Project Mastodon
Public Domain
Chapter 9
The chief of Central Intelligence was white-lipped when he finished talking.
“You’re sure of your information?” asked the President.
“Mr. President,” said the CIA chief, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.”
The President looked at the other two who were in the room, a question in his eyes.
The JCS chairman said, “It checks, sir, with everything we know.”
“But it’s incredible!” the President said.
“They’re afraid,” said the CIA chief. “They lie awake nights. They’ve become convinced that we’re on the verge of traveling in time. They’ve tried and failed, but they think we’re near success. To their way of thinking, they’ve got to hit us now or never, because once we actually get time travel, they know their number’s up.”
“But we dropped Project Mastodon entirely almost three years ago. It’s been all of ten years since we stopped the research. It was twenty-five years ago that Hudson--”
“That makes no difference, sir. They’re convinced we dropped the project publicly, but went underground with it. That would be the kind of strategy they could understand.”
The President picked up a pencil and doodled on a pad.
“Who was that old general,” he asked, “the one who raised so much fuss when we dropped the project? I remember I was in the Senate then. He came around to see me.”
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