"Wouldn't it be better to just change the password?" Jack asked, knowing it wouldn't be that simple.
His female boss's tone was somewhat ambiguous. "The military says it might be too late. The engineer who designed the system has been dead for years, and they're trying to find the relevant blueprints."
The moment Jack heard the word "try," he knew it was likely hopeless.
The Federation's most advanced land-based ballistic missile model was the Minuteman III, which ceased production in the late 1970s. Back then, not only Jack himself, but even before he'd time-traveled, he hadn't been born yet.
These Cold War artifacts, hidden deep in their silos, have all exceeded their design lifespans. While they've undergone numerous upgrades and modifications, extending their lifespans to some extent, the numerous test launch failures in recent years have clearly demonstrated their age.
Jack didn't know when the so-called "Cerberus" system was installed, but since the designer had been dead for years, it was likely from the late Cold War.
"What's the worst-case scenario if all three passwords are entered?" Jack asked.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and then a baritone voice Jack wasn't familiar with spoke. "The consequence is that one of our three nuclear strike forces will be lost at an unpredictable time, and all of our ground-based strategic intercontinental nuclear weapons will be temporarily ineffective."
Although Jack didn't know the other party's identity, he could guess that the speaker was a military technical expert, so he pressed the issue.
"Are you sure? There's no danger of a nuclear bomb exploding in the silo?"
The other party replied patiently and confidently. "Of course not, Agent Tawole. This system is designed to serve as a last resort. It disables the nuclear warhead, not trigger it.
Furthermore, except for a few silos on combat readiness, most nuclear warheads are safely stored in dedicated underground vaults, and the missiles themselves are not refilled with liquid propellant, so it's absolutely safe."
This resonated with Jack's understanding of intercontinental missiles, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but it also brought on more doubts.
The so-called "nuclear triad" refers to land-based strategic intercontinental missiles (ICBMs), ICBMs launched from nuclear submarines, and the ability to deliver nuclear weapons long-rangely from strategic bombers.
Strictly speaking, only two and a half countries possess this capability today: the United States and Russia, and the remaining half, Serbia.
The key lies in strategic bombers: Russia possesses the renowned Tu-160 "White Swan," while the United States possesses the B-2 and B-52.
Serbia only possesses half because the J-5, equipped with the renowned "Turbulence-1," had a mere 400 kilometers of one-way delivery capability. Furthermore, the "Turbulence-1" itself possesses such a low yield that it can only be considered a tactical nuclear bomb.
The Federation, situated in the American continent, has always been the sole bully, and no powerful enemy has ever threatened the Federation's homeland.
Simply decommissioning the already aging "Minuteman III" land-based ICBMs in a short period of time would not be enough to pose a substantial threat to the vast empire. This isn't some outdated Red Alert worldline.
As for the idea of holding the president hostage to force the Korean Peninsula troops to attack the North, it was absurd.
Didn't they see that as soon as they took the president, they immediately replaced him with a new one and handed over the "nuclear football" without a moment's hesitation?
Jack pondered for a long time, but couldn't figure out what the other party was up to, let alone the purpose of the "Samaritan" trying to control "Cerberus."
But since he already knew what they were planning, he had to stop them. After all, hadn't the teacher spent ten days and nights trying to figure out what Nehru was up to?
At least Jack now understood why the "Samaritan" had hacked into the Shangri-La data center.
They only held the president and the secretary of defense hostage in the White House bunker. General Al Kleiman, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died in the Capitol, meaning that the final code could only be cracked by brute force.
Cracking a 16-digit high-entropy password using a brute force attack requires a tremendous amount of computing power, far more than the computer hardware within the military network can muster.
Having Dana Moger tell the SEALs on standby at Rossi's location to be ready and waiting in the secret passage, Jack hung up the phone and left the laundry room.
He had to hurry. Finch explained that while Kate could no longer provide him with "call points," she had disabled the internal surveillance before leaving.
It would take time for the other party to regain access, so Jack had to seize this opportunity to capture a few people alive.
"
I hope this will inspire all Americans and those in the free world. Even after today's tragedy, we remain committed to our cause.
Yes, we lost our Congress tonight, and the President and his cabinet remain missing.
Our compatriots, our lives, our freedoms, have once again been challenged, as our respected leaders were instantly devoured by a vicious and despicable terrorist attack.
We are heartbroken, we are filled with anger, but we are fearless. Our government remains intact, not in the chaos our enemies imagined.
They failed, but our country is strong enough, and our people are strong enough."
A terrorist wearing a black mask sneered at Maureen, who spoke eloquently to the camera on TV.
"Is this country destitute? They chose a pretty vase as president."
Another short fellow stood up, walked to the screen, and placed his plastic water bottle on his crotch. He struck an extremely obscene pose and let out a series of bizarre, hectoring cries.
"A nice vase, too bad it wasn't her we caught, otherwise..."
"What are you guys doing here?" The door was suddenly and roughly flung open, startling the three inside.
The man, also wearing a black mask, closed the door behind him after entering.
The three terrorists were startled by his menacing presence. The sleazy man in front of the TV put down his plastic bottle and tried to escape. "We should go on patrol."
The man who suddenly broke into the room stopped him with a raised hand, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent, as if he was ready to devour anyone.
"Don't get me wrong," the two seated terrorists quickly stood up, one of them sensing something was amiss.
While the men they had brought into the White House were equipped with a wide variety of weapons, many sporting various styles of bulletproof vests, what did the three letters "FBI" emblazoned across the chest of this guy's vest mean?
Before the three people in the room could react, Jack, wearing a black mask, suddenly attacked, hitting the short, wretched man in the throat with a Phoenix Eye Punch, and at the same time, kicked him sideways.
The tallest of the three had just stood up, and before he could fully stand up, he was kicked in the abdomen, and he and the chair behind him were kicked to the ground.
The third man had already raised the submachine gun in his hand, and was about to turn off the safety and pull the trigger, when Jack suddenly appeared in front of him.
In panic, he tried desperately to pull the trigger, but found that he couldn't pull it no matter what. He looked down and saw that the Uzi in his hand had been grasped by the other party, with a thumb under the trigger.
When he looked up in horror again, his eyes went black and he lost consciousness.
(End of this chapter)