The Liberty Covenant

by Jack Bowie

  “Beep!”

  He jumped at the sound and finally noticed a bright red BMW 520i stopped along the street.

  “Adam!” Marino called through an open window. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you saw me.”

  “My fault,” he replied, climbing in. “I was daydreaming. This is a rental?”

  “Yep. Vision One always goes first class.” Marino jumped the car onto the Dam with a screech of tires.

  “Must be nice. I usually get Corollas.”

  Marino maneuvered through the Amsterdam city streets, then onto the A2. As they neared Utrecht, she exited the motorway. They spent the next half-hour speeding past geometrically-furrowed fields dotted with quaint Dutch windmills accompanied by a running commentary on the history of the Netherlands by Marino. The carefree conversation almost made Braxton forget about why he was really in Holland.

  He wasn’t sure what he expected to find at Vision One. It had seemed so easy in D.C., just wrangle a trip to the facility and discover the secret he was looking for. But what was the secret? He didn’t have any proof of Vision One’s complicity in Megan’s death, much less Lawson’s. But he knew they were connected. He just had to figure out how.

  “This is so idyllic,” he finally said. “I never would have gotten out of that stuffy conference without you. It’s hard to imagine you really get to work here.”

  “It is awfully nice,” Marino replied as she down-shifted into a curve. “Quite a change from the sprawl of the Bay Area.”

  Braxton sensed this was his opportunity. “Is your office around here?”

  “Actually, it’s just ahead. Would you like to take a look?”

  “That would be great,” he replied as calmly as he could. His heart was racing almost as fast as the BMW. “But this was supposed to be a break from work.”

  Marino grinned. “No worries. I’m usually in and out in a flash. It will be nice to just tour around. With all the growth, keeping up with the people in the center is a constant struggle.”

  “There’s a lot of comings and goings?”

  “Oh, yes. Starting up any new facility is enough of a hassle, but with the IPO and European expansion the managers are really stretched. They’re constantly bringing in someone new to solve the next problem that surfaces. And I’m supposed to keep up with it.”

  “I don’t mean to be dense, Sydney, but what is it you actually do?”

  She laughed. It was a relaxed, carefree gesture. Not unlike Megan’s.

  “You really are a technologist, Adam. I get asked that all the time by the researchers. They can’t seem to figure why I get paid for just talking to people. When Vision One decided to come to Europe, they had a lot of concerns about the public’s impression of the company. They didn’t want to be just another US company looking to expand. They wanted the subsidiary to take on a real European flavor, but still maintain the technical excellence of the parent. As much as possible, the subsidiary is run by Europeans. It’s important to get the right perception of the company in the customer’s minds. Some of those customers are very large and very influential.”

  The speed of the BMW increased in tandem with Marino’s speech. Her right hand had left the steering wheel and was waving across the windshield. Braxton glanced at the speedometer. It read 150 KPH.

  “My job is to help manage the perception of all the stakeholders: customers, employees, and stockholders. I arrange interviews between the press and Vision One executives; place articles on the company in journals and magazines. I talk to industry consultants who are influential in setting people’s perceptions. And I work with local governments to help them understand how Vision One can help their economies and create jobs.”

  She took a deep breath. Both hands returned to the wheel and the car slowed to a slightly less frantic speed. Braxton peeled his hand from the armrest and breathed his own sigh of relief.

  “Sorry. Sometimes I get carried away. It really is exciting, though.”

  “I’m sure it is, Sydney. And somehow I feel you’re very good at it.”

  She looked over at him and smiled again. “I try.”

  “Who exactly do you work for?”

  “I was originally contacted by one of Vision One’s board members, but I guess I mostly work for Paul Venton. He’s one of the founders of Vision One.”

  “I remember Megan mentioning him. You ‘guess’ you work for him?”

  “Well, the reality is I rarely ever see him. He lets me run things pretty independently. We exchange a lot of email, but I’ve only seen him twice in the last month. Mostly when I’ve arranged some kind of interview.”

  “What’s he like?”

  “Really intense. He’s a super guy, but the company is his life. Most of the employees say Vee One stands for ‘Venton is number one.’ ”

  “That’s not so odd for an entrepreneur.”

  “No. I’ve met lots, but Paul really is unique. He was a soldier once. Then he went back to school. After he graduated he stayed on as a professor. Became a real hot-shot researcher from the looks of his CV.”

  “How’d he get into business?”

  “Got tired of seeing all his students and colleagues get rich in high-tech I imagine. He was doing breakthrough work in graphics and visualization and started doing a little consulting on the side. His work with both the government and private industry gave him the contacts he needed to set out on his own with Vision One.”

  “Is he married?”

  “Only to Vision One.”

  Braxton noticed a road sign with the Vision One logo and barely had time to grab for the passenger safety handle before Marino yanked the wheel to the right.

  Marino turned off the main road and into a parking lot in front of what could only be described as a huge glass cube. Braxton could just barely see the shadows of floors and windows behind the glistening facade. It had to be at least ten stories tall. A construction crew was hanging over the front face placing a small “Vision One” sign along the top edge. The building was devoid of any other adornments, save for spotlights on the corners. When he looked closer, he saw the lights were augmented by security cameras that swung slowly back and forth across each face.

  Marino pulled into a space directly in front of the main entrance. The area was marked “Visitors Only.”

  She looked over at him sheepishly. “I usually have to park way in the back. But you’re a visitor, right?”

  Braxton nodded.

  “Now before we go in, how would you like me to introduce you? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  “How about as a researcher friend of yours? I don’t want to bring up a lot of memories about Megan.”

  “Sure. I understand. A friend it is.”

  They walked through a huge set of plate glass doors and into a soaring teak and chrome lobby. The ceiling must have been four stories above their heads.

  “Guten morgan, Margret,” Marino said to an attractive blonde security guard at the reception desk.

  “Good morning, Miss Marino,” the woman replied in perfect English.

  “How’s Alex?”

  “Oh, just fine, Miss Marino. He’s starting nursery school this week.”

  “Super. You should be a very proud mother.”

  “Thank you. I am.”

  Marino signed them both in and took a plastic Vision One Visitor badge from the guard. “Mr. Braxton is with me. We’ll be upstairs for a few hours.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Good to see you again.”

  They walked past the guard, deeper into the building until they came to an elevator lobby. Braxton saw the button plate and reached toward it but all he found was an unmarked slot.

  “Not that one, Adam,” Marino said. She took a few steps farther into the hallway and pressed another button. “That’s the service elevator. It only goes downstairs.”

  “Interesting building,” Braxton commented as they entered an elevator cab.

  “Yes. It’s built as a cube for heating and cooling e
fficiency. Of course the parallel with the HoloCube is a bonus. All the staff have offices on the outside walls. The interior is the labs, research libraries and computing centers. It seems to work out pretty well.

  “Each floor focuses on one of Vision One’s target markets. When a particular customer comes in, it looks like the whole building is focused for him. We’re going to start at aerodynamics.”

  The elevator stopped at the fourth floor. When the doors opened, Braxton gasped. It was as if he had been transported back to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Model airplanes hung from the ceiling and the walls were adorned with glossy photos of the best in aircraft technology. He spotted the new Airbus widebody, a Space Shuttle-like craft with European Space Agency markings and what looked like the SpaceX re-entry vehicle.

  “Quite a gallery,” Braxton commented.

  “Yes. A&A has done a great job.”

  “A and A?”

  “Aeronautics and Astronautics. That’s what they call their division. These are all pictures of projects Vision One has worked on. Unfortunately, we can’t show some of our best work. It’s still classified.”

  They walked over to another reception desk and Marino signed the guest log.

  “Morning, Greta,” Marino said to the receptionist.

  “Good morning, Miss Marino.”

  “Is Rolf around?”

  “I believe he’s in the lab.” She reached for her phone. “I’ll check for you.”

  “No. That’s okay. We’ll surprise him.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You really seem to know your way around here,” Braxton said as they walked down a long hallway. “I haven’t always had the same positive reception.”

  “The Vision One folks have really been great. ‘Course it doesn’t hurt that I work for the head man. But they’ve all been very supportive. I’ve pretty much got the run of the place. And I’m not here to take any of their jobs, so that makes it easier.”

  The hallway ran in a square around the inside of the building. On the “outside” of the corridor were the offices Marino had described. Most of the doors were open, although Braxton saw few inhabitants. The rooms at least looked familiar: stacks of files and journals covered every available surface. Vision One must employ a lot of scientists.

  On the other side of the hall the doors were much less frequent and heavily secured. Most only had numbers, no descriptive name. The pair turned a corner and the inside wall changed to glass. Peering through, Braxton looked into a large room with over-sized flat-panel monitors hanging on the walls. Much too neat for a development laboratory, it was probably a customer demonstration room. A lone figure was sitting in a corner staring into a smaller monitor.

  Marino swept her ID card through the access block and the door clicked open.

  “Good morning, Rolf,” she called out. “Got a minute?”

  The man turned in his chair and watched as the visitors approached.

  “Sydney, what are you doing here? I thought you had gone back to the States.”

  “Had some more work to do. I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Adam Braxton. He’s in Amsterdam for a conference and I wanted to show him around. Adam, this is Rolf Koenig, head of our A&A division in Europe.”

  Koenig rose from his chair and extended his hand. He looked about forty, tall and broad-shouldered, with short blonde hair and a deep tan. He had probably been an athlete in his younger days, but deep lines around his eyes suggested his priorities were now elsewhere.

  “Mr. Braxton,” he said. “Very good to meet you.”

  “Dr. Koenig,” Braxton replied, taking his hand.

  “Rolf, please. My days as an engineer are long past. I have been trying all morning to run our latest demo. It is all I can do to keep up with the young turks. I trust you are enjoying your visit to our country?”

  “Yes. Very much. Sydney kindly offered to show me around Vision One.”

  “What is your specialty, Mr. Braxton?”

  “I’m a consultant in computer security. I’m here for the cryptography conference.”

  “Excellent. Someone who can help us keep our secrets. Unfortunately it’s become an increasing concern for us. With technology moving so rapidly, and product cycles shortening, we must be constantly aware of such threats. Competition has become quite fierce.”

  “I imagine many of your customers have the same concerns,” Braxton added.

  “Oh, yes!” Koenig laughed deeply. “This is a very serious thing for them as well.”

  “Rolf!” Marino interjected. “I didn’t come here to have you two talk about business. Show Adam some of the work you’re doing.”

  “Ah. Of course, Sydney.” He turned to Braxton and lowered his voice only a bit. “She is a very focused individual, Mr. Braxton. In case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “I have experienced a bit of that, Rolf,” Braxton replied with a smile.

  “Well, I will let you two be my first, what is the term, guinea pigs?” Koenig sat down in front of the monitor and began typing on a small keyboard.

  “I will refrain from forcing you to sit through our marketing material, Mr. Braxton,” he commented without looking up. “But I can assure you that it is spell-binding.”

  A few more taps at the keyboard, then Koenig pointed over the top of the monitor to the front of the room. “Have you ever seen our technological marvel in person?”

  When Braxton followed the gesture, he saw two large shiny metallic cubes, one sitting on the floor and one hanging from the ceiling. They looked so benign he hadn’t noticed them when he entered the room, but now he realized they were the HoloCube. They looked just like the pictures he had seen in magazine articles.

  “No, I haven’t,” he replied. “Could I get a demonstration?”

  “Of course,” Koenig replied. “I believe your lovely escort would flail me if I didn’t.”

  He pressed a single key.

  Chapter 31

  Vision One, Utrecht, The Netherlands

  Wednesday, 9:15 a.m.

  Braxton turned back to the device and saw that the space between the two metal cubes was now filled with a translucent image of a metal plate. Above and below the plate were layer upon layer of multi-colored lines.

  “This is a recent simulation of airflow over a reusable entry vehicle. I’m afraid I can’t mention the client. Re-entry into the atmosphere is a very complicated and dangerous proposition. Here you see the Mach flow patterns over the wings. If we introduce a small atmospheric perturbation,” he clicked over an area of the wing, “you can see the result is quite disastrous.” The colors changed suddenly, wildly varying between bright red and black. The structure began to vibrate then disappeared from the screen.

  “Our simulation combines complex fluid dynamic flows with structural mechanics. Testing like this is simply too inaccurate to perform on physical models and too expensive, not to mention dangerous, to perform in real life. We are able to show the aeronautics designer the specific performance of his design over a wide range of conditions. And we do it safely, before the prototypes need to be built. Hundreds of configurations can be tested before committing to prototype production.”

  “I see. But how does the designer correct for that behavior?”

  “An excellent question.” Koenig restarted the simulation. “I will now add a certain pattern of small deflectors on the wings of the vehicle. You may have seen something similar on commercial aircraft.” He typed a few commands and small nubs appeared on the wing surfaces. “This type of deflector has been used to modify the basic laminar airflow for many years. We have been able to add to its versatility by studying the precise placement patterns and even making the deflectors adaptive to different flow conditions. Let’s see what happens now.”

  The turbulence was reintroduced, and a different pattern of flow appeared. At first the model was stable, but the end result was the same.

  “Can the instability be completely corrected?” Braxton asked.
<
br />   Koenig again smiled broadly. “Mr. Braxton. Would you have us give away our client’s secrets?”

  “Okay, okay,” Marino interrupted. “I think Adam has seen enough of airplanes for one day. Thanks again, Rolf.” She grabbed Braxton by the sleeve and pulled him toward the door.

  “Very nice meeting you, Mr. Braxton,” Koenig called as they walked away. “I hope you appreciate that you have both a very knowledgeable and attractive guide.” Koenig turned and passed a private look to Marino. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”

  “Thank you,” Braxton replied. “I’m sure I will.”

  “Koenig certainly understands the technology,” Braxton said as he and Marino walked back to the elevators.

  “Rolf’s incredibly knowledgeable,” she replied. “He’s gotten us front page stories in Aviation Week & Space Technology with a single telephone call. And he’s a joy to work with. Not at all like some of the other prima-donnas around here.”

  “He certainly seems to like you.”

  A flush came to Marino’s cheeks. “Okay, so he is a bit of a flirt. Nothing I can’t handle. Let me assure you, this job is a dream compared to some I’ve had. Being an independent consultant isn’t all it’s cut up to be.”

  Braxton couldn’t help but smile as he thought back to some of his recent assignments. “You’ll get no argument from me on that.”

  They passed through the reception area and Marino gave a quick wave to Greta.

  A chime marked the arrival of the elevator. They stepped in and Marino pressed the button for the second floor.

  “Where to now?” he asked.

  “The only other major sector that’s up and running is pharmaceuticals and biologics.”

  “P&B, right?”

  “That’s it! P&B’s a big opportunity in Europe. Nearly all of the major pharma companies are headquartered over here. P&B isn’t as advanced as A&A but some of the work they’re doing is really interesting.”

  The doors opened and they stepped out into another reception area. This one, however, looked like a children’s playroom. The walls were covered with huge pictures of multi-colored balls and rainbow-streaked landscapes. It was breathtaking, but completely other-worldly.