"No. From Earth. Someone else is controlling at least the Geostationary 12-A eye perhaps more."

"The President's going to love that," Coffey noted.

Hood glanced at the countdown clock, then down at Bugs's image on the computer screen.

"Have you got that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tack it to the end of the Options Report-- with this." He looked at Stoll. "Our Operations Support Officer is working on the problem now, and assures me that the problem will be identified and solved. Time frame to follow. In the interim, Op-Center will function without its computers, since we can't trust any of the data. We'll rely on aerial surveillance, on agents in key areas, and on crisis simulation papers. Signed, etc. Print it all out, Bugs. I'll be there in a minute." Hood rose. "What's that phrase you're fond of, Matty? 'Make it so'? Well, make it so. This setup was supposed to be invasion-proof. That's how the President helped sell Op-Center to Congress nearly one year and a quarter billion dollars ago. I want the invader found and killed, and the hole patched." He turned to the sandy-haired Environmental Officer. "Phil-- I don't think we'll be needing your division at this stage. You've got an M.A. in computer science-- would you work with Matty on this?"

Phil's blue eyes went from Hood to the countdown clock. "My pleasure."

Stoll stiffened but said nothing.

"Bob, call Gregory Donald at the base in Seoul. He lost his wife in the explosion, but see if he feels up to a visit to the DMZ for some firsthand reconnoitering. We can't trust the satellites, I want one of our people there-- and this may be good for him."

"He sounded out of it before," Martha noted, "so tread lightly."

Herbert nodded.

"Then I'd like you to brief Rodgers," Hood said. "Tell him to continue in at his discretion, unmarked. If Rodgers is up to it-- and I suspect he will be-- have his team report back to us on the Nodong missiles in the Diamond Mountain region."

Herbert nodded again, then wheeled himself from the table, still clearly smarting from what Stoll had said.

Hood hit the buzzer and left, followed by Herbert and the other team members.

Stoll thundered down the corridor to his office, Phil Katzen racing to keep up with him.

"Sorry he did that to you, Matty. I know there isn't much I can do to help."

Stoll grumbled something that Phil couldn't quite make out. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

"People don't understand that so much of progress comes from learning by our mistakes."

"This wasn't a mistake," Stoll snapped. "This is something we've never seen before."

"I see. Reminds me of when my older brother hit forty-five, chucked his wife and his job at Nynex, and decided to walk around the world. He told me that was a life-style change and not a midlife crisis."

Stoll stopped short. "Phil, I came to work today and got hit with the equivalent of the Cretaceous asteroid. I'm an apatosaurus fighting for his life, and this just isn't helping me." He started walking again.