The Chinese forces were much more fortunate than the Russians had been. They didn't rely on high technology as much as the Russian forces and government did. They preferred to have people on the ground, giving real time reports about any given situation. True, this required a much larger spy network than any other government had, but the type, and timeliness information they received was well worth the expense and trouble.
It was for that reason that when the 9.5 earthquake happened in the Kamchatka Peninsula they knew well in advance that their forces along the west coast of America were in deep trouble. The good news, and for them, the verification of their time and trouble, was that they had time to do something to save as many of their men as possible.
They knew they had at least ten hours before the tsunami would begin to roll ashore in the Pacific Northwest. They ordered a complete withdrawal of their forces along the entire west coast. To them it was better to lose America, than the forces they would need for later plans that they had. Anything that would possibly slow the evacuation of troops from the coast, was at first, off-loaded from the ships they had in ports all along the west coast. As time grew shorter, all un-necessary supplies and equipment were simply thrown over the side of the ship, in order to make room for more men.
The last of the Chinese ships left port two hours before the tsunami hit. They had saved over eighty percent of their men, and lost about ninety percent of their weapons and equipment. Still, they had more weapons and equipment back on the mainland. They could still field an army of two hundred million men, which would be more than enough to do what the Central Committee wanted to do.
For Director Ives, this wasn't good. But it wasn't a total loss. He knew that when the Chinese forces pulled out, the Russian forces, with their ever shrinking lines, would do the same. He knew as well, that both sides would claim victory because they had, between them, eliminated the United States as a world power. They had reduced the nation of over three hundred million to a third world country of slightly less than one hundred million. The infrastructure of the country was in total ruin, and it would take many decades before they could even begin to re-establish themselves as a self supporting country, let alone a world power. by then, the rest of the world would be in their control. That was good enough for people that made plans that took decades or more to come to fruition.
So now, what he had to do was to give his declaration to the American people, so the contamination of the human genome could begin. And by corrupting the human species, defeat the plans of the Nazarene and His Father.
BY ORDER of THE DIRECTOR of The Western Region of the United States, Be it known;
Our friends, and the true creators of the human race, have offered to help in the re-population of this nation. To date, only a small fraction of women, that are of child baring age, have come forward to accept this help. Due to the extreme nature of this emergency, I am assuming the authority, given to me by the United Nations, to use whatever means are needed to guarantee the re-population of this land. Starting on this date, all single women of the American Nation, that are above fifteen years of age, will begin to report to the landing ships of our creators, in order to do their honorable part in solving this problem.
No woman that is already married is required to take part in this action, unless they choose to do so after consulting with their husbands and family members. No woman above child baring age, or girl to young to safely bare children is required to take part.
However as girls become of age, they will report to the landing ships to take their place in this noble venture of the re-population of America. Women chosen to bare this next generation, this generation of Star Children, will be cared for by our creators and their every need provided for. And I assure you that the rewards for your sacrifice, and the rewards to your families will be generous.
The snow had been falling gently for a couple of days. There weren't any real drifts yet, but the weather didn't show any sign of breaking any time soon
Linda had seen the release from the Regional Director. She didn't like it. She hadn't seen fit to allow any man to touch her up to this point in her sixteen years, so why should she allow some....thing from another planet to do so?
She was glad she had spent so much time learning how to take care of herself in the wilderness. She was skilled with both skis' and snowshoes. She knew how to ice fish, and make a shelter when needed. She knew the art of the bow and arrow, as well as how to make them, if she had to do so. The art of snare making was no mystery to her. She was not afraid to do what was needed to kill, clean, butcher, and cook an animal. She knew that her parents and friends thought her more than a little strange for pursuing such things, but when the food shortages started, her parents were glad to have the extra meat she provided.
When she first heard of the directive, she started to make her plans. Hidden a short way from the house were both skis and snowshoes. She had also, bit by bit, taken small amounts of food, taken from their allotment, and stashed them away as well.
Now here she was, in her bedroom for what she knew was the last time. She knew that she wouldn't be sleeping in her bed this night, or ever again. But she still didn't know where she was going to go. She would have to trust in the God she had been reading about.
If her parents knew that she had been reading a Bible that she had found, they would have gone crazy. So she kept it a secret. All she knew for certain was that the more she read, the more of what she read made sense to her.
"Linda." Her mothers voice came from outside the room. "What are you doing?"
"Hi Mom. I'm getting ready to leave."
"May I come in?"
"Sure Mom. Come on in."
Her mother entered. She smiled at her daughter.
"I'm glad to see you accepting all of this so easily. I know there are some people that are resisting this opportunity."
"Opportunity? It sounded to me more like an order."
"Oh sweety, that is just the way people in government talk. Just think of it. You have not only the chance to help repopulate this country, but also you can be one of the first women to have a 'star child'. Isn't that exciting?"
"I suppose so, but I'm not so sure. I mean, you and Dad always told me that I should save myself for my husband. So what happened? Why should I do this now?"
Her mother came close to her, and put her arms around Linda, lovingly.
"Darling. That was before all of this happened. Things are different now."
"Different how?"
"Honey, I wish I knew how to tell you. You'll understand when you get older."
"What do you mean? I'm old enough to have one of these 'star children' but not old enough to understand why? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Trust me Honey. You'll understand."
"I guess you're right. I'll find out. It isn't like I have much choice."
Linda's' mother smiled at what she believed was her daughters' acceptance of what was to come. She was also happy about the expected rewards to come from her daughters' sacrifice.
"Trust me, Baby girl. It is for the best."
With that, she left Linda to her packing.
Pastor Jim had listened to the concerns of Mr. Molton. He had even gone so far as to make the subject of forgiveness the subject of the next three sermons. He had gone to great effort to point out how Jesus had spent so much time with harlots and other people that were so looked down upon in His time on earth. He noticed how Mrs. Molton sat and listened to every word he spoke. And he heard how not one single word seemed to sink into her mind. She continued to look for reasons to slam the woman named Anna. Even going so far as to make up things from her own imaginings, without one shred of proof. When asked for proof, she would only talk about things that 'everyone knows'.
The thing was, that it seemed that only Mrs. Molton knew, along with her very few friends. Pastor Jim was at a loss for what else to say.
One evening after church, Mrs. Molton and her friends were once again gathered in her living room. Tonight, the subject wasn't Anna, but rather the Pastor Jim.
"Can you believe the way he has been trying to justify her being her these past couple of weeks?"
"I know what you mean. It's like that witch has put him under some kind of spell."
"I hardly think so. After all, she would have had to put so many other people under a spell too."
"You don't think that is possible?"
"I'm not saying that. But I think it is more likely that she has just deceived them all. I don't know, of course, but I think that fooling a lot of people has got to be easier than putting them all under some sort of demonic spell. That's all."
"Well, maybe you're right, but what are we going to do about it? It seems like we are the only ones that realize what a danger she is to our community. How do we make others understand that?"
As the snow continued to fall, Linda waved good-bye to her parents, and walked into the night. While they believed she was headed off to be the mother of one of the first star children, she had other ideas.
BW, Vietnam Vet