Balance of Power Shifted (41 page)

Representative John Trigg
from the great state of Georgia was the chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and started the proceedings with having each of the seven committee members introduce themselves.  Rep Trigg reminded me of a bulldog since a prominent feature was a large block of a head with deep furrows in his forehead making his eyes appear squished shut.  Apparently, he seemed to model his personality to what a bulldog might have as one and was somewhat gruff in his approach.  Next, Rep Trigg asked Julius and me to do the same.  When introductions were completed, Rep Trigg said “Gentlemen, thank you for voluntarily coming in and speaking with us today.  I am sure you are wondering just what the heck you are here to talk about and if you can bear with us for a while longer, we will get to the essence of the matter, however for the edification of everyone in this room we would like to learn more about Electricus and see if our current knowledge is accurate.  Is this alright with you?”  With a brief look at Julius, I then responded, “yes sir.”

For the next half hour
, we had a barrage of questions from every committee member.  They confirmed the basic concepts of Electricus, how it is suited to replace most other power sources and a few other minor clarifications.  Many questions involved the ease of production and once again, I confirmed the low cost of entry for people to gain access to Electricus for their homes.  They asked us about the work we were doing for the Army and the Air Force, which we answered openly since these six men and one woman seemed very connected.  It was the woman, Representative Arial Stoner, who zeroed in on the attack on me in California, the theft of equipment from the same location, the rocket attack on our headquarters and the attack on Fiona and me out at Fish Island.  Looking at Julius, she smiled and said, “Mr. Filamore, you seemed to be fully recovered from your brutal attack.”  After confirming the details of the events, she paused and said, “on behalf of this committee we offer our condolences on the loss of your long-time friend and partner Bill Bates and your Efficio employee.”

The gist of the questions then transitioned into more operational questions about the business including production and rollout of product.  The committee had some trouble understand
ing the simplicity of Electricus and the fact that all one had to do was know how to reproduce the organism.  This brought the conversation to the million-dollar question.  With the chairman asking me, “Mr. Carter is it true that you are the only person with the knowledge of how to enable reproduction of the Electricus organism?”  With slight hesitation due to trepidation regarding the fact that Bill was alive and well in Rome, I answered “yes sir.”  His next question was very blunt when he asked, “Do you think this is a wise strategy considering the importance of what Electricus could bring to mankind?” 

It may have been my imagination, but it seemed that everyone in the room including Julius leaned forward in their seats to hear my answer.  “Looking at each committee member in the
eye before I spoke, I said “Sir, it may not be the wisest choice, but it is based on one that had the interests of Efficio’s employees’ front and center to the reasoning.  As you know, the key management of the company is mostly comprised of long-time friends of mine.  Bill Bates and I, early on, realized that flipping the power and money base of the current oil and gas industry on its head would put us in a dangerous and precarious position.  In an effort to minimize the potential that an employee became targeted to get Electricus secrets, we decided we would be the only two to know how, and to advertise that fact.

Representative George Hilliard
, a Democrat from New York, chimed in and admonished me in the way he stated, “Mr. Carter, you have in your hands the power to change the world in a fantastic way, yet you risk it all.  You are fully aware of the danger you are in and I do not believe you have seen the worst from any one of a dozen countries or hundreds of businesses that could be on the losing end, yet you chance that it can all be lost.  I cannot fathom that level of rational.”  Looking down a sheet of paper he continued by saying “at only 25 years old I’m not sure you have the breadth of experience needed to protect and manage Efficio.  What do you say to that sir?” 

Taking a second to gulp some water down, I analyzed what he had said and knew there was a lot of truth to what
I was hearing.  Even with our failsafe plan and the fact that Bill was still alive, the immenseness of the situation was starting to overwhelm me.  Hearing it put into context did not make me feel any better.  Slowing my breathing and heart rate down at the same time, I responded, “It is true that I am only 25 years old, and it is true that Efficio and I are in a precarious situation, but we need to be in control of Electricus to make sure it is not suppressed by those that currently have power and money.  We must control the flow of money to better those less fortunate around the globe and move licensing for use of Electricus to different parts of the world to help minimize financial impacts of changes in market conditions as Electricus supplants current power supplies.  We can do this by keeping the production of Electricus a closely guarded secret and be the sole suppliers.  That sir is our goal and until we figure out how we can achieve it, we will be very protective.”

I thought it was a good speech
and Julius gave me a supporting pat on the back, but every single one of the committee members wore a somber expression on their face.  I guess it all depended on what side of the table you sat on.  I perfectly understood the point they were trying to make, yet I just did not have a better solution at the time.  They must have read my mind to some extent, because they honed in on two key questions, which my new pal from New York asked.  “Mr. Carter, are you willing to provide us details on how and where Electricus was discovered?”  “Mr. Hilliard, we are not willing to provide that information at this time or in the near future.  Mr. Bates and I had discussed this early on and felt that this knowledge would be no different than giving away the ingredients of our secret sauce so to speak.” 

The
next question from Hilliard was more direct when he asked, “Mr. Carter, would you be willing to put the secret of Electricus reproduction in a secured escrow type of account where it would be protected and only made available in the event of your demise?”  Taken aback by the question, and the tone asked, I replied, “at this time I would have to decline, because I am not sure that any secret can be kept by anyone in government.  No offense to those in this room, but the papers and news are full of examples of stolen or leaked data and I do not have the confidence you can protect it.  Having said that, it may be possible to do something similar in the future, but not in the near term” I ended.  Looking around the room, I could see I wasn’t making any friends.

At this point
, the chairperson announced that we were going to move into discussions more in the line with national security and reminded us that we were under oath.  Pulling out a report from a stack of papers in front of him, he looked at the other members and said, “Please refer to the CIA report.”  Mr. Carter, in front of us is a classified report compiled by the CIA on the expected effect of Electricus on foreign governments and potential actions these governments might take in response to Electricus changing the international flow of money as old cash cows give way to the new kid in the field.  There are a number of communications intercepted, implying that we are seeing only the tip of the iceberg for violent actions including the possibility military actions to shore up economies.  This means that you, and Efficio, are high value targets to some fractions.

Much of the report
ended up aligning itself with early predictions that Efficio has published about changing of the power base from those involved in fossil fuels to those that will see a surge in manufacturing to take advantage of electric based appliances and machines that will have no electric operating costs.  I must be honest with you Mr. Carter, you are the proverbial ‘mouse that roared’ and I do not think anyone can predict to any degree of certainty what will happen over the next 10 years.  The rest of the report delved into US strategic advantages if Electricus was restricted for our use.  As an example, based on your work with the Army, we can field troops across the globe and literally eliminate a huge logistics concern, and that is to provide fuel to all the land based vehicles as well as supply field command posts and bivouacs for troops with electricity.  One key finding in that report indicated that our national power grid would no longer be a terrorist or war time enemy target since power would be distributed.”  I sat there looking at Julius and back to the chairperson; waiting for some kind of decree or revelation, but it looked like we would have to wait longer.

The quietest committee member, Representative Oliver Nazeem
, spoke up for the first time.  He pointing to a different report, which of course we did not have in front of us, Oliver stated, “this is an Environmental Protection Agency report that evaluates the effect of Electricus on the environment as it replaces traditional fuel sources.”  The rush to convert automobiles and other vehicles will be acute as will the transformation of residential home and apartment complexes to Electricus.  The result over time will be a tremendous reduction in air pollution as well as pollutants that end up in our water supplies and surroundings.  Some of the estimates are north of a 50% reduction in airborne particles. 

Rep Nazeem’s face had taken on this almost orgasmic look as he extolled the environmental benefits of Electricus.  I made a mental note to myself to see what
his role was with the EPA or if he was one of these Greenhouse zealots.”  Focusing his eyes on me, Oliver Nazeem stated, “Mr. Carter, the benefits of Electricus to the planet we live on is extreme in nature.  Surely you recognize that your knowledge cannot be lost.”  Not knowing what to say, I simply responded, “I’ll do my best not to get killed sir.”  Well this little bit of humor on my part hung flatly in space and seemed to galvanize the committee, since they all sat straighter up in their chairs and took on what seemed to be a haughtier persona.

Mr. Trigg
, in his most commanding tone, and focused stare on yours truly, tented his hands by touching his fingertips together said, “Based on your comments, it appears that you do not recognize how critical Electricus is to this country.  The manner in which you and your deceased partner have gone about protecting, possibly the greatest discovery of man, is nothing short of cavalier.  Electricus, whether you agree or not, is a matter of national security and if you do not voluntarily give up the secrets of Electricus we will subpoena you for the information and put you into the darkest cell until you divulge what you know.  From this point on, you must cease and desist all production and transfer of Electricus until a government team can be created to help manage it.  Do you have anything to say?”

Julius grabbed my left arm as a means to try
to get me under control since he could see in my face that I was livid.  I could feel a big vein in my neck pulsating and my ears felt like they were on fire, which only happens when I am really, really angry.  Slowly standing up, and feeling Julius’s hand slip away, I said in a very quiet and controlled voice. “I can understand the fear that might exist with this committee and other interested parties. Bill Bates and I had anticipated that our discovery would generate elation to extreme agitation.  We also anticipated that some people or organizations would try to stop us while others would try to take what was not theirs to take, but what we did not anticipate is that our own government would be one of them.  This is not the America I know, however I have seen the current political environment abound with the concept that the success of some people, can be taken from them under the guise of spreading the wealth under force of law.  I can tell you that since politics link directly to that concept, it will fail since it is a flawed concept.  Bill and I want to share this discovery with the world and not just one country.  We want every man, woman and child to have a chance of a better life from it.  Why you might ask?  The reason is that this is a God given gift to man and I have no more right to limit access to it than you have.  Our only goal is to ensure there are safeguards in place that would mitigate attempts to limit access to Electricus.” 

“Eloquent speech Mr. Carter,” Trigg said with a condescending tone.  Are you finished now?”  “
No, I am not sir.  There is one piece of information you are not privy to and that is the fact that a failsafe to our plan has already been devised and implemented.  There are processes in place that will provide a certain global organization with the ability to produce and or share the secret of Electricus in the event of my death or on the chance that I am no longer available to execute our vision.  So my esteemed committee members,” I said as Julius and I started to walk out of chambers, “you better be careful that I don’t get killed or locked up since your worst case scenario will be realized.”  There was not a word from the committee as we walked out and with a last look back, I could see that the haughty looks were gone and replaced by concerned countenances.

As Mike and Julius worked their way to the exit, a shadowy figure entered the chambers from a hidden door.  Carl suspected that Mike Carter was telling the truth and he was confident he knew what organization had been empowered, since his contacts had picked up chatter and
had observed emissaries from the Catholic Church reaching out to governments and other religious leaders around the globe.  Without raising suspicions, his contacts had tried to find out what the meetings where about, but had not been successful.  This in itself was an oddity.  In most cases, there is always someone willing to talk.