by Mark Harritt
Ed passed every test. There was no way that Mickey would be able to figure out what was wrong unless he could put Ed in an MRI or CT scanner.
“Do you think he’s okay?” Bob asked.
Mickey looked up to see Bob and Mike Crandall looking at him, “Honestly, I don’t know. He seems to be okay from a physical standpoint. But I just don’t know what’s going on up here.” Mickey pointed at his own cranium, “And I don’t have any instruments that could tell me what’s going on. Right now, either he gets better on his own, or he doesn’t get better at all.”
He looked into the crestfallen faces of Mike and Bob, “I’m sorry guys, but that’s the truth as I see it. I’m not going to bullshit you.”
Bob nodded, clearly unhappy, “I know, Mickey, and I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, we know you’re doing everything you can to help him,” Mike added.
“Ah, Mickey?”
Mickey looked over at Bobby, “yeah, what’s up?”
“It’s the same thing. That alien code was reinserted into the programming. And, I have absolutely no idea what the hell it does. I’m not even sure how the OS is able to interpret the alien computer language.”
Mickey frowned, “So someone or something is hacking us every time we try to fly out of here?”
Bobby nodded, “That’s what it’s looking like right now.”
Mickey looked over at the quantum computer. He pointed, “Could that thing help?”
Bobby looked at the large frame of the computer, “Do what?”
“Help you figure out what the alien code does. Maybe translate the computer language into something you can understand.”
Bobby looked at Weitz, then back at Mickey. He shrugged, “Maybe, if we have time.”
Mickey stood up, “Right now, honestly, I think that’s about the only commodity that we do have. Go ahead, plug the quantum computer in and see if you can decipher the code they’re using against us. Maybe you can figure out a way to keep them out of the operating system when we try to leave again.”
Bobby shook his head, “I don’t know. First, I need to understand how the hell they’re accessing the system. If I can figure that out, then maybe we can figure out how to block them. Without knowing how they’re doing it, I’m not sure I can block them.”
Weitz was deep in thought on the other side of Bobby, “Well, maybe there is a way. We can treat their code like it’s a worm or a virus, and then seal it off from the rest of the system.”
Bobby snapped his fingers, “Quarantine anything that doesn’t look like our code then.”
This was a line of thought that Mickey could help with, “Hey, you could create code that acts like white blood cells.”
Bobby looked up at Mickey, but he didn’t say anything. Bobby was looking at Mickey, but Mickey could tell that Bobby wasn’t actually looking at him. Mickey watched the wheels and cogs of Bobby’s brain go into overtime.
“I need another computer!” Weitz exclaimed.
Mickey looked over at John, Mike, and Bob, “Did we keep anymore computers?”
Bob nodded, “Yeah, we kept three more laptops.”
Weitz looked around Bobby at Bob, “Can I get one from you? That way I can help Bobby code.”
Bob looked over at Mike. Mike shrugged and leaned over to pull a laptop out of the bag.
“I want to help.”
Heads swiveled to look at Randall. Then almost all of them swung to look at Weitz. He stared at Randall. Bobby’s nose stayed stuck on the computer screen. It was evident that he didn’t want to get involved in the interchange between the two.
Randall’s legendary composure cracked under Weitz’ gaze. She glanced down at the floor, “Please, let me help. You know I can.”
Mickey looked over at Weitz, “Sometimes you have to swallow your pride to get things accomplished.”
Mickey could tell that Weitz was still upset with her, but a quick nod indicated Weitz’ acquiescence. Mickey held his hand out to Crandall, “Looks like we’ll need two.”
Mike dug them out and handed them to Mickey. Mickey walked one over to Weitz, and then took the other over to Randall.
Bobby held up one finger in the air, “Alright. I’ve set up the Bluetooth interface so that we have complete access to whatever it is that the other is working on. I’m not sure exactly what we’re looking for or how to identify any of the alien software as hostile, but at least we can collaborate on what we’re doing.”
“I’m going to take that seat next to you, Bobby.” Randall pointed at the seat that John had vacated for Mickey. Bobby inclined his head toward the seat while he continued to type. That was the only invitation that Randall needed. She leaned over to kiss Will on the cheek, and then got up to walk over to the other side of the shuttle. She sat down, and then the three of them went deep nerd mode and started talking in their own special nerd language.
“Mickey!”
Mickey turned around to see Tom waving at him, “Yeah, what?”
Tom pointed at the gauges on the instrument panel, “It’s stabilized. What do you want to do?”
Mickey walked over to the pilot’s chair, “Daijj, is it safe?”
Daijj nodded, “As safe as being in a strange location like this could be. I don’t know what’s out there, but the air is safe. The air pressure has stopped rising and its staying right around 1 atmosphere.”
Mickey looked over at Tom, “You want to take a look around?”
Tom looked over at the three programmers, “Doesn’t look like they’re going to be finished anytime soon. Personally, I’m getting a little sick of being in the shuttle.”
Mickey grinned, “I’m taking that as a yes.”
Tom nodded, “Yeah, it’s a yes.”
Mickey turned to the cabin. Some of the Contai were already back down lounging on the floor.
“Hey!”
That got everybody’s attention. Mickey continued, “The air outside is one atmosphere now.” He hooked his thumb back toward Daijj, “Daijj has run several air quality tests for us. He said that the air is safe. I don’t know about youse guys, but I’d like to get a breath of fresh air, and maybe take a look outside. Anybody got any concerns with that?”
A chorus of ‘no problem,’ ‘sure,’ and ‘let’s do it,” came back to him from various people around the shuttle. The three programmers didn’t even look up, deep in the process of trying to figure out the alien code.
Mickey looked back at Tom. Tom nodded, and motioned toward Caul. Mickey nodded, and walked back to Caul with Tom following, “What do you think?”
Caul looked at his soldiers, “I think it would be a good idea to do it soon before they fall asleep.”
Mickey grinned, “Okay. I think maybe we can split the security team into two groups. One come with us, the other stay here and guard the shuttle, just in case we run across something unexpected.”
Caul nodded, “I will stay here and make sure that the shuttle stays secure.”
Tom grinned, “What, you don’t want to go exploring with us?”
Caul grinned back, and started to recite one of Everett’s favorite sayings, “There are old soldiers . . .”
Mickey continued, “And there are bold soldiers . . .”
Tom finished, “But there are no old, bold soldiers.”
Caul nodded, “I’ll let you two be the bold men today.”
Mickey clapped Caul on the shoulder, “That might be a very smart move on your part.”
Caul staggered slightly from the display of affection. He turned and started barking out names of the Contai that were going with Mickey and Tom. He motioned for one of the soldiers to come over, “Sorinm will be in charge of the others.”
Mickey was pleased. He knew Sorinm from training and the ambushes that they’d set for the grey men. Sorinm was one of the better soldiers, smart, quick to catch onto what was being taught.
Mickey addressed the soldiers. His grasp of the Contai language wasn’t as good as Mike’s, and he didn’t w
ant anybody to misunderstand what he was trying to say, so he spoke in English, and Caul used his earbud to listen and translate.
“Alright guys. We’re going to have to be on our toes here. We don’t know what we’re going to find out there. So, make sure you pay attention to anything that doesn’t look normal. If you see anything strange, you tell everybody. If you think you’re being attacked by something, don’t hesitate, shoot. Hopefully we won’t run into anything. The bay that we’re in looks like its abandoned, but you never know what you’re going to find. Go ahead and get your kit on. When everybody’s ready, we’ll have Daijj lower the ramp.”
With that, Mickey turned to Tom, “Did I miss anything?”
Tom shrugged, “Probably. But I think we’ve drilled them enough that they’ll figure it out.”
They stepped away from the Contai soldiers and went back to gather their kit. They checked each other’s body armor, and then put on the helmets. They turned back to the Contai, rifles held at the low ready. The Contai warriors were also ready. Mickey and Tom made their way to the very back of the shuttle so that they could be the first ones to deal with any threat that might be out there. Sorinm and Caul moved next to them.
“Everybody ready?” Mickey asked. He got a thumbs up from Tom, Sorinm and Caul. “Alright, everybody’s set. Daijj, open the ramp.”
Mickey felt the hydraulics through his feet as the ramp slowly lowered. Rifles came up to deal with any hostiles that might present themselves. The ramp kept descending, but nobody moved. They waited until the ramp was all the way down on the floor before they took action. Mickey, Tom, Caul and Sorinm moved down first. The other Contai followed, and they split so they could do a complete three-sixty around the shuttle. Once they were in place, everybody stayed still for a security halt, looking around for any hostiles.
Nothing happened, to Mickey’s relief. The air was a little stale and a little cold, but there was no smell. Mickey had his helmet on, so it wasn’t apparent to him, but the room was cold enough that the Contai could see their breath fog in the chill air. They were in a large hanger, if you could call it that, which was just as big, if not bigger, than the original play room where they had first been introduced to the mechs. The area around the shuttle was lit up from the overhead lighting, but grew dimmer the further you were from the shuttle, shading into darkness at the ends of the shuttle. The walls and the ceiling were painted bright white, but the floor was some kind of grey material that Mickey didn’t recognize. It looked metallic until you stepped on it. It wasn’t as unforgiving as metal, though it was still rigid. Micky turned to Caul, “Okay, split the men. Half with us, the other half with you.”
Mickey spoke to Daijj, “Hey, Daijj, while we’re here, send Smarij and Zenj out here to check the exterior. The area is secure. There’s nothing dangerous out here.”
“You got it,” Daijj replied.
Mickey looked at Tom and Sorinm, “Okay, we’re just going to check out the interior of this . . . hanger. We’ll go to that wall first,” Mickey pointed at the closest wall, “and then move around the wall until we get right back to the original location. That way we can scope out the entire area.”
Sorinm broke his ten men into two fire teams. He had one team and another Contai named Thoril led the other. They stepped off with Micky and Tom in the lead. The two teams shadowed Mickey and Tom as they walked toward the wall.
Mickey had a few reasons to check out the wall. First, he wanted to find a door that might lead to other areas. If they were stuck here, God forbid, then they would eventually need food and water. He hoped that they would be able to find food and water beyond the walls of the hangar. Or, failing that, maybe they could find an exit out of the facility. Second, he was looking for some kind of computer or data port, hoping that the engineers might figure out a way to access any computer network.
They moved to the wall, and then, when they were close, they turned to parallel it into the darkness. As they walked toward the darker area, a light flickered ahead and above, and became stronger as electricity coursed through old circuits.
The Contai became nervous as the light flickered on above them
Mickey spoke in broken Contai, “Don’t worry, there are sensors that notice us as we walk, and that turns on the lights.”
Sorinm’s nervousness was apparent as he spoke, “It seems like someone is watching us.”
Mickey shook his head, “No, there’s no one watching you, I promise you that.”
“I hope,” Mickey thought after he spoke.
Mickey’s words comforted the Contai. They maintained their professionalism. The easiest way to see that was that they maintained their distance from each other, which spoke well of their discipline and training. Soldiers with poor discipline often walked closer to each other when they were nervous, seeking solace from the closeness of their fellow soldiers. If they were too close to each other, then one bullet could take out two men. The Contai soldiers maintained their ten meter intervals, though. Their heads swiveled back and forth as they tried to discern danger before it struck.
The hanger was massive. It, like the playroom back at the DARPA facility, had no columns to hold up the ceiling, which concerned Mickey. The corners where the floor met the walls and the walls met the ceiling were curved instead of square. There was nothing to break up the featureless wall that Mickey could see. Mickey ran the helmet’s vision up to maximum, but it couldn’t penetrate the gloom. He tried several different spectrums and he still couldn’t see anything.
“What the hell is this place,” he thought to himself. It was quiet, like a tomb. A well-kept one, but a tomb none the less. Something about the quiet in the large void of the hanger seemed spooky to him, almost like the damn place was haunted. Still, nothing jumped out at them; no ghost, goblins or spooks here.
As they walked, the light ahead of them turned on, and the light behind them, once they were far enough away from the shuttle, turned off. When Mickey looked back, the shuttle sat in a circle of light, like an island in the gloom.
Tom spoke as Mickey turned to look forward, “Hey, Mickey, you see that?”
“Paint it for me,” Mickey replied.
Tom used his A.I. to paint what he was looking at. Mickey saw it. There was what was possibly a console.
“Okay guys, we see something up ahead. Make sure you stay alert. We don’t know what this place is or what’s in it.”
Tom and Mickey made a beeline toward the console. Tom got there first, cautioning everyone, “We can look, but I don’t want to touch anything until we figure out what this does.”
Mickey grunted his approval. The last thing they needed was to touch the button that sucked all of the air out of the hanger, “Yeah, I agree. Once we know the area is clean, we can bring out John, Bob, and Mike to take a look. They might be able to figure out what this does.”
Mickey studied the console. There were buttons, and pads, and other things that he didn’t recognize. The symbols were different from any language he knew. Mickey looked around the console and then looked up.
“Hey, you see that?” Mickey pointed up. The ceiling was high, and this was the first place that he’d noticed the track along the ceiling. It went directly out of the wall and split along other tracks that led out into the large hanger. He took a closer look at the wall the track came out of.
He noticed a thin line on the wall. He walked over to look at it closer. He traced it with his forefinger. It was rectangular, and wide. It was definitely some kind of door. There wasn’t anything to open it with, though, no latch, no handle, no door knob.
“What’s that?” Tom asked.
“I think it’s a door. There doesn’t seem to be anyway to open it though,” Mickey replied.
“Well, maybe it has something to do with the console.”
Mickey nodded, “Maybe.”
“Is that the way out?” Sorinm asked.
Mickey turned to look at him, “Maybe. We don’t know right now.”
“Can
we open it and find out?”
Mickey shook his head, “That might not be a good idea. When we first got here, this entire room didn’t have any air in it. If we open that door, the same may be true on the other side. All of our air would disappear, and we’d die.”
Sorinm looked at the door with trepidation, “Maybe we should wait to open it then.”
Mickey nodded, “That’s probably a good idea, Sorinm.”
Mickey turned to Tom, “Anything else you want to see?”
Tom shook his head, “No, I think that’s all we’re going to figure out here, at least for right now. Let’s check out the rest of the hanger.”
Mickey and Tom led again as they walked past the console. Sorinm scolded the soldiers to make sure they didn’t touch anything. Some of them heard Mickey’s explanation about why they shouldn’t open the door. That information quickly made the rounds.
As they walked, Mickey and Tom’s A.I.s mapped the area. The A.I. began to give them an idea of how massive the hanger was. The floor was at least four times as big as the DARPA playroom, so it was about six hundred meters by six hundred meters.
“Do you think it’s weird?” Tom asked.
“Think what’s weird?”
“This place hasn’t been touched in a very, very long time,” Tom replied.
“Yeah, and?”
“There’s no dust. You would think there would be some dust somewhere.”
Mickey thought about it, “Yeah, that is kind of unusual. That’s not what gets me, though.”
Tom looked over at him, “What gets you?”
“There’s no noise here. This place is quieter than a church.”
Tom nodded, “Yeah, that is kind of creepy.”
They both noticed the door at the same time. This one was different than the one they’d previously seen. It was obviously some kind of large blast door, possibly one the previous inhabitants moved their aircraft through. It was certainly big enough to move a shuttle the size of their ship through. Large metal bands crossed back and forth across the door. It looked like it possibly rolled back into the wall to the right. The edges all fit neatly in tracks on the floor, sides and top.
