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

by Debashish Das

  “There’s a geo-thermal energy plant? Just outside Waylain? I didn’t even know it exists,” Rohan pleaded. “No one knows it exists.”

  “Except for a few people, like me. And it looks like somehow Damian found out too.”

  “And how exactly does that help him?” Kyle asked.

  Patrick turned his back to them again and looked out the window. “We had just started manufacturing the panels of Waylain’s external shell, the excavation had been going on for months, and I knew that it would take a long time to finish.

  It was an expensive and time-consuming project, but I wanted to leave no stone unturned. So, I came up with the brilliant idea of building a geo-thermal power plant that could not only power the construction of Waylain, but also fulfill Waylain’s energy needs once it was functional. The solar cell efficiency breakthrough hadn’t happened yet, so I channeled my personal funds into building the geo-thermal plant. It was designed to function independently at first, but could later be plugged into Waylain.

  “But we failed in our attempts to tap into the geo-thermal sources. I was dumping billions into it, but it turned out that the technology hadn’t caught up to my vision. Then the breakthrough in solar tech happened, and I knew that if Waylain were to see the light of the day, I had to take advantage of it.

  “By then, the construction on the plant had been completed, but I abandoned it as a sunk cost. Even the structure of Waylain’s lowest level had been modified to accommodate the plant. Water conduits, heating chambers, flow control valves, it’s all there. We just sealed it off at the points where it connects with Waylain. All Damian needs to do is get it all working again and find a heat source.”

  Kyle shook his head. The more he learned about it, the more impossible it seemed. “How is Damian going to get the water from the reservoir to the plant if the conduits are sealed? Isn’t every SubHab’s reservoir under heavy security, and even more so in Waylain? Besides, would the electronics inside the plant even work anymore?”

  “Damian has had nearly 2 years to get it all set up,” Rohan replied.

  “But someone would surely have noticed if that was happening?”

  “I don’t think so,” Patrick said turning around to face them again. “We are not monitoring the abandoned plant. Why would we? And Damian is very good at hiding his tracks, so I doubt anyone noticed anything. Hell, even now, it’s only you two who have seen him alive. Who’s to say you’re not lying?”

  “What?” Kyle exclaimed. “Are you…”

  “It’s okay, Kyle,” Rohan said, trying to calm him down. “He’s right, we can’t move on speculation alone. We need evidence of what Damian is up to. If we are wrong about this, we could be wasting our time chasing ghosts while he has a free rein. It could lead to serious harm.”

  “At last,” Patrick said, “we’re being reasonable.”

  “But the people, the evacuation…” Kyle began, but was cut off by Patrick.

  “I won’t deny that the threat might be real and that evacuating Waylain might be our only option. But let me handle it my way. All non-essential activities will be shut down; everyone will be instructed to stay indoors; the law enforcement forces will start evacuating people in batches. So even if Damian somehow succeeds, the damage will be minimal.

  “But it won’t come to that because while I oversee the evacuation, you two will be looking for Damian and stop him before he can execute his plans.”

  Kyle breathed a little easier. At least they would be doing something, not just sitting there, wondering when disaster would strike. He hoped everyone got out of this unharmed.

  “Kyle,” Patrick said, “I want you to help Rohan with the search. He’s too emotionally invested in this whole thing, but you are not. You might notice things that he doesn’t.”

  “Me? I don’t even know where to start? What can I do that you or Rohan can’t? I’d love to help, but you guys are way smarter than me. I’m afraid I’ll just get in the way.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short,” Patrick said with a hint of a smile. “It’s not just about IQ and smartness. Me, Rohan, Damian, we’re all cut from a similar cloth. We’re engineers first; we think alike. But not you. Your involvement led to Damian reappearing on our radar, without you Rohan wouldn’t have been able to escape his kidnappers, and I wouldn’t have believed Damian was back or initiated the evacuation. You seem to have an effect wherever you go.”

  Kyle didn’t completely trust Patrick, but he couldn’t abandon Waylain to its fate, either. He couldn’t just walk away from this. How would that be any different from being tied and locked up in a closet? No, I will do everything I can to prevent another incident like the Barden riots, he resolved to himself. Except, what Damian is planning is infinitely worse. He looked Patrick in the eye and nodded.

  “Good. Remember when I told you that I don’t make blind bets? That a track record is more important than potential? Well, I hope your track record of surviving insurmountable odds rubs off on us. We’re going to need it.”

  Chapter 18

  “Of course, something is going on, Becca, but I can’t tell you what it is. You’ve got to trust me on this.” This was the third time he’d told her, but he knew she wouldn’t give up. “Yes, I’m on my way to R&D. Just do it, okay? And don’t forget to tell Andrew and the others. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Kyle ended the call as he stepped into the elevator. He had spent the whole day yesterday cooped up inside OneTech, helping Rohan trawl through mountains of data to find a trace of Damian. Meanwhile, life had gone on as normal in Waylain, and he had been worried that Patrick wouldn’t actually start the evacuation process. But last night, the announcement had been made. All work activities were to be ceased, and people were instructed to stay indoors. Food and water deliveries had been scheduled area-wise, and law enforcement forces had been deployed everywhere. The reason: a malfunction in the environmental regulatory system.

  Kyle had been surprised by how smoothly it had all gone down. His phone had been constantly ringing, his friends wanting to talk about what was going on and he had been happy to feign ignorance and not say anything. But Becca had figured out that there was something more going on than the official announcements let on. Somehow, she had also managed to figure out that he was involved in this and had been bugging him for information since. Kyle couldn’t blame her, though. The announcements were vague on purpose, and there was absolutely no mention of any evacuation. Someone as sharp as Becca couldn’t fail to notice all the movement that was going on. He wished he could tell her everything, but knew it wouldn’t be wise. He had to trust Patrick to do his part.

  Suddenly, he found himself standing in front of the doors leading to OneTech. It seemed only moments ago he had stepped into the elevator, and he had no conscious recollection of getting here. Oh well, he thought, walking through as the doors slid open.

  Unlike yesterday, he was greeted by a deserted cafeteria. Without the lights, the noise, and the people, the place looked desolate. Rohan had been adamant about not getting anyone else involved in the search for Damian unless absolutely necessary. Patrick had not been happy about that, but had not argued. Kyle wondered if they should get some help as they had not even found a single trace of Damian. He grabbed a couple of boxes off the cafeteria counter as he made his way to Rohan’s workspace, his footsteps echoing around the dark, empty cafeteria.

  Rohan was still at it, focused on his wall-screen, typing away line after line of code. He didn’t even hear him come in. Kyle gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Any luck?”

  Rohan started and turned around in surprise. His eyes were tinged red and he had dark circles around them. Even his skin felt feverish.

  “Shit, man! Have you been awake all night? How long since you slept? How do you expect to keep up your search if you fade out from exhaustion?”

  “Sorry,” Rohan said, relaxing visibly. “Just lost track of time. I can’t believe that I haven’t been able to find anything. The reservoir, th
e valve control systems, even the security bots around the geo-thermal plant report no activity. All the scripts and databases are clean; no trace of Damian. Do you think he’s just playing around with us?”

  Kyle grabbed his arm and led him to one of the cushions that lay strewn around the floor. “Sit, and eat,” he said placing the boxes on the floor. “I’ll get some water.”

  Rohan nodded, and then said, “There’s tea brewing if you want some.”

  Kyle shook his head as he walked to the cabinet to get the tea. He hadn’t been able to sleep well either, not with the anxiety of what was about to happen. Even worse, the memories from Barden kept intruding on his thoughts unbidden. It was like the tension in the air had drawn them out from where he had buried them.

  “What’s it like outside?” Rohan asked.

  “Deserted, silent, but surprisingly calm, too. I didn’t see or hear of any kind of trouble breaking out on the streets. I would have thought that the people would be demanding to know what’s going on.”

  “That we can probably credit to Patrick,” Rohan said thoughtfully. “The people have tremendous respect for him and trust him to do right. He made a smart decision to issue the announcement himself. It might have been a different situation if the Administrators had done it.”

  “How do you think Damian will be reacting to all of this?” Kyle asked, placing the teacups on the floor and sitting down on a nearby cushion.

  “That is what has me worried,” Rohan said. “Damian doesn’t like things not proceeding according to plan and is liable to make mistakes when that happens. I can’t shake the feeling that he anticipated all of this, that we would escape and warn Patrick, and even the evacuation.”

  “I don’t know,” Kyle said, sipping his tea. “Why would he have us kidnapped if he knew he couldn’t hold us for long? Why even agree to meet us in the first place? It’s really strange. If I were in his place, an evacuation would be the last thing I would want. Too much movement, extra security, it would be really hard to do anything unnoticed.” Kyle suddenly remembered something. “You said he was deeply religious, right? Something about the Singularity?”

  Rohan nodded. “He believes in it with all his heart, although, I wouldn’t call him religious.”

  “Well, what if he is actually trying to get people to believe in this Singularity thing? Putting on a public display to prove a point?”

  “What do you mean? Besides, he isn’t the type who needs validation from other people.”

  “There has got to be something we’re missing. Something that Damian knows we’re not paying attention to,” Kyle said. “Maybe we are going about this the wrong way.”

  “I don’t understand” Rohan said, pausing halfway through opening the food box.

  “What if he wants us to keep running around in circles, trying to trace his activities? If he plans for everything, wouldn’t he have been able to predict how you and Patrick would react? What steps you would take to find him?”

  Rohan nodded. “It’s very likely. But what else can we do? He has to be stopped.”

  “Yes, but instead of trying to trace him like this, what if we try to find him physically?”

  “He could be anywhere in Waylain. He may not even be in Waylain for all we know. He knows how to hide himself, as he proved when he disappeared last time,” Rohan said.

  “Well, this time we have an advantage that wasn’t there before. The law enforcement forces have been deployed all across Waylain. Damian may have found a way to hoodwink the ID scanners, but he is still vulnerable to a physical search. Considering you haven’t found any trace of his activities on the network, I think it’s worth a shot.”

  “That… might just work. But if he’s not in Waylain…”

  “You know him better than I do. Do you seriously think he would have left Waylain?”

  Rohan looked at Kyle. “You’re right. He would never leave Waylain. He would want to be around to see his handiwork, to control anything that seems to be out of place. It’s not in his nature to relinquish control, even to the very end.”

  “I thought so too. And because neither you nor Patrick even thought about doing a physical manhunt, I am guessing it wouldn’t have occurred to him either. If we let the law enforcement guys know that we’re looking for him, they might just find him for us.”

  Rohan nodded enthusiastically. “We should tell Patrick about your idea right now. We can keep doing our thing here, and he can deal with the manhunt,” he said getting up.

  Rohan flicked his wrist and brought the wall-screen to life. He swiped away the open windows with a single gesture and video called Patrick. There was no answer. Rohan tried again, and the call kept trying to connect. Just as he was about to terminate the call, Patrick answered.

  “You better be calling to tell me that you have found him,” Patrick said, sounding jostled. He didn’t look like he had slept either. “I have a lot of things to deal with right now, so make it quick.”

  “Sorry, but I still haven’t found any trace of Damian’s activities. But Kyle has an idea to find him.”

  “Yes,” Kyle spoke up. “If your combined efforts couldn’t locate him when he went missing last time, I doubt we’d be able to trace him now. But we could do a physical manhunt…”

  “Stop right there,” Patrick commanded. “Do you have any idea of the sheer effort involved in mobilizing a manhunt? Especially now that the evacuation is in process?”

  “Yes, but we’ll never have an opportunity like this to find Damian,” Kyle replied. “Every corridor and street is being manned by the law enforcement. All we need to do is alert them to Damian’s presence so they can arrest him as soon as they see him. He won’t be anticipating that.”

  Patrick stared at them from the wall-screen, lips pursed in thought. “It’s possible. However, if he has already managed to plant his software into the control systems, he doesn’t need to be physically present for any of it. We could have him in custody, and his plan might still execute itself. But I will let the law enforcement know about Damian. Meanwhile, get cracking and find out what control systems he’s going after. That is the key…”

  Suddenly, a deep rumbling quake tore through the room. Kyle dropped his cup in alarm as the hot beverage spilled over his hand. Rohan dropped on all fours right where he was standing, and Patrick’s face turned pale on-screen. The quake was over in a few seconds, but it had driven everything from Kyle’s mind. A few moments later the lights went out, and the emergency red lighting came on, soon followed by blaring sirens.

  Shit! It’s happening…

  Chapter 19

  Fuck! Something has gone wrong.

  The detonation had triggered the quake. Damian was sure of it. All the sensor stats on his screen had gone crazy before going blank. There was still no signal from the drillers so he couldn’t tell what happened.

  He ripped the VR headset off with one hand while trying to find the table with the other. The quake had caused his chair to topple over, but it seemed he was unhurt. As soon as the headset came off, Damian became aware of the deafening blare of the sirens. The room was bathed in a ghostly red light.

  Fuck! Emergency sirens!

  He grabbed the edge of the table with his left hand and dragged himself to his feet. Everything else looked undisturbed. He looked around to check on the guy he’d knocked out. It didn’t seem the guy had even moved from where he lay in the corner. He’d first stunned the guy with his gun and then injected him with the reagent. That should keep him out of action for several hours.

  But he had more important things to worry about. He set the chair back on its feet, sat down and put on the VR headset again.

  “Fuck,” Damian said to himself. He hated having to do his work without a physical screen or keyboard. The drillers were still offline, so he tapped the side of the headset to switch to a different view. The familiar image of Waylain’s blue wire-frame structure sprang into view. But it was now flashing different shades of yellow, orange, and red a
ll over. He spun it around until he located the region that was flashing the brightest, indicating the area that had detected the maximum disturbance due to the quake. It was the lower northeast quadrant, directly in line with the geo-thermal plant.

  What the fucking hell happened?

  He heard a series of beeps and immediately switched back to the previous view. The drillers were coming back online, and the sensors were starting to stream data again. He breathed a little easier and pulled up the logs to figure out what had gone wrong.

  After a few minutes of rapidly scanning the logs from the drillers and cross-referencing them against Waylain’s environmental database, a picture began to emerge. The stealth drillers had slowly dug their way to the magma pocket he wanted to tap into. The plan was to position the drillers around the magma pocket and then detonate it to force the magma to rise up through the tunnel the drillers had made. But it seemed the pressure in the magma pocket had been far higher than he had calculated, and the detonation had breached a nearby underground water pocket too. The resulting phreatic explosion had been felt as a quake in Waylain. The effect had been like setting off a cannon. Now the magma was rising rapidly in the tunnels, heading straight up toward the geo-thermal plant.

  Damian opened up Waylain’s environmental monitoring system. Waylain could survive massive quakes, but when the system detected that the temperature and pressure were not coming down to normal, it had triggered the emergency sirens. Of course, with Al piggybacked onto all of Waylain’s control systems he could turn off the sirens whenever he wanted, but that would be pointless now.

  Besides, the plan had been to get the magma to the geo-thermal plant and then route its flow toward Waylain’s water reservoir. As soon as the magma got close to the water reservoir, the water would start boiling, despite the sealed ends of conduits. He didn’t actually want the magma to come into contact with the water. No, that would result in an uncontrolled explosion, and lay waste to Waylain. All he wanted was the heat transfer from the magma to heat up the water and turn it into steam faster than anyone could anticipate. Then it would have been an easy matter of directing the steam to the city level, through special channels where he had already placed the cloud-seeding reagents. Then Al could take over and modulate the city’s temperature and pressure to force cloud formation, and eventually, make it rain.