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Phase 13: Ripples
=SI=
Part 5
=SI=
SWORD HQ
New York
"We acknowledge this was a major design oversight when creating our invasion response planning," Councilor Yen spoke in precise, flawless English. "However, the only reasonable change I would have made in hindsight is adding dedicated planning for disclosing aliens and preparing our societies for it. Prince Thor could have landed in any of our countries. An assassin or a kill team could have landed in another. We still don't know if the trouble on Asgard is over or just beginning. The last thing I will say on the matter is this isn't a question of whether SHIELD can cover up the attack. The questions we must ask ourselves should we order Director Fury and SHIELD to cover the incident? Should we use this opportunity to advance our uplift agenda openly? Is attempting to hide it worth it when a follow-up attack can make all over governments look not only like incompetent fools but liars no one can trust?"
Those were good questions, General Danvers grudgingly admitted.
"The worst-case scenario, we are looking at protests, riots, and chaos across the globe," Secretary Pierce frowned. "Ideally, we should have laid down the groundwork for disclosing the existence of aliens in preparation for dealing with future incursions as a part of establishing SWORD," He raised a hand. "That is not an accusation towards General Danvers or SWORD in general. Such preparation would and should be a political decision outside of SWORD's remit. However, I would like to hear both Directors' thoughts on the matter," He nodded at Carol.
"You all know the facts we have. Depending on what has happened and is happening on Asgard, we can expect either a friendly communication attempt or the deployment of kill teams aimed at Prince Thor. We might also potentially have an incursion from the Ice Giants, the Jotun, no matter how the events on Asgard resolve themselves. I do not believe covering up a follow-up attack will be feasible, much less a larger incursion. If it happens in the vicinity of a larger town or a city, doing so will be out of the question."
"Director Fury?" Pierce nodded.
"We can cover up this one; however doing so might require distasteful methods. We might have to disappear certain citizens or destroy the credibility and reputation of others to discredit anything they bring forth as evidence. Considering the general chaos of the situation, we are not confident we will be able to recover all footage of the Destroyer in action within civilian hands before it could reach the internet. That won't stop us from covering up the incident," Fury's single eye glowered. "General Danvers is correct about covering up an incursion in a more populated location. Even if possible in the short to medium term, the consequences when it becomes clear we attempted such a cover-up will likely be extreme."
"So we can hide it? Otherwise, there's no point in discussing trying to do so, and we should focus on how to handle disclosure," Akira noted.
"That is correct, Madam Councilor," Fury noted.
"It is also true that doing so can blow up in our faces, or at least our government's faces. Most of them will face elections, and such a scandal can be disastrous. That is something to consider as well," Stefano reminded them. "What are the benefits of disclosure under these circumstances, if any? We are aware of the possible fallout."
"We can openly push more resources into and focus on the Uplift Project. We should have freer hands with it in general and will have many ready answers to the questions and people who are against the pace we are pushing things at," Pierce offered. "Councilor Stark, do you have something to add in that regard as an industrialist, not just a member of this Council?"
A few eyebrows raised at seeing a bottle of water levitate in front of Stark's face so he could drink before it floated away from the camera. He raised his red hands that glistened with some kind of gel, then moved them back out of sight.
"Aside from the political complications and idiots being idiots, I can see the benefits. However, first I should point out that by necessity, there is an increasing number of people in the know within military and general government circles. Sooner or later, the secret will leak, and discrediting people will do only so much until we can no longer hide it. We should weight the consequences of disclosing the truth now and those from concealing it for a period of time until external factors force our hands. Being caugh red handed in that case might be worse than going for disclosure early."
That pointed reminder drew a lot of winces and grimaces, Danvers noted. Stark wasn't the only one concerned about the fallout from a revelation at a later date when the world learned about all the lies.
"A big boon will be a free hand to invest in space infrastructure. There are already questions about SI's joint ventures with Von Doom Industries and our work with NASA, claiming it is a waste of resources when there is so much to do here on Earth. We are looking at expenditures that, while worth it in the end, would make the first steps of the uplift look cheap in comparison. That is not the kind of burden any corporation or group of them could reasonably carry and continue with the next step of the uplift in a useful time frame. We will need money, resources, and the right people, all working in the relevant R&D and infrastructure fields. Ideally, that would be a united effort so we don't waste time reinventing the wheel, so to speak. There are, of course, other practical concerns. We need to make the best possible use of the economies of scale, which means more conglomeration of various industries. That will run straight into the face of anti-trust laws. At the same time, we will have to deal with CEOs and boards of directors only interested in how they can profit more from what is happening. Balancing those things will be frankly impossible under the current legal and economic framework."
"Does that include your company, Mr. Stark?"
"If anyone replaces me in running it, or I suddenly find the desire to sell the controlling package of shares I have, then yes. Until then, SI is on board with the uplift program. Many major corporations whose industrial capacity we need have less enlightened management and are controlled by people with only profit in mind. We all know this often includes playing stupid games to get every single cent they can, and we can't have that."
"Did Hammer piss into your cereal recently?" Fury smiled.
"Recently? Not that I recall; however, he is a prime example of what I am talking about. I've dealt with corporations believing themselves too powerful in both my lives, Director Fury. The corporate culture here on Earth is frankly too close to what caused some very ugly incidents in my memories, including a civil war. We can't allow corporate agendas to slow down or compromise the uplift effort. And we can only do enough in that regard once the paradigm changes. Waiting for a larger scale incursion to do it for us would be an irresponsible waste of time."
"That's not something I ever thought I would hear from a CEO like you, Councilor Stark," Brand spoke in a thicker-than-usual Australian accent.
"I am many things, Councilor, Brand. A typical CEO is not one of them," Stark reminded them. "From the uplift perspective, a disclosure is going to be better done earlier than later; that is what I believe. The question remains if the troubles doing so will cause would be worth it. At the same time… do any of you want to deal with the shock of finding out that aliens are real in the middle of a major incursion instead of now, when things are somewhat stable?"
The discussion continued back and forth, shifting from the plausibility of keeping things under wraps to the benefits and dangers of revealing the truth. That was going to be what decides the outcome, Danvers decided.
"Can we lower our state of military readiness anyway? Because if not, our leaders will have a hard time tomorrow, explaining why everyone is ready for world war three without a good reason to show for it," Singh pushed yet another argument to consider.
In the end, the final vote was close, with the faction believing disclosure might be for the best, winning by two votes.
"We will make the relevant recommendations to our governments and present them with the arguments and options we discussed. Director Fury, SHIELD is to focus on internal security and tracking any dissidents who might stir up trouble beyond voicing their displeasure at the situation we will soon find ourselves in. Director Danvers, keep ready to meet further alien incursions."
By this time tomorrow, Danvers decided the world would be a different place.
=SI=
"People are beginning to stockpile essentials due to the constant state of military alert worldwide! Instead of the explanation or de-escalation we hoped for, we just got news of the President ordering the mobilization of the National Guard across the country, with orders for them to be ready to face and put down riots. NATO is following suit alongside the armed forces of unaffiliated EU countries…."
CNN
The European Parliament and Commission will meet tomorrow in Brussels alongside the Foreign ministers of all EU members. We still don't have a clear answer why militaries across Europe are mobilizing and deploying in what experts believe to be a defensive posture. The same is true about the decentralized forces of the Russian Federation. However, there is no indication that the Russian military is entering an offensive posture.
Euronews
Tensions in Taiwan raised exponentially after the Chinese military mobilized and began recalling reserves in what low-ranked government officials in Beijing claim to be a response to the actions of the US, Japan, and South Korea.
BBC World News
Is this the prelude to World War Three?!
CBS
А a few hours ago, what was assumed to be a leak from a science fiction movie surfaced on youtube, showing shaky hand camera video of what appears to be US military forces engaging a giant robot shooting heat rays. Since then, more footage allegedly from the exact location and pictures posted on Facebook perpetrate what many assumed to be an ill-timed and ill-spirited prank considering the tensions around the world. This all changed an hour ago when the Pentagon posted brief clips of combat footage that appeared to be in the same location and against the robot seen in the original videos…
CNN
