King of All I Survey
Chapter 149: Fortifying our Defenses

Chapter 149: Fortifying our Defenses

A moment later, Mom stormed into the status room. "What are you thinking? The whole damn army is on the way, and you’re just going to have our people sit inside their shells like turtles? For how long? Or are they going to storm out and fight, slaughtering a thousand men each with shields and invisible lasers drones?"

"Woah, woah," Dad said stepping in front of her. "Let’s hear him out before we start judging... His plans have been pretty good so far."

She glared at him, then made a concerted effort to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. "Fine." She turned her glare from him to me, "Well?"

"Um," I said intelligently. I was kind of hoping they would just go about their business, you know, handing out food to the needy, fixing powerlines, treating the sick and injured, that sort of thing."

"And you expect them to let you?"

"Yes," I said. "We’re taking precautions to make sure no alien tech falls into their hands, but I expect that when Maribel’s ’sister’ with live broadcast coverage, escorts a young mother with a sick or injured child through whatever lines the Mexican Army sets up to one of our hospitals, they will let them through. Later, when she walks out with the child, now smiling and healthy, I expect our hospitals and medical centers to be mobbed by people needing medical care for conditions they’ve suffered with for some time, some thought incurable. I expect Maribel’s ’sister’ to give a broadcast speech in which she mentions that our charitable food distribution centers are available throughout the region for those in need. She will point out the infrastructure repairs we have already completed, have in process, or that still remain to be done. Because the infrastructure work is so man-power intensive, she will thank the Mexican President for sending the army to help with that labor. She will say that unfortunately, there is some miscommunication between the President and the military leaders on site, because they have not yet made themselves available for assignment to the rebuilding and service expansion tasks that are so desperately needed by the Mexican people of this region. Tasks without which unfortunately, the region will remain substandard and unattractive for the international tourist trade, contributing further to the continued poverty of the people who live here. I expect the Mexican President will curse and pound his fist in private and work against us however he can without being seen, but in public, he will thank you for pointing out the miscommunication and reiterate that it was always his intent for the troops to provide such services to the people, to make sure that the region has everything it needs, including total security and safety, to reclaim its status as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. He may even say something about improving the lives of the people who live there. You will offer to build and open a large high tech hospital, under the non-profit Health First organization, directly in Mexico City specializing in treating some ailment common in rich people as they age, Joe will figure out what works best, and that you expect that hospital to also draw many millions of pesos of ’medical tourism’ for the Mexican economy and establish the nation as a leader in advanced medicine. You will stress that the hospital will also treat the poor and people of ordinary income, offering free treatment or very low-cost treatment according to one’s ability to pay. You will tell the people of Mexico and the world, that the only things stopping these projects from moving forward is Mexico’s agreement to joining an international collective of nations committed to improving the health, safety and prosperity of their citizens as their top priority. While negotiations have been slower than you hoped, you’re sure that President De La Huerta, will now have more time available for active discussions."

"Joe, contact national reporters from as many TV, newspaper, and internet outlets as you can who are willing to come and report under our protection. Offer them interview time, tours, whatever, as well as a front row seat to the army coming into whichever medical facility is best for the show. Use LITV and simulation equipment to make them think they are being taken by high-speed helicopters to the location. Get them there before the army. What do you think, put them inside the building, at windows to see what’s going on with a speaker broadcasting audio, and a video feed they can record or patch through live, if they wish with our technical assistance. Until the army gets to our target hospital, everything else in their path just stays buttoned up behind shields with no one in or out. No sign of activity, but completely shielded and inaccessible."

"Acknowledged."

Mom’s expression had changed as I spoke. It started out as a mixture of frustration, impatience, and maybe anger. Those emotions slowly drained out and just as slowly, surprise and... well, I’m just going to call it shock and awe began to dominate her expression.

Dad tilted his head in acknowledgement of the plan. He carefully studied his wife’s face before offering any opinion. "Sounds like it could work. What do you think, hon?" He asked her.

Mom sighed and nodded slowly. "I’m sorry I was so... I’m sorry I didn’t listen before judging. It could work. I think it needs a little tweaking, but the basic plan seems doable. Are you going to find a real mother and sick child and convince her to bring him to the hospital past the army?"

"If we can," I replied, "Joe, did you notice anyone who fits the bill in our surveillance of the region while we were watching the gangs?"

"Yes, quite a few, in fact. Do you want to narrow it down to children whose conditions would be easily visible to the eye as they entered the hospital?"

"Mom, why don’t you work with Joe to figure that out. Do you need time to write a speech or whatever?"

"I think Maribel would just speak from her heart without a prepared script. That’s what I want to do, too. It’ll sound more natural and more like real emotion than a play we’re putting on for the cameras."

"Cameras! That’s a better idea. Joe, can you make it so that the journalists watching from the windows have a display screen that sort of looks like a camera giving them some way to aim it and zoom, with focused audio from whatever shows on the screen, with anything Mom , her patients, and anyone trying to get in her way overlaid as audio regardless of where the camera’s pointed. Maybe make that a separate audio track they can easily separate afterwards. Put each camera’s output on a memory card for each reporter to take with them afterwards. Give each one a paramilitary ’guide’ who can explain the rigs to them, or answer questions like ’who’s that?’ and provide background about the Health First and this hospital in general. Memory implant our guys with whatever they need to know. LITV them in from wherever you can without jeopardizing other ongoing activities. And don’t forget to make some sort of busy helipad illusion on the roof, so their memories of a helicopter bringing them is consistent with any local witness stories later."

From the look on Mom’s face, concentration and blankly staring at some undefined point off in the distance, I guessed she was working out details of her part with Joe through a mental discussion.

Dad seemed to be doing the same, probably reviewing the current assignments of paramilitaries and figuring out who he could reassign. "Dad, Joe, make sure the paramilitaries are dressed like hospital staff. Shields, no weapons or visible military gear, except IDCs. Hospital uniforms all branded as Health First. I want that logo visible to everyone on all the news reports."

"Got it," Dad replied at the same time as Joe’s android said "Acknowledged."

Do you have enough fabrication mechs to get all that done in time? I asked Joe via mental communication so as not to disturb the others.

Yes, we don’t have a large margin, but by using our entire available set of fabrication mechs and using LITV to get everything to where it needs to be, I can get it done. You mother is changing the plan somewhat..."

"That’s fine, go with whatever she wants. I paused remembering some of her extreme suggestions from earlier in the campaign, stuff like ’why don’t you just shoot them all?’ Unless there are weapons involved, then let me know first.

Joe silently laughed in my head, which was a very odd sensation. Nothing like that this time, King Tim. No need to worry about your mother going rogue and shooting her way out of trouble.

Good. Then give her free reign to make whatever changes. What location did you pick for the big show?

I have three possibilities, Joe began. If you want to make a point about tourism, we can use larger medical clinics in Puerta Vallarta or Mazatlan. Bother were major tourist destinations which have fallen into some disfavor due to traffickers and organized criminal violence on the coast. If you want to highlight the action against the cartels, then we have a suitable medical clinic in the city of Chilpancingo in the Guerrero province located between Mexico City and Acapulco. It was notoriously violent. There are several army caravans moving into different regions, the one headed that way will arrive fairly early in the campaign. Hours before either of the other two locations, depending upon how long they stop in major population centers. According to the plans I intercepted, they plan on leaving contingents to conduct local patrols and make sure that local government officials and law enforcements are ’on the same page’ as the Central government, especially with regard to reports of external players (that means us) taking advantage of the sudden changes to infiltrate and gain influence. Our people, if they can’t prove long-time local residence and citizenship, or if they are subverting Mexican government influence, are to be detained by the military. Subverting government authority is to be interpreted very broadly, according to the direction given.

OK, let’s go sooner, Chilpa... whatever.

Chilpancingo, Joe corrected.

That’s what I said. Let Mom and Dad know, and get everything set up. Meanwhile, sent a message to President De La Huerta’s office that the Chairman of the Board of Health First, Food First, and whatever other organizations we have working in Mexico, would like to talk about how we can best welcome his troops and incorporate them into the rebuilding and recovery efforts. Remind him that I am also the person in charge of removing the cartels from this region, from Chiapas, Guatemala and Colombia. Ask for a call as soon as possible, as we’d like to avoid any miscommunications when his troops arrive at our facilities.

Acknowledged.