecture? Why was everything shrouded in mystery? It was all beginning to look like some kind of fiction novel written by some spook who was previously in employ of the government now bitter about how he had been “terminated”.
Grunting with confusion, he began welding the first part of the weapons casing. According to Jo, any nuclear “bomb” under the weight of 2.4 tonnes and within the dimensions of the pay-load carrier would be mounted onto and into the weapons-delivery. It was truly a remarkable feat. A multi-fitted weapons delivery device, designed to help the nasties ease the problem of having to build the bomb and the delivery system. He wondered if it was Jo’s idea, since she was the only weapons expert and particle physicist in the team.
The first part to be built would be the mounting base, for which Jo had provided detailed schematics and dimensions. The mounting base would serve to hold the pay-load carrier. James created the world’s first guided air-to-land nuclear-weapons delivery system, according to Fallon. Jake had learnt early on in the project that most air-to-land nuclear bombs were delivered with the darling help of gravity, also called free-fall bombing. The concept was simple enough; fly over the area of intended bombing and drop the bomb. What James had designed was a specific end-point for the bomb delivery, kind of like how fighter jets fixed onto their moving targets and used missiles on them. Aerial bombing had not looked so good since the time it had started, just before World War 1.
Having had to study how missiles worked, Jake now knew that the idea was based on the initial ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missiles) and SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) targeting software. Jake realised James had to be as brilliant as Jo. Land to air, with good targeting was hard enough, the smarty-pants had designed software for air to land with deadly accuracy. Jo had explained to him that missile defence would be the only problem when dropping the bomb, mostly because countries like America and Russia were well prepared, and they could destroy the missile before it landed – that problem was solved, at least partially, by the fact that stealth bombers would be carrying it.
Tired from the sparks flying from the molyb sheets he was moulding, Jake removed his gear and decided it was time to get some answers from Fallon – or to punch him in the face, depending on which way Fallon decided to go. Climbing out of the basement, Jake heard Fallon singing a Spice Girls song and could not help but laugh.
“Hey Ugly Spice, I have a few questions and you’re going to answer them!” Jake said; loud enough to send nuts and wires flying from Fallon’s hands.
“Ooo Hades, you’ve decided to surface from your underground hell? Isn’t hot down there?” Fallon responded promptly. “I personally don’t quite care if it’s a furnace down there. Now what bloody questions do you want answered? Do I look like a Google search-engine? Shithead.”
“You look like Jeeves. I’ll get straight to the point, and if you don’t answer me, you’re going to end up like the metal scraps downstairs. What does Dynaco have to do with what we’re building?” Jake asked, going for a menacing look.
“Ah. Jo said you’d choose me. Think you can bully me into answers? No need. I’ll tell you, but it’s a distinct possibility that you wouldn’t understand,” Fallon replied. “Now, before we move on, you need to know why nuclear weapons are built. What their purpose is. Who these bombs are built for. The concept is purely humane, though judging by the look on your ugly mug, you have no idea why people build bombs.”
“To be honest, I don’t know why anyone would even build nuclear bombs. The idea of it makes me sick.”
“Nuclear weapons are built for one thing, and one thing only. As a deterrent. If I have a gun and you have a gun, if we decided to ape-shit cowboy on each other, what do you think would happen?” Fallon asked, knowing Jake was floundering.
“You’d end up dead, and trust me, if you don’t start getting straight with me, you’ll end up dead a lot earlier than expected,” Jake snapped instantly.
“No. We’d both end up dead, in theory at least, though we both know I have much more experience with guns than you do. Now, mutual death would serve no purpose, am I right?” Fallon said as Jake nodded in response. “Mutually assured destruction. It’s brilliant. You have a nuclear bomb, I have a nuclear bomb. Don’t fuck with me and drop a nuke on me, because I’ll do the same to you. The cycle of response will continue, practically assuring our death. That is the concept of mutually assured destruction, in a nutshell at least. It’s actually much more beautiful and poetic than that, but you’ll have to ask Jo for the flowery version.”
“Okay. Got it. Mutually assured destruction. Don’t bomb they guy who has a bomb. Got it. Nuclear warfare is non-existent, then?” Jake asked, side-tracked by the new information.
“It isn’t a question of whether it exists, the question is if nuclear warfare is imminent. Wow!” Fallon said with a sigh. “I’m so deep, I kill myself. Now, since you understand why nuclear weapons are made, you may repeat your question, but think before you ask.”
“Screw you, midget. What does Dynaco have to do with what we’re building? Especially now that we know that they’re not going to use our weapons delivery system,” Jake pressed.
“Ahhh. Dynaco, actually is the world’s most powerful land-developing company on the planet. If one were to ask Sun Tzu what he felt was the most important resource and amenity on the planet, what do you think he’d say? Oil? Precious stones? What natural resource is the most important to mankind?”
“Uh...” Jake realised Fallon was veering off into Sun Tzu’s battlefield, as he did so often.
“Land. L-A-N-D is the most important thing on the planet. Not water, we can make water by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Not oil, that shit is fucking worthless without processing. Processing is done where? On fucking land. Land. Land. Land. Don’t ever forget it. The Chinese fought for control over land. The Romans conquered so many communities for what? Land. We fight for what? Land. Get that straight. We need land. Before you think about the resources found on the land, you have to think about whether or not the land is attainable. Are you following so far, num-nuts?”
“Fuck you. Keep talking talking, tiny,” Jake said, trying to figure out what Dynaco wanted the weapons-delivery system for.
“Now... simple. Let’s count it down, since you’re challenged in the logic department. One! We know that nuclear weapons were designed for the sole-purpose of M.A.D. – mutually assured destruction. Two! We know Dynaco ‘claims’ to be in financial trouble. Three! We know that the greatest amenity on the planet is land. Four! Dynaco needs land in order to develop land. Five! We are building something that could wipe out entire cities. Six!” Fallon continued, rhythmically.
“Wait, wait, wait. So you mean to say that Dynaco commissioned this weapons-delivery system so they could ‘threaten’ the world into giving them tenders and land projects? That’s just stupid!” Jake growled.
“You’re an idiot. That’s all I can say. Have you not been listening? MAD! Land! Nukes! Easy-peasy! Nuke an island, lay the blame on someone else, acquire the land and raise your flag! Jesus Christ! I don’t know how you made it through kindergarten! Now ask me how Sun Tzu would recommend control of land,” Fallon laughed.
“Nuke an island, lay the blame, acquire the land, raise your flag. That’s brilliant and all, but...”
DISCLAIMER: This is a fictional story and serves with all intentions and purposes for entertaiment. Any concept, idea or person mentioned in the story of The Builder is completely fictional. Any similarities, apart from scientific facts and historical events, are purely unintentional.
Fancy reading about ICBMs, SLBMs and MAD ? Google search or Ask Jeeves!
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