Nano Contestant - Episode 4: Arctic Survival: The Technothriller Futuristic Science Fiction Adventure of a Cyberpunk Marine (Nano Contestant Series)

by Leif Sterling

  Coach nodded. “That’s the right mindset, Roland. Now we need to figure out what cold weather items you are going to take.”

  Skylar moved a stray lock of green hair from her face. “Well, I hope that you have some good cold weather survival information. Roland and I don’t know much about it.”

  Coach let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, that is one area that I also don’t have much experience in. I have mostly lived in warm climates.”

  Roland poured himself some ice espresso. “I have an idea. What about Ivan?”

  Skylar shook her head and held up her hand. “No way. That’s the worst idea you’ve ever had. That man is mentally unstable at best. There is no way that I’m letting him anywhere near our team.”

  Roland ran his hands through his hair. “Don’t be so hasty. It’s not like we have a lot of options here. He grew up in Russia.” He chugged the iced espresso. “Sky, I agree that it may be a bad idea. But no one around here is going to help us. And it’s only a few hours until the race. He’s the only one that I can think of that could give us any cold weather survival ideas.”

  Skylar threw her hands up in the air. “I can’t believe we are even considering this. That crazy Russian stays drunk nearly all the time. We can’t trust his judgment.”

  Roland used two fingers to pull back the eyelids of the eye where Ivan had inserted the needle and delivered the nano cells into his body. “He did the optic surgery when no one else would. And I turned out just fine. I say we need him.”

  Skylar glared and scratched her nose. “Well, for the record, I still say it’s a bad idea.”

  “Bad idea. Duly noted.” Roland winked at Sky and smiled. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Skylar watched from the back seat of the cab as it went down the littered alleyways of the warehouse district. She tugged on her seatbelt to make sure it was tight as the driver narrowly dodged a mangy, stray dog.

  They pulled up in front of Ivan’s dilapidated warehouse. It was quite obvious that exactly zero repairs had been done to the building since they had last been there. They climbed out of the cab.

  Coach handed the driver some money. “Keep it running. We will be back out shortly.” The cab driver stuffed the money into his front shirt pocket and nodded.

  Roland opened the door to Ivan’s warehouse, knocking as he entered. “Hello? Ivan?”

  Skylar followed closely behind Roland. They heard cheering coming from the back of the warehouse and headed towards it. A dozen grimy warehouse workers were gathered in a tight cluster. Several of them carried vodka bottles bearing the Trophy’s label.

  Coached raised an eyebrow. “What are they doing? Some kind of drinking contest?”

  Skylar’s frown deepened. “Undoubtedly. Everything that Ivan does is a drinking contest.”

  They reached the edge of the small gathering and looked through to see what all the commotion was about. They could see a large oval-shaped watering trough that was six feet long and three feet deep. It had been filled halfway with water and almost the rest of the way with ice.

  A warehouse worker wearing a pair of dirty coveralls was holding a stopwatch. “One minute. That’s one minute!”

  One of the other workers shook his head. “He will never make it any longer than that. Kids these days have no stamina.”

  All of a sudden, the ice cubes began to move. Then a hand shot up out of the ice and was quickly followed by a grungy young man in his twenties. Icy water dripped off of him and his teeth were chattering. His fellow workers cheered as they helped him climb over the edge of the trough and begin to dry off.

  The half-frozen man’s lips were a deep, royal blue. “H-H-How long did I make it?”

  The man with the stopwatch held it up for the shivering man to see. “One minute and five seconds. Not bad for your first try.”

  Roland tapped the man with the stopwatch on the shoulder. “What are you guys doing?”

  The man with the stopwatch was momentarily surprised by the newcomer. His words slurred together slightly. “It’s a drinking contest.”

  Skylar poked Coach on the arm. “I told you so.”

  Coach just nodded as he watched the group.

  The man with the stopwatch held it up. Then he gestured towards the icy water. “Whoever can stay under the longest gets all their drinks bought for the night!”

  CHAPTER SEVEN:

  CUBES

  IVAN BURST THROUGH the doors at the back of the warehouse and strode in confidently. “You have come to buy Ivan more vodka, da?”

  A few of the members cheered for Ivan. The rest all grumbled as he approached.

  Ivan took his work boots off. Then he stood up straight with a huge smile. “Tonight, Ivan do another three minutes under the ice.”

  The man with the stopwatch burped loudly. “We have already seen you do three minutes several times. None of us can even make it two minutes under the ice.”

  Roland pushed through the workers so he could see Ivan. “Ivan. I need your help.”

  Ivan came over and pumped Roland’s hand vigorously. “Roland!” Ivan turned Roland around so that the group could see him. “This man tough like Russian.” He turned back towards the icy water. “Ivan very busy right now.” He grinned at Roland. “You come back tomorrow, da?”

  Roland’s smile faded. “I need your help now.”

  Ivan lowered his head down towards Roland. “Ivan sorry. Can’t help right now, da? Ivan about to get free vodka for whole night.” Then Ivan stepped over the edge of the trough into the ice filled water. “Okay. Ivan going to do three minutes.” The man with the stopwatch stepped forward and started the watch as soon as Ivan’s head went under the icy water.

  Roland could see the dim outline of Ivan’s figure beneath the icy water. He watched as an occasional bubble made its way up through the ice cubes to the surface. The stopwatch passed the first minute and then the second minute.

  Coach was also carefully watching Ivan under the water. He leaned over to the man with the stopwatch. “Is he okay?”

  The man with the stopwatch shrugged his shoulders and hiccuped. “It’s hard to say with this game. If you get too cold, you may not be able to come back up. The ice messes with your head. Sometimes, you can’t even if you want to because you are too numb to move.” He tapped his temple. “We have a very strict policy to always take someone out after six minutes. But by then, it doesn’t matter much anyway.” He let out a healthy belch once more. “Ivan has made it to the three minute mark on three separate occasions.”

  Roland watched the stopwatch pass the third minute. Then the water trough exploded as Ivan jumped straight up, laughing loudly. “Ivan feels very invigorated! Reminds him of summer camp!” Ivan climbed over the edge of the trough. His lips were not blue. And his teeth weren’t even chattering. “How long was Ivan under the water?”

  The man looked down at his stopwatch. “Three minutes and fourteen seconds.”

  Ivan pointed at each one of his drinking buddies. “Everyone buys Ivan an Alzheimer’s tonight, da?” Roland stepped forward. “Ivan. If I beat your time just now, will you help me?”

  Ivan threw his head back with a laugh that bounced off the walls of the warehouse. “You are tough, City Boy. But not that tough. No one beats Ivan’s time.”

  Roland began taking off his shoes. “So you’ll do it then?”

  Ivan grinned. “Yes. You beat Ivan’s time, Ivan help you right now.” Ivan saw Skylar and walked over towards her. “Ah, Pretty Girl. Ivan remember you.” He grinned wide at her.

  Skylar diverted his attention by pointing to Coach. “This is Roland’s coach.”

  Ivan gave Coach a crushing handshake. “You must be good coach. Ivan make lots of money from Roland not dying.”

  Coach half smiled. “Thanks. We actually need your help on the next race, if you want Roland to keep ‘not dying.’”

  “Da! Living good. Vodka good.” Ivan threw his head back and laughed boisterously.

  Roland looked over at Coach
.

  Coach gave a single nod. He mouthed the words O2 and High Altitude.

  Roland nodded back. He gave the thought command to enable O2 and the High Altitude plugins. He took in a few deep breaths, feeling the familiar compression of air in his lungs.

  Ivan motioned for Roland to come over to the water trough. “Come on! Ivan want to see City Boy under the ice.”

  Roland stepped over the edge of the tub and stood there for just a second. Ice cubes bobbed around his knees. He could already feel his feet starting to sting from the quick temperature drop. He took in one last deep breath of air, feeling his lungs compress to double and then quadruple capacity. He looked over at Skylar. She wore her worry like it was a raincoat. As he lowered himself into the water, Ivan’s drinking buddies began cheering and clapping for the newcomer.

  The man with the stopwatch immediately called for the other workers to begin placing their wagers.

  Roland forced himself underneath the mass of floating ice cubes into the water. He lay on his back, bracing his arms against the walls of the watering trough. The cold was one of the most piercing feelings that he had ever felt. It seemed to rip right through his skin, his muscles and drilled into his bones. The cold stole any warmth that it could find. He closed his eyes to try and improve his focus.

  Skylar stepped away from the group and pulled her computer from her pocket. She projected a small holographic image and began going through Roland’s nano system. First, she found a timer and put it up on Roland’s HUD. He had been under the water for just over 15 seconds. She monitored his heart rate and other vitals. The cold was dramatically slowing down his heart and many other parts of circulation. She heard Coach come up behind her.

  Coach looked briefly at the holographic vitals. “Can you get the nano cells to increase his heart rate?”

  Skylar nodded. “Yes. I was thinking along the same lines. I’m hoping that we can increase the blood flow to decrease the numbness.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  CONTEST

  ROLAND WAS RELIEVED to see the timer pop up on his HUD. The numbness in his extremities was growing at an alarming rate. After another ten seconds, he could no longer feel the metal walls of the trough. He looked over at them to make sure that he wasn’t slipping. He watched the timer climb above the one minute mark. He pressed harder against the walls of the trough, trying to wedge his body between the metal sides.

  Skylar flipped through the holographic pages of Roland’s medical system. She navigated to the heart rate configuration page. She grabbed the holographic slider and pushed it up to increased Roland’s heart rate. She watched it climb on his vitals screen. “I think that will help him.”

  The cold seemed to pull any of Roland’s ability to think out of his head. He just wanted the cold to stop and to regain feeling in his hands and feet. He raised his head up a little bit off of the bottom of the trough. Then he felt his heart begin to race. After a second of improved circulation, he realized that he had almost blown it. He laid his head back down. He clenched his jaw tight with determination that he pulled from deep inside of him from a place that the cold could not reach. He watched the timer approach the two minute mark. His oxygen burn rate wasn’t high, since he wasn’t moving much. He began to feel a tingling sensation in his fingers and toes, as his blood worked its way worked through his extremities.

  He wiggled his toes. It was comforting to just feel his toes again, to move them and to know that that they were still there. The timer passed the two and half minute mark. He only needed another forty-five seconds to beat Ivan’s time.

  The end was in sight. Suddenly, he felt his heart rate begin to slow back down. He felt the numbness reclaim his extremities almost immediately. The physical numbness was accompanied also by a mental dullness. Black tendrils of foggy thinking crept into his mind as he held his position under the water. Losing the ability to reason, he relied on instinct. He had only one thought. Don’t let go.

  Skylar swiped left back to Roland’s vitals page. His heart rate was dropping again. She could not see any reason for it. She had not made any changes. Then she saw static on her holographic monitor.

  Coach looked at her blanched face. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

  Skylar tried to refresh the vitals page, but nothing was happening. “I’m losing communication with him. I always have communications with his systems, even when he’s unconscious. I don’t think it is something wrong with Roland. I think the problem is with the nano system. There is major interference.”

  Coach watched her frantic movements through the holographic menus. “Is it possible for the cold to affect the comms like this?”

  Skylar didn’t look away. “If you would have asked me before now, I would have said that was not possible. However, yes, I think that prolonged exposure to extreme cold is jeopardizing his whole nano system.”

  Roland watched the timer edge over the three minute mark. Then he felt a strange and horrible feeling. The nano cells in his lungs began to release the compressed air. His mouth was forced open by the escape of an enormous string of escaping bubbles. The O2 plugin and the High Altitude plugin were compromised. The muscles they used to hold the compressed air went slack. The timer read 3:10.

  Roland watched helplessly as the precious oxygen that he needed, forced its way out of him. Roland watched his timer as it passed the 3:14 mark, Ivan’s time. He knew that he needed to breathe, but he had to be sure that he had beaten it. He counted three more agonizing seconds in his head.

  Finally, Roland exploded the icy surface of the water. He inhaled as much air as he could. Ivan’s drinking buddies were all cheering and clapping. Roland didn’t register any of it. He just gulped in the precious air. After several breaths, he began to try to stand. He wobbled back and forth as Coach steadied him. Roland stepped over the edge of the trough. Ivan came over and shook his numb, wet hand.

  Ivan beamed. “Wow! Ivan impressed with City Boy. Ivan not lose this game since him was a boy and played with his grandmother in Siberia, da? Ivan help you!

  Roland, still unable to speak, managed to nod through his shivering.

  Ivan turned to face his drinking buddies. “City Boy is tough like Russian!” He whacked Roland hard on the back.

  Roland lost the little bit of air he had regained and went into a fit of coughing.

  Ivan’s drinking buddies all laughed and cheered again as they passed money back forth for the small wagers they had going on Roland’s part in their game.

  CHAPTER NINE:

  PILLAR

  IVAN GATHERED A few things from his warehouse and then joined the team in the taxi.

  The taxi already felt full on the ride over with just three people in it, but Ivan’s bulk and lack of personal hygiene made the small vehicle shrink considerably.

  Skylar scrunched her nose as Ivan got situated. “Okay. The first order of business will be that you take a shower.”

  Ivan’s laugh bounced off the small walls of the taxi. He pointed at Skylar and then turned his head towards Coach and Roland. “Her sounds just like Ivan’s mother. Her always telling Ivan to take bath.”

  Skylar scowled at him.

  When they arrived back at Pinnacle’s headquarters, Roland gathered with the other contestants in the small preparation room to select their equipment.

  A race official stood in front of the equipment room with a holographic list pulled up which displayed the contestants’ finishing order.

  He was dressed in typical Pinnacle black, with short cropped hair and thick, overly stylish glasses. He waved his hand above his head. “Contestants, may I have your attention please? You will now be allowed to select five items from the equipment room. There are a limited number of items. Your Game One placement will determine your pick order. Please step forward when I call your name.”

  The announcer made a small show of reading off the first name on the list, even though everyone new who it was. “Spectra. Please select your items and equipment for Game
Two.” There was a rustling sound as the contestants parted to allow Spectra through. Everyone moved. Many contestants dared not even make eye contact with her.

  Spectra stepped up to the equipment room and opened the door. Every contestant craned their necks as they tried to see into the coveted equipment room. The door closed behind Spectra. Five minutes later, she came back out. The crowds again parted, except for one contestant who stood with his arms crossed, staring at Spectra.

  Roland watched as Spectra approached the disrespectful contestant. He leaned his head right. “Are you guys seeing this? No one has stood up to Spectra yet.”

  Coach leaned in towards the screen. “Yeah. We are getting it. Usually, this sort of challenge doesn’t happen until closer to the end of the Tech Games.” He turned towards Skylar. “Can you pull the profile on this contestant?”

  Skylar nodded and started typing. “Yep. I just about got it.” She hit the enter key and then swiped her screen to the right. It showed a headshot photograph of the challenger. “His name is Pillar. He is currently in position 2 in the Tech Games. He is a digital racer and was a former British SBS operator.”

  Coach looked over her shoulder. “SBS? What’s that?”

  Roland lowered his head and his voice. “British Special Boat Service. Similar to the SEALs in the US.” He looked over at the challenger again. The man was six feet, five inches tall. He was muscular but slender. His face was clean shaven, and his dark hair was closely cropped. His expression wasn’t one of malice or anger. Roland watched Pillar’s face. It was devoid of any emotion. “This guy isn’t even flinching. He looks stone cold.”

  Skylar looked over the profile again. “It says that his EQ is almost nonexistent.”