by LEMPEREUR
“But now things are different. This is not just about protecting our own interests anymore. Now I know Victor so well that it would be impossible for me to betray him. I will never be the same again, Giuseppe. This experience has deeply affected me, and it has changed my way of perceiving and thinking about things. You must take that into account from now on. I just want to trust you! Tell me about that secret wing, if it actually exists, and together we will be able to go a lot further than you could ever have imagined.”
Giuseppe was visibly upset by this answer, but it was especially Jacques who received it like a stab in the chest. Had Charlie changed so much that they would forever be strangers? Giuseppe, disconcerted, asked them to please wait for a few moments while he went to get some documents from the next room. He went into the small room with the sloping windows and closed the door behind him. Standing in front of the windows again, he stared at Victor’s huge, naked, gray body. Strangely, from this distance he looked as if he were sleeping peacefully and soundly. He could see none of the twitching that animated the giant’s body.
Meanwhile Charlie and Jacques were alone. The silence that filled the room was icy. They did not exchange a single word or phrase, even through telepathy, until Giuseppe came back. Part of Charlie regretted having to inflict such a nightmare on his brother, but there was no other way. Anyway, sooner or later Jacques had to notice the profound change in his personality. He only hoped that the future would rule in his favor and that he would find words to reassure him.
A long while later Giuseppe reappeared. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble hiding the obvious concern which lined his face. He was pushing a cart on which were a computer and an enormous glass panel, which Charlie recognized instantly. Without a doubt it was a graphic tablet just like the one Senec had used. He placed the computer on the table, leaving the cart by the doorway. Once seated again, he began typing in earnest on the keyboard. Neither Jacques nor Charlie took the risk of breaking the silence, although it became quite heavy. Several minutes later, he finally looked up at one of small room’s the metallic walls. It suddenly started to vibrate, then sank slowly down into the floor, revealing a much larger room which held a gigantic glass case below, which looked impenetrable and was quite luminous. In its centre they could quite clearly see the contours of what resembled a model of unusual size. Sitting on an enormous, perfectly polished, shiny gray, steel plinth, the model itself seemed to be made of metal also, but much paler, almost white. From this distance, Charlie could only make out vague details but quickly understood that it must be a three-dimensional model of the base.
Giuseppe stood up and finally began to speak, looking in turn at both Jacques and Charlie, who had remained sitting in silence all this time.
“Follow me,” he said calmly.
The twins obeyed without hesitating, following Giuseppe as he walked with even strides toward a platform overhanging the construction. As he got closer, what he saw reinforced Charlie’s initial impression. It did seem to be a three-dimensional model of the base. In any case, he was sure it represented one of the hibernation bases built by the N.H.I.’s. The white steel domes were arranged along a large central road, from which many smaller roads branched out to the residential areas. There were also huge buildings which were curiously empty. From their arrangement and position, Charlie supposed they must be the vast hydroponic cultivation area and the huge room where they had arrived on the first day. However, the whole thing was quite uncluttered, lacking many of the structures that are currently present on the base.
“Here we have a three-dimensional map of the Mataiva base, as it was when it was built by the N.H.I.’s.” announced Giuseppe. “You will notice that it is made of the same perfectly stainless metal, completely resistant to the effects of time, used in the construction of the domes you already know. It is an alloy that the N.H.I.’s had developed, the composition of which we have still not managed to identify.
“As you can see also, this three-dimensional model only shows the buildings that were present before the arrival of humans. It is easy to pick out the vast area of domes currently used as housing. You will also recognize the empty spaces which have been completely converted since then by our teams. I suppose that at the time they must have had a specific purpose. When we discovered this cave the unusually large rooms were completely empty. We do not currently have any explanation for that, but we put forward two hypotheses. Firstly, these huge spaces could have been used to house large mobile constructions which had been moved before our arrival. Of course, we know absolutely nothing about what type of construction they could have been. Or, it could be that these spaces were initially designed to house other equipment which apparently was never actually built. We discovered this model several years ago, at the same time as Victor’s body. It would seem that is was built by the N.H.I’s at the same time as the rest of the base.”
Jacques and Charlie were now only a few meters form the glass wall. The model was at least fifteen meters long and it seemed that the number of domes on it was much higher; maybe fifty or a hundred times more than those they had seen while driving through the residential zone.
“As you have probably already seen for yourselves, there is a whole vast zone of domes on this model that you have not had access to since your arrival.”
“According to this model,” Charlie said, “the N.H.I’s must have planned on building several thousand domes. I haven’t counted them all, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were nearly 5,000 on this model, which fits with what Victor said.”
“As you can see,” Giuseppe continued, “I have no intention of hiding anything from you. I hope I have reassured you on this point. If I have not yet told you about all our discoveries here it is simply because the time was not yet right. You must know that your collaboration with us is valuable and that we have nothing to hide, as least not anything that concerns you. You and your brother are now an integral part of the N.H.I. program.”
Charlie was silent for a moment, studying the model in its minutest details.
“It’s incredible!” exclaimed Jacques internally. “This metal is a color I’ve never seen before. It’s unnaturally pale; very strange. It actually almost seems to glow. It’s as if it gives off its own light through some strange sort of radiation. Maybe it’s not a good idea to stand so close to this thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was giving off electromagnetic radiation.”
Charlie had been concentrating so hard on the layout of the base that he had not noticed this very obvious aspect of the object he was staring at. Jacques’ observation was quite pertinent. On closer inspection, there was no lamp or source of light present inside the glass case. The light was actually coming from the metal itself. Only the plinth seemed to be made of an inert metal. He quickly asked Giuseppe about it, seizing the opportunity to show Jacques how much his opinion mattered to him.
“Why has it been put inside a glass case?” Charlie asked, calmly.
“We did not build this case. It was already here when we found the model. Our engineers analyzed the material it is made of and it seems to be a very unique type of glass. It actually contains particles of heavy metals, some of which have not yet been identified.
“Perhaps those particles are there to counter the effects of any radiation emanating from the model?”
“I see you are very observant – unless you simply know something about this subject. Maybe Victor mentioned something to you?”
“No, this is the first time I’ve seen it, but Jacques has just pointed out to me that the metal it is made of is quite strange. It seems to give off light, which leads us to think there might be some electromagnetic radiation.”
“Your brother is right. The model emits radiation which would certainly be deadly if it was not stopped by this glass case.”
“How do you know, if you have not managed to get through its wall?”
“The level of radiation in this room is slightly above normal and evidently seems to
come from this case.”
“Do you mean we’re being exposed to radiation right now? Or maybe we already were when we were standing beside Victor, since we were so near this room then?”
“No, don’t worry, Jacques. The level of radiation is far below what the human body can tolerate, even if we had to stay in this room for the rest of our lives.”
“What about inside the case?” Jacques asked.
“We cannot be sure, but our engineers think it could be particularly high. If this protective glass was broken, the whole base and the surrounding rock would be contaminated. That’s why this room is kept secret. Only a very restricted group of people is authorized to come in here and I am the only one who has the access codes.”
“Where does the radiation come from?” asked Charlie. “Is it coming from the metal itself?”
“Possibly, but we have never seen anything like it. We think it more likely that the plinth the model is resting on contains an energy source of some unknown type. Analysis using infra-red rays has revealed the presence of an extremely dense mass in its center. The temperature in there is so high that even our best equipment cannot measure it.”
“That’s impossible!” exclaimed Jacques. “Such heat would melt everything, including the rock around this cave, for several kilometers or more.”
“Nuclear fusion!” Charlie wondered aloud.
Giuseppe looked at him incredulously. He and his team had been working on the matter for over ten years and they still had not managed to establish with any certainty the nature of this energy source. He could see that Charlie was soon going to allow them to solve a large proportion of the puzzles they had been faced with.
“The N.H.I’s used that technology”, Charlie continued, looking at Jacques. “That is how they were able to power the hibernation systems for millions of years. It’s a practically inexhaustible source of energy, but it’s difficult to control.”
“I know about nuclear fusion, Charlie. It’s a subject that comes up a lot in science fiction books, but in real life the technical constraints are insurmountable. Whatever technology the N.H.I’s may have had, I don’t believe it’s possible to contain such a powerful reaction in an object of this size. Nuclear fusion is a reaction that takes place in the center of stars. It’s only because of their gigantic mass that the extreme heat given off by the atoms’ fusion can be contained. I don’t see how a simple glass case that’s only a few centimeters thick could contain it. What’s more, it’s a type of energy that’s not supposed to produce radiation, at least a lot less than the fission reaction that we use in our power stations today,” said Jacques.
“Charlie is right, Jacques. The N.H.I’s technology was more highly evolved than ours. This glass case is not enough in and of itself to contain the reaction which, if it indeed exists, most likely takes place in the heart of the metal plinth. If something is containing it, it must be that plinth. We had envisaged that hypothesis, but we were missing elements, as we were unable to study the qualities of the object more closely. The glass is certainly not there only to prevent intruders and contain residual radiation. Only magnetic or inertial containment would be capable of containing such energy and preventing expansion. In theory, such a process is possible, however, and our research scientists have been working on it for years. It would be a huge, inexhaustible source of energy for humanity.
“We are still hindered by the significant technical constraints involved in this technology. The temperature of this type of reaction can reach over ten million degrees in its center. To contain it, we would have to develop equipment which we do not have the technology for today. What’s more, containing that extreme heat is not our only major problem. Although the reaction of nuclear fusion is much cleaner in terms of radioactive waste than the actual production of energy by fission, we presume that fusion, whatever the fuels used, will inevitably emit atomic radiation likely to interact with the building materials used in containment. Only a specific alloy of metals that no nation has developed yet could prevent such a phenomenon from occurring. In the presence of ordinary metal or any other material that we currently know, the neutrons emitted interact with the nuclei of the atoms in the containment wall. They are actually impossible to contain electromagnetically and transmute the atoms that they meet into radioactive isotopes.
“The N.H.I’s, as you have seen, seem to have developed their technology mainly using metals. It is quite possible that they managed to develop alloys able to resist being bombarded by neutrons and the heat given off by the reactor. That would explain the longevity and the unknown nature of the alloy used to build this model, as well as that used to build the domes. No modern ferrous material could have reached such a level of longevity in a damp atmosphere like that of this cave. However, their alloys, I must say, seem like new. They show no trace of rust or any sort of oxidation.”
“Have you found other models like this one?” asked Charlie.
Giuseppe hesitated a moment before replying.
“This generator is the only one we have found on this base, but I must tell you that we are far from having opened all the domes.”
“But how is that possible?” exclaimed Jacques. “If I remember correctly, this base was discovered over twenty years ago. How could you not have had the time or inclination to comb the whole place? Is there something standing in your way?”
“I was expecting that sooner or later I would have to answer that question,” Giuseppe replied. “It brings us back to the question you asked me, Charlie. Victor is not alone on this base, despite what I told you, but he is the only one of those we have been in contact with who is still alive.”
“What do you mean?” asked Charlie in a harsh, accusing tone.
“We didn’t want it to happen, you know! At first, everything went very well. When we opened the first domes, we realized right away that we had made a major discovery; perhaps the most significant in the whole history of Man. We were blinded by sentiment and the desire for more knowledge. We should have taken the necessary precautions; then we would have avoided the tragedy that ensued. The N.H.I.’s were totally naked and freely breathing the air being constantly recycled by the ventilation system in each dome. That air was sterile before our arrival but the presence of humans changed that.
“The effects were not immediate. It was only after several weeks – the time it took to open all the domes of the section that you now know as a residential zone – that we noticed the first disastrous signs that the N.H.I’s were contaminated by the germs we unwittingly carried. Some of them resisted better than others but after the first six months, only five of them were still alive, out of the fifty we were in contact with. They all died over the course of the following year, despite the treatment we tried to give them. I’m sorry, Charlie. We never wanted such a thing to happen.”
Charlie’s face had turned white. Jacques remained silent, noticing his brother’s shock. He was taking the news of this tragedy very hard. The fact that it could have been avoided made it all the more painful. He understood that, beyond Charlie’s empathy for the N.H.I’s, this news must also affect the part of Victor that lived in him. His expression suddenly became a lot sterner. He was now glaring at Giuseppe as if he wished he could wipe him out with one glance.
“How can I know you’re not twisting the truth? How can I know that you and your men didn’t use these giants as guinea-pigs for the bacterial experiments you do on this base? After all, if I understood what you told us when we arrived, that’s the main reason why you’re hiding away in this place: your so-called struggle against the great pandemics of the future –”
Giuseppe, sensing an unusual rise in Charlie’s hostility, decided to interrupt his monologue.
“It’s not what you think, Charlie! Trust me. I’m sincerely sorry about what happened. I should have taken the necessary precautions involving my men. Fortunately for them, the domes contained no pathogenic substances. The N.H.I.’s had taken care to eliminate all risk of contamina
tion before placing their people in hibernation. After the first death I understood that we had made a serious mistake. I immediately ordered that we stop the exploration of the 4,900 domes that were still sealed. A containment wall was then erected to completely isolate the other part of this base. We took care to install a decontamination chamber and a security system to prevent any unauthorized person entering the no-go zone. The ambient air in the rest of the cave underwent ultra-violet ray treatment to guard against any contamination from the air of this zone.”
Charlie’s anger was slightly appeased; but it gave way to a dull pain that he had trouble defining. It was something between anxiety and latent sorrow. He could feel the effects of convergence in him. His extreme empathy for Victor had driven him to react as Victor himself would have reacted. He could feel contradictory emotions rising up within him; an inextricable combination of suffering and hatred. Was Victor’s wife dead? Had Giuseppe really killed them through negligence as he claimed? For now he could not tell, but Giuseppe’s decision, while it had unfortunately come too late, did seem to show an intention on his part to preserve the lives of the N.H.I.’s. But to what end? He had no idea.
Maybe Rosaline was still alive somewhere in the no-go zone after all. He suddenly remembered what Victor had told him about her being put into hibernation. Victor remembered, before being put to sleep himself, that he had accompanied his wife to sector 24 of the same base. He had not specified where that wing was situated, but if the rooms marked the entrance to the cave, it could be that the first domes were situated in the zone currently inhabited by humans. There was something else that supported this theory: the dome where Victor lay was one of the very first ones and it was there that the fusion reactor had been found which probably supplied a large portion of the base with energy, if not all of it.
