First Light: Book one of the Torus Saga

by Berg, Michael

  “Hi you guys,” he said as they greeted him. “Hi. I’m Sound Man.” He shook Tobias’ hand. “Hey Beaver,” he said turning to John and also shaking his hand. “Good to see you guys.”

  “This is Tobias. We’ve been on a fun flight together.”

  “Yeah, I bet. You guys are sought after I reckon. I have been hacking into military since you radioed through. Boy, are they in a frenzy looking for you. We’d better get going.”

  “The plane?” John asked.

  “No problem, I have someone on it already. They’ll be here in fifteen minutes to take it away for you. I trust they didn’t get your registration?”

  “No chance. They won’t even know it’s a Beaver.”

  “Good. I have a vehicle just up the hill.” They followed Sound Man to a small truck like utility often found in these parts, parked on a dirt track just a hundred yards away.

  “Get in. We have no time to lose.” He engaged the engine that barely made a sound and then he hit the accelerator sending clouds of dust in a vortex behind them as they quickly gained speed.

  “You’ll get used to his driving pretty soon,” John said noticing the discomfort on Tobias’ face as they sped away at eighty miles per hour.

  “I’m sure I will.”

  “We’ll stop off at my place for just a minute. Should be there in about two,” Sound Man added. They reached his house perched high on a ridge overlooking the sea stretching beyond the horizon to the north.

  “Here. Take these.” He handed them two bags. “Full of stuff you’ll need.” They continued on after Sound Man’s house, reaching hair-raising speeds along the winding road bounded by a steep hillside both up and down.

  “We’ll hit the transit way in ten minutes for clear driving from there on to Victoria.

  “Hey, thanks for this,” John said slapping him on the shoulder.

  “No problem for the Old Beaver. Any day, you can call on Sound Man. You too Tobias. I reckon on Beaver’s judgment and if he thinks you’re alright, then that’s OK with me.”

  “Thanks mate,” Tobias replied glad to be in the company of people he could trust, particularly at such high speed.

  “So what you been up to?” Sound Man asked.

  “Oh this and that,” John chimed in. “Tobias here is in a bit of trouble through no fault of his own. He was stationed up at HAARP.”

  “You military?” Sound Man asked.

  “Was. Not now I guess. They wanted me for some reason.”

  “You know how it is,” John said. “Once you know too much they take you out.”

  “Ah, like that is it? Well have no fear. Where you guys going to go?”

  “We thought…well, after Vancouver, we might head down to Seattle then take it from there.”

  “You’re going to need to get across the border. Don’t worry, I thought ahead, figured you would want some special assistance. Most of what you will need is in those bags. And I know someone in Vancouver who can get you some identification.”

  A few minutes later they came to the only transit way on the island taking them through to Victoria, and Sound Man engaged auto driver assist on the dashboard.

  “This is not like those transits on the mainland, but we should get there in good time.” A heightened whirring sound could be heard as the engine increased their velocity to one hundred and fifty miles per hour, with the vehicle guided by the sensors built into the transit way automatically steering them along the route. Sunshine began to break through the trees to their east side, making for a flickering stroboscopic light effect due to their speed.

  “We should be there shortly, yeah?” Tobias asked.

  “Yep. We’ll make for Goldstream on the west side of the city, where my contact is,” Sound Man replied.

  Chapter 6

  Lyle woke, not sure where he was at first, then it all came to him like a flood as he remembered the events of the previous day. He walked over to the large bay windows of the lounge room and could see the sun shining on the communications tower on the hill south of the city. It made for a dream like scene as the lights of buildings and skyward traffic shone brightly in the early morning. JetCabs formed a steady line going from the airport to the central hub downtown, even at this early hour as people went to work. He marveled at the sights before him, awestruck with the sheer complexity of the city, now one of two main centers on the US west coast - the other being Seattle.

  In the distance he could see the Golden Gate Bridge through trails of mist hanging in the air and catching rays of sunlight. After gazing outward for a few minutes, his vision shifted noticing Jenna’s library of books on shelves set into one wall of the room. Titles ranged from Propulsion Physics, Cooking, Classics, Natural History, to Mythology, and Meditation. ‘A pretty rounded person,’ he thought to himself. He settled on the Mythology section and grabbed what appeared to be an antique volume titled Ancient Lore of the Forest. Such things always interested him and he made himself comfortable sitting in a large chair set aside near the window.

  After about ten minutes of reading, Jenna had awoken and greeted him with a good morning, herself taking in the view through the bay window as he had done previously.

  “Good morning,” he replied. “I trust you slept well?”

  “Like a babe. I think yesterday was quite exhausting. I’ll fetch some breakfast.” She left and went to the kitchen to make a meal, leaving him alone to continue his reading. Through the open door leading to the kitchen, he could hear her softly singing to herself with such harmony it seemed to add to his reading as if her voice was some enchantment coming from some mystical forest. Lyle came across a chapter titled ‘Pictograms and their Meaning in Forest Lore.’ Almost instantly he was struck by surprise as he viewed a page showing pictures of symbols used in past times. It was unmistakable, one picture held uncanny resemblance to the lettering he had seen on the piece of paper given to him by Chan Lee. At this, he diverged for a moment wondering about the fate of Chan after their meeting the day before. He had been adamant of dangers present concerning the information he possessed and wondered too what dangers may present to both himself and to Jenna if they were to take on board Chan’s request and pursue these matters.

  He read the text explaining the pictogram. ‘Lettering symbols were often used in forest ceremonies to conjure up what believers saw as way to access and harness powers to give them eternal awareness of their surroundings and provide deeper understanding of forest lore. It is said scribes would spend many months and sometimes years researching the method by which to create the symbols and then how to use them in ceremonial practice. Outsiders to these events would often discard these letters as meaningless and were deemed to be unaware by scholars who practiced forest rights.’

  “Very interesting,” he said aloud to himself.

  “What is?” Jenna enquired, returning with a tray of breakfast.

  “Oh, this book,” he said showing her the title. “Where did you get it?”

  “I remember that one. I came across it during a holiday in Maine some years back when I was going through an interest in Mythology stage. I found it at a local antique market in a small town full of old stuff and collectables. So what is interesting?”

  “This,” he said showing her the page he was on. “See this lettering here? It is very similar to that stuff Chan showed us.” He placed the piece of paper on the book so she could see the similarity.

  “Well yes it is. I see how close they are to each other. I haven’t read this book in years, perhaps six or seven. And I love that piece of paper. I rarely see things like that in my field – simple messages written on paper.”

  ‘Strange fascination with paper messages,’ Lyle thought. “I think we should follow this up,” he said taking the paper back off the book. “It seems a little too co-incidental that we met each other at this time, met Chan, and now you have this book.”

  “I’m not really a believer in co-incidence in the normal sense. If you break down the word, co as in compa
ny or cooperate, and incident, you could get cooperation to create an incident.”

  “Precisely. I could not agree more. I was just using the word…well, as something to say.”

  “Yeah, I know. Have some breakfast.”

  An hour later they boarded an historic Hyde Street cable car for the trip downhill to the bay side. The sun was sparkling off the water on this beautiful spring day, with boats already busily ferrying passengers, amongst other pleasure craft belonging to those fortunate enough to be on board. As they stood at the wharf gazing westward, a flotilla of large Coast Guard ships could be seen stationed directly in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. Lyle flicked on his Holographic Phone to see if there was any news on why they were stationed there, appearing to be blocking any traffic from heading out past the Marin Peninsula to the sea beyond. After a few minutes of switching channels he was unable to find any information about the vessels either on a national news or local news front, and so turned it off. Jenna was gazing out across the blue waters the entire time embracing the scene, feeling her love for living in this city and soaking up the sea smells carried on a gentle breeze.

  “I suppose those ships are out there because of the bomb on the oilrig,” Lyle said to her breaking the relative silence.

  “The ships? Oh sorry, I was somewhere else then, but I started thinking about Chan Lee and his request. Yes, you could be right. I would expect a clamp down on ocean traffic considering the blast was only three hundred miles from here. I came across some information about two months back. Apparently they found lanthanides for use in fuel cells.”

  “The rare earth elements market is pretty tight at this time, even with off Earth mining. One assignment I had three years ago saw me looking at extraction in parts of northwest Australia and we had to do an assessment for the local first peoples. That reminds me, my trip to the Moon is supposed to involve similar materials but of much higher density which means a much higher yield, and subsequent energy potential from far smaller volumes of them.”

  “Hmm… the Moon. You must be excited.”

  “To be honest, yes. I have always wanted to go there. They want my expertise on assessing extraction methods. I don’t see any cultural significance involved this time though.”

  “Hey, would you like to take a walk out to Golden Gate Park?”

  **********

  Tobias and John left the house of Sound Man’s contact and made their way to the old English style harbor in Victoria. After some cosmetic changes to their appearances and being given passports with new identities, they were on their way to a meeting with a person who could take them to the border with the United States. They boarded the ferry for Vancouver and now stood at the bow, gazing towards the islands in the distance, in anticipation of what lay ahead.

  “I know the cafe district in the city. I have been to a few cafes and bars there over the years. You know the ones,” John said.

  “Yeah. I’ve tried those myself. You get all types. Locals, tourists, and the hard up crowd trying to score something, or do you out of some cash.”

  “Speaking of cash. Hold on tight to the satchel Sound Man gave you. We are going to have to be careful on foot through the city and we’ll need every cent of it to get us where we are going.”

  As the ferry rounded the final headland, the city came into full view with the mountains behind to the east. After the ferry docked, they disembarked and made their way straight for their next contact at Oakridge in the inner city. Vancouver was ultra modern with several towers stretching to over one hundred stories and many connected by pedestrian tunnels elevated high above the streets below. Now and then they passed entrances to the catacombs of the city existing below street level.

  “I can never tire of this place,” Tobias said looking around him all the time as they walked. “It is as if it has become the center of the modern world. Since all the work was done in the sixties to upgrade the buildings and the infrastructure, you could almost say it was a frontier city for a new world.”

  “I agree there,” John replied. “I sort of miss the place when I am away, but even still with all its glory, it is hard to beat the wilds up north for some real good outdoor experience.”

  Two lines of JetCabs streamed overhead between the tallest buildings on their way to and from the main hub with HyperJet passengers. Despite just having flown Beaver Air with John, these things made Tobias a little nervous, as they appeared to fly too close to each other for his liking.

  Ten minutes later they arrived at the house of Sound Man’s contact and he greeted them at the door. “Howdy guys, come in. I’m known in these parts as The Fixture,” he said as he shook hands with both of them. They followed him inside, each taking up a seat in the lounge room. “You two have a bit of a mess on your hands, and in them.”

  “What do you mean in them?” John asked.

  “I guess you all forgot about one important thing. Well, by now, the authorities will have tracked you to this vicinity, so we have no time to lose.”

  “Oh bloody hell!” John said loudly realizing both he and Tobias had overlooked one important detail.

  “I’ve just figured,” Tobias said looking a little forlorn.

  “OK. Let’s get to work then,” The Fixture said moving to a cabinet at the side of the room and removing a device that looked like an arm brace. “Time to remove those ID chips then. Who is first?”

  Tobias held out his arm and The Fixture put the brace on extending from the base of his hand up to his elbow. He then flicked a couple of switches and Tobias felt a steel rod put pressure on his skin on the inside of his forearm.

  “Ready?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  “You’ll feel a sharp pain for about two seconds that is all. Here we go.” He flicked a third switch and the rod against Tobias’ skin thrust into his arm, grabbed the microchip located in his arm tissue and pulled it out. “Now you John.” He did the same for John and within a minute the entire procedure was over. Then he took both the chips, each about two millimeters long and placed them in a high-pressure heating kiln located on top of the cabinet. “We cannot smash them as they are too strong. This baby will render them inoperative.”

  As he did this, signals on the scanners held by five separate military officers in downtown Vancouver went blank. “Damn it, lost the signal,” said the lead officer. “All officers remain in position. We have a cordon. I’ll call for back up. We’ll proceed with visual pursuit.”

  “I bloody well forgot all about those chips,” John said, rubbing his forearm.

  “Yeah, me too,” Tobias added. “Too busy trying to get away.”

  “Standard military issue. Now let’s get you on your way. I reckon on having bought you about an hour before even this place will be swarming with those looking for you. You guys are lucky those chips are still on the uptake for civilians and are not yet mandatory. You should get through the border post now.”

  A short while later they were traveling the main transit way in The Fixture’s vehicle on their way to the border post with the United States. The twenty-mile journey was fast, as the guidance systems steered them along at one hundred and fifty miles per hour. Vehicles of all sizes formed a long line of traffic in both directions, all of them kept at equal distance apart by the position tracking systems. On approach to the United States, the transit ways became elevated tunnels some twenty metres above the old highway routes, where all vehicles traveled on a transit line. Each vehicle was fitted with tracking sensor hardware enabling them to stay on course, with manual over ride for traditional type driving on the more remote highways and lesser roads. As they came to the border post, The Fixture took manual control and parked the vehicle in the bay reserved for those not actually making the crossing.

  “It’s up to you guys now. If I were you, I would go through each as a single so as to minimize the chance of being caught and seen together.”

  “OK, I’ll go first,” said Tobias. “These cosmetic changes should be enough to
throw them off visually.” He left the vehicle and proceeded on foot via the elevated walkway to the gates ahead of them. The other two watched a little nervously as he approached an officer who was checking credentials.

  The officer scanned his passport and the system returned a green light to indicate all was in order. “Are you chipped? Consumer number please.”

  “Um…no consumer chip. I haven’t done the uptake yet.”

  “OK. I’ll do a full body scan then.” He directed Tobias into a full body scanner device and the resonance imaging hummed into action. It returned an all-clear signal. “You know. You should get a consumer chip to save these scans and make life a lot simpler for yourself. All your details are stored in those little things and you won’t have need for cash. Just swipe your arm over the scanner and you’re done.”

  “Thanks,” said Tobias, a little disgusted at the entire idea of the technology.

  “Where is your destination?”

  “I’m going on to San Francisco. Have some friends there I haven’t seen in ages. Um…which way to the public transit vehicles?”

  “Take the corridor on the left there and it will take you all the way to where you want to go.”

  “OK. Thanks and have a nice day.”

  “Same to you sir.”

  After seeing Tobias pass through the post successfully, John took his turn a little buoyed by what he had seen. “Well thanks Fixture. I’m sure we owe you one.”

  “No problem. Seeing you guys get through is all the reward I need. Each little victory against the system gives me a warm feeling inside.”

  John approached the post then presented himself for assessment. He went through an identical process to Tobias and was given the green light to proceed. As he walked towards the corridor on the left leading to the public transit vehicle hub, the officer called out to him. “Excuse me sir. Wait a moment.”

  A shot of nerves went through John. He had made it and felt sure he was free to go on. What could be happening now? He turned to face the officer who was indicating he should return to the scanning area. As he made his way back, he began to feel more and more anxious.