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

by Debashish Das

  “Which is where Al comes in,” Kyle said connecting the final dot.

  “Exactly, because Al can run on any hardware system irrespective of the firmware and software used. It can process all the data it collects across every system it’s running on. It is the only way we will be able to prevent another Dalton incident and possibly, save millions of lives.”

  Kyle cringed inwardly as he heard the words spoken out loud. Anytime anyone mentioned saving the world, he thought it was just pointless propaganda. He had never paid much attention to the Dalton incident either, it had happened ages ago in the 21st century. But there was no shortage of conspiracy theories about how they were headed toward another Dalton. He used to dismiss such theories out of hand, but hearing Rohan explain it, he couldn’t help but wonder why more people did not know of this. “If that’s the case, why hide what you’re working on? It seems like you want to keep it a secret. You could have told me this on my first day here. You could even have told me before I came to OneTech. I would have been more than happy to work on this project if you had explained it to me then.”

  “Believe me, I wanted to, but Patrick had expressly forbidden me from discussing this with you.”

  Kyle looked nonplussed. “Wait, he was the one who sent me here, and you’re saying he didn’t want me to know any of this. Why?”

  “That I cannot explain. But I can tell you this, you’re getting this explanation from me because he said it was time for you to know,” Rohan said lifting his hand defensively. “And don’t ask me why. I have given up trying to understand the way he thinks.”

  “Well, thanks for telling me, but you’ve got to agree that this is all very strange. Right?”

  “Oh, I agree, but then again, Patrick is strange in many ways,” Rohan shrugged. “He just thinks differently from the rest of us. That’s the thing I’ve noticed with visionaries; it’s as if they can look into the future and superimpose it on the present. That’s how they do what they do.”

  “Can you imagine what would even get someone to conceptualize and then go out and build something like Waylain. The sheer scale and complexity of it has deterred people from building another one. Think about how intimidating it must have been going at it the first time. But Patrick saw it all the way through, from vision to construction to a living, breathing city of nearly a million people. So obviously, he is planning something, which we’ll come to know whenever we need to know.”

  “Wow, someone seems infatuated with Patrick Silva.” Rohan laughed at his quip, but Kyle was remembering his meeting with Patrick. It was hard to believe that he had met the man who had conceptualized and built Waylain. “I guess he had his reasons for keeping me in the dark. But you know, his conversation skills could definitely use some improvement.”

  Rohan laughed again. “Yes, he can be unpleasant, and usually is. In fact, the first time I met him I thought he was very rude. I almost refused his offer of merging with Exel’s R&D. I honestly thought he was an asshole.”

  Kyle joined in the laughter. “Well, now that you’ve said it, I think that describes him accurately.”

  “That was just my first opinion, and thankfully, my co-founder liked him. We reconsidered the offer, met Patrick a few more times, and finally decided to continue our work under him, at Exel’s R&D. There would be no OneTech today if he hadn’t seen the potential that we couldn’t see back then.”

  “So he’s your knight in the shining armor too?” They both laughed together. Kyle realized he liked Rohan, he was unlike most people; open, honest, and had a deep belief in his work. It was quite refreshing, much like the green tea he was drinking. “You mentioned a co-founder and Patrick’s offer. So you were not always a part of R&D?”

  “No,” Rohan said with a hint of a smile. “We were an independent company. My co-founder and I decided to start it when no one would hire us to work on the project we really wanted to do. We believed that working independently would give us the freedom to do what we really wanted. Those were fun times. Just the two of us, working 16-hour shifts, cracking away on our consoles, dreaming about changing the world. We were naive, but that enthusiasm, that freedom… I still miss it sometimes.”

  It made Kyle think back to his initial days at Analytics. Even though it was just a few years ago, it felt like it had been ages. All his memories seemed to be made of the joy and excitement of finally being able to achieve what he wanted. He wondered how long it had been since he had felt that joy and excitement. “I know what you mean, but as they say, no good thing lasts forever.”

  “Wait,” Rohan said suddenly turning serious, “what did you say?” Kyle was taken aback. “Where did you hear that phrase, no good thing lasts forever?”

  “I don’t know, somewhere. It’s a pretty common phrase. Why, what’s the matter?”

  “It’s just the way you said it… never mind,” Rohan finished, suddenly looking very tired. “I just had a long chat with Patrick this morning. He wants to move faster and bring Al up to functional status. I explained it would take time, that we had to do this right, but he wouldn’t listen. He said something about Waylain Administrators not budging.

  “That’s what I hate the most, all the politics that’s involved in a project of this scale. Now that we’re getting closer to the end, it is starting to wear on me.”

  “What politics? I thought this was a secret R&D project, but the Waylain Administration knows about this?”

  “Not the details, no,” Rohan replied as if he was exhausted just thinking about it. “But Patrick has been pushing them to build collaborations with the other Subterranean Habitats. The Administrators want to know why, and we can’t tell them unless we have something to show. But you know Patrick, he’s been badgering them for months now. And he’s been badgering me too.”

  “I don’t understand. What do the other SubHabs have to do with this?”

  Rohan smiled tiredly. “That was, and still is, the original mission of OneTech. If we are to survive on this planet, we have to save it from ourselves.

  “We’ve only kept adding more SubHabs after the Dalton incident without considering the strain it was putting on the planet’s ecological systems. As it stands today, each Subterranean Habitat is isolated. We have built a shell for ourselves and are content to go about our lives in comfort. But what about this earth as a whole? Now that the Dalton incident is long past, shouldn’t we be restoring balance to what we brought about in the first place?

  “All natural things follow the rules of homeostasis, and we seem to have forgotten that the same holds true for our planet. We, as humans, are changing this planet too rapidly for our own good. When the planet strikes back to restore balance, and it will, we might not survive it.”

  “Okay, I’ll be honest, I’m thoroughly confused now,” Kyle said. “We went from talking about AI-based data collection and analysis to global politics to natural disasters. What does OneTech have to do with any of this?”

  “OneTech is supposed to be the common link between all of it. To save the planet and the human race, we can’t be allowed to make decisions based only on our self-interest, without considering what’s good for all of us, what’s good for the earth. And that’s what Al is supposed to be; the voice of the planet speaking to us in ways we can understand.”

  Kyle struggled with wrapping his head around it. And I am supposed to teach Al how to do that, he thought, suddenly feeling very intimidated. Rohan must have noticed, as he looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by the phone. He answered the call and listened silently as a frown slowly clouded his face. He suddenly got up and said, “Sorry, I’ll be back in a minute,” and walked out the door.

  Chapter 13

  Kyle sat on the cushion, empty cup in hand, and stared at the wall in front of him. It was too much to take in. He remembered when he had first joined Exel Corp., he was excited by the prospect of working for the world’s foremost tech company. He believed in the work he was doing. It had taken him a couple of year
s to realize that his contribution as an analyst was small, but he had been okay with that. But over the years something had changed. Day after day he came in to do the same kind of work, which he enjoyed, but there were no immediate consequences of what he was working on. His motivations had slowly changed, and he looked forward to meeting the people in his team, spending time with them even outside of work, he had come to enjoy his lifestyle.

  He realized that was why his stint at working alone from his apartment had bothered him so much. He had been clinging on to the comforts of his lifestyle and had forgotten the reason why he had joined Exel Corp. in the first place. But here was an opportunity he could never have imagined would come his way, an opportunity to make a bigger contribution to a cause far greater than himself. It reminded him of the resolve with which he had run away from his home, the resolve to never again hide and watch the world pass him by. Where had that fear, that excitement, that resolve gone?

  But what Rohan had just said, it scared him, too. Was he ready to accept such a huge responsibility? What if things went wrong? This time, he knew the consequences of his mistakes would be grave, and the impact of his actions far reaching. He wished he could be as sure and confident as he had been eight years ago when he had first joined Exel Corp.

  “Sorry, had to take the call.”

  Kyle looked up and saw Rohan enter the room.

  “Deep thoughts? I am sorry if I interrupted them. I don’t like it when people disturb me when I’m thinking either.”

  “No, no. I was just thinking about the old days,” Kyle said, placing the empty cup on the floor and standing up. “I have been sitting on the floor for too long. My legs are starting to tingle.”

  Rohan smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I know it takes some time getting used to. I am sure you must have a hundred more questions after what I just told you about Al and our mission. We can walk to your office and continue our conversation there.”

  “Okay,” Kyle replied, but he felt something was wrong. Maybe the way Rohan had said it? He brushed it aside attributing it to his confused state of mind.

  “I know what I just said sounds ridiculous,” Rohan said as they were walking down the curved corridor toward the cafeteria. “The first time I heard it, I thought it was a joke. But my co-founder, he believed in it with all his heart and after months of trying, he finally convinced me that this was possible. When I think about it now… I still can’t believe how close we are to what he envisioned all those years ago. He believed we couldn’t fail, but I always thought that he was overly optimistic. If he knew how far we’ve come, I’m sure he would be very proud of it.”

  “What do you mean, if he knew?”

  Rohan shrugged helplessly. “No one knows where he is. OneTech, Al, none of this would be here without him. Yet, as all our hard work is finally about to pay off, he’s not here.”

  “What happened?”

  “He just disappeared one day. I could tell something had been troubling him for a few weeks before it happened, but he never told me what it was. Then, one day, he didn’t show up to work. I didn’t think it very strange at the time. He used to disappear for a few days now and then. But when he didn’t show up for over a week, I tried to track him down but couldn’t find him. Finally, his sister told me that he had moved to another Subterranean Habitat, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

  “That sounds… weird. Why would he do that?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not weird at all,” Rohan said with a sad laugh. “That’s exactly like Damian.”

  “Seems like you guys were good friends. You never tried to contact him?”

  “Of course I did. But that’s the strange thing, I can’t find him. I’ve searched everywhere, in every place where I have a contact. But he’s completely disappeared. It’s like he doesn’t exist, and never did.”

  “Are you sure he isn’t…”

  They had reached the door that led to the cafeteria. Rohan stopped and turned around. “I don’t know. But I do know that if he was alive and well, nothing could keep him from coming back to OneTech. This is his life’s work.” He looked into Kyle’s eyes and said, “He always hated having other people do his work for him, even me. He never completely trusted anyone.”

  Kyle didn’t know how to react, so he just stood there waiting for Rohan to break the silence.

  “I’m sorry to have burdened you with all this, but you would have found out eventually, so I thought I might as well be the one telling you,” Rohan said smiling and walking into the cafeteria. “Let’s grab something to eat, shall we?”

  He couldn’t quite put his finger on what felt off, but Rohan was definitely keeping something from him. He wasn’t exactly being unfriendly, but he was behaving differently now. The phone call, he thought. Something has happened. Kyle couldn’t shake the feeling that he was involved in it somehow. Following Rohan’s lead, he picked up a shepherd’s pie and a cold coffee, and they made their way to his office, joking about the synthetic protein masquerading as meat.

  His office was different from Rohan’s. It had the same sort of overhead lighting, but that’s where the similarity ended. The walls had waist high wood paneling and colored sandstone above it. The floor was bare but had been overlaid with a design that gave it the appearance of granite. But Kyle’s favorite part was the shaded window that stretched across most of the far wall. Light was seeping in from the slits in the shade, eliminating the need for any extra lights.

  “I like what you’ve done,” Rohan remarked sitting down at the round table that dominated the room. He pointed to the window and said, “That’s a nice touch, synced with the day-night cycle, I assume?”

  Kyle nodded as he sat down in his chair and felt his body relax. The chair was a welcome relief, especially after sitting on the ground for so long.

  “But the table is a little too big for one person, no?”

  “I was hoping that more analysts might join OneTech and we could work together. Or if there are some things we have to work on together, this would be perfect.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Rohan said opening the bottle of water he had brought.

  “Do you mind if I ask you something related to your co-founder?”

  “No, go ahead.”

  “How did Patrick react to… his disappearance?”

  Rohan chewed on the risotto he had brought as he thought about it. “He was concerned, which was quite uncharacteristic. But they had gotten along very well and used to have long talks among themselves. They had their disagreements from time to time, of course. But that was unavoidable when you have two people who absolutely refuse to budge from what they believe in. Patrick did everything he could to find him too, but to no avail. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason,” Kyle said a little too quickly. Then he decided he could probably trust Rohan with what he was thinking. “Well, I find it strange, again, that you guys would just keep going without the man who started it all. From the way I hear you speak, he was the driving force behind OneTech and this entire project. Didn’t you… I don’t know. It just feels like everyone moved on.”

  “What better way to honor his memory than to continue the work he started? I was there with him since the beginning. I know he would have wanted to see his dream fulfilled.”

  Kyle ran his fingers through his hair. “We’re working on a project that was started by a man who has gone missing. I mean, I didn’t know him, but coming from the outside, it feels like he didn’t matter. How do you guys deal with that?”

  “Hold on,” Rohan said as he slipped his hand into his pocket. He took out his mobile and started searching for something. When he found it, he offered his mobile to Kyle. “Here, that’s me and Damian, on the first day of starting OneTech. Two kids with dreams of changing the world,” he added smiling.

  Kyle took Rohan’s mobile and looked at the photo. They were probably in their early twenties, posing in front of a wall that read “OneTech Pvt. Ltd.” Rohan was grinning at the ca
mera and looked pretty much the same as he did now, only much younger. The other guy was simply smiling, but he had glasses on, making him seem older.

  “It was usually hard to get Damian excited enough to smile, but it was a special day.”

  It was a supremely confident smile on a face that probably didn’t smile much. But it was the face that drew his attention. “Did he always have glasses on?”

  “No, that’s just a stupid stunt. He did not need the glasses. He just thought it made him look smarter and older. But he stopped putting them on a few months after that was taken.”

  Kyle tried to picture Damian without the glasses and a few years older. Suddenly, he felt his breath catch in his chest. He looked up to see Rohan looking intently at him. “I think I met him. Just a few days ago. He said his name was Dan.”

  No one spoke for a few moments. Both of them sat still, contemplating their own thoughts, not wanting to speak first. But Rohan broke the silence. “I should have guessed, but it seems you didn’t know who he was when you met him. How did you two meet?”

  Kyle thought it was a strange question, especially when you’ve just found out that your missing friend is alive and well. The feeling of wrongness welled up stronger within him. “There’s more to this than you’re telling me. What’s going on, Rohan?” It seemed as if Rohan wouldn’t reply. He just stared at him.

  Finally, Rohan sighed tiredly and leaned back in the chair. “Someone hacked into our servers and stole confidential data. As serious a crime as that is, no one should have been able to penetrate our security layers.”

  “You think Damian’s behind it. And because I just confirmed I met him you think I’m involved as well?”

  “Tell me you wouldn’t say the same thing if you were in my place.” When Kyle didn’t reply, he pressed on. “That phone call I received in the office, that was Chief. He found the hack and was able to trace it back to its source, your mobile. If it was anyone else sitting in front of you right now, you’d been under arrest.”