THE THREE OBSERVED THE MATERIAL. Clooney's find was a file with digitized documents from the time of the project. There were numerous technical drawings, with descriptions of modern and very complicated parts and devices.
—What would that be? — asked Carl Benedetti.
—It appears to be a military device. —Martin replied.
— It doesn't look like it, it is. — Bradley Clooney said. — I've studied this kind of thing a little bit. From the shape and construction of this thing, it looks like a bomb, but it doesn't make any sense...
— A bomb? Yeah, it really doesn't have much to do with an experimental neuroscience project...
— This has much more to do with Manhattan... — Clooney grumbled dejectedly.
—Wait! — Martin said — Moon was an arm of the Manhattan Project, right?
— Yes and no! Since both had no direct connection with each other.
— Let's think about it! A project that researched the construction of devices of mass destruction. Now we see blueprints and drawings of parts for the construction of a strange bomb under the management of DARPA, a defense agency. So why wouldn't it also be a kind of bomb?
— What do you mean by that?
— Look what happened on Fifth Avenue! People were completely destroyed just by hearing that damned sound! They killed themselves, lost their sanity, died without their hearts stopping beating! We don't even have news of what happened to the President!
— The President is fine. — Benedetti replied. — I watched the news while you were sleeping...
"That's a lie!" Martin exclaimed. "I was working with him and his team when it all happened. He received threats before all of this, and he got caught somehow. They're covering it up, but I can't imagine why…"
— If Greg was with him, then it's all good, man!
— Greg... wait, let me see if he replied to my message!
Martin looked and saw that Greg had updated him, he was indeed with the President and they were fine.
— Greg is with President Vaine and Kenagan, but only I know that.
— At least some good news, man!
Martin agreed, but he saw a nebulous barrier surrounding so many hidden facts and blatant fake news. He felt like he was in front of an immense theater, but he didn't know how to find a way out of that spectacle.
— A sound bomb ... — Clooney said in astonishment. — Why didn't I ever think of that...?
"Think of the potential of such a device!" Martin said, beside himself. "To attack and decimate enemy armies without causing any physical destruction! This is a new standard for military attack! Just think: explosive attacks are limited in some ways, cost a lot, and cause too much destruction. Biological attacks take a long time to spread, can be contained, and cause terrible setbacks. But what about sound?"
— A sonic attack could reach the target in seconds and allow no defense! A weapon with no reproduction cost and highly effective!
— Whoever held this in their hands would be feared anywhere... — added Carl Benedetti.
— Where the hell is Dr. Payne? — Martin asked — We need to know what happened!
— That's the problem, — Clooney replied. — The records I found here only match up to 1982. There's no completion of the project, no location, and no information about the doctor's whereabouts.
— The government wouldn't give up such a powerful weapon for anything... And besides, we're seeing it in action for the first time. But it wasn't at the government's hands, which means...
— Damn him! He stole the research!
— Well, the terrorist who carried out the attack yesterday could be him... — concluded Clooney.
— I was there, — Benedetti said, under the curious gazes of the two. — The biggest hell I've ever seen. And I was in many in Vietnam. No one escaped that act unscathed. Even those of us who are still sane, I'm sure we'll bear the scars.
— That terrorist wasn't just anyone.
—He was not a dog trained by a higher indoctrinator, a common scoundrel who kills for a cause he does not understand. What he said to the President meant much more than I could understand, I am sure of it.
—What do you mean by that, Brad? — Martin asked.
— If Dr. Payne is behind all this, and if he really did steal the research, then there is a bigger cause behind this whole thing. Believe me or not, but that man who spoke to the President knows something that we don't.
— And that is very different from just believing in a cause...