by John Akers
Most towns and cities had eventually turned the traffic lights off but left the cams running at the request of their local police departments, who wanted a way to track anyone who might figure out how to spoof a vehicle ID. The data from them had been made public more than a decade earlier, as part of the federal Police Public Information Act. PPIA required all data collected in public settings to be made publicly accessible on the Internet within 24 hours for a minimum of 30 days. Although the law was primarily intended to enable public access to video from police car and body cams, the video from traffic cams also fell under its auspice. So they remained, perched on the ends of their metallic poles like various species of frozen, mechanical birds. Small black grackles, long white cranes, squat brown barn owls sat and watched, silent sentinels faithfully performing their public service.
“Review video log from this past Friday night, between midnight and eight a.m.,” said Cevis. “Scan to first motion.”
The video scrubbed forward rapidly for several seconds, the minty hues from the camera’s night-mode flickering rapidly. At 12:17 a.m., an Audi A50 drove from underneath the camera back up the road. It seemed unremarkable, so Cevis said, “Next.” At 2:36 a.m., a white Mercedes minivan drove toward the light. As was often the case, there was no one in the front seat. As it went through the intersection, it turned to the right. Cevis tried to catch a glimpse of the passengers through the side window, but they were too heavily tinted.
“Next.”
The next stopping point wasn’t until 4:49 a.m., when a lime green Maserati came into the picture. The next one after that came 15 minutes later. Then more cars came with increasing frequency as the morning commute got underway.
“Go back to the white van and pause,” said Cevis.
The screen flickered rapidly again, then paused at the point where the van was stopped at the intersection. Cevis noted the license plate number.
“Track the van. Save snapshots of the camera views and show its path on the map.”
Cyrus did as ordered, moving from one publicly accessible camera to the next. He saved still images of the van on one half of Pax’s display, and on the other half displayed red pinpoints of the van’s locations on the map. It took Cyrus about a minute to locate each successive image of the van.
The dots showed the van had taken a path to the I-5 freeway, then headed south.
Cevis considered where the van might be headed, assuming Oreste was indeed inside it. His first thought was Mexico, which was only 40 miles south. However, getting past border patrol would be extremely difficult, since all vehicles were subject to full-vehicle X-ray and passenger ID checks. Unless the van had some sort of cloaking technology, an unidentified passenger would be detected. Security would be even tighter if they tried to get on a plane at San Diego International or one of the local airports, not to mention the difficulty of concealing an unwilling passenger.
The puzzle was suddenly solved when the van exited at Rosencranz Street, two exits earlier than the exit for the airport. In a flash, Cevis realized where they had gone.
The harbor.
The Port of San Diego had two main docks. One was on Harbor Island, directly across from the airport. The other was on Shelter Island, a few minutes northwest in Point Loma. Shelter Island was home to the San Diego Yacht Club, which housed approximately 1,500 private boat slips. In addition, there were 500 public slips run by the Kona Kai Marina. Both were less than five minutes’ drive from the exit the van had taken.
Sure enough, at 2:54 a.m., the van had paused at an intersection, then turned right onto Shelter Island Drive.
There was no further activity for more than a minute, then Cyrus said, “This is as far as I’m able to trace the vehicle, Mr. Pierson. This is the only vehicular point of entry and exit for the island, and the video log doesn’t show the van leaving at any point between when it entered and now.”
Cevis knew it was possible they had moved Oreste to a different vehicle and left, using the harbor as a ruse, but his instincts told him that was unlikely. Quickly, he located a website called ShipSearch that tracked ship traffic all over the globe. He created a bogus account, paying the membership fee of $50 from an anonymous virtual currency account he normally used for accessing proprietary medical research databases.
Now he could access arrival and departure information for any ship at any public harbor in the world. He searched the Kona Kai marina for ships that had left Saturday between three and six in the morning. Only one result came back -- a private vessel named Ludibrium. It had arrived at 10:12 p.m. Friday night and departed at 3:07 a.m. Saturday morning.
“Gotcha,” said Cevis.
Chapter 41
Pax stared, transfixed, at the colossal structure that loomed over the landscape. “The Story of Man? What’s that?”
“We’ll be there in just a few minutes. Then you can see for yourself,” said Alethia.
The road began to slope downward, and the cycles picked up speed, because the path had fewer curves on this side of the mountain. Within two minutes they reached the bottom. Ahead Pax saw the road changed from dirt to a shimmering silver substance he couldn’t identify. The sun’s rays reflected off its surface perfectly, like a flawless mirror.
The instant the rear wheel of Alethia’s cycle touched the new road, it shot forward so fast, it was as if it had previously been standing still. A half-second later, Pax felt himself being pressed back into his seat, as his own cycle accelerated. Incredibly, he felt nothing else. No vibrations, no side-to-side sway, nothing. If not for the acceleration, he could have been sitting in one of his recliners at home.
Soon the feeling of acceleration stopped, and the ground even 100 feet away was nothing but a blur. Pax asked, “How fast are we going?”
“500 miles per hour,” replied Alethia matter-of-factly. Though Pax had been expecting a large number, he was still shocked into silence.
The road was aimed straight at the base of the colossal structure. They were still slightly higher up as they left the mountain, and Pax saw there were a large number of single-story buildings arranged in concentric circles around the base. Both the buildings and the tower itself were the same sandy color as the surrounding plains. With the buildings as a reference, Pax guessed the funnel’s tip was roughly the diameter of a football field. But it looked like a soda straw compared to the immense circular top, which looked as though it was trying to swallow the sky. Pax’s mind careened back and forth between wondering how the thing could possibly remain upright, and who, or what, had built it.
As they neared the outer perimeter of the smaller buildings, the cycles slowed down. The deceleration was so gradual Pax never felt even the slightest sense of lurching forward to indicate they were braking. The road passed through a gap between the buildings. As they passed the first buildings, he estimated the cycles were moving no more than 50 mph. Then he saw the people.
At first, there were just a few, walking along the sides of the road and heading in the same direction as the cycles. They smiled and waved as the cycles passed by. They all wore the same tan uniform, and to Pax’s surprise, they all were wearing UVs. But their numbers swelled rapidly, and by the time the cycles passed the innermost circle of buildings, there were tens of thousands of them surrounding the flat, open area around the base of the tower.
The knifecycles stopped and Pax saw the door to Alethia’s cycle open and she nimbly hopped out onto the ground. Pax leaned forward and the door to his cycle instantly unsealed and opened. He stepped out carefully onto the shimmering surface of the road, expecting it to be smooth and slick. But when his feet touched down, he was surprised to find it felt tacky. Yet when he picked up a foot to walk it lifted easily. As he walked toward Alethia, who was waiting for him in the middle of the road, he felt as if he had a literal spring in his step. Glancing behind, he saw Angelo and Elena had gotten out of their cycles and were following him.
It was then Pax realized there was something strange about the environment
. For a moment he couldn’t figure out what it was, but then he realized it was the air. Even though they were in the middle of a massive, open plain, the air was perfectly still, just as it had been on the boat. But on this scale, it seemed otherworldly, as if he’d stepped out onto the surface of a different planet.
The people had now surrounded the four of them, maintaining a respectful distance of at least 20 feet. Suddenly, at exactly the same moment, they all soundlessly knelt on one knee. At first, it felt ominous, but there was also something impressive about it, that so many people could behave in unison. Alethia walked toward the base of the tower, and Pax followed. When they had almost reached it, she turned to face him. As she spoke, her voice sounded as though it came from everywhere at once—from the ground, the air, from the tower itself.
“Welcome, Oreste Pax. You see before you a small portion of the members of our society. In total we number more than one million souls from all over of the globe. We come from all political, religious, economic, educational, and cultural backgrounds, representing a microcosm of the worldwide population. In a moment we will share something we hope will affect you profoundly. I speak for all of us when I say we truly wish your introduction to our society could have occurred under more amiable circumstances. But as you will see, humanity is confronted with a great crisis, one that necessitated bringing you here this way.”
“So does this mean I finally get to learn what this is all about?” Pax asked. He was startled to find his voice sounded like Alethia’s everywhere, just as Alethia’s had been.
Alethia nodded, then turned and faced the tower. “Are you ready?” she asked.
Pax nodded, but then, as he stared upward at the massive, dark funnel again, he found his legs were refusing to move.
“Mr. Pax?” said Alethia. She had stopped and was looking back at him expectantly.
“You expect me to go up in that thing?” he asked. The sound of laughter rippled through the onlookers.
“I assure you that, despite outward appearances, it’s perfectly safe,” said Alethia.
Pax thought about asking how high up it went, then decided he’d be better off not knowing. As he looked back down at the base of the tower, he now saw a semicircular outline 15 feet in diameter. It was eerily reminiscent of the door to his office.
“After I’ve seen whatever’s inside, and you’ve said whatever it is you have to say to me, you’ll let me go?” he asked.
Alethia nodded. “You’ll be free to stay or leave, as you choose.”
It sure as hell won’t be the former, he thought. “Okay,” he said, and turned toward the tower. Just then someone behind them called out, “Wait!”
He turned around to find Elena jogging up, holding the pouch she’d been carrying in one hand. “Almost forgot to give you this,” she said to Alethia. Alethia took it with a smile and slung it over her shoulder. She put a hand on Elena’s shoulder briefly, then began walking toward to the tower.
Pax followed, and as they neared the half circle, the hemispherical area at the bottom of the base began to darken. To Pax’s amazement, it simply seemed to dematerialize, leaving only a black void behind. Without pausing, Alethia stepped over the threshold into the darkness. Reluctantly, Pax followed.
Chapter 42
Monday, March 19, 5:45 AM GMT
Deadly “Chaotica” Virus Covers America, Cases Reported in England and Europe.
The Guardian (guardian.co.uk)
By Darcy Miller and Jeremy Brighton in London
A computer virus known as “Chaotica” that came to public attention in the United States only three days ago appeared in London this morning and is now spreading rapidly across England and Europe. The virus infects devices connected to the internet and uses them to monitor certain people and cause other devices to malfunction around them. Typically the malfunctions start out as merely innocuous or mildly annoying, then rapidly progress in severity. So far in England, more than 50 people have died, and more than 500 have been injured either directly or indirectly as a result of the virus. However, in America the virus has already become a full-scale epidemic, causing 1,025 deaths and 12,000 injuries at last count. For a detailed history of the Chaotica virus, we refer readers to this story from the Associated Press in America.
The United States National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been stymied to date in their efforts to find a solution to the virus. Neither have they had any success in identifying who is responsible for it. Initially, it was believed one or more hacker groups were responsible, but the rapidity with which the plague has spread has caused an increasing number of experts to believe the virus may be largely automated.
Dr. Sara Strathmore, head of the Computer Science Department at Cambridge University and an internationally renowned expert in computer viruses, said, “Our current theory, which we have shared with authorities in both England and the United States, is that this is a coordinated attack coming from a private network of supercomputers. The price of supercomputers has dropped from $250 million when they first became commercially available to roughly $10 million today. A single supercomputer could potentially control several million devices, so with enough money and the right virus, one could reach and control a significant percentage of all devices connected to the internet.”
Authorities recommend that people who believe they have been targeted to proceed directly to one of the temporary shelters that have been established. These include most major football stadiums, including Wembley, Old Trafford, Emirates, Olympic, and the Ethiad. A link to a listing of all the shelters can be found at http://gov.uk/digitalplague/shelters.
For the moment, Scotland Yard is following recommendations from their American counterparts in urging anyone not targeted by the virus to avoid offering help to any known targeted persons. Despite the apparent callousness of this directive, what is critical at this time is to slow the progression of the virus, and currently, this is the only known means of doing so. Authorities are concerned first and foremost about an escalation in interpersonal violence, although a number of conspiracy theories about the targeting process are working against their efforts.
For example, one such rumor holds that one must not only avoid helping a targeted person, but also demonstrate a clear unwillingness to help by behaving antagonistically toward them. Another claims you can “undo” being targeted if you kill the person who ‘infected’ you. Though there is no evidence to support such rumors, if people come to believe any of them are true, it could result in a dramatic escalation of bloodshed. For now, authorities strongly recommend people stay in their homes until more information is available.
Chapter 43
Pax was surprised to find the entrance of the tower led not into a room, but a long tunnel. It was the same size and shape as the entrance, and its walls and floor were smooth and dark. The only light came from a narrow illuminated strip that ran down the centerline of the tunnel floor. Alethia walked forward in silence for almost a minute as Pax followed beside her. Surprisingly, the air was fresh and clean, not dank and musty as he would have expected. Pax also noticed there was no noise. He couldn’t even hear any sound of their footsteps as they walked.
Soon the tunnel opened up into a large, spherical room. It reminded Pax of the virtual environment he’d been using the previous week, only much larger and without the white lines slicing it up into sections. This was just one vast, obsidian orb. They walked up to where the path they had been following stopped, near the center of the room.
Then, in the space before them, an image more than 15 feet tall began to materialize. Pax recognized it at once: It was a three-dimensional version of the picture he’d found in his office a week earlier.
“I believe you’re familiar with LUCA,” said Alethia.
Pax nodded. “I don’t suppose you’d care to explain how it got into my office.”
“Another time, perhaps,” said Alethia. “What’s important to know about it now is that 3.8
billion years ago, the ancestor of all current life on Earth had largely evolved the process by which genetic information could be accurately passed from one generation of an organism to the next. Earlier forms of life, based on RNA rather than DNA, had engaged in a chaotic lateral transfer of genetic material. This resulted in massive variations in genetic makeup from one generation to the next. But once the corkscrew-shaped strands of RNA began pairing up to form the double-helical structure of DNA, genetic information could be transcribed much more accurately, allowing cells to replicate themselves with near-perfect accuracy.”
Pax looked at Alethia with a quizzical expression. “Um, okay.”
The image in front of them disappeared, and two different groups of single-celled organisms appeared, one group on the left, the other on the right. Many of the cells on both sides looked similar. Some were short lines that looked like tiny worms, while others consisted of tiny balls grouped near each other. There were more images in the group on the right than on the left, and some of these formed more complex shapes, such as lines in a sawtooth pattern, or whorled around into large spirals. Others were pill-shaped with hairs on the outside and a long flagellate tail at one end.
“Here are some examples of the first two forms of life, archaea on the left, bacteria on the right.
