Chapter 9 6. The Butterfly Effect

One hour ago, Florida, USA, Harpert Base, the command hall of the Air Force Special Operations Command. Lieutenant General Gates raised the same question for the ninth time today: "Have you contacted the CATS team?" The adjutant didn't answer, just shook his head with a frown. The general snorted, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temple with his right hand.Deep anxiety and helplessness are engraved in the wrinkles on his face. He has never been so confused as he is now—no information, no reply, and no knowledge of what happened on that Peget Island. It's like a goshawk locked in a dark room, it has all the skills, but there is no room for it.

He raised his head and looked at the huge electronic screen in front of him—it was a world map, and a big red circle was flickering at about the sea surface of Southeast Asia. changing combinations. "Sir!" An orderly flashed out of nowhere suddenly stood at attention behind the general and saluted: "Dr. Freeman is here." He wasn't late this time - the general looked at his watch and was even a few minutes early. "Tell him to meet me in the secret room." Gates got up, straightened his military uniform, picked up his military cap from the table, and put it on lightly.

The general has a lot of questions to figure out. As far as the current situation is concerned, contacting Dr. Freeman may be the fastest way to get the answer - he is a scientist after all, and he may be able to understand some things that are difficult to sort out with common sense. Have unique and sharp insights. But after seeing Freeman, Gates knew that his judgment was wrong-this middle-aged scholar with a tired face was obviously as troubled by the truth as himself. "Let's get straight to the point, General." The doctor's voice was hoarse than the last time we met: "Did you use some secret weapon in the operation on Paget Island?"

Gates pulled out his chair and sat across from Freeman: "CATS, I joined a CATS test team. You asked me to use the 'best men', and I did." "I haven't heard of CATS," the doctor waved his hand impatiently. "Is it some kind of weather weapon?" The general froze for a few seconds: "WTF?" "Weather weapons are the kind of things that can make wind and rain..." Freeman raised his hand and gestured: "For example, create storms or lightning..." "Doctor... we are all adults..." "I'm not in the mood for joking! Sir!" Freeman looked as if he was about to shoot the case: "General Gates! Meteorologists all over the world are staring wide-eyed now, wondering what happened to Paget Island?" What's the situation, if you have even a little bit of information that you can disclose, general, please don't hide it from me."

Gates certainly understood what the other party was talking about. "Unfortunately, doctor," he shook his head: "If you are talking about the typhoon on the island, then I still want to ask you for advice." Freeman raised his head, leaned back on the seat, and took a deep breath: "That's not a typhoon, at least not yet," the doctor clicked on the satellite photos spread out on the desktop, "The radius is less than fifteen miles, and the intensity is not strong. The central wind speed is estimated to be around 25 meters per second... and Compared with 'Xuanwu', it is a bit weaker...but..."

"but?" "But it's special, General. Frankly speaking, I've worked at NASA for more than 20 years, and this is the first time I've seen a weather phenomenon like this," Freeman leaned forward, propping his elbows on the tabletop, "Look , the 'Pegett's wind group' is very petite, and there is no warning, and there is no condition for a typhoon to form on the sea around it. In fact, the edge of its east wing is close to the approaching 'Xuanwu' - in A small typhoon appeared next to the big typhoon, I have never even heard of such a 'spectacle'."

"Indeed," Gates said with a wry smile, "I haven't heard of it either." "Do you know how typhoons form, General?" Gates nodded first, and then shook his head—in front of a scientist from NASA, it's better not to have knowledge about "weather" and the like. "On tropical oceans," Freeman pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, "the sea surface is heated by direct sunlight, and the seawater is easy to evaporate into water vapor and spread in the air. Therefore, the air temperature on tropical oceans is high and the humidity is high." Large, this kind of air expands due to high temperature, resulting in a decrease in density and quality, and the wind near the equator is weak, so it is easy to rise, convection occurs, and at the same time, the surrounding colder air flows in to replenish, and then rises again, and so on... ...finally, the entire column of air is warmer, lighter, and less dense air, creating what is called a 'tropical depression.' However, the flow of air is from high pressure to low pressure, just as water flows from Just like the flow from high places to low places, the air in the surrounding places with higher pressure must flow to the places with lower pressure, forming a 'wind'. In summer..."

"Doctor, we are not in a high school class," the general interrupted impatiently, "Can you please get to the point quickly?" Freeman remained silent, and after looking at Gates for a few seconds, he spit out a phrase meaningfully: "The Butterfly Effect." Gates was taken aback: "Butterfly effect?" "The exact cause of the typhoon is still a mystery, General," the doctor picked up the pencil on the table and shook it back and forth a few times, "but the general consensus in the academic circle is the butterfly effect - the gradual superposition of countless tiny meteorological factors, Constant exchange and alienation in an open environment, and finally an essential leap. A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a typhoon—this may be just a joke, but it is true that some details that humans cannot observe or bother to observe will would lead to unforeseen and dire disasters."

"Like the typhoon over Paget Island?" "Exactly, this kind of abnormal weather phenomenon can never be formed under natural conditions, so I... To be precise, my team believes that some external factors that do not belong to the natural circulation system must be responsible for it, Like a 'weather weapon', or... some sort of alien object..." The general narrowed his eyes: "Like that meteorite?" "XYY0607EG58," Freeman nodded, "remember? I mentioned earlier that it produced anomalous magnetic fields and radiation that were difficult to resolve during its fall, which may cause changes in air pressure, or change the humidity of the air in the clouds and temperature, eventually forming a typhoon-like structure over Peget Island."

"Are you sure? Is there such a possibility?" "If you're not using a weather weapon, then I guess this might be the last possibility." Gates suddenly clenched his fists, as if suddenly realizing: "Wait, you just mentioned 'radiation?'" "Correction, General," Freeman sighed, "I mentioned 'radiation' three days ago." "This makes sense..." The general nodded excitedly at the table, "It must be that the radiation from the meteorite has interfered with radio communications and synthetic aperture radar! Yes... it can only be like this!"

The doctor was a little confused, of course he couldn't understand Gates' mood at the moment - the old general felt that his subordinates might still be alive, and the mission on Paget Island hadn't failed yet, the only one who couldn't contact CATS The reason is the meteorite——this damned meteorite called G58! "Interfere...communication?" Freeman adjusted his glasses, "In other words, you lost contact with your people?" "The cloud cover is too thick, and the optical imaging reconnaissance satellites cannot observe the ground, and the synthetic aperture radar satellites have also been interfered, and the clarity is extremely poor," the general said: "As for Paget Island, we are now both deaf and blind." As soon as the voice fell, things had a sudden "turn"—— "Sir!" A soldier pushed open the door and saluted at the entrance of the house: "The HK930 satellite has read out the image!" "Impossible!" Although Gates' tone was firm, his eyes were full of expectation, "Could it be that the typhoon has dissipated?" "No, it's not," the soldier was speechless for a moment, "It... something happened to it." Lieutenant General Gates and Dr. Freeman glanced at each other, got up from their seats at the same time, and walked out of the room quickly. command hall. The depression a few minutes ago has now been replaced by noisy human voices. Everyone present - from soldiers to officers, is busy busy, with code names, data and some words that even General Gates himself can't understand. Technical phrases echoed through the hall, distracting him for no apparent reason. Freeman followed closely without saying a word. His whole attention was attracted by the giant electronic map in the hall, and he couldn't take his eyes off it. The general noticed his adjutant - he was bowing his head and whispering to a signal soldier. "What's going on? Joe?" Gates yelled, "Report!" "General!" The adjutant couldn't hide the excitement on his face, straightened his waist, and pointed to the center of the opposite electronic map, "The image just sent back by HK930 shows that the diameter of the typhoon's eye over Peget Island has expanded by 1.5 times! We almost You can see the whole picture of the island!" "So fast?" Gates looked at the electronic screen suspiciously, "It's only been a few minutes..." On the enlarged map of the Balingtang Strait, the huge "Xuanwu" is like a monster, occupying almost half of the screen. In its upper left corner, there is another much smaller white spiral object - that is It is the "Pegett wind group" mentioned by Freeman. In terms of area, it is indeed much smaller than the average tropical storm, but in terms of its shape, it is already different from the "Basalt" around it. There are not many left. "Enlarge the eye of the storm," the general ordered with a frown, "Project it on the big screen! Immediately!" The order was quickly executed, and the scale of the electronic map was suddenly reduced by fifteen times, and the picture zoomed in on the eye of the typhoon in the "Pegett Wind Group". The scan lines gradually become clearer. "Confirm the airborne field!" Gates stepped forward, holding the railing tightly with both hands, "Ask the communication team to clear every channel!" A small pointer appeared on the map and stopped at the edge of a large mountain on Paget Island. After half a second, the location corresponding to the pointer was enlarged by one circle—and then another circle. "Coordinates H35, Z104, airborne position confirmed!" The adjutant staring at the small screen shouted: "...No CATS team found! No parachute bag either!" Relying on his instincts from serving in the army for many years, the lieutenant general saw the abnormalities on the map of Paget Island at a glance: "Wait! Don't touch the screen! What's that?" Gates pointed forward - but still no one knew where he said "that". "Zoom in the road! It's the road near the edge of the map!" As a veteran soldier, Gates is well aware of the importance of technology to national defense - precision guided missiles, digital command systems, and global delivery unmanned weapons such as "Reaper". The appearance of the battlefield also allows the US military to always sit firmly at the head of the world's military powers. But there is only one thing—the general feels that there is only one thing that has the effect of deciding the battle situation, and it is absolutely irreplaceable—the spy satellite, which verifies an eternal truth in the military field: Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles. On that winding path, dozens of ant-like little mermaids filed forward, and the light was very dim. Even with the maximum magnification of the satellite lens, you could barely see the outlines of these little things—— Everyone seems to be holding a "stick-shaped object" about one meter long in their arms. If these people are not engaging in some kind of folk parade, then there is only one possibility...they are fully armed. "Is there any information on the rioters on the island?" Gates turned his head and asked, "Where is the CIA liaison?" "It is speculated that there are about 30 to 50 people," an officer wearing a captain's shoulder badge responded repeatedly: "Without background and clear political vision, it is more like a group of criminals." "Where are the weapons? What about the intelligence on the island's armed forces?" "..." The captain was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "There are no regular armed forces on the island. According to the CIA Southeast Asia Branch, the Paget police force is equipped with 3, at most 4 AK47 assault rifles, and all other weapons are carried with them. Light weapons carried, such as revolvers and..." "Then who are these people? Damn it!" The general pointed at the big screen with an annoyed expression on his face: "Do you think the things they hold in their hands are like '3, at most 4' AK47?" The captain glanced at the screen: "I don't know...General, I think they may be the Chinese Marine Corps." "Moving towards the coastline?" Gates snorted disdainfully: "You mean to say that they completed the task in only 5 hours and are ready to return home?" While speaking, the villains on the map suddenly changed their formation. They not only moved away from the road, but also quickened their pace and started running. One after another, they plunged into the jungle and disappeared completely. Pulled out the skirmish line - General Gates's heart thumped, these people were obviously not marching, but seemed to be about to go into battle, and they moved neatly, calmly, definitely not "mobs" "Should have military literacy. "Zoom out...Zoom out the map!" The general waved his hand: "Look where they are going?" The big screen stretched rapidly according to the general's order, and it didn't stop until it showed the coastline of Paget Island. "Is it a port?" Gates and the adjutant beside him said in unison, and then looked at each other again. Just when everyone was puzzled, a small black dot flashed from the bottom of the map and moved to the center at a very fast speed.Before the general gave an order, the electronic identification frame was placed on the black dot, and an enlarged blurred image immediately appeared in the upper left corner of the screen—— "'Saint Valkyrie'!" The adjutant stared at the small red words on the big screen, his mouth shut in shock: "Is that a...'Saint Valkyrie'?" This awkward word is no stranger to Lieutenant General Gates. He had seen the test flight video of the AXM08 prototype two years ago, but since then, he has never heard of this kind of wireless aircraft produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Any information about man and machine.According to the secret agreement of the "Japan-US Security Agreement", all new weapons equipped by the Self-Defense Forces must be notified to the US military, and the "Saint Valkyrie" has never appeared in the catalog-that is to say, the unmanned aircraft on the screen It is impossible for a reconnaissance plane to belong to the Japanese Self-Defense Force. Of course, it is absolutely impossible to belong to the Chinese navy. The answer speaks for itself. The command hall suddenly became extremely quiet, either aboveboard or sneaky. Almost all the soldiers present turned their heads and looked at their general, expecting an "instruction" that would not take responsibility. "Sir, maybe we should inform the Chinese..." The adjutant whispered to Gates: "Tell them that there are unidentified military organizations on the island, let their sea..." The general raised his right hand and interrupted his subordinates' proposal: "How should I speak? Say 'We've been following your country's actions on Paget Island?' Huh? And..." He said coldly, "Why should I care about the life and death of the Chinese?" "But general!" the adjutant argued: "The Chinese navy is currently the closest regular armed force to Peget Island. The life and death of the CATS team is uncertain. Maybe we can use the Chinese marines to help our people get out of trouble." "Sorry, Joe, I prefer to rely on my own people..." Gates lowered his voice: "Where is the nearest aircraft carrier to Paget?" "The Qilia aircraft carrier battle group belonging to the Seventh Pacific Fleet, General," the adjutant replied without hesitation: "Now it should be cruising near the Mariana Trench, and it is scheduled to arrive at Yokosuka Port on the morning of the 18th for replenishment and rest. " Lieutenant General Gates scratched his forehead - he has always disliked dealing with the head of the Navy's sailors, but now it seems that there is no other choice.Of course, as far as the way of negotiation is concerned, Gates still has some tricks to play. "Help me pick up the Minister of Defense," Gates patted the adjutant's shoulder: "Just say the situation is urgent." Dr. Freeman, who had been silent by the side, watched the adjutant move away a little, and suddenly stepped forward and moved closer to Gates: "I don't know much about military affairs, buddy, but it seems that the situation is not good?" The general took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "It's so bad that I have to use a little relationship in the Ministry of Defense...but don't worry, doctor," Gates forced a smile, "'Zilia' is the pride of the US Navy. With the support of the Seventh Fleet, your precious stone will not escape—if it is still on the island." "I don't want to be alarmist..." The doctor looked nervously to both sides, "But I can't say why, I have a hunch, your CATS... and the Seventh Fleet, this time will stumble on Peget Island gone." "Ha, are you kidding—" Gates laughed: "The 'Qilia' aircraft carrier battle group carries a total of 16 megaton nuclear warheads, enough to wipe out half of Russia." These arrogant soldiers are always so self-righteous - Freeman thought to himself, they always use "nuclear leveling" as a magic weapon for bargaining, and they are so stubborn that it seems that other methods are not worthwhile in the face of the chain reaction of the atomic bomb carry. "Lieutenant General Gates, I hope you understand..." Freeman gently pushed the frame of the mirror, and said in a serious and creepy manner, "It's nothing, we can all use nuclear bombs to solve it!" The general snorted, and replied with a helpless wry smile: "Dr. Freeman, of course I know that nuclear bombs are not a panacea, but I also hope you understand... You'd better pray that nuclear bombs are useful, because that is probably the last resort we Americans can resort to." At least this sentence, the doctor felt indisputable.