Weapon

Prolog

The definition of sound can be “(a) Oscillation in pressure, stress, particle displacement, particle velocity, etc., propagated in a medium with internal forces (e.g., elastic or viscous), or the superposition of such propagated oscillation. (b) Auditory sensation evoked by the oscillation described in (a).”[4] Sound can be viewed as a wave motion in air or other elastic media. Here, sound is a stimulus. We can also view sound as an excitation of the hearing mechanism that results in the perception of sound. Sound, in this case, is a sensation.

Sound is also a powerful tool that is formidable enough to shatter glass and delicate enough to look into our bodies and allow pictures of an unborn child to be viewed. To date, there is no portable weapon that uses sound waves to disable or destroy an adversary, or is there?

Chapter 1

It started again! Why it’s happening, or what’s triggering it, is impossible for me to say. I can only describe the sound as somewhere between the whooshing effect a seashell makes when placed next to one’s ear and the static noise a person with Tinnitus experiences. The phenomenon does not affect all of us at the embassy, just key security and upper-echelon personnel. Once it begins, there is nowhere to hide, no way to deaden the din. The bizarre brain-piercing sound offers no escape. I’ve even tried taking shelter in the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) but, although the structure somewhat reduces the noise, it doesn’t completely offer me shelter from the brain-penetrating sound. As head of security for the facility, it’s my job to locate the source of the disturbance and eliminate it by whatever means necessary.

They assigned me to this third-world outpost four months ago. I was told it was only a temporary posting until the mess I had caused by exposing an illegal gun-running ring controlled by a well-connected business tycoon’s son blew over. He got a slap on the wrist while I got exiled to this jungle rat hole. This new posting happened the same week they discovered the largest deposit of lithium on the planet just outside the capital city. Now, every country wants to strengthen its diplomatic ties here, and my temporary assignment, along with its sound problem, has become permanent.

The logical place to start was to scour every inch of the embassy looking for some kind of sound-generating device. At the same time my people were doing a physical search of the embassy, I called the Defense Advance Research Agency’s (DARPA) electronics division to see if they had any idea what was generating this brain-numbing sound. No one they allowed me to speak with admitted to having any knowledge that such a device existed. Naturally, their response didn’t surprise me. No one was about to admit such a weapon existed to a lowly security chief. I should have had the ambassador call instead.

With the physical search turning up nothing and my inquiries to the tech boys hitting a stone wall, I did what I do best—talk to people. My counterparts in the Russian and Chinese embassies meet once a week for lunch to discuss insignificant problems, so they don’t become colossal problems. It was natural for me to assume one or maybe both of their countries were behind this new sound weapon, so I had planned to broach the topic cautiously. We met on the patio of our usual restaurant when Sergei, rubbing his forehead in obvious pain, did it for me.

“Alan, will you damn Americans turn that infernal machine of yours off before we blow up your embassy!”

“I can assure you, my friend, it’s not us. Most of our top brass are suffering the way you seem to be.”

“It’s not coming from us!” replied Li Wei before even being asked. We have sent three of our top people home this week with brain bleeds.”

We sat pondering the dilemma, with no one offering a solution. That’s when things got very interesting. Several ladies yelled as the sound of plates crashed to the ground. Birds of all types collided with the wait staff who were carrying trays of dishes. Guests ran for cover as birds rained from overhead. Mayhem ruled the moment as people tried covering their heads from falling birds while plugging their ears from a piercing sound that had developed out of nowhere. What or whoever was creating this sound, it was clearly not coming from the Russians or the Chinese. The question is, who was creating it?