mortality and delay the inevitable. The combination of these initiatives holds the potential to curtail world population by some 200 million humans. China and governments of other populous nations have taken similar approaches, but they have not gone far enough.”
The speaker drank water, absorbing further ripples of reaction.
“Some may call me an apocalyptic prophet. They may align me with fringe elements, doomsday cults, extremists or brand me an outcast for challenging popular opiate thought.
“That does not trouble me, for in my life I have experienced how humanity reacts in times of distress. I have seen the worst unfold before my eyes after warnings were ignored, after rational thought evaporated.
“I am your witness to reality.
“I advocate extreme action because we face an extreme situation. Time is running out on human existence on this planet. We are entering the panic zone….”
The video faded to black.
“This is extreme,” Lancer said. “Is it Sutsoff?”
“No way of telling. No one’s heard of this ‘Condition of Mankind’s Progress Symposium.’ My friend thinks the video was made in Turkey or Africa.”
“Or it’s a complete hoax produced by undergrads at Yale or MIT,” Weeks said. “I just don’t think Gretchen is behind this, or anything like it.”
“Really, and why not?” Lancer asked.
“To let a professional disagreement fester over time into motivation for a vengeful act, using our work on Crucible, is just unfathomable, impossible.”
“Les, you didn’t work with Gretchen as closely as Foster and I did. The stuff in this manifesto is precisely what she was leaning to before she left.”
“Let me get this straight,” Lancer said. “Gretchen Sutsoff could be using Crucible’s research to put her extremist views into action?”
“That’s the scenario Foster and I fear,” Kenyon said.
“I just don’t buy it.” Weeks shook his head.
“Well, consider this,” Kenyon said. “About a month ago the CIA looked into Foster’s concerns about rumors online. They talked to me, too. I know that at first they dismissed Foster, but I recently heard from a friend at Langley who said the agency had reconsidered.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. At this stage one can only speculate that they must have discovered something.”
“Your video?”
“Maybe, and maybe something more substantial,” Kenyon said. “Look at the circumstances. It’s the stuff of nightmares. Maybe they don’t want to alarm anybody. Do you know Gretchen Sutsoff’s story?”
“Foster said she’d had a troubled life.”
“Listen, our lives were put under a microscope when we were security-cleared to work on Crucible. I worked closely with Gretchen. She was very private, very guarded. Now we scientists can be eccentric in our own way, but she was different. Way out there. She seemed to have a pathological dislike of other human beings.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. She refused to ever talk to anyone if it wasn’t necessary, let alone open up to anyone. In my time with her I learned that her father had a military background and that her family traveled, lived around the world. Then there was some sort of tragedy and Gretchen was hurt, she suffered some kind of neurological disorder.”
“Do you know what it was?”
“No, but it obviously didn’t hinder her intelligence. I think she took medication. Still, every now and then, she’d have episodes.”
“What sort of episodes?”
“Like an outburst. She had one around the time she left, when she’d advocated live human trials with File 91 without consent.”
“Foster told me he denied her request, it violated the Nuremberg Code.”
“Did he tell you what she said?”
“No.”
“It’s what precipitated her departure—I was the only one present with him and I’ll never forget it. She said something like, ‘These trials are for the public’s own damn good. Most people don’t have a clue what is best for them. They’re lemmings. Believe me I’ve seen them at their worst. Rational minds need to do the thinking for them.’”
“That sounds arrogant.”
“There’s more. She was storming out, when she stopped, turned and said, ‘You know, Nazi scientists were responsible for many of the modern world’s advances, and they did it because they were not restricted by boundaries. They had complete freedom to perfect the human race, to explore a vision.’”
“A vision of what?”
“Hell, likely. I believe at that time Gretchen was on the verge of a breakdown.”
“Do you have any idea how I can find her?”
“None. If the FBI can’t find Hoffa, and the CIA can’t find bin Laden, then nobody’s going to find Gretchen Sutsoff. I heard she took out new citizenship with a small country, changed her name, maybe her appearance.”
“What do you think is at work here?” Lancer asked.
“There are several possibilities—the North