The Alien Veil

By Philip Altman

Following his autobiography as a leading London lawyer, titled The Shine of Life, the author now looks deep into the future with this sequel to 2056: meltdown, still searching against all odds for world law and order. Man finally has to unite because of the sudden incursion of extraterrestrials searching the galaxy for a safe haven, and it is only with the help of a friendly alien being called Yost that a protective international space veil gets constructed around Earth. But how does the prime ministers PMG group manage to evict those beings that have already settled here and then cope when the veils portal finally fails and allows more beings in?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jun 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543490718

Philip Altman

Philip's lengthy career in law in London spanned many decades of world challenges and, with his close connections with Members of both Houses of Parliament and even the Prime Minister of his day, he is now able to embark on this political thriller with authority, hoping to make a real difference. Born and practising in London, Philip obtained his Bachelor of Law degree at the prestigious King's College London and has already published his autobiography “ The Shine of Life” telling his remarkable life's story. Philip is married and lives in a London suburb with his wife.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

I nternational Supreme Court Judge Henry Jordan and his best friend and assistant Tom had, by now, grown much older and had retired. They had decided to continue living in London because that was where their family and friends were—or at least, those of them who were still alive.

Henry still kept up his voluntary work for various causes close to his heart and was much loved for his caring nature, and Tom was also very charitably minded and highly thought of.

By this third quarter of the twenty-first century, the average member of the population now had a normal life expectancy in the region of 120 years. This had been made possible because drug companies and universities had continued to vie with each other to be the first to develop more and more sophisticated and expensive life-enhancing potions.

However, it was not the length of age they could reach that mattered most, but the quality of life the treatments gave people. The lucky ones were those who still retained an incisive brain as well as good physical health, and much was being done to encourage populations to remain active, especially in later life, because the saying still applied: ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it!’

The other reason Man was living longer than each of the previous generations was his extensive use of robots. No longer were they only used in routine manufacturing processes, but now, in every walk of life, you would find them doing what Man used to do, standing in—remarkably, in some cases—for some quite intricate tasks. They had even entered the legal profession, with the litigants and criminals appearing before robot judges in court, cross-examining witnesses, and robotic lawyers even making pleas in mitigation!

The old culture of going to work as Man’s main preoccupation had become a thing of the past, and there was now much more time to enjoy the good things in life.

Genetic engineering was now quite common, and as soon as scans showed deficiencies in the body’s genes, they were promptly corrected by the scientists, which, in turn, helped extend lifespans.

Henry and Tom had one son each. The older one, Henry’s son, was Robert, and the other one was John. They were quite well behaved, as boys go.

Robert was the serious one, taking after his dad, but John was a bit of a tearaway, especially once his father had bought him a motorbike; he’d clashed with the law over speeding a few times. He only learned his lesson after his father had to intercede on his behalf and attend court to promise that he would keep him under control on his own recognisance.

When the boys grew up, they happened to go to the same secondary school, near Windsor Castle, west of London. By chance, like their parents, they too became friends and got on well together; so much so that they, like their fathers, became very skilled at football and were important players on the school’s team.

One Friday, after a match they’d won, Robert asked John back to his home in London for the weekend to show him his model car collection. He treasured it because it had been made in the previous century, and the cars, still in their original boxes, had become quite valuable, particularly because the models showed how motorcars used to look like, long before the newer autonomous, self-driving flycar had been invented.

When they arrived, it so happened that Henry and Tom were both there with their wives. They all got on well together, having heard about the boys’ friendship but not having yet met them, and some of the old stories naturally came up in the conversation.

You may remember the adventures, some happy and others not so, which Henry and Tom had shared during their legal careers as Supreme International Court Judges and the efforts they had made to bring Justice back to the world, as described in the book 2056: Meltdown: The Lost Rule of Law.

They had not mentioned anything about those difficult days to their children until the boys had become old enough, in their opinion, to understand. They would not be frightened by the dire warnings about the pending oblivion of the world if they went unheeded and if corruption and bribery were allowed, unabated, to continue to flow through the remnants of Justice and finally destroy it altogether.

As they all sat in the lounge, the conversation gradually turned to politics and the world’s endless problem hotspots. The lads were each given a copy of the book to study in order to find out exactly what their fathers had gone through in what had been generally acknowledged to be award-winning and groundbreaking careers.

Henry and Tom then started musing on whether, if at all, their and their colleagues’ efforts had made any actual impression on the world. Their sons became quite intrigued when it came out that their fathers had been acting under the direct auspices of the US president and the UK prime minister, and being of inquisitive minds like their fathers, they insisted on knowing more.

They were told how the old United Nations had been replaced by the New League of Nations, now relocated to its new London headquarters, and how previous obstacles to real and meaningful action had been removed by disposing of the automatic right to veto draft resolutions at the meetings.

These vetoes had succeeded, but only in constantly negating every effort to sanction a country effectively for its wrongdoings. However, the new rule now was that it had to be shown to a majority of member countries that there were good reasons for using a veto, and if none could be shown, it was to be ignored. If there was a balance of opinions, then the veto failed automatically.

Henry explained that, at last, the new League had the teeth that the old United Nations never had. Transgressing countries could now be isolated by economic means, with more and more stringent sanctions, until they found themselves quite alone and forced to stop doing what the rest of the world generally thought to be objectionable.

Property and shareholdings owned by world leaders and their cronies, which they had purchased abroad with money whose honest provenance they couldn’t prove, were being regularly confiscated, and this soon brought them to their senses, as it hit them where it hurt most—in their pockets!

Robert and John were astonished at what they’d just heard. They knew their fathers had been important judges before they had retired, but the boys had no idea that they had rubbed shoulders with the likes of the prime minister and even the US president, let alone that they had each been awarded an honorary Congressional Medal of Honour for their efforts and bravery in the face of threats to their very lives when they had been sent out on foreign missions on behalf of their country.

The young men saw that there was even more to their fathers’ stories when they heard about the awards, and they realised that they were the sons of people who had become famous, even though they now lived modestly. They wanted to know why their fathers had chosen to live that way.

Henry explained that they had been up against many organised criminals on their official travels. These people never wanted their particular scams to be taken away by the new international law enforcement system, which they and many others were trying to impose, and once their activities had been exposed, they wanted nothing but revenge.

So Henry and Tom had decided to live modestly and out of the gaze of those who had been imprisoned, in case, somewhere down the line, they might still wish them harm by way of reprisal, even though they had now retired. They didn’t want to have to be constantly looking over their backs in case they were being followed, or worse.

Mysterious deaths had become the norm where individual transgressors had been undone by law-abiding citizens, and they got their revenge by using nerve gases and other even more sophisticated methods of the time.

There was definitely something in the boys’ genes which had implanted a strong desire to follow in their fathers’ footsteps and to continue their life’s work for them. So when they had finished their studies, the boys went to Oxford University to study law.

Their football skills were much in demand, as they were so good at running, unlike their fathers, who sheepishly pretended that they had always had the ball taken from them by faster runners. However, they were quick to assure their sons that they were otherwise good at the game and certainly at cricket!

CHAPTER 2

A fter diligently studying their many legal subjects, the young men duly qualified as Barristers at Law and naturally joined the chambers where their fathers had practised.

The Clerk of the chambers was most interested in the quality of work the men were able to achieve as juniors, and so he found them more and more work, which they carried out so successfully that they soon built up quite a reputation for themselves at the bar.

The anniversary came round one summer’s day when, for old times’ sake, Henry, Tom, and their wives were regularly invited to attend a prime minister’s reception at No. 10 Downing Street, and to Robert and John’s amazement, they too were included this time round! Cars were sent for them from No. 10 as usual, and as expected, they arrived on time and were ushered in.

The prime minister had originally been leader of his party some years previously, and when his party regained a majority in the House at a recent election, his colleagues had voted him back in as leader, despite his age.

He had never forgotten how helpful Henry and Tom had been to him, with new ideas and advice which had been so useful to his own political reputation, so as soon as he spotted them, he quickly made his way over and shook their hands vigorously, with a big smile on his face.

Henry introduced Robert and John to him, and he was very intrigued to hear that they had both followed in their fathers’ footsteps and had become successful lawyers. He was then called away to welcome some junior members of the royal family but came back soon afterwards and told the two families that he would like them to stay on after the reception, as he wished to talk to them more privately.

The other guests gradually left once the officials gently indicated that the reception was over, and the two families were shown into a private room and offered a choice of hot or cold drinks and sandwiches whilst they waited for the Prime Minister to come in.

When he arrived, he was in quite a jovial mood. He was back with old friends and felt quite relaxed in their company, as opposed to the formalities he had just endured, having to make conversation with strangers as he was always expected to do.

It was quite a cosy meeting as he sat among them, and he soon expressed a special interest in Robert and John. He asked them if they had any particular political leanings and what sort of cases, criminal or civil, most interested them.

The young men wisely dodged the first question about politics, preferring to concentrate on the second. Robert, speaking for both, said that they were more than happy to follow the illustrious paths their fathers had chosen and, whilst earning their living, do what they could in their small way to promote world peace and justice, just as their fathers had done.

The Prime Minister applauded their response to his question, as it was exactly what he had hoped to hear, and especially admired that they also wanted to bring Justice and peace back to the world.

He said:

I would very much like you, Robert and John, to join my special group, which I have named The Prime Minister’s Group. We meet either here or, now that they have been finally renovated, in the Parliament buildings. We meet once a week in the early evening or, as necessary, more frequently.

You will certainly meet some very influential people when we discuss world affairs in general and certain hotspots in particular. We aim to make a difference, giving priority where we find that peace and Justice are at most risk of being lost.

You will find that the others in my group are all professionals, being a mixture of lawyers and others who have useful skills for our cause, and as you get to know them, you may well find that they can be very helpful in your own careers.

Let me explain about the past. You see, the reason your fathers’ efforts had produced rather patchy results was the highly organised and well-funded opposition they and their colleagues had faced the whole time they were trying to make a difference.

On the other hand, there had been some considerable improvement following the establishment of the New League of Nations and the effective removal of the veto, which brought recalcitrant countries back to some semblance of order.

However, we still find, as you have no doubt noticed yourselves, that there are still countries where—through continued bribery, corruption, and the redirection of funds from their legitimate purposes into leaders’ pockets—many examples of poverty and degradation continue to be found. About 1 per cent of the population live in great splendour, whilst the rest struggle to make ends meet.

Despotic and tyrannical leaders still feather their nests unlawfully and amass large fortunes with luxurious lifestyles for themselves and their families, whilst the remainder of their people struggle, having to find ways to avoid sleeping on the streets and resorting to charity shops, soup kitchens, and the like! This is not the sort of world we want our children and grandchildren to grow up in, is it?

Robert responded by saying:

I can readily see the problem and have often wondered if there is a solution and whether anyone can help alleviate those long-suffering people. Do you think it is at all possible for such governments to be infiltrated in some way, creating a situation where some of its right- minded members can be persuaded that enough is enough and for them to be finally inspired to come together, overthrow those despots, and then confiscate their ill-gotten gains?

The Prime Minister said:

That’s easier said than done! I don’t think infiltrating is the right way any more. We need a more direct, open approach. I have found from my experience that unless you get the local army behind your cause and then hold free and proper elections, the despots will have so entrenched their positions by removing anyone who stands in their way or dares to speak out against them, that they will have become virtually impregnable. You’ve already seen how some world leaders have managed to get support for their tenure of office to be extended indefinitely to a lifetime term.

Look at the case of President Robert Mugabe in what used to be called Zimbabwe and, before that, Rhodesia. He managed, by removing all opposition, to stay in power as president well into his nineties, and no one could remove him until, at last, the army took a stand and he retired. Strangely enough, he was still given full honours and was then called father of the country!

Henry joined in and said:

I have another suggestion for you to consider, prime minister. When we were studying at Eton, and later at Oxford University, we made friends with a large number of people, although we were only very close with a few, with whom we have since kept up on a friendly basis.

Some of them went on to be important members of society in their particular chosen fields, and it could well be that, if you like, they could be asked to come on board to help the cause by bringing their particular talents to the table as well.

The Prime Minister responded by saying:

That sounds to me to be a good suggestion, and if you will give me some details afterwards, I will check them out for security.

Which brings me to another matter. I can now announce that my PMG group has just formally become part of Britain’s security services. I have approached the Chancellor to make an adequate allocation of ring-fenced funds which will first be allocated to finance the acquisition of the group’s new headquarters, and relying on their experience, I would then like to appoint Henry and Tom to source a suitable building.

Also, with their permission, I would like them to become the first Chief Executives of our group and head all its operations with, of course, suitable staff to support them.

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. They had never imagined they were worthy of such an honour.

In addition, he went on:

I have decided to keep matters in the family and appoint Robert and John to follow up on their idea to speak to their special friends about joining in, but of course, only after they have been checked out for security.

The two families responded favourably. Henry’s and Tom’s wives had reservations, which they kept to themselves, preferring to deal with their husbands when they got home. They were particularly concerned that, being retired, their husbands needed to look after their health and not overdo things and become ill, as it sounded it could do.

The wives didn’t want to stand in their way, as the prime minister’s appointments were such an honour. But upon reflection, they thought that perhaps their husbands could simply help find the premises, install the staff, get things off the ground, and then retire shortly afterwards, leaving others to carry on with the work.

That way, it could be the extent of their husbands’ input without too long a tiring effort on their part, they decided between themselves.

The Prime Minister then thanked them all for their particular suggestions and said that he looked forward to seeing them all again. They were all shown out to their cars and driven back home in style.

CHAPTER 3

V iktor, who you may remember had been in charge of the Anti-Monarchists Group just outside Paris, had now retired. He had been a pain in the neck for the authorities, always causing trouble if he could, but worst of all, he had the ability to stir up similar feelings wherever he