Accidents of Nature

It happened then in April of 2027 AD, the largest Chinese fleet since the 15th century “Treasure Fleet”, under Admiral Cheng Ho, sailed between China, Africa and the Middle East. The 21st century Admiral Chen was sailing into a quite different mission. He was to put several thousand troops and technicians ashore on the West Coast of the United States. The people of the United States were angry at this transgression, angry at their government, and angry at the Chinese for this audacious event. How could any nation encroach on US territory without a dramatic response from the military? There were no reports of artillery fire or attacking aircraft. How did the Chinese come ashore without firing a shot? To many people these facts didn't pass the “smell” test. There was something else going on. Most people thought it was collusion, if not downright selling out to the enemy. Admiral Chen found himself both amazed and perplexed at his good fortune of being in command of such an extraordinary venture. Several of his officers had quietly and nervously inquired as to their orders and the intelligence supporting their mission. Admiral Chen explained, for what seemed the 50th time, the United States had defaulted on its debt to the Chinese for $30 trillion. “Our mission is to secure the collateral promised by the United States,” he explained. He produced documents proving that the US government presented their mutual plan to the World Court and gained agreement that the two countries were embarking on a completely legal obligation to protect each other. “Our military, with many civilian technical and social supporters, is to secure a 500-mile sanctuary inland from the Pacific Ocean to protect and secure our portion of the $30 trillion US debt. The US has made provisions for a peaceful transition of that territory to our control. The gross domestic production of that territory equals 3.4 trillion dollars. We agreed that would be a reasonable collateral amount for the debt.” He produced copies of documents from the President to the Governors of California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada along with the names and contact information of representatives at the state and federal levels authorized to confirm the action. “But sir,” a lieutenant spoke. “My concern is that the US government has become notoriously inefficient over the last 20 years. If even one military commander does not get that message, or chooses to ignore it, our people will be vulnerable to attack. Our people and our fleet. It seems a terrible gamble to trust our assets to these few pieces of paper.” The Admiral continued patiently, “The plans for our insertion are remarkably detailed. We have civilian and military staff assigned to the docks, air traffic control, the local police and the local government. These people are carrying only side arms and radios should they need assistance. They are backed up by fully armed tactical units who can sweep in and handily settle any disputes. Also, if there is a call for assistance, the US will dispatch its own forces to reinforce the agreements we have made. “Of course, there is always risk. As you suggest, a breakdown in communication, a rogue commander or unit, civilians with misguided urges toward patriotism could all cause problems. We have assurance that the US government will work with us to resolve all such difficulties.” Every junior officer on the bridge thought the same thing, but none had the temerity to voice their concerns: “American assurance is not worth the paper it is promised on. Just look at what their assurance meant to Israel and their protectorates around the world like Panama or Puerto Rico. All are under threat of loss, if not lost already.” “Come, come, ladies and gentlemen,” the Admiral urged. “This is not a military invasion. It is a peaceful settlement of a debt. Plus, we are not going to stay here forever. When the US makes adequate payment arrangements, we will pack up and go home. This is no different than the bank repossessing a car if payments are not made. In this case, we are the bank. Besides, our economy is already 50% larger than the US economy. We already control most of the world's raw material resources and much of its manufacturing. Why would we risk an international incident over something we already control? “We have the full cooperation of the US government and the blessing of the World Court. And we are only the first to take these steps. Over the next few years you can expect to see other creditor nations take similar steps to protect their US debt positions. It is only business, only business.” As the Admiral was speaking, a pilot came aboard to guide the massive troop ship to a dock for unloading its equipment and personnel. The Harbor Pilots got their briefing quite early in the day as they had to guide the troop ships and other transports to the correct docks. Captains of other ships scheduled to dock that day were not happy that they got bumped while elements of the Chinese fleet got priority. Otherwise, shipping operations continued without so much as a hiccup in one of the busiest ports in the world. The pilot had a supervisor with him - they both looked confused and nervous. The supervisor spoke with the Admiral and the ship's captain. “All the operations scheduled for today have been set back until tomorrow. That should give you and us time to dock and unload your ships. Then we'll resume docking our normal traffic, is that correct?” The supervisor was double-checking what he had been told on his way out to the fleet. The pilot kept licking his lips and rereading his docking orders. He wasn't accustomed to having so many people with guns around him.