A New Day

A Short Story by Alan Walsh

At first, there was no fuss. The Defense Secretary walked into the Oval Office for his 10 AM meeting, stepped back out in a moment, and said.. “So, where’s the Prez?” The Secretary looked up and said.. “He’s in there! Been there for two hours. Must be in the John.” A Secret Service agent overheard the conversation and quickly canvassed the room. Coming out, he said.. “John’s empty. No one there. Whole room’s empty.” Rapid inquiries were made in the adjoining offices.. then outward throughout the entire complex. Then.. panic set in.

The White House was buttoned down and searched top to bottom.. searched again.. then searched again. No one was allowed in or out. Business came to a screeching halt. Finally, dumbfounded and feeling ashamed, the Secret Service reported that the President was nowhere to be found. “It’s as if he vanished into space.”

A lid of secrecy was clamped down. White House staff went through hell as they were individually interviewed at length; each interview being more heated and intense. The President’s agenda was cancelled, and excuses distributed to the press. The Vice President and Cabinet were quietly found and spirited into the White House; setting up nervous shop in the Situation Room. The military was quietly put on alert.. without explanation except to the Joint Chiefs. Not even Congress was informed, for fear of a leak. No one knew what to say.. or what to do next. A surreal state set in. The press got wind of a story, and was snooping around hard for answers. Tempers were short and getting shorter.

After two days of frenetic but fruitless activity, the senior leaders were confronted with the reality that the President was nowhere to be found.. yet the government must go on. It was all so bizarre. “Impossible”.. people kept saying under their breath. Arrangements were made for the Chief Justice to slip in and swear-in the Vice President. An announcement for 5 PM was announced to the press; without further elaboration. As the short-list of witnesses assembled for the private swearing-in, a Secret Service agent came running in and breathlessly blurted out.. “The President’s been found!” The Vice President turned and asked.. “Where?”

Where indeed! An agent on the roof spotted someone standing in the middle of the South Lawn. At first he didn’t believe his own eyes. He looked twice more through his rifle scope before accepting the evidence. By then, others had seen the figure and rushed in. Moments later, the President was mobbed by security and literally carried into the building. Some tourists witnessed the event, tongues started wagging, and it wasn’t long before the press was baying hot on the hunt.

Many questions and a thorough hospital checkup later, there was no progress. When first asked, the President said.. “One minute I was at my desk, and the next I was on the lawn. What happened?”. His story never changed. Other than looking a bit like a deer in the headlights, there were no indications

that the President was mentally or physically incapacitated. Everyone had questions, and no one had answers. Many people aged that day. But life and government go on, so at the scheduled 5:00 announcement the Press Secretary spun a tale about the President picking up a mild bug that laid him low temporarily, and business started to settle down to some semblance of a routine. Nothing was said about the President being on the South Lawn, and reporters finally got tired of posing questions to impassive, silent faces. But one thing fundamentally changed. White House staff started looking at each other with a suspicion that wasn’t there before. Fear had crept into the White House.

Two days later, the CIA Director was heading back from a meeting when his secretary handed him a message that read.. “Dragon – Noon – Usual”. Soon he left Langley and headed into the city where he directed his driver to a place on the Mall. He hopped out of the car and told his security detail to wait down the street; then he walked to a particular bench and sat down. A couple minutes later, an elderly Chinese man joined him on the bench. After a moment’s silence, the man said “Hello old friend. How’s the President?”. Grunted response.. “Fine ..pause.. How’s the Premier?”. “A bit like a stunned animal. Sound familiar”? Eyebrows rose. “We can guess what happened here, because the same happened to us”. More raised eyebrows, and a surprised turn of the head. “Naturally we were able to contain our incident better. We have no explanation. Do your people”? A quiet “No”. “These are very strange times. We must stay in touch.” A grunted “Yes” .. and the CIA Director was off to his limo. Discrete inquiries to assets in Beijing indicated that “something” had happened on the day in question. Appropriate leaders were quietly advised, but what to do? There was nothing to investigate; no minute shred of a clue to follow. Only questions.

One week later, a Cabinet Meeting was winding down when the President turned to the Labor Secretary and asked “How’s that cancer treatment coming along?” The Labor Secretary froze in his tracks. He had contracted bladder cancer two months ago, the tumor had been removed, and he had been quietly receiving treatments without saying anything to anyone except his wife and immediate family; swearing them all to secrecy. Pause.. “Fine Mr. President ..longer pause.. How did you know?” “Don’t remember. You must have told me.” All eyes in the room turned to observe the dazed look and white face of the Labor Secretary. Over the following days, the President demonstrated several more moments of exceptional and unexplainable mental talent.

Another meeting called by Dragon.. “Our Premier seems to have newly-enhanced capabilities. Same with you?” A surprised.. “Yes”. “Check the President’s DNA”.. as he rose and walked away.

It was time for the President’s annual physical, therefore a convenient opportunity for discrete sampling. Two days later.. “The President has two additional chromosomes.” “Two more than any other human. Two more than any human being ever.”

Across the cold vastness of space, quiet voices communicated unobserved. “Have the seed implants taken?” “Yes, and we’re seeing the expected results”. “Good. Begin seeding the next group, and if all goes well seed the whole planet. Keep me informed of progress”.End