First Light: Book one of the Torus Saga

by Berg, Michael

  “We have a residue reading showing on the scanner here. It has just come up. Have you ever been involved with military service sir?”

  “No officer. I once consulted with the service.”

  “In what capacity was that sir?”

  “I was asked to assist in developing some photonic micro chip development for shielding systems at an installation up north,” John replied, careful not to be too precise on the location at which he had done the work.

  “Please present your bags for visual inspection.”

  “OK, but I only have some personal items.”

  “We will see sir.”

  John presented his bags and the officer proceeded in emptying their contents on the stainless steel table between them. The officer held up the small stealth device John had brought with him from the plane.

  “What device is this?” he was asked as the officer held it up and looked over its’ exterior.

  “Just a little project I have been working on. I am on my way to Seattle to show it some electronics gurus I know down there.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Oh…it is a high speed processor capable of trillions of floating point calculations per second. I am going to get their opinion on its viability for use in surveillance systems.”

  “Do you have authority to possess this device?”

  “Well, no. As I said, it is a little personal project I have been working on.”

  An announcer system advised the next southbound public transit was leaving in three minutes and all passengers should now board.

  “Look. I really need to go now,” John said worried he was going to miss joining Tobias.

  “OK sir. I will let you proceed, but you will need authority for this device. I am going to log it into our system here and you will receive orders to proceed to authority offices in Seattle and have it approved.” He handed it back to John. “Have a nice day sir.”

  “Thank you officer. You too.” John hastily made his way down the corridor and was the last passenger to join the vehicle. He sat next to Tobias with sweat beading on his brow from both the run to the terminal hub and from the nerves brought on by the exchange with the officer.

  As they pulled away from the terminal, the officer at the border post scanning area received a message to look for any individual that could be in possession of a stealth like device as he was a fugitive sought by authorities. Immediately he recalled John’s passage just a few minutes before and raised the alarm back to authority control.

  They left the terminal area and joined the throng of traffic making its way south along the main transit way. “We are going to have to get off this thing straight away,” John said. “I just had the third degree on my stealth device.”

  The transport driver announced their journey ahead. “Ladies and Gentlemen, you are aboard public transit bound for Los Angeles. Our estimated time to arrival is ten hours. We will be traveling at one hundred and fifty miles per hour. First stop is Bellingham, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento…”

  “Bellingham is our destination now,” John said. “We’ll have to make our way from there.”

  Fifteen minutes later the vehicle stopped at Bellingham. John and Tobias both hurriedly disembarked and then made their way out of the transit terminal. They ran through the town before seeing a secluded bar at its’ far end, where a few local drinkers were inside despite the early hour. They each bought a drink and then sat in the dim light of one of the vacant booths in the corner behind a pool table. As they sat trying to be inconspicuous, they discussed how they would be able to move on and make their way south to San Francisco.

  “They’ll be looking for both of us I guess,” Tobias said. “With information they would have about your little device there, there would be no doubt they reckon on us traveling together.”

  “Perhaps we should spilt and make our way separately. I can make contact with someone I know in Tacoma who has a seaplane. Surely they are not going to cover all air traffic. There is a motor cycle dealer I also know in Seattle who can help you. He’ll give you a bike pretty cheap. You have the cash?”

  “Yep. Safe and secure.”

  “Cool. We’ll have to make it on foot from here. Once we get to Seattle, I’ll fix you up and then I’ll go on to Tacoma on foot again. We’re going to have to divert and not go direct to the bay area. I suggest we meet in Boise, Idaho, and then we can take more transit passage from there through Reno and go in from the northeast. They have the idea we are heading in roughly the same direction with the destinations we foolishly gave at the border post. Remind me never to do that again. But I am sure we will cover our tracks and keep them at bay.”

  “Yeah, sounds alright. I’ll probably beat you there, to Boise I mean, with a head start riding while you’re walking and then flying.”

  “No problem. Just lay low and I’ll call you when I am close.”

  They decided it was the right time to leave and not delay, so they stopped at a local store and picked up a few food items then departed Bellingham. For the next five hours, they tracked near the main transit way, keeping to the forest and bush lands just out of sight of any vehicles. As they walked, most of the time they remained relatively silent, talking only now and then of good times they had shared in the past, with neither of them keen to speculate on what lay ahead. When they stopped to eat just outside the town of Everett, they had covered just over half the distance to Seattle.

  “When we get there, we’ll go and buy the motorbike straight away and then you can head off,” John said. “Head east on the main transit taking you through Kennewick and over the Blue Mountains. It will be late by the time you start so most of your trip will be at night. I should be in Boise by tomorrow evening.”

  They continued on after eating, still keeping out of sight from anyone who would be inclined to stop them, until they could see the early evening lights of the Seattle outskirts in the distance. After a short rest, John took them to his contact on the northern edge of the city. The motorcycle dealership was closed when they arrived, but the lights were on in the residence at the rear. Within half an hour they had purchased a bike and Tobias was ready to set off just as the sun was just past setting and the eastern sky had begun to take on a nighttime shade.

  “OK. I’m going to stay here tonight and make my way to Tacoma at dawn. You best get going now,” John said as he helped Tobias with the riding gear. “Take it easy, you don’t want to attract any attention. Find an old motel at Le Grande up in the mountains and stay there. You’ll need a break and they’ll be sure to accommodate any latecomers. I reckon you should be in Boise by lunch time tomorrow.”

  “It’ll be slow going. This thing is not built for transit ways,” Tobias said as he mounted the bike. “How far will its’ fuel cell take me?”

  “You should get all the way. So take it easy and I will be seeing you.”

  Tobias rode off under the lights of the almost deserted streets in the north of the city. For the next half hour the regular flickering of the amber lights shining his way ahead mesmerized him. Now alone, he began to go over everything that had happened so far, wondering still why the authorities wanted him so badly. Although he had some answers, further questions arose as he thought about what they would do after they arrived in San Francisco. He knew a couple of people in that city, but as he was originally from Los Angeles, so his knowledge of the place was sketchy.

  After joining the military to continue his interest in electronics and for the promise to travel to unique places, his first post at HAARP had taken up the past three years of his life. Prior to his posting, he had been to the east coast of the US a number of times and had marveled at the sheer scope of the great cities there, each surpassing anything he had seen in technological development and scale. There were buildings almost reaching the sky, interconnected by transit ways with lines of airborne traffic weaving in and out. Millions of people traveled the suspended walkways above the streets amidst a general buzz of energy and orga
nized confusion.

  The pole world of the mid twenty first century was on the way out for the most developed nations. Where streets had been lined with super poles one hundred and fifty feet high for conducting electricity and data, creating a matrix that immersed the lower buildings and the people traveling the streets, the cities at large were now becoming a suspended environment. In the densest population centers, city dwellers rarely touched the earth, instead living a life played out above ground. High electro magnetic resonance had begun to cause havoc with the population and the devices they employed as part of daily life amongst the super pole networks. This had affected health and lifestyles, in a sense subjugating the people to a life lived amongst dirty technology. Now the enormous grid lines and wire sets were becoming a relic of the past. Some fringe inhabitants and societal outcasts of the cities still dwelled amongst their decay in the remnants of the remaining suburban areas.

  Tobias was a child of the sixties, a time of great upheaval and changes to the world mostly unimagined in the previous decades since the suppressive years in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. During those years, people suffered largely at the hands of magnates and corporations who had taken a stranglehold and controlled the lives of most people in the western world though resources and energy. As this happened, more and more influence had eroded traditional values, for the sake of economic development and market dominance, as entire populaces had been moved to and near high-rise buildings to save the open land for food and resource use. Then there was the conflict during the late 2020’s immersing almost the entire planet into turmoil. There was the loss of many lives and the upheaval in the weather that accompanied changes brought on by both ignorance from those in power, and the subtle inclination of the Earth to alter its’ magnetic polarity.

  In the decades through the late thirties, forties, and fifties, it was decided that preservation of cultures was what determined the diverse character of humanity. Now, the Earth was in an apparently more balanced state, with dreams seemingly waiting to be fulfilled, and yet power was still maintained through a consolidated business model, largely un-noticed by the masses. The Earth’s population of eight billion lived under the guise of renewed freedom, but was still being manipulated as those in high-ranking positions retained an air of superiority. With this, came new developments in technology, most very good for the populace on Earth as a whole, others, seductive in appeal yet in essence, undermining the very sense of appeal and freedom they seemed to provide.

  The road ahead stretched into the darkness, lit only by his motorcycle headlight and now and then by other traffic. Tobias felt more and more comfortable as he left Seattle far behind and the chances of attracting attention seemed less remote. After crossing the Columbia River, his passage soon steered him to the foothills of the Blue Mountains, as John had said. He took on the challenge of riding up the twisting road to ascend their heights, for a while thinking of nothing else besides him and the road. Within the next hour and a half, he arrived at La Grande and found a motel where he rested until dawn.

  Chapter 7

  Jenna took Lyle by the arm whilst they walked the remaining city block along the boulevard at Fisherman’s Wharf after riding the Hyde Street cable car. They had decided to return to the wharf area that night after their earlier visit during the day. The scene was one of glittering lights, people happily making their way, others eating and drinking al fresco, and of street musicians adding melody to the salt laden air. She kept her hold on him as they walked along through the late night crowd who were out in San Francisco - a twenty-four hour city, hardly ever sleeping, and never closing. As they walked, they could see the lights of the guarding vessels still blocking seaward passage out beyond the Golden Gate Bridge as they walked. No further news had been released about the bombing at the abandoned oilrig off the coast and they had given up on their quest to find out more, instead, happy to reside in each other’s company.

  “Hey, let’s stop here,” she said as they came across a bar situated at the water’s edge. They sat down at a table closest to the edge, catching each others’ eyes for a moment before a waiter came to take their order.

  “Scotch and soda for me,” Lyle said, being the first to break their gaze.

  “I’ll have the same please,” Jenna added, still looking at Lyle.

  The waiter left them and they both then looked out at the reflection of the night-lights on the water for a minute. He returned with their drinks bringing them out of their respective dreaming. “Thanks,” they said in unison.

  “You know, I’ve been thinking about Mr Lee’s information most of the day,” Lyle said after taking a sip. “Considering the line of work I am in and some friends I have currently in Australia, I feel inclined to take this endeavor on.”

  “I agree with you there,” Jenna replied. “It seems as though Chan was right in a sense. With us meeting prior to descent from space, going to Fong’s, his advice of how he was going to meet people who could help him, and your inclination to look at this further. Well…it seems right somehow. I am not sure where I can exactly fit in, but I do have an interest in this type of stuff, and with my line of work researching, I think I could help. Also, I am always keen to see an adventurous side to life.”

  “No doubt you could. I am wondering though. I was meant to go to Sydney in the next few days, but with the entire current goings on, I wonder if it might be better if my friends come here instead. Then we can all put our heads together and see what happens from there, and...,” he pondered for a moment. “Take on this sense of adventure.”

  “Are they able to travel here at such short notice?”

  “I’m sure they can. Jake travels a lot and Raynie is never one to shy away from something mysterious.” They remained silent for a few moments sipping their drinks and considering what events may lay ahead in the immediate future.”

  “Guess what,” Jenna said breaking their silence. I can easily take more time off work. I am way ahead with my current project and I am sure they will not miss me anytime soon. I’ll just have to give them some details and advice on the next stage of testing I was to undertake, and they can go ahead without me. After all, it is just a test on systems we have reached a development milestone with, then documenting the results so we can go on to the next stage.”

  “OK. Cool. That sounds great to me. I have an extended break until my Moon trip scheduled for six weeks time. I have some briefings to go over and then report for pre-flight training, but until then…let’s do it then.”

  “Good. This is shaping up as some sort of investigation or adventure, or both and I am never one to walk away from that sort of thing.”

  “Why don’t I call Raynie now? I wonder what time it is in Sydney?” He checked the world time on his holographic phone. “OK, it is mid afternoon there. I’ll call now.” He retrieved Raynie’s number and set his phone down so as to capture her holographic image.

  “Hello Lyle. How are you…and Jenna?” Raynie appeared as a miniature figure in the air over the device.

  “We are both fine. And you?”

  “Same as always. How is San Francisco?”

  “Great. We are down at the wharf just having a drink.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “How is the snow?”

  “Um… the snow has stopped. There has been over two feet in all. They expect the main transit way to Sydney will be open tomorrow. We need to get the local roads clear first though. That should be by the next day.”

  “So, two days then?”

  “Yes, by then it should be OK. When are you arriving?”

  “I’m not coming now.”

  “Why sweetie? Anything wrong?”

  “No. Quite the opposite actually. All good on this front.”

  “Then why aren’t you…?”

  “A good reason. I wonder if you and Jake can come over here.”

  “That’s pretty short notice, but I cannot see why we can’t come. Do you have something for us?�
�

  “Sure have and I think it would be great if you two could come over to San Francisco. We can discuss some details when you get here.”

  “Well, we are kind of stuck here. We found something we have both been looking for which is…um, something we just cannot work out why. Why it was here I mean. So yes, we are kind of stuck and frankly were wondering where it might lead to next.”

  “OK. How about you get yourselves over here and we can put all this together. I think we may have your next heading.”

  “Oh great! Jake will be pleased. He is just out getting some wood for our fire at the moment. I’ll tell him as soon as he gets back in.”

  “Good. So you’ll arrange a HyperJet flight from Sydney then?”

  “Yeah, but in two or three days. I will make a booking after we get off the phone.”

  “OK. Do that and call me as soon as you arrive.”

  “Alright, will do. Hey this sounds exciting!”

  “I think it is.”

  “OK sweetie, take care and we will see you in a few days. Bye”

  “Cool, see you then Raynie. Bye.” He ended the call and Raynie’s holographic image disappeared from the tabletop.

  Jenna attracted the waiter’s attention after Lyle had concluded the call. “This is making me hungry,” she said. “How about you?”

  “Yeah, I could eat.” The waiter came over and took their order for food and another round of drinks. When he returned with the drinks, they both downed them quickly and ordered another two rounds. Ten minutes later their food arrived and they tucked in, ravenous now by both their energy levels and the few alcoholic drinks they had consumed.

  Before long they had ordered three more rounds of drinks and both of them felt the persuasion of the alcohol. Swept up in the moment, they left the table and walked along the boulevard. They stopped by a Cuban musician with salsa tunes beckoning them to join others who were already moving to his rhythms, and so they danced a while in an embrace alluding to the growing feelings they had for each other.