Ed, you should write a screenplay on the anthrax mailings.
There is a new novel where two men are pitted against Ayman Zawahiri in a desperate race to know what his next move will be. For example, in the real world, the question might be where and when the fiend and his pious minions will use weaponized anthrax. One is a CIA analyst who advances a theory and the other is an eighteen-year-old Grandmaster chess champion who proves it. The novel is titled WHITE KING and DOCTOR.
“I wonder if it’s wise to the Americans in our forces,” interrupted Muhammad Atef, Al Qaeda’s military commander. The Doctor had not heard him approach and felt that uneasiness he often felt when Atef was near. Despite their collaboration of decades, the stealth ability of his partner unnerved him at times.”
“Yes, it’s fine — a few at least. They will serve us well in later propaganda. And I’m confident you’ll make certain we have no infiltrators from American intelligence among them,” he responded, hoping to placate Atef.”
***
“Still resentful of his betrayal by his friend, Ali Mohamed, who had turned out to be a double agent working for the Americans, the Doctor was confident he could avoid a repeat of that fiasco.”
***
Then in Chapter 2 we meet the CIA analyst.
Then in Chapter 3 we meet the young chessmaster he recruits at an Arlington, Va high school football game.
The chessmaster goes to the CIA analyst: “Andrew [the chess prodigy] swallowed hard and nodded as he looked at a picture of the assassination of Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981. James [the CIA analyst] said nothing.
***
“Do you know who did this?”
“Yes. We know who actually emptied his machine gun.” [Islambouli]
“That’s not what I’m asking,” Andy asserted. “Do you know who we are playing? The shooter was only the Knight. Whose game is this?”
And with that question, posed by one of the world’s best chess players, James knew that we stood a chance. He answered calmly, knowing that the Kid would have to stay. “Yes, one at least. His name is Ayman Al-Zawahiri.” [The other, putting aside the late Atef, who was killed in November 2001, is Islambouli’s brother, the fellow in the cell with KSM planning attacks on the US]
***
“I regret to tell you, sir, 9/11 was not the checkmate move.”
“What was it then?”
“It was the first move of the Black King’s Knight.”
***
“I’d better go tell my mom.”
Interestingly, I've been getting a few visits to my site by people who link in from www.amesstrain.com where some guy supposedly has a screenplay about the anthrax attacks for sale. I say "supposedly," because it looks more like a site where he just promotes his beliefs about the attacks.
The problem with writing a screenplay about the anthrax attacks is that doing so requires that you believe that the case will never be solved -- at least anytime in the next two or three years. I'm not at that point yet.
That's required because making a movie will take at least year or more, and if the case were solved during that time it could make your movie out-dated before it is released. And everyone involved could lose a bundle of money.
It would also take a lot of ingenuity to write an interesting screenplay about a case that has dragged on for over six years without a resolution.
Personally, I'd like to see the case solved so I can write an update to my book where I explain how I figured everything out. When finished with that, then I might try writing a screenplay about the case to add to my list of screenplays.