Chapter II
China's Secret Weapon
Headquarters of the Ministry of State Security, Beijing, People's Republic of China
June 7th, 2011
Wu Mae paced down the brightly lit white-washed corridor, trailed by the Minister of State Security, Hui Siwu, the Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army, Gou Hanzhou, and Special Agent Huo Mingzhu, of the MSS.
"Comrade Gou, is the PLA ready to undertake an invasion of the United States of America, given support from MSS special agents?" Wu Mae asked.
"Yes, Comrade Chairwoman. The PLA awaits your orders."
"Good. Now, Special Agent Huo, what is your ability, exactly?" Mae asked the pretty young woman besides her.
"My ability is Reprobatactesis, or the ability to make any person feel how I want them to feel. I can make people feel pain, pleasure, hot, cold, any sensation governed by the sense of touch."
"So, you can help us with the Uighur (WEE-ger) if, for some reason, my ability fails to work?"
"Yes, Comrade Chairwoman. But why would your ability fail to work?"
"Well, having the power of persuasion is never absolute. If someone is whole-heartedly and absolutely set against what I tell them to do, they won't do it or they will do it poorly. If you give added incentive, it boosts my sway over our subject."
"I see, Comrade Chairwoman."
The group arrived at a metal door that sported a keypad above the handle. Wu Mae punched in the code, 2498, the lock clicked, and she opened the door. The room which the group entered was small and dim, lit by a single light-bulb protruding from the centre of the ceiling. Directly below the light-bulb, strapped to a table, was the Uighur, looking immensely frightened.
"You are probably wondering why in Allah's name you have woken up here, in the basement of the MSS, rather than in your small hovel outside of Urumqi. It is because your country needs you. You see, Arazan, you are a very special young man. You have the potential to do great things, Arazan, but only if you co-operate. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"Yes, Premier." he said in a monotonous voice. His eyes were glazed over, as if he had dozed off.
"Good. Now, what I want you to do is to follow this young lady here," Wu Mae gestured to Huo Mingzhu, "to a special chamber. When you arrive there, you will allow yourself to be strapped in, and you will hold perfectly still for thirty minutes. After that, we will compensate you for your services and send you back to Urumqi. Does that sound good?"
"Yes, Premier."
"Very good." She then proceeded to undo the bonds which held him on the table, and he rose, zombie-like, to follow Huo Mingzhu out of the room. The others followed behind them, with Wu Mae being the last out. Back down the hallway they went, then up a lot of stairs (much to Wu Mae's dismay), then out a door to what appeared to be a satellite dish on the roof with a man-sized chamber below it.
"In the chamber, Arazan." Huo Mingzhu said. Once the Uighur had climbed into the chamber, he was locked in place by bonds around his wrists, ankles, and waist, and a fitted helmet attached to a bundle of wires was attached to his skull. A tube attached to a needle was shoved into his arm by Huo Mingzhu, but so strong was Wu Mae's command that he didn't flinch.
Wu Mae reached into the right breast pocket of her suit and removed a Water-Lily Phone, which was SinaCorp's (the Chinese equivalent of Google, AT&T, and Mac all rolled into one) answer to the iPhone. Wu Mae's had been specially altered to have the best encryption of any device in the world by the Diantian, short for "Diànnǎo tiāncái", or "Computer Geek." These were those that the MSS had found who had intellectual powers, so had been used to further Chinese technology, specifically in the military department.
Wu Mae punched in no less than three different codes before she put the phone to her ear. It rang twice before being picked up.
"Hello, this is General Zhixi."
"Good afternoon General Zhixi, this is Premier Wu Mae. I am calling to inform you that stage one of Operation Red Star can proceed whenever you are ready."
"Thank you, Comrade Wu. It will proceed immediately."
"You are welcome, Comrade," she said as she hung up. Huo Mingzhu finished targeting the beam from the computer console that sprouted from the side of the chamber where the Uighur was confined.
"I await only your orders, Comrade Premier." she said, looking expectantly at Wu.
"In the name of the People's Republic of China, I order you to eliminate the nuclear arsenals of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation."
"As you wish, Comrade Premier." Mingzhu turned to the computer, and activated the beam.
…
Mt. Aspen Missile Range, Colorado, USA
June 7th, 2011
Sergeant Thomas Sparks was the quintessential grunt. Square jaw, buzz cut, and big muscles. He thought he should be deployed in Iraq, or Afghanistan, but no. He was on guard duty for the nuclear missile silo at Mt. Aspen, which he thought mind-numbingly boring. He longed for some action, some excitement.
He was about to get more excitement that he bargained for. Suddenly, the ground shook, and massive explosions erupted from the silos. See, the process of "eliminating" NATO's nuclear arsenals involved using ion beams to de-stabilise the radioactive material, violently rendering it inert. So, although the base had not experienced twenty nuclear explosions, it had just experienced the explosive equivalent of all the bombs dropped on Pearl Harbour, which certainly rattled Sergeant Thomas.
…
Rooftop of the Ministry of State Security, Beijing, People's Republic of China
June 7th, 2011
"Comrade Chairwoman, all unfriendly nuclear assets have been neutralised."
"Good. Gou, give the 2nd Artillery Corps free reign. Tell them they can begin smart-bombing all military targets in Taiwan, Hawaii, and Alaska. Our own missile defence systems are fully operational, yes?"
"Yes, Comrade Chairwoman."
"Good, good. Now, I need to make a statement announcing the beginning of the long-awaited liberation of Taiwan." Wu Mae then turned and left, followed by the Minister of State Security and the Chief of Staff of the PLA.