The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [146]
The National Security Advisor managed a smile. "Thank you for your views on the matter of proper government policy, Dr Ryan. That will be all."
"Thank you, Dr Elliot. My assessment, by the way, is that we should let things be. The treaty will be approved, despite what you see here."
"Why?" Elliot managed not to hiss.
"The treaties are good for Israel in any objective sense. The people will realize that as soon as they've had a chance to digest the information, and make their views known to their representatives. Israel is a democracy, and democracies generally do the smart thing. History, you see. Democracy has become popular in the world because it works. If we panic and take precipitous action, we'll only mess things up. If we let the process work as it's supposed to work, the right thing will probably happen."
"Probably?"
"There are no certainties in life; there are only probabilities," Ryan explained. Why didn't everyone understand that? he wondered to himself. "But interference has a higher probability of failure than doing nothing. Doing nothing at all is often the right thing. This is such a case. Let their system work. I think it will work. That is my opinion."
"Thank you for your assessment." she said, turning away.
"A pleasure, as always."
Elliot waited until she heard the door close before turning to look. "You arrogant prick, I'll break you for that," she promised.
Ryan climbed back into his car on West Executive Drive. You went too far, man, he told himself.
No, you didn't. She was starting to think that way, and you had to slam the door on it right there and then.
It was the most dangerous thought that a person in government could have. He'd seen it before. Some dreadful thing happened to people in Washington, D.C. They arrived in the city, usually full of ideals, and those fine thoughts evaporated so rapidly in what was in fact a muggy and humid environment. Some called it being captured by the system. Ryan thought of it as a kind of environmental pollution. The very atmosphere of Washington corroded the soul.
And what makes you immune, Jack?
Ryan considered that, unmindful of the look Clark gave him in the mirror as they drove towards the river. What had made him different to this point was the fact that he had never given in, not even once or had he? There were things he might have done differently. There were some things that hadn't worked out quite as well as he might have wished.
You're not different at all. You just think you are. As long as I can face the question and the answers, then I am safe. Sure.
"So?"
"So, I can do many things," Ghosn replied. "But not alone. I will need help."
"And security?"
"That is an important question. I have to make a serious assessment of what the possibilities are. At that point I will know my precise requirements. I know I will need help in some areas, however."
"Such as?" the Commander asked.
"The explosives."
"But you are an expert in such things." Qati objected.
"Commander, this task requires precision such as we have never been forced to face. We cannot use ordinary plastic explosives, for example, for the simple reason that they are plastic - they change shape. The explosive blocks I use must be as rigid as stone, must be shaped to a thousandth of a millimeter, and the shape must be determined mathematically. The theoretical side of that is something I could assimilate, but it will take months. I would rather devote my time to refabricating the nuclear material and "
"Yes?"
"I believe I can improve the bomb, Commander."
"Improve? How?"
"If my initial readings are correct, this type of weapon can be adapted to become not a bomb but a trigger."
"Trigger for what?" Qati asked.
"A thermonuclear fusion bomb, a hydrogen bomb, Ismael. The yield of the weapon might be increased by a factor of ten, perhaps a hundred. We could destroy Israel,