The Tellurian Threat: A Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Thriller (The Tellurian Archives Book 1)

by Debashish Das

  Kyle sighed. He hadn’t really expected it to work, but figured it was worth a shot.

  K: Yeah, I know. Make sure you bring Rosie along for lunch at Po’s, and for that matter, the rest of the team too

  A: Why would we go to Po’s? ... Wait, what do you mean ‘bring?’

  K: I’ve been working from Po’s this morning, and I am waiting for you guys here. It feels like we haven’t had lunch together in a long time

  A: And we won’t be having lunch together for a long time to come either ::frown::

  K: What do you mean?

  A: You’re officially off-comm, Kyle. That means there’s to be no official communication with the team. Didn’t it occur to you that it might also mean not meeting face to face?

  K: WTF! Are you kidding me? No one can tell me where I can or can’t eat. Just because I’ve agreed to do this new thing doesn’t mean that they can tell me how to live my life

  A: Listen, Kyle. I know this sounds weird, but meeting people you work with may defeat the purpose of the project

  K: Are you fucking kidding me? You’re telling me I can’t meet my friends?

  A: No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying you chose not to meet them when you said yes to the project

  K: Like hell I did. I agreed to work solo, not become a fucking outcast. Give me the name of the VP who’s looking after this whole thing

  A: How would that help?

  K: I’m going to tell him how fucking insane this is and that I want out

  A: And then what?

  K: Then I’ll come back to the office and work with you guys, and we’ll go out for fucking lunch wherever we want to

  A: Is that what you imagine will happen?

  Kyle grabbed his coffee, which had gone cold by now, but drank some anyway. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the screen for a few seconds, trying to not let his anger get better of him.

  A: Are you there, Kyle? Will you just listen for a moment?

  K: I’m here. Go on

  A: This project is probably a crap shoot. Some guy, high up in Exel, probably thinks this project is groundbreaking. And he doesn’t want anyone to find out about it, that’s why he’s keeping everything hush-hush. To be honest, I doubt the work you do will be very useful but…

  K: Yeah, thanks. Now I’m really motivated to keep doing this

  A: It is a brilliant way to get into his good books. You help him execute on his pet project, play by his rules, and he’s going to bring you up the ranks. Don’t throw away your chance for an early promotion by telling him that his project is crap. Suffer a little now and reap the rewards later

  K: You’re serious, aren’t you?

  A: Have I ever not been?

  K: I know you have my best interests at heart, Andrew, but that doesn’t make it any easier to work by myself. I hate it. And now that you’ve told me what’s really going on, you can’t seriously expect me to keep doing this

  A: I don’t expect you to be happy about it, but I want you to stay in the project

  K: Fuck off

  A: I’d be happy to if you promise that you will continue. It’s just a matter of a few weeks

  K: A few weeks? Didn’t you say that you didn’t know if there was an end-date to this thing?

  A: There isn’t, but I need a few weeks. Listen, I realize that I might have made a mistake by pushing you into this project. If you’re truly unhappy, I’ll try to get you out of it. Hopefully, without any repercussions. Will you at least give me a few weeks to work it all out?

  K: Wow, thanks. But a few weeks is still a long time

  A: Come on, man, I’ll try my best. But I need time. Just keep your head down till then, will you?

  K: I’ll try… and thanks. I’m sorry it didn’t work out like you’d hoped it would.

  A: Don’t worry about it. It’s not all your fault. To be honest, I had seen this coming but hoped it would turn out differently. We’ll need to talk after this is over

  K: You know, I’m still at Po’s, so if you want to talk… ::grin::

  A: Kyle

  K: Relax, just kidding. I’ll get out of here soon enough. I don’t want you guys to miss out on the fantastic weather just because I’m here

  A: What weather? It’s always the same

  Kyle rolled his eyes. It was hard to stay mad at Andrew.

  K: Never mind. And thanks for listening to me bitch about it. You might have just stopped me from shooting myself in the foot

  A: You’re welcome. And remember, you can always talk to me if you’re feeling lonely

  K: Oh, you’re too sweet, honey. Come home early, I’ll be waiting for you ::wink::

  A: You’re hopeless

  Kyle turned off the console and leaned back in his chair. There was no reason to hang around anymore. The day had not turned out as he had expected, but he was glad that Andrew would pull him out of this solitary confinement soon. Now that he knew it would only be a few more weeks, it seemed slightly more bearable.

  He paid and walked back to his car. If he was lucky, he might even get to see the dust storm coming in from the horizon. Now, that would be cool, Kyle thought, smiling to himself. Maybe he could even stop the car and get a video with the storm front in the background.

  Chapter 3

  Kyle slumped on the couch and twisted his head from side to side, trying to work out the tension. It had gone well once he had stopped checking the time every ten minutes. And the six-pack of coffee had helped too. He had finally finished the report he had been working on.

  Surprisingly, it had been easy to get into it after the first hour or so. He felt he had done a good day’s work and was completely tapped out. Unlike his office, the lights in his apartment were not synced to the day-night rhythm so he couldn’t tell what time it was. He reached for his mobile, which he had stuffed under the cushions to prevent himself from checking the time constantly.

  1:43 PM

  That surprised him. It should have been at least 5 pm judging by the way he felt. He realized that he had done a full day’s work in just under four hours, and didn’t know what to make of it. But the one thing he was sure about was that he had missed the lunch. And he wanted to be around people.

  Kyle breathed in the earthy aroma of brewing coffee. He was still a few feet from the bright yellow door with ‘Hailey’s’ written in a fancy, retro font. He pushed the door open and winced at the sudden brightness. No matter how many times he came here, he could never get used to the contrast. It was as if Hailey was constantly waging a battle with the dimness outside.

  Even though the place was half full, it seemed deserted because of the bright lighting. And the wide space between the tables, which allowed for private conversations without the need to resort to booths. Hailey had leased as a large a place as she could find and put up as few tables as she could get away with, while still making a profit.

  He couldn’t see her anywhere, though, so he made his way to the table nearest to the bar knowing that she would eventually turn up there. He pulled out his mobile and started checking for any messages he might have received since the morning. Not that he expected any, considering he was supposed to be off-comm, but one never knew.

  “Well, hello there. Fancy seeing you here at this time of the day,” Hailey called out in her soft voice as she walked past him.

  Kyle looked up to see her with the apron around her waist and a tray of washed cups balanced in her hands.

  He grinned at her and said, “Well, hello yourself, young lady. How are you doing today?”

  She snorted. “The young lady is doing perfectly fine, but someone forgot to pass on the message to her bones. They think they belong to an 80-year-old woman.”

  Kyle got up to help her, but she waved him away without even looking up. “If you think I’m going to let you embarrass me in front of my customers, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  Kyle grinned and sat back down.

  “What brings you here? Food, drink or company?” Hail
ey asked as she disappeared behind the counter, putting the cups in their place.

  “A little bit of everything. I’ve been working all by myself in the apartment today and missed lunch.”

  “Wow! From alcoholic to workaholic, that’s quite a transformation.”

  There was just no arguing with her, so Kyle decided to let it slide.

  “No comebacks, no jokes! Wow, you must be really hungry.” She stood back up and looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Hang in there, I’ll get you something to eat before you fall over.”

  Kyle nodded his head in thanks. The look of concern on Hailey’s face made him realize that he probably looked as tired as he felt. He might have spent the day on the couch but felt as tired as if he had run a few miles on the treadmill. This reminded him that he hadn’t been to the gym in months. He poked his belly, where a little bit of a paunch was starting to show. He had been blessed with a lean build, but all the partying and dining out seemed to be catching up with him. He thought about signing up for the gym again now that he was working from his apartment and had some free time.

  Just then a plate slid into his view. It was piled two stacks high with sandwiches fresh off the griller. “Mmm, smells like heaven,” Kyle exclaimed inhaling deeply.

  Hailey smiled and said, “And I’ve got a special treat for you, too.”

  She went behind the counter as Kyle hungrily dug into the sandwiches. His mouth was stuffed when Hailey placed a tray on the table. There was a tall glass tumbler with cold coffee topped with a generous serving of ice cream. He swallowed the sandwich as fast as he could and eagerly reached for the tumbler. One sip and he knew it wasn’t cold coffee.

  Hailey was smiled knowingly as she sat down across him and picked up her cup of coffee from the tray.

  “Is this what I think it is?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Got it just a couple of days ago. Had to pay through the nose for it. But the look on your face tells me that it was absolutely worth it.”

  “Wow! I never thought I’d actually taste real chocolate!”

  “Shh! Keep your voice down, boy. It’s not on the open menu.”

  Kyle gave her a sheepish grin and pulled deeply on the straw, savoring the wonderful flavor. The synthetic flavors couldn’t hold a candle to the real stuff. This was indeed a rare luxury.

  “Doesn’t your apartment have a decent couch or even a chair?”

  Kyle opened his eyes and looked at her in mild confusion.

  “You look awfully tired, and stiff, for someone who has been sitting in the apartment all day.”

  Kyle sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, tell me about it. I feel like shit too, like I’ve been slogging it out all day. I was honestly surprised when the clock showed that it wasn’t even 2 pm yet. I seemed to have got as much done as I would have in a full day in the office. Go figure, right?” he said, digging into the half eaten sandwich.

  “So you’re saying you finished your work by lunch, but the same thing would have taken a whole day at the office?”

  Kyle nodded taking a sip from the chocolate drink.

  “Sounds to me like you were jerking off at office,” Hailey said with a deadpan voice.

  Kyle choked on the chocolate and coughed and sputtered as Hailey pressed on.

  “And someone was smart enough to figure out that they could get a full day’s work done in half the time if they made you work from home. Same pay, double the work. That’s a win-win in my book.

  “And don’t spill the drink on yourself. It might taste like heaven, but it stains like hell.”

  Kyle finally stopped coughing and said, “Speaking of which, can I get a refill?”

  Hailey eyed him sharply, before replying. “Only if you swear not to drink it like the first one. You practically snorted it all out over the table. I know you have money, but there’s no need to be filthy about it.”

  Kyle grinned and winked at her. She smacked him on the shoulder as she got up. He was glad he came here. Hailey always managed to lift his spirits. She was one of the few people who could leave him tongue-tied, but it was all in good fun. Not to mention, she usually had access to things that normal restaurants didn’t. Like real chocolate.

  He was about to put the last bit of the sandwich in his mouth when a sudden thought made him pause. Hailey’s off-hand comment about double the work for half the pay suddenly clicked into place. It seemed she had hit upon the truth.

  There had recently been rumors in the office about a performance improvement program for employees. It couldn’t be just a coincidence that he had been picked for a secret project immediately after. It all seemed to line up perfectly; the lack of solid information, the working in isolation, putting him on off-comm status. It all seemed to reek of a performance improvement program, a really shitty one at that.

  Does Andrew know about it? No, he wouldn’t do that, he told himself. He is not an asshole. He wouldn’t keep something like that from me.

  He picked up his mobile and opened the X-comm app, but decided to send a private message instead. Before he could, Hailey was there with his second glass of the delicious cold chocolate.

  “Enjoy,” she said while she cleared off the empty plate and glass. “And be prepared for a big dent in your wallet. This stuff isn’t cheap.”

  “If I wanted cheap, I wouldn’t be here, would I?” he replied playfully.

  That earned him another smack on the shoulder before she left to serve the other customers.

  He looked back at the half-written message on the mobile screen, thought about it for a few moments and trashed it. He figured there was an indirect way of finding out if the performance improvement program really existed. If anything like that was going on, he was sure Becca would know about it, especially if it was being kept a secret. He smiled as he fired off a quick message to her.

  Kyle suddenly realized that he had nothing to do. With the day’s work done, the rest of the afternoon was his to do with as he pleased. Usually, he would have hung out with his co-workers, chatting over coffee or heading out for a stroll and a snack. He was certain he was not going back to his apartment but was at a loss for what to do next. Working in isolation was not a pleasing prospect, but just thinking about spending all this free time alone was making him anxious.

  He started tinkering with his mobile, opening and closing apps at whim, flicking through news and social media feeds without really paying attention to anything. But a video suddenly caught his eye, and he scrolled back up to it.

  It was an ad for the Volte B-M1. He smiled as the video started playing, featuring the sleek, red coupe symbolic of the brand. It seemed like a new ad, but the roads that the coupe was gliding over looked familiar. The camera angle shifted, and a giant dome appeared in the background. His smile turned into a grin. They had used the same roads that he used to drive on every day. It would be good fun to shoot a couple of videos like this one, featuring his white B-M1. He wondered if he could talk Malcolm into setting up a similar thing for his car. If it turned out nice, maybe Volte themselves would start using it for their campaigns.

  The ad had started listing the features of the car when he noticed a few features that were missing from his car. The upgraded cooling system and weather protection he could live without, but it was the driverless mode that caught his eye.

  He opened the Volte app on his mobile to check if he had missed something, but the driverless mode wasn’t there. He checked his firmware, but it was up to date. It didn’t make any sense. His car was just over 3 months old and was top of the line. Irritated that he didn’t have these new features, he decided to contact Volte’s support team.

  Volte Support: Hello, Kyle. My name’s Jo. How can I help you today?

  K: Hey Jo, I was just watching the new ad for the B-M1 and noticed that some of the features aren’t there on my car. I just bought it 3 months ago. Am I missing something?

  Volte Support: Give me a second, please.

  Kyle looked around the restaurant, wh
ich seemed to be getting busier, while he waited for the support exec to continue.

  Volte Support: So Kyle, I just checked your B-M1’s records, and it looks like your car’s hardware is not compatible with our latest firmware. The features you saw in the ad are all part of the new firmware.

  K: That’s fine, but can I not bring it in to have the firmware upgraded?

  Volte Support: I’m sorry, Kyle. Our engineers are still working on the compatibility issues. We’ll let you know when the firmware is ready to be updated in your model.

  K: Surely you can enable some of the features, right? I mean, anyone with a Nav system can find the way to their destination, but a car that costs ten million can’t do the same?

  Volte Support: Not at the moment, sorry. But our engineers are working as fast as they can. You will get a notification in the app when the update is ready.

  K: Can you at least give me an estimate of how long it’s going to take?

  Volte Support: As far as I can tell, it’ll be another two to three months before we’re ready to roll it out. But I’ll make a note of your concern and send you regular updates on the progress.

  K: Thanks, but I was hoping I could get them in a couple of days. So the only way to get all those features now would be to buy a new B-M1?

  Volte Support: Well, we’re telling everybody that the old models will be ready for updates in two to three months, but honestly, I think it should only take half as long.

  K: But I’ll still have to wait. Any chance I could swap mine for new B-M1?

  Volte Support: I’m really sorry, Kyle. We haven’t started our buyback operation yet. That’s also a few months away.

  K: Relax, I was just kidding. I guess I’ll have to wait.

  Volte Support: I apologize for not being of much more help. Hope you have a good day.

  K: And you.

  Kyle put his mobile down in frustration. Even the rest of the cold chocolate, which he downed in a single gulp, didn’t taste as appetizing.

  Here he was, sitting hundreds of feet below the surface, eating and drinking stuff that should not have been able to grow in the climate they had. But Volte was having software issues in a car that cost ten million?