by Jason Bourn
“OK,” said Calaes, “how many of them are there and where are they currently located?”
“Hold your horses,” chided Nancy, “only one thing at a time. Let’s see here. Um, the quantity is five – we always thought it was a pretty reliable piece of equipment, so maybe two would make more sense. One for operational use and one spare in case of failure. But who am I to say? Anyway, the location is … They say the location is the top-level assembly – the settlement itself. When I look at the floor plan layout, it shows only quantity one. It is well away from the settlement proper, where all the people reside, as expected. But the funny thing is that the floor plans of the settlement proper are all marked ‘Preliminary – Draft.’ Normally the installers have to make small changes to these drawings to make things fit – a longer cable here, a component moved there. These changes are documented on ‘As Built’ drawings. However, for the floor plan layout there are no ‘As Built’ drawings.”
Antony chimed in, “Look to see what the ‘As Built’ drawings say about the exterior panels really quickly if you could Nancy.”
Nancy quickly went to where all the “As Built” drawings were located. Her voice was shaky as she said, “Guess what guys? There are ‘As Built’ drawing for the exterior panels, the other external systems and the environmental control systems. That is it for the entire colony. I should note that with the exception of the environmental control systems, these are all the items that are on the outside. I can’t find any ‘As Built’ drawings for anything else on the inside at all.”
Calaes shook his head in frustration. “Wait a minute. If I’m following, that means that the only thing actually assembled in the entire settlement are the exterior components and the environmental control systems? That’s impossible! That would mean ...” Calaes left that thought hanging. But he was pretty sure that meant that the progress on the settlement was far less than what everyone had been led to believe.
After no one said anything for long moment, Antony finally responded, “Yes, what this seems to be saying is that the Mars settlement only has the outer layer completed, with nothing on the inside. No equipment, no furnishings, no nothing. The only thing that they have installed there is the outside shell, power and environmental control, which makes the buildings habitable. but...” He left the thought hanging. which everyone was thinking – that there was no way they could go to the settlement in the state currently it was in.
“Five more minutes guys,” Anya piped in. “We need to get moving and get out of here really soon.”
Calaes made a quick decision, wanting to get back on track, and said, “Nancy, please look into the interior panels. See what it says.”
Nancy, drumming her fingers even louder, went back to the top level and looked up the interior panel quantities and locations. “What? This must be wrong. It says here that the quantities are one hundred times more than necessary. I thought the exterior panels being twenty times more than necessary was overkill. What does it mean if this is one hundred times more?”
“One minute,” announced Anya. “Anyone else have anything? … Going, going, gone.” With that she pulled the connection and finished off with other closeout activities.
They all sat there for a few minutes, relieved that the pressure was off. Calaes especially appreciated when Nancy finally stopped drumming her fingers. The silence was oddly pleasing, but with all the baffling information they had all received, no one could appreciate it. Calaes finally said, “All right, let’s do a quick summary so we’re all on the same sheet of music. Anya, you first.”
“We were able to successfully get into the sub’s network, do our thing and get out. To the best of my knowledge we were able to do so without detection, either at the sub or at the government. To hide our tracks, I was able to successfully cause the sub’s main system and the battery backup to lose power, this is how I bought us the additional five minutes over the last time. This caused a system crash, the second one, but hopefully since they are two different failure mechanisms they won’t be linked together. I hope you found out everything you needed, because we’re not going to be able to get back in nearly as easily as we have. In fact, I suspect that eventually an AI will somehow detect these two backdoors and they will probably increase security to the highest level and that would make it well-nigh impossible to get in again. That’s it from my end.”
“Thanks,” said Calaes. “Nancy?”
“Well,” Nancy said as she started drumming her fingers again, “I was able to pull the information on both the fusion reactors and the interior panels. The fusion reactors were quite a bit more expensive than what I was expecting – maybe three times what I would have thought. We should look into this in more detail. Also, I would have thought quantity two would be more reasonable – why did they get five? Another thing to look at. The biggest takeaway for the interior panels was the quantity. Why so many? And another funny thing. I could account for a small portion of the interior panels. They were stored with the general stores. But I couldn’t find any information on the rest, they are missing, just like the extra exterior panels – so, where are they? More questions than answers, sorry about that. That’s all for me.” Calaes breathed easier when Nancy’s fingers stopped drumming as she calmed down.
“Antony?” said Calaes.
After pausing for almost half a minute, Antony said, “As far as the fusion reactors, we just don’t have enough information as to why there are five of them. As for the higher than expected costs, if I had to hazard a guess, I would think that they were built with additional requirements/capabilities of some sort that drove up the price. As for the bulk of the interior panels, there is not enough information to determine where they are currently located. There are a couple of possibilities that I can think of for the high quantities of interior panels, especially with respect to the exterior panel quantities, but in any case, what this means is that there is a lot more area inside than outside. The first option is that there are multiple large rooms that have a lot of inside area relative to the outside walls. The second option is that there doesn’t need to be additional outside walls for some reason – for example if there are rooms underground. However, remember that these options are based upon relative quantities which may not matter since the ‘As Built’ drawings show that nothing inside has been built yet. Essentially, according to the ‘As Built’ drawings, the entire settlement is just an empty shell with nothing in it except environmental control equipment. That’s all for me.”
Calaes needed time to think this over. It really didn’t make a whole lot of sense. “Thank you everyone for a job well done. Please keep all this information for your eyes only for now. I need to think what to do next. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears. Otherwise, you can go.”
No one said anything so they all left, each with their own thoughts mulling in their heads. Calaes was at an impasse. He didn’t have enough information to decide upon a course of action, but he couldn’t risk getting any more information. He didn’t know what to do next.
CHAPTER 18
It had been more than a month since Calaes and the team-leads had executed their second backdoor intrusion. And they hadn’t made any progress in answering any of their questions. They just didn’t have enough information and they had no means to get additional information. Calaes had been kept busy with the candidate interviews, but they seemed to be slowing down even more now. He rarely had two in a day and sometimes he would not have any. He always made sure he had enough time to get outside and take a walk prior to the interview, but so far, he had not seen anyone since his first meeting with Randy.
Today he had one interview. He hadn’t had one for the last three days – the longest dry spell since he had started. With all the candidate interviews he had been doing, he had been able to get in pretty good shape. He was actually looking forward to today’s walk since he felt a little rusty in not getting his accustomed exercise.
The interview was in London, so though rain
y, it was not as cold as it could have been for this time of year so near to Christmas. As he looked outside the lobby, with all the rain and wind, he was glad he had a good rain jacket. He pulled the hood down over his head and walked outside. The wind whipped around him and he was thankful, with the steady rain, that it was not any colder. All sights and sounds were muffled, so Calaes tried to stay alert – it was so easy to get lulled by the constant thrumming of rain on his hood.
Walking with head bent down, he turned the corner and headed directly into the wind. He considered turning back, but his lack of recent exercise as well as his driving desire to get additional information on the Mars Settlement issues kept him going. For the hundredth time he tried to make sense of the information at hand. There were quantity issues, cost issues and, probably the most perplexing, location of product issues. Were government or corporate entities somehow skimming money or equipment off the top for themselves? Were they using it to pay for these elaborate training facilities at the training campus? Were they just incompetent and had lost all that material or had they allowed it to be stolen? And how did this all relate to the lack of progress in the building of the settlement? Calaes didn’t know and he was frustrated that he didn’t have enough information to figure it out. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were an inconsequential problem. Being just the opposite, this was probably the most important problem affecting the long-term survival of mankind.
Calaes stumbled stepping over a curb. Calaes chided himself – he needed to pay more, not less, attention to his surroundings.
Just then, he thought he spotted something moving ahead, though it was hard to tell for sure with the rain obscuring everything. Calaes quickened his step and saw what he thought was a human figure walking quickly towards an alcove – probably trying to get out of the rain. The most important detail of the figure’s walk was his pronounced limp. It had to be Randy!
Calaes broke into a jog to close the distance as quickly as possible. He did not want to lose the limping figure. As he approached the alcove, he saw that indeed it was Randy, and he was waiting patiently for Calaes in the relative calm that the shelter afforded from both the wind and the rain.
Calaes stopped inside the alcove, waited for only a moment to slow his racing heart, and said, “Randy, you were right. There is something going on. I’ve been looking for you for weeks. Where have you been? What is really going on here? What can you tell me?” Calaes couldn’t stop the rapid-fire questions. They had been pent up with no outlet for far too long.
“Slow down, slow down,” Randy said smiling. “I thought you might be interested, that is why I gave you that information in the first place. I do have to warn you though, it might become dangerous for you if you truly are interested in finding out the answers to some of your questions.”
“What do you mean dangerous?” asked Calaes. “How did you learn about this information? Who is behind it all?” Calaes stopped, realizing that he was making a fool of himself.
Randy waited for Calaes to stop talking, then said quietly, “Patience, patience. All in good time. I do have the answers that you are looking for, but we have to know if you are ready for them.”
Frustrated, Calaes asked, “Who is we? And what do you mean by ‘if I am ready for them’?”
Randy paused and said, “What if you possessed a secret that was of great importance and someone asked to know that secret. What would you say?”
Calaes responded quickly, “I’d want to know why they wanted to know and I’d want to know that I could trust them with that secret, of course.” After he’d said it, he felt stupid. Of course, Randy wouldn’t just give him all the information, and especially about this “we” he had talked about. How did they know they could trust him? And what would he do with the information? With so much at stake, didn’t he have an obligation to do something with the information?
Randy had been waiting for this to sink in. “I see what you’re getting at,” Calaes finally responded. “I have about ten minutes until my next interview. Maybe we could get acquainted so we can get more comfortable with each other and maybe set up another meeting. How does that sound?”
Randy nodded, “Yes, that sounds like a much more well-thought-out plan. I think that maybe you should plan on taking an extended walk the next time you do an interview. I think that it will be possible to ensure that the candidate is not able to break out of VR, giving you several hours of free time so no one will become suspicious.”
“How can you know the candidate won’t be able to break out of …” Calaes began, and saw he was headed down the same path again. He reigned in his overpowering sense of curiosity and decided he would wait until there was more trust built up before asking for secrets to be divulged.
Randy chuckled, “You learn fast, that’s good. I know you want all your questions answered, and if everything goes well, I promise that they will all be answered. Unfortunately, it is getting late and you have an interview to get to. And we both need to get out of this rain. Until next time.”
With that Randy determinedly set out in the direction he had come from. Calaes watched as the rain obscured his limping gait, until he could see him no more. Only then did he venture back to the interview room, thinking much more about what the next meeting with Randy might portend than about the upcoming candidate interview.
CHAPTER 19
Calaes looked forward to this day more so than any other day in well over a year. He was finally going to get answers. He hadn’t realized how much this meant to him. It was consuming all his spare thoughts and all his spare time. He had thought of nothing else since the meeting with Randy. Today’s candidate interview was supposed to be held in Southern California and the weather was supposed to be good. No rain and relatively warm temperatures. Maybe this was an omen – not that he believed in such things. On the other hand, good weather was better than bad weather, so he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Stepping outside he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake. The other two times he had spoken with Randy, they could easily have been called accidental meetings. This was the first time that he was intentionally meeting him. Could this be a test set up by the government? If so, it was a pretty elaborate test. And one that could have been concluded when they had illegally broken into the government’s accounting system – and that would have caught four people. This way, meeting Randy, it would only catch one – himself. So logically it made more sense that this was really what it seemed – a meeting with some group that was not aligned with the government.
Calaes couldn't keep his mind from working away at the ramifications of this meeting. He walked along, keeping an eye out for anyone, for anything out of the ordinary. Finally, after walking much further from the interview building than he had ever gone, he saw a figure leaning against the entrance to a building a block ahead. “This must be it,” thought Calaes, and he wondered if he had said it aloud.
As he walked closer, he noticed that Randy did not wait for him, but instead entered into the building ahead of him. When Calaes entered, he saw that Randy was holding the door to an elevator open for him. Randy held his finger to his lips indicating that Calaes should keep quiet. They rode the elevator to the lowest level, which must be several floors below ground. Exiting the elevator, they walked in silence to a room with a solid-looking door. After walking inside and hearing the door close with a solid “thunk,” Randy finally spoke. “Welcome. We’re glad you decided to come.”
“Thank you, I think,” responded Calaes. “I’d like to know a lot more about your organization, how you learned about what is going on and what you’re doing about it.”
“Well,” said Randy smiling, “you don’t want much, do you? Ok, let me start with a basic overview. We brought you here to ensure that the government doesn’t find out about what we’ve been up to. I’m sure that they think that no one has discovered their dirty little secrets. You see, and I’m sure it has already occurred to you, the Mars Settlement colony is all a ch
arade. The government never intends to build a colony.”
Calaes sat there, stunned by what he had heard. He had to force himself not to say anything as Randy continued.
“They assuaged those idealists who couldn’t accept the end of mankind as they know it by getting you all out of VR, ostensibly into the Mars Colony. Unfortunately, the government thought an independent settlement could become a threat. The government is run by extremely powerful people, even though they are in VR, and with their declining population they see that they cannot win any kind of a confrontation long term. So, they decided to stifle any kind of potential competition. All they had to do was appear to be moving forward with the Mars Colony and hold you off, claiming delays. A seemingly endless series of delays and probably some mishaps would sap the life out of your people. And you have an expiration date – this is really your one chance. If you don’t succeed here, then you will never get another chance since no one else will be coming out of VR. You will become a failed experiment and those here in power will stay in power. And don’t ever forget that they are very powerful. If they detect any hint that our group exists, they would not hesitate to do whatever it takes to terminate us.
“Furthermore, the government has also started spending a huge amount of money on building a fleet of automated patrol craft capable of defending the Earth from any threats anywhere in the entire solar system. They are not waiting for the Mars Colony to get any traction. They want to be by far the biggest military presence. With the resources that Earth has, there is no question that they will remain the main sphere of influence and there is nothing that anyone outside of Earth can do about it.”
Calaes sat there for what felt like minutes, thinking about the ramifications. He had been duped. Their entire group had been duped. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it were possible. He had been working for well over a year to make this happen and it was a total fabrication. Stunned, Calaes couldn't think what else to ask.
