American Geopolitical Council

       "Joan, I think it's best if Frank and I pursue our battle with Gorgon by ourselves. This could get really nasty. I don't know what's happened to Keller. The transmission's strange, seems to break off without any further message."

       "Look, Ben, I have a stake in this battle, as you call it."

       "What stake?"

       "Well, most important, I want to be involved in anything you're doing. If you haven't noticed, I've got a genuine stake in our relationship, you big lug. And I have a stake in our country; I think this son of a bitch is trying to wreck it. I have a real respect for President Randolph, and it's clear Gorgon is out to get him. I'd also like to rescue Angela from his clutches. She and I were once very close--I still care for her."

       She looked at Ben. "Besides, I want to watch out for you. Now that I've found you I don't want you getting yourself dead. And if you think you and Frank are going to have all the fun, think again."

       They called Frank immediately. They decided not to describe the messages in detail because Ben's phone might be tapped. Frank insisted on driving down to Washington immediately. All three agreed; this was a major development and they would need to plan carefully how to respond.

       Ben printed out Keller's message and put it on an easel so they could study it in detail. When Frank arrived, he suggested they first consider what to do about Keller.

       "Do you have any idea where he might be?" Frank asked Ben.

       "He said he was taking a leave of absence and locating closer to the Parallax headquarters. But I have no idea where that would be."

       "He'd surely be more careful after his van was bombed," Joan suggested. "They shot at you in Gettysburg and they destroyed Keller's van. We're definitely in the big league here, fellows."

       "I wonder if I ought to notify the police?" Ben asked.

       "The only thing you could tell them is that you suspect something might have happened to Keller. Nothing to go on."

      "But we ought to listen to the news," Joan said, "to see if there's anything about Keller." She paused. "It's rather gruesome, isn't it? Waiting to hear if something's happened to him."

       "Keller told me he was surprised he didn't get it when his van was bombed. Maybe he just got lucky that time. But he wouldn't hear of stopping his reconnaissance of Gorgon's activities--no matter how much I warned him of the danger," Ben said.

       At eleven PM, they turned on the evening news.

       A pleasant-looking young Chicano woman and an older grey-haired man served as co-anchors.

       "At the top of the news," the young woman began, "a mysterious death in a Maryland motel today. Police discovered the body of a man identified as Timothy Keller in his room, apparently the victim of suicide. He was found in the bathtub with both wrists slit. He had bled to death. A cleaning woman found him around seven PM. Police officials said there was no indication of foul play, even though the door to Keller's motel room had been forced. No suicide note was discovered at the scene. Mr. Keller worked as a computer security expert for the Beltway Anti-Intrusion Services in Bethesda. The company stated that Mr. Keller had been on a leave of absence for the past several weeks."

       "Now to international news," the older anchor continued.

       They turned off the television. They were utterly stunned. No one spoke for a few moments.

       "Christ, Ben!" Joan exclaimed. "You've got to get out of this. You could be next."

       "I think maybe she's right, Ben," Frank agreed. "I know he did horrible things to your mother. And he's evidently abusing Angela. But is it worth our lives?"

      "I understand how you feel," Ben said. "I'm scared shitless. At first it just wanted to get back at Gorgon for what he did to my Mother. Then I was pissed as hell that he got me going during the TV debate. But all that's passed. I've thought a lot about this; it's something bigger than a personal vendetta. This maniac is going to destroy our country if someone doesn't stop him. I don't know if I'll succeed, but I feel I've got to try my best." He looked earnestly at Joan and Frank.

       "We're probably the only three sane people in the world who know what Gorgon's trying to do--and the only three who understand the power he possesses to carry out his diabolical scheme." Frank's grave tone produced a heightened air of intensity. "I'm scared beyond description. This is worse than combat; at least there you have some idea what you're up against. But I feel like you do, Ben, that this is a momentous undertaking. I only wish we could get some other people involved . . ."

       "Whoa," Joan interrupted Frank. "You two seem to think it's all settled that we continue our battle against Gorgon. Okay, so it's a big deal--maybe it affects the entire country. But maybe there are better soldiers to lead the charge."

       "You're one of the few people who knows what kind of power television and the other media have over people's minds, Joan," Ben replied. "Frank and I are among a handful who've carried out leading-edge research in psychological mind-control. But if we tried to explain Gorgon's conspiracy to other people, they'd either laugh at us or think we were deranged."

      "Whether we like it or not, we're three of the best qualified to stop Gorgon's conspiracy," Frank agreed.

       "Okay, agreed," Joan replied. "But I want to see if we can't get some support. I want to talk to President Randolph about this. He's been very open to my ideas, after I helped him over a rough spot in his last election campaign."

       "Maybe Frank and I ought to take this from here, sweetheart," Ben said to Joan. "I still think it's too dangerous for you."

       She looked at him with a smile. "We settled all that earlier. I'm with you, whatever it takes." She spoke with tenderness. "But I love you for trying to keep me out of it." She paused to look at him. "Now, we start by talking to the President."

       "We can try," Ben said. "But we've got to be ready for anyone--the President included--to reject our story of Gorgon's plot to destroy America. It's an awful lot for a person to swallow all at once. I have trouble myself, believing what I've experienced. It still hasn't fully registered with me that Gorgon murdered Keller--a fellow soldier in this battle. When it does, I'm going to be even more petrified."

       "Okay," Frank said, moving them along, "we're committed to seeing this through to the end. Perhaps we'll call ourselves the Triumvirate."

       They laughed together.

       Now, what's our overall strategy?" Frank asked.

       "I get us a meeting with the President, soonest date possible. We explain all this to him, see if he'll support us."

       "What kind of support do we need?" Frank asked.

       "Intelligence on Gorgon's operations," Ben began. "Background information on the World Geopolitical Council and its members. Maybe turning one of the Council members; I have an idea that General Charles Storm might be a good candidate, perhaps Marc Warfield. The National Security Agency has the same kind of technology that Keller was using; maybe someone from NSA to work with us. An F.B.I. investigation into Keller's so-called suicide."

       "Okay," Frank said, "that's what we'd like if we can get the President's support. But what can we do on our own, with or without the President's assistance?"

       "I think you ought to go on my talk show, both of you, and lay out Gorgon's plan. I could bill it as an exposé of a plot to destroy America. I know that sounds rather grandiose, but I think I could sell it."

       "I don't know that we've got enough to go on," Ben said. "All we've got is Keller's few screens of information plus our background profile on Gorgon. To us this is very sexy stuff, but would it play in Peoria?"

       "I could see if Gorgon or one of his partners would come on the show to rebut," Joan suggested.

       "No!," Ben and Frank exclaimed at the same time.

       "We don't want to goad Gorgon into killing one or all of us," Frank said. "I don't know if a TV exposé is such a good idea. Maybe there's a less direct way that will get the same results."

       "Let's see if the President will listen to us, and if he buys our story or not. If that doesn't work, we can think about a TV exposé. In the meantime, let's continue to get whatever information we can on Gorgon through our own channels. I'm going to speak to a friend in the C.I.A., see if she'll do some snooping for us. Frank, is there any more you can get from your buddies at Ft. Bragg?"

       "I've got to be very careful, you understand, Ben."

       "Yes."

       "But I can see if there are some quiet ways I can get some more info on Gorgon."

       "I'll put out feelers to all my TV buddies," Joan said. "Maybe someone's run a story on him previously. And I'll see first thing tomorrow if the President will see us."

       "I'd rather speak to you alone," the President said. Joan had called the President the next day and was put through after only a few moments delay.

       "I know you say these two gentlemen have important information, but I'd rather discuss this just with you if you don't mind. I've never heard of Dr. Emerson and Colonel Wilson and I wouldn't feel as comfortable as with you, Joan."

       Joan agreed to meet with the President alone when it became clear to her that he'd agree to no other arrangement. She spoke with Ben that evening as they were having dinner at Maison Blanche. They called Frank when they arrived at Joan's condo after dinner. Ben and Frank then spent over an hour priming Joan for what she would say to the President.

       "Joan, it's good to see you. You're looking lovely as ever." The President had welcomed her, waited for her to be seated, then sat on the edge of his desk looking at her with a friendly smile. They were meeting in the oval office. "The rumor is that you and Dr. Emerson are becoming an item. Any truth to that?"

       "Yes, I'm happy to say, it's all true." She smiled broadly.

       "Well, congratulations," the President said. "Now, what's all this intrigue you couldn't talk about on the phone?"

       "Mr. President, I first want to show you some information we obtained concerning a meeting Dr. Gorgon recently had with members of the World Geopolitical Council." She handed him copies of the names of the attendees and the major screen which Keller had transmitted to Ben: the Council Grand Strategy.

       "May I ask how you obtained this information?" the President asked.

       "I'd rather not say right now, if that's acceptable to you, Mr. President."

       "It's acceptable, but you must understand that I can give very little credence to this information unless I have reason to trust its authenticity and the means of collection." He studied the documents for a few moments.

       "These are very inflammatory documents indeed, Joan." He looked at her sternly. "But how can I give them any credence if I know nothing about their source. They could, after all, have been created as disinformation. One of the alleged participants at this meeting is my political opponent, Senator Binkley."

       "Mr. President, if I divulge how we came into possession of these documents, could I ask you to keep this information in confidence?"

       "I see no reason not to agree to that," the President said.

       "We obtained this information through a man by the name of Timothy Keller . . ."

       The President interrupted her. "Isn't that the young man that committed suicide recently?"

       "That's the way his death was reported, but Mr. Keller was murdered." Joan looked at the President to see his reaction. Seeing no clear look of disbelief, she continued.

       "Keller obtained the information by using a technology called a van Eck radiation machine. This technology allows a person to read and record the information displayed on a computer monitor."

       "I've been briefed on van Eck technology," the President said. "Our National Security Administration is tracking this new technology. But it's illegal for a civilian to use these new methods to obtain information--especially without the consent of the person or organization being screened. And the fact that it comes from a person who is alleged to have committed suicide under dubious circumstances, makes the information even more suspect." The President seemed rather troubled.

       "I can assure you, Mr. President, we felt this method of obtaining information was warranted, given Dr. Gorgon's nefarious activities. Each of us has seen him in action, Dr. Emerson . . ."

       The President interrupted her. "Joan, I don't feel I can encourage you to divulge anything further. If this information was obtained illegally, no matter how good your intentions, you can understand that I can have nothing to do with it. The fact that it accuses my political opponent of unlawful intentions obliges me to reject it. I could not let it appear that I was involved in obtaining illegal information to use against him in my political campaign." The President rose abruptly.

       "Joan, I trust your instincts and your intentions. I've always known you to be a law-abiding and forthright person. If you feel you must pursue this matter, I can only advise you to use extreme caution. But I trust you can understand that I can have nothing whatsoever to do with this entire affair."

       "So that's the way we left it," Joan concluded her explanation to Ben and Frank. "I think he trusts me less now that he did before, which is a shame. I don't know what else I could have done under the circumstances."

       "You did your best, " Ben said quickly. "It's not your fault. We should have thought more about what we were doing. Of course, now, it's clear the President can have nothing to do with our struggle. At least not yet. We just don't have enough to pin on Gorgon that will stick."

       Over the next several weeks, Joan spoke with her producer about an exposé on her talk show. When she explained the subject of the exposé, her producer refused to even consider the project. The Triumvirate agreed that Joan would attempt to place the exposé with another television station. No luck.

      Ben mulled over Cartwright's letter he had received some weeks before. Surely, Ben reflected, Gorgon has not been placed in this world for some higher purpose which I'm unable to comprehend. To me, Gorgon seems like evil incarnate. Could his existence serve some purpose that I don't understand? His manipulation and twisting of human minds seems totally unacceptable from my perspective. Yet, the killing of the young boy, in the Khidr and Moses story, is a seemingly horrible and unacceptable act to Moses, who works from a mundane perspective, as I do.

       During the next several weeks, Ben studied additional essays on Cartwright's Perennial Tradition Web site. He was particularly interested in the article entitled "Language and Human Evolution," because Cartwright seemed, for the first time, to really speak out against social injustice. The article mentioned Paulo Freire's concept of critical consciousness, a concept Ben had written about on the Triumvirate's Web site. Ben was aware that his article on Freire's concept of critical consciousness was in a completely different vein than Cartwright's article.