Former General, Wei Ke Zhen waited patiently while the soldiers continued patting him down looking for anything that might have been considered a security risk. The soldiers had checked his credentials and made numerous excuses for holding up the aged Chinese man, shrinking into their uniforms whenever their young eyes had the misfortune of meeting his own.

“It will only be a minute longer, Sir.” The one on his left practically squeaked while he ran his hands along the inside of his thigh.

The older man said nothing, simply taking it all in stride as he waiting patiently for the annoyingly drawn out procedure to finally be over. If he could put up with spending months camped out in the mountains during the revolution, cold and half-starving, surrounded by men and boys slowly dying of exposure, he could damn well put up with this.

He looked on at the tightly sealed security doors that lay ahead, face unreadable as he put his thoughts into order. The first contact with Alien life in all of recorded history, he thought to himself bitterly. And it had to be with accursed Americans! He resisted the urge to clench his teeth, an unfortunate habit he had cultivated during his twenty seven years as Chairman of The People’s Liberation Army. And now that they’ve gotten the attention of everyone with a camera, they start making accusations against us. If his men were that sloppy in policing their brass, this could turn out bad for all of us.

His thoughts soon turned to General Hiriboshi, remembering the angry, self-driven boy he had literally pulled from the trenches and taken under his wing all those decades ago, during the simpler times when one could trust their allies and face their enemies head on. Hiriboshi would have trained his men better than that.

Nevertheless, the party leader had insisted the matter be investigated and though he had never particularly cared for Chang or his way of doing things, Zhen was bound by duty to obey. It does beg the question as to why Hiriboshi has chosen to isolate this facility from us. I have no doubt that he has the party's best interest in mind, but to what end?

When the soldiers finally finished their exhaustive checks and inspections, they waved the older man through the security doors. Zhen, stepped forward, stone-faced and straight backed, watched as the reinforced steel doors hissed open on their hydraulic pistons.

Standing on the other side was the man that Zhen had once considered his protégé, Hiriboshi.

The General's face was just as stern and impassively his own, perhaps even more so. He gave a stiff nod to his mentor then turned and strode away with a purpose, gesturing for the older man to follow.

Zhen kept pace alongside Hiriboshi, pointedly ignoring the small mass of soldiers who followed them through the maze of corridors. When they soon arrived at a tram, he was motioned to be seated, waiting for Hiriboshi and the other soldiers to take their seats before the tram suddenly lurched forward and proceeded to make it way deeper into the facility.

Silence dominated the entirety of the tram ride. Neither man said a word, both appreciating the silence as they sat across from each other.

When the tram finally came to a stop Zhen followed Hiriboshi as he was led to what appeared to be a large conference room. Tall, darkly varnished doors closed behind them with heavy thump of wood and brass, leaving the soldiers to wait outside.

Once the two of them were alone, Hiriboshi motioned for Zhen to take a seat at the impressive table that spanned nearly the entire length of the room. The older man did so and Hiriboshi sat down at the other end, like two monarchs presiding over an empty banquet. After Hiriboshi adjusted himself, he removed his general’s cap and dropped it onto the table top with a sigh and spoke in Mandarin, "I hate this official garbage. All the stiff posturing and proper etiquette is a waste of time better spent doing things that actually matter."

Zhen grunted in a noncommittal manner then unfastened the brass buttons of his own uniform coat before slipping it off his shoulders and draping it over the chair to left. "You never did stand on ceremony."

Hiriboshi snorted. "Neither did you,” he replied. “Something I’m fairly certain that I had picked up from you.”

“Strange, I always thought it to be the other way around.”

A small, tight-lipped smile found its way onto Hiriboshi’s face. “Maybe. We are, everyone of us, the authors of our pasts.” He let himself relax, something he rarely ever did in front of anyone except his wife and daughter, settling into his chair and placing his clasped hand in his lap. “It is good to see you, sir. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

What little humor Zhen had allowed to touch his features had now completely disappeared. The older man pursed his thin lips and squared his jaw. "You are aware of the aliens who made contact with the Americans?" At Hiriboshi's nod, he continued. "Party Leader Chan has received a communique from the American President. In it, he states that the aliens claim to have proof of some sort of incursion into their world by unknown Human forces. The aliens say they have a brass cartridge casing with fingerprints on it from a soldier who is stationed here." Zhen laid his hands flat on the table. "Care to enlighten me as to why they make this claim?"

The General’s face betrayed neither surprise nor an sort of emotion whatsoever. Impassive as always, he leveled his dark eyes with the older man’s and stared directly into his face. "Because it's true, " he stated bluntly.

Zhen's eyes narrowed, not quite prepared for the truth to come out so quickly. "Explain."

Hiriboshi stood up and pushed in his chair, "The aliens are not as peaceful as they seem. There is something you should see, sir." He touched several keys on the keypad built into the table, causing the lights to dim and a section of wall to slide open, revealing the enormous screen hidden beneath.

Images flashed across Zhen’s vision, recordings taken from the countless number of security cameras scattered throughout the facility. He was unable to suppress his long forgotten sense of awe and shock as he watched the insectoid-equine creature displayed on each recording, moving with alien swiftness and agility that no creature on earth could ever hope to match. He felt the old blood in his veins pumping beneath his skin as watched the unfathomable scene unfolding in front of him, his mind refusing to accept what he saw no matter how much he watched.

A sudden flash of green drew his attention to one of the other recordings, where he was soon met by the grotesque image of the creature taking on the shape and features of one of the facility’s scientists. Hands that weren’t really hands fought against a familiar woman armed with a pistol.

Before Zhen could say anything, the recordings taken from the security cameras were soon replaced by still images of the creature, once again returned to what he could only assume was its natural state, dead and lain across the surface of an examination table.

Zhen stared in awe at the creature’s dissected corpse, studied the chunks of glossy black chitin that had been cut from its legs and torso, separated and neatly arranged like jagged puzzle pieces. Organs and cleanly cut scraps of tissue floated in jars of translucent fluids while one of the creature’s translucent wings lay spread out across a brightly lit screen so that the complex webwork of blood vessels could be clearly seen, studied, and analyzed.

It was only then that the old man realized that Hiriboshi had been speaking to him as he calmly walked around the room, pointing at one image before moving on to explain the next "... when it attacked my wife, she was able to fatally injure the beast using the gun that I kept in our quarters. Unfortunately, the creature succumbed to its injuries, despite our best efforts to keep it alive for further study. Though our findings have been limited, we were able to identify a number of organs, most of which have the same, normal functions as one would find in any other animal on Earth. We have also discovered new organs, the functions of which our scientists have been able to identify and classify." He walked over to one organ the size of a liver and pointed to it, "This organ was located near the stomach and on normal Humans, does not exist. Our scientists have been able to determine that it functions somewhat similarly to a liver in that it filters a type of matter out of the bloodstream. That matter is a golden liquid which has been confusing us to no end, but we have had a breakthrough." The General stopped and waited for the older man to look up.

Zhen’s eyes flickered away from the displays and met Hiriboshi's. "And?” He asked. “What was the breakthrough?"

Hiriboshi squared his jaw and spoke, "The breakthrough is the reason we have cut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Before The Event destabilized completely, it emitted some sort of energy which pierced the bodies of every person in this facility." Upon hearing those words, Zhen’s eyes narrowed, but Hiriboshi was quick to continue, "Do not worry, sir, we have made certain there is no danger. The energy however had a profound effect on all of us in that our bodies had developed a new organ," he pointed to the pieces of the Changeling on display, "Just like this creature. Since our discoveries with this creature, this Changeling, if the American broadcasts are to be believed, we have begun to study the functions of this organ and the use of those functions. Our conclusions have been... startling."

Zhen watched with rapt attention as Hiriboshi reached out his right hand and a clipboard on a desk on the far end of the room zipped through the air and into his hand. Zhen also noticed the dim brown outline on Hiriboshi's hand when he did so. The General calmly walked over to the older man and held out the clipboard, "We here, have developed new capabilities. The energy emitted by The Event, seems to have forced upon us the next stage of Human evolution."

“And that’s why you made the decision to cut yourselves off from the rest of the world.” Zhen stated without the tiniest hint of emotion. “Including your own government.”

“Only because we have yet to fully understand these new abilities. Right now China is the only country in the world with Humans who have these abilities. What would happen if the rest of the world knew about what has happened here?"

Zhen didn’t even have to consider the answer. "They would no doubt break the agreement regarding China’s ownership of this facility.”

“And the Party leaders would refuse to relinquish control,” Hiriboshi added. “Sanctions would soon be levied, trade agreements rescinded, and before long, the other countries might even send their own soldiers to take it by force.”

“I doubt it would ever come to that,” Zhen replied. “Sanctions and broken trade agreements, are indeed a possibility, but to move against China through use of military force?” He crossed his arms and shook his head. “No. Even at the height of the Cold War, the Americans knew a direct military conflict with China would have been a fight that not even they could win. I highly doubt that has changed, regardless of how many years have passed.”

“But direct conflict is still a possibility, doubly so if this information were to be widely known.” The General countered. “And if it ever did come to that, it is almost a guarantee that this place would be destroyed in the fighting. The majority of the research conducted here would be destroyed and most of the people killed as well. The few who survived would be taken away and studied, but with the greatest scientific minds in the world lying dead here, they would accomplish little and Humanity would be horribly set back from a fantastic leap forward in our evolution." He leaned in, close to Zhen. "By isolating ourselves, we are keeping these secrets safe... for China." He straightened up and adjusted his shirt, "We have a packet of information for Party Leader Chang which details many of the breakthroughs we have been able to make here, but it also leaves out the more controversial ones. There is one other thing I have to show you, sir. If you will follow me."

**********

Zhen watched the monitors with laser-like focus while General Hiriboshi issued orders to the personnel in the control room, "Move the portal to coordinates 157.938, the alien castle view." Chin watched as the portal swept across the alien landscape and came to rest in a place which showed a scene of a castle set upon the side of a mountain.

From behind him, General Hiriboshi's voice whispered into his ear, "The Americans do not control the only portal into the alien world. Imagine what China could do with the resources here. Our technology is leaps and bounds beyond theirs, we have made several excursions into their world and found that though the aliens are physically stronger than we are, their bodies are just as susceptible to bullet and blade... and flame. If we directed the military might of all of China against them, they would fall and their world would be ours for the taking. The Americans have access to a single, immobile portal which is openly visible. We have access to a single portal which can be moved around freely and used to deploy troops to key locations for precision strikes against them, thus limiting the damage to this new world and we can render our portal immaterial to them at will..."

**********

Back in the conference room, Hiriboshi began to conclude his statements, "... This is our opportunity, sir. We have a whole planet's worth of resources ripe for the taking. All we have to do is eliminate the indigenous species and it is ours. We have already located an isolated position to establish a forward operating base and we have troops preparing to go through and clear it out so we can lay a foundation on our new world." Hiriboshi paused and prepared himself. If his mentor agreed, he could continue with his plans without worrying about constant interference from China's current leaders, "But we need to wait before we tell Party Leader Chang." Hiriboshi knew that hiding what he already had was enough to see him executed. To suggest what he had just spoken was worse. It was the biggest risk Hiriboshi had ever made in his life and unless Zhen agreed, he would need to take an even bigger risk. Were it any other person, he would have done differently, but Zhen was the man he respected more than any other in the world.

Zhen stared into Hiriboshi's eyes, reading the younger man’s intentions and looking for signs of falsehood. Zhen had a decision to make. He could go against his protege, the man he had molded from a rebellious youth into the cunning strategist who had accomplished so many great things, or he could stay true to the Party and report what he had seen. If he sided with his pupil and the Party discovered his betrayal, he and everyone he knew would be executed. The Facility would be reclaimed by China by force and much of the information located here would be lost.

On the flip side, he had chosen to back the Party because it was what he believed in and supported with his efforts for years, devoting his resources to their agendas and directions. He still believed in the Party and he had sworn his life in allegiance to the cause. Supporting Hiriboshi would be directly betraying what he believed in. In the end, it all came down to a single question: did he value Hiriboshi and his people more than all of China and what she had become?

Zhen stared long into Hiriboshi's eyes. His mind churning as the possibilities presented themselves then faded into the background. He had to remind himself not to be overwhelmed by what he had seen. Hiriboshi's presentation was meant to persuade him to his side, but Hiriboshi certainly knew that Zhen would not be persuaded purely by the greed which would persuade the rest of the Party so easily. The Party Leader demanded all information be handed over for his approval and his direction on what to do. Zhen knew that Party Leader Chang would send troops en masse over to the alien world to wage a bloody war which would make a complete mess of things and would likely destroy more than it preserved. Chang's propensity for ruthless expansionism were well known and acknowledged, as were his practices of torture and execution of any who opposed him and his totalitarian regime. In order for Hiriboshi's plan to work, Chang would have to be eliminated, which could throw China into another period of internal political strife. However, with the new abilities Hiriboshi and his people had at their disposal, they stood a very good chance. Then there was the other possibility, the one in which the Americans seemed to be most interested: peace with the aliens.

The damned Americans would find a way to take the Facility from China, likely through threat of force. If China did not respond to the accusations of the aliens, the other nations of the world would almost certainly rise against China and try to take the Facility by force. With so many factors in play and taking the greed of Humanity into account, the only option for China now was to strike first and fall back to the alien world. The alien’s accusation had backed them into a corner and thanks to the Americans, they surely knew who was to blame.

Zhen scratched his nose in deep contemplation. If Party Leader Chang knew what Hiriboshi had done, he would cover it up for fear of losing the Facility to the Americans or some other nation. Chang would foul up a great deal of the alien planet before China succeeded and all the while trying to keep the Facility under Chinese control to use the portal. The other nations would attack and invade. China would be forced to destroy the Facility and be cut off from the rest of her people.

If Zhen chose Hiriboshi's plan, it would require the assassination of Party Leader Chang and still run the risk of China coming under attack from the other nations... unless they had a way to make it seem like everything was Chang's fault... the Facility was still under Chinese and by extension Chang's control.

If they could make it appear that executing Party Leader Chang was the action of a concerned Zhen and Hiriboshi, in order to keep the peace... it would work.

Zhen lowered his hand and set it on the table calmly as he addressed Hiriboshi. "Who is to be your scapegoat?" He asked, "Who is going to be the patsy that links Party Leader Chang to the incursion?"

Hiriboshi knew that he had won as he leaned over the table, "Antonio Hernandez."

Zhen's eyebrows knit together, "How do you plan to accomplish this?"

Hiriboshi raised his head, "Guard, come in here." He called loudly.

The conference room door opened and a Norwegian soldier stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Hiriboshi calmly sat down in his chair, "What is your name soldier?"

"Grenmon, sir." The man replied, staring straight ahead expressionlessly.

Hiriboshi nodded, "Mister Grenmon, draw your weapon and put it to your head." He stated simply.

The man drew his sidearm and placed the barrel against his temple. Zhen’s eyes narrowed at the scene. Hiriboshi then casually said, "Holster your weapon." The soldier holstered his sidearm. The General then waved his hand casually, "You are dismissed. Resume your post outside."

Zhen blinked, 'What!? What was that!? How did he... Why did...'

"That is part of the gift given to me by evolution." Hiriboshi said emotionlessly, "I can order a man to kill himself and even if I decide not to have him follow through, he will not remember a single thing. I tested it on one of the janitors here. They still have not found the remains and even if they do, the wounds were self-inflicted." Hiriboshi leaned over the table, "Party Leader Chang and Antonio Hernandez are going to have a recorded conversation regarding how Chang ordered Hernandez to send the troops and all the problems which spawned from that order. There are few who know the details of how things occurred and I was careful to pass every 'order' through Hernandez for witnesses to verify. A few words from me and Hernandez will swear until his death that every action undertaken here was on his orders from Chang. In less than five minutes, I will be able to have Party Leader Chang swear the same. As the highest ranking military officer, you will have a powerful place from which to take over and guide China. Obviously we will have to proceed with caution, but our plans will be able to continue. Once we have access to the full might of China, the alien world will become a new Earth. A simultaneous missile strike against all major population centers and seats of government on the alien world, and their infrastructure will collapse. In a matter of hours their world will be leaderless. After that, we send in our forces and wipe out the remaining indigenous population. No matter how important these aliens think they are, they cannot withstand a tactical nuke to their castle. The radiation within those small areas will be gone in four hundred years at the most. A short time in the grand scheme of the universe and Humanity."

Zhen shook his head, "Your plan to be rid of Party Leader Chang is a bold one.”

“Fortune favors the bold.” Hiriboshi countered.

“True, but boldness often attracts risk. And what you’re proposing goes well beyond what most would consider to be an acceptable risk.”

“You disapprove?” The General asked.

“Not in the least. Your boldness is what first brought you to my attention when were still lowly soldiers fighting Mao’s revolution. However, it would be negligent on my part not to point out that your plans for the indigenous population need some additional refinement.” Zhen counseled.

“You think I should spare them?” Hiriboshi prodded, starting to understand his mentor.

“Subjugation would be a better course of action as opposed to simple genocide.” Zhen said, lacing his fingers on the table top.

“You surprise me Zhen. In all the years that we’ve known each other, you never once struck me as the merciful type.” Hiriboshi admitted.

“Mercy has nothing to do with it. What I’m proposing is a simple matter of practicality. Genocidal campaigns cost time and resources that could be put to more productive use. Even Genghis Khan, for all his blood lust, saw the benefits of assimilating the people he conquered instead of just killing them all. If we can wipe out the governing powers and cripple their economies, that will leave the majority of the population directionless."

“In other words, we use a few shows of force to effectively demonstrate how easily we can destroy them?”

“Precisely. And once we’ve brought these creatures to heel, we’ll be in a position to assert ourselves as the new dominant power, which in turn will give us access to both knowledge of the world we intend to conquer and a viable labor force to exploit. With one hand we'll bring them terror and with the other, we'll offer them relief. Before long we'll have them eating out of both."

Zhen steepled his fingers as he felt the need to remind his protege of something, "Your tactics and plans are ambitious, but I do need to remind you of something. If you follow through with your plans, history will remember China as the nation which declared war on the Humanity's first contact with extraterrestrial life. Are you prepared to deal with the repercussions of this?"

"Just over half a century ago the world looked upon the Germans and the Japanese as history's most ruthless monsters. With the Japanese, it's even true. And yet, everyone seems to have completely forgiven both for their past transgressions." Hiriboshi replied, "When we win, we will hold power over an entire world and all its resources. The other nations of the world will have no choice but to put their lips to Chinese backsides in order to acquire whatever leftover scraps we decide toss them. They will rewrite history detailing how China led the charge against inhuman foes and led Humanity to a new age of limitless possibility." He straightened up and spread his arms, “Let the naysayers shake their fists and bark their words of condemnation and admonishment.”

Zhen grunted in a noncommittal manner, "Until we have a strong foothold established, it would do no good to antagonize the other nations, especially those with nuclear capabilities. And there is one other thing you have not mentioned. I can only hope you have taken it into consideration. What of the Humans who have already established friendly relations with this alien world they were pulled into? Where do they factor into your plans?"

Hiriboshi waved his right hand dismissively, "They will be given a choice, either aid us or face annihilation. Their ability to speak the language would be useful, but ultimately not necessary to our success. There are always people who are willing to turn in their neighbors for rewards, either money or preferential treatment. We will have little difficulty there. The greed of fools will be of use to us and when they have outlasted their usefulness, they will join their former neighbors."

“Which once again brings us back to the matter of how the other nations will react to this. The disappearance of all those people taken by the event brought the world together in a way that has never been seen before. What do you think would happen if it became known that we willfully brought harm to those people now that they’ve been revealed to still be alive?”

“If we move swiftly enough, by the time the other nations catch wind of what we are doing, we’ll be so entrenched in this new world, that it won’t matter. And if it should ever come to it, we can always use the people trapped on the other side of the portal as leverage against any possible military actions taken against us.”

“What will you need from me?”

“A strong voice to silence any opposition in the party’s ranks. The last thing we need are those pigs in Beijing dipping their snouts into what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

“I’ll make sure to keep any prying eyes from looking to closely,” said Zhen.

Hiriboshi nodded. “And I’ll also need access to a nuclear warhead.”

“A hydrogen based weapon would better suit our purposes.” Zhen countered. “There’s no sense in radiating the land we intend to occupy. Plus, I have a few contacts in the North Korean government who owe me a favor or two.”

“I’ve never known a North Korean to honor a favor they owed.”

“I may have to offer a bribe to some and threaten the families of others, but I’m certain I can convince them to part ways with one of the old warheads their country has hidden away.”

“How much time will you need?”

“A week. Maybe two. Getting our hands on that kind of fire power won’t be easy but going through the North Koreans will raise less suspicion than trying to get one from our own government.”

“Then I’ll leave you to see to the finer details.” Hiriboshi said before picking up his discarded cap and placing back on his head. “In the meantime, I have an invasion to prepare.”

Zhen nodded, quietly pondering Hiriboshi's plan. He was proud of his protege. The future was looking brighter than ever for Humanity and especially for China.

Author's Notes:

The plans progress, but to what end? As always, if you spot any typos, let me know.