The Book of Knots - Jags

Book of Knots - Factions
92
Project Puritan
Mother, Should I Trust the Government?
I have a dark fantasy in my mind about how it goes.
It goes like this: I get the communiqué––it’s not a phone call,
it’s not an email. It comes in on a special channel, and I know
what’s in it before I open the envelope. There’s only one thing
that comes in on that channel, and if comes, it means one thing:
nightmare.
I open the envelope and read it. No surprises.
I go to see the President. He’s in his office; everyone’s nervous.
When he gets an unexpected visitor (not really unexpected;
I’ve called ahead––made arrangements, of course), it means
something bad has happened.
In my fantasy, the colors of the room seem washed out; the
sound’s muted. In my fantasy, there are Grave Men there with
him to hear what I have to say.
“Mr. President,” I begin, showing him the
communiqué, “Sanction has been invoked.
I need to brief you, and we need to discuss
your options.”
He answers me, confidently, as though he’s
aware of the situation.
“No, Sir,” I have to explain. “This isn’t
about the aliens.” He knows about the
aliens. Every President since Eisenhower’s
known about them. Part of the induction
briefing. All about their machinery and
hives, and how they aren’t really aliens at
all.
But this isn’t about the aliens.
It’s about something else, and in my
fantasy, I look down at the paper to explain
the situation.
And in my fantasy, it’s blank.
Because 50 years ago wise men looked
into the dark heart of creation and learned something so awful
and deadly that just knowing it killed them. But before they