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"And Western Canada too," added Sergei.
"...And what's the asterisk for behind Montesano?" Ralph demanded.
Sergei gulped. "The asterisk indicates that a nuclear power utility has been chosen as mark zero," Sergei replied.
"What the hell are you trying to do?" Ralph screamed back into the phone, "are you trying to poison the whole country? I see a total of four asterisks on your list!"
"Hey, you of all people should be familiar with this strategy, it was invented by your own people in the Pentagon," Sergei replied. "Offense is the best defense. It was agreed upon to increase deterrence! I have been fighting this idiocy for decades, but nobody is listening. There is no physical defense possible. You jailed the only person who could have saved you."
"You should realize that our target selection is automatically adjusted by the system according to the severity level of the threat at a given situation," Peter interrupted. "It is based on a mutually agreed upon algorithm by which the target lists are generated. Obviously, your stealth aircraft scare affected the target selection pattern."
After this exchange Ralph was called away from the phone. His last words indicated that separation had taken place. "So the nightmare is on!" he shouted into the phone and said that he would leave now.
"Yes, it appears these devices will accomplish what they were created for," said Peter and cried.
"And so will ours," added Ralf and plunked the receiver onto the table.
A lesser officer, who could speak some Russian, came to the phone.
"The official response to your aggression is still being discussed in Washington," the new officer said in Russian. "We expect a retaliatory response to be ordered. If this happens, you are advised to make no counter moves so that the affair will not escalate into a full-scale war. Is this understood, Sergei Arenski?" he demanded.
"Jawohl Herr Hitler!" Sergei replied in English. "You're crazy if you expect me to sit idle while you reserve yourself the right to murder our cities in a deliberate act. According to every bit of evidence known to us this launch from Freedom Base One was an accident. It was tragic, but it was an ACCIDENT! Let me warn you my friends. If you respond to this accident with deliberate murder, I will personally destroy the rest of the USA. And don't think I can't do it. I can do it without getting out off my chair. From my computer terminal, I have access to every missile base in the country. I can launch eighteen hundred missiles at you, and you won't be able to stop a single one of them as you have already demonstrated."
"I don't believe...." started the NORAD officer.
"You better believe that there are means to get by any security lock," Sergei replied in the same calm manner in which the NORAD officer spoke. "You'd better think about that before you start retaliating! You also should consider that you need our help in evacuating half you country that may become necessary. If you destroy Russia and Eastern Europe you won't have a place left in the world that can take in your refugees and support them."
The officer muttered something about Washington, and Moscow, and agreements, and having been ordered.
"Dam it, you're dealing with me, not Washington or Moscow! And to convince you that I mean business, I'm sending you a copy of the command index frame that is on my screen right this minute. Then you can judge for yourself whether or not I can launch 1800 more missiles, and you'd better rush to your phone and tell your president not to make any hasty moves. You may also tell him that there is nothing Moscow can do to stop me unless they want to shut the entire country's defense network down, which they won't do."
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