The Corps of Discovery Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3: A multiverse series of alternate history

by James S. Peet

  He grabbed the rifle case in one hand and the duffel in the other. The duffel weighed more than the pack, so Bill made the decision to switch the two, wearing the duffel on his back and carrying the pack.

  The barbershop wasn’t far, but a line had already started to form. Bill got in line, setting his case and pack down, but keeping his duffel on. Soon it was his turn, and the barber didn’t say anything other than “Sit!” Bill sat. Soon he was the proud owner of a new haircut. It actually wasn’t too bad. Not quite a military high and tight, but pretty close.

  He noticed that women were allowed to keep their hair nominally longer, but none had any hair that came remotely close to touching their shoulders. Bill wondered what Meri would look like with short hair. Probably still gorgeous, he figured.

  Upon arriving at the cabin, he dumped everything from the duffel onto his bed. The next thing he did was to strip and dress in a uniform: brown shorts with cargo pockets, a short sleeve shirt, brown wool socks, brown leather boots that reached barely above the ankles, and the wide-brimmed hat. Only after putting on the shorts did he notice that the seat was reinforced. That makes sense, he thought, considering how much time we’ll probably be spending sitting on the ground or logs. Now that he had a base tan built up, he was more comfortable wearing short-sleeved attire and less worried about burning. He didn’t wear the issued underwear, but he did notice they were more like a fine mesh than the cotton briefs he normally wore.

  Reading the instructions again, Bill decided to pack the requisite clothing. This consisted mainly of four complete uniforms, four sets of underwear and socks, a raincoat with a removable liner, fingerless mittens, two pairs of brown long underwear that he saw were made from silk, and a balaclava.

  Once he got everything packed and assembled, he reassembled it on his person. First to go on was the vest, followed by the web belt, and finally the backpack. While it didn’t quite weigh as much as the backpack he wore at Philmont, Bill was still aware that he didn’t have any food or water weighing him down. He decided that it would probably be best to at least have his canteen filled. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, he went downstairs and filled the canteen at the kitchen sink.

  About that time the newly shorn Thep and Jordan arrived, lugging all their gear. Bill noticed that neither had a PDW case with them. Lucky bastards, he thought, considering how the additional weight of his crash couch survival equipment had made his trip from the Logistics Building more difficult.

  The three exchanged greetings before the new arrivals disappeared into their respective rooms to get organized.

  Bill placed the filled canteen in the canteen cover on his belt, snapping it shut after it was seated.

  “I’m heading to the cafeteria,” he said loudly. “Anyone want to join me?”

  Both men claimed they needed time to get organized, so Bill decided to head out on his own. As he opened the door, he saw Matt walking up the steps. Like Bill, Matt had most of his gear organized and was wearing it, carrying his duffel and rifle case.

  “I’m about to grab lunch,” Bill told him. “Want me to wait for you?”

  “Sure, gimme a minute to drop this stuff off and get into uniform.”

  Matt headed up the stairs. Bill sat on the front porch steps with his rifle across his legs and watched the parade of laden Probies as they slogged from the Logistics Building to their residences, lugging all their newly issued gear.

  Within a couple of minutes, Matt reappeared, wearing his pack, vest, and belt, and carrying his rifle.

  “Damned if we don’t look like a bunch of Explorers from Far Afield,” he said, citing a popular movie about a Corps of Discovery team that found space invaders on a parallel planet.

  “Yeah, but those actors were better-looking than you,” Bill quipped back, standing and retrieving his pack.

  The two arrived at the cafeteria and headed in. Neither Meri nor Nicole was inside, so Bill and Matt picked a table and put their packs down on a couple of chairs, claiming the table. Neither felt it was prudent to leave their rifles, so they kept them slung over their shoulders and got in line for food.

  Back at the table, they removed the packs from the chairs and noticed that the chairs had a notch on the top of the seat back, which was ideal for placing the slings of their rifles in. They found the rifles rested quite nicely, with the butts just inches off the floor, but the entire thing out of the way of sitting. As they were sitting down, they were joined by Meri, who set her pack on the chair next to Bill. Bill was right; even with her hair cut short, she was still beautiful. And somehow, the shorter hair seemed to highlight her blue eyes, making them appear even brighter.

  “Let me get some food and I’ll be right back,” she said.

  Nicole, also with much shorter hair, arrived and went to get food as well. Soon all four were sitting, eating, and enjoying each other’s company.

  “So, who’s going where this afternoon?” Meri asked.

  “Flight line,” Matt drawled. “Get to play with some of them there aerocraft thingees,” he added, exaggerating his Southern accent.

  “Me, too,” Meri said after swallowing a bite of food.

  “Training Building for a GIS evaluation,” Bill said. “Looks like it’ll be a while before I’m on the flight line.”

  “Aw, that’s too bad, Bill. We’ll think of you when we’re flying up there,” Nicole said with a smile.

  “Gee, thanks, guys,” Bill said, acting forlorn. He was actually looking forward to seeing the GIS systems used by the Corps and getting up to speed on them and the remote sensing systems.

  After eating, the group put their trays away, grabbed their packs and rifles, and headed outside. The three waved bye to Bill as they headed off to the airfield. Bill was actually feeling pretty good, knowing that his walk would be a lot shorter than theirs.

  10

  Bill arrived at the Training Building, but having forgotten which room to report, he pulled out his tablet and opened his email. A quick glance informed him that he was to report to Room 204 at 1300 hours. Guessing that 204 would be on the second floor, Bill entered the building, found the stairs, and took them up a flight.

  Looking through the door window of 204, he saw a typical computer lab, with rows of machines set up on tables. He opened the door and saw an older man, obviously an Explorer by his attire, sitting at a desk in the front of the room reading on a tablet.

  The grizzled veteran looked up and said, “C’mon in if you’re here for GIS evaluation. If not, you’re in the wrong place.”

  “Guess I’m in the right place then.” Holding out his hand to the man, he introduced himself. The man shook his hand briefly, introducing himself as Jim Merriman, then looked down at his tablet.

  “Yep, looks like you’re in the right place. Leastways, your name’s here. Grab a seat. You’re a bit early, but we’ll be starting in about fifteen minutes. I’m expecting several more Probies.”

  Bill chose a seat near the front of the class, next to the window. He wasn’t sure if he sometimes suffered from ADD, but it always made him feel better being able to look out and see something natural, rather than just a classroom. He set his pack down beside him, then looked around.

  “Uh, Jim,” he asked, “any suggestions on where I should put my rifle?”

  “Oh, sorry. Yeah, the rifle rack by the front door,” Jim pointed toward a long rifle rack that Bill hadn’t noticed when he entered. “Each rack has a number that correlates with your computer, so put it in there.”

  Bill placed his rifle in the rack, then returned to his computer station and sat down.

  The classroom soon filled up, and he spotted a few Probies that he had seen around base. As they entered, Merriman told them to put their rifle on the rack and take a seat at the computer that matched the rifle rack’s number.

  Kim Smith, whom Bill had met at his first meal on Hayek, sat down next to him.

  “Hey, fancy meeting you here,” she said.

  “Yeah, about time we
finally got to actually use our skills,” he said.

  Precisely at one o’clock, Merriman stood up. “All right, let’s get started. I’m Jim Merriman, and this is Geographic Information Systems Diagnostic Testing. You’ll each be given a series of problems to complete using the GIS that we use in the Corps. If you hit a problem you can’t solve, let me know, and then continue on to the next one. The whole purpose of this exercise is to see just what you know and what you’ll need to work on to bring you up to speed.

  “Considering everyone here has at least a bachelor’s degree in GIS or a GIS emphasis in their degree, I doubt that many of you’ll need much, if any, remedial training.

  “Okay, let’s get started.”

  Bill tapped on the keyboard and the monitor brightened. He saw that he needed to log in. He typed his usual login username and password and was granted access.

  The “Start Here” document was in the lower left corner of the screen. Bill opened it and begin reading. It consisted of a series of activities he was to do in order, starting with opening the geographic information system software and importing a data layer. The instructions stated where all the GIS data was stored, so Bill opened the GIS and saw it was the exact same type he had learned at UW. Thank goodness for small favors, he thought.

  Once the software was running, he added the first data layer, which consisted of a base map of Sacajawea Base. He then added layers showing the buildings, roads, water towers, and airfield. All the data to this point was vector data – simple data consisting of points, lines, and polygons.

  His first operation was a simple route analysis between his residence, the training center, the rifle range, and then back to his residence. That took him only a couple of minutes. Hmm, I wonder if this is their way of saying ‘you get to go to the gun range next? Bill gave the route a name and saved it.

  Several more route analyses were performed, each a little different and bit more detailed. Each analysis was named and saved. Bill tried to name them in the order they took place.

  The next analysis was another simple one, creating a circular buffer around Discovery School for one mile (the distance students were expected to walk to school). Again, simple. But the next analysis incorporated routing, in that the buffer could only be applied along the actual route that students could take. Bill noticed that both the Naches and Yakima Rivers were within the original circular buffer. He knew of only one person who could walk on water, so he knew, even before the analysis was complete, that it wouldn’t be a circle; rather, it would be a truncated circle with the areas along the opposite sides of rivers from the school being mostly eliminated. Sure enough, only one area across the Naches was actually within the buffer, at a point where a bridge existed.

  He was then required to do some bus routing, with only those students living outside the buffer being eligible. He opened the student layer and saw points scattered across the map. He suspected these weren’t real students as some were listed as being at the airfield. This required the creation of a new layer by joining the truncated buffer and the student layer and then dissolving all the points within the truncated circle. Once only the points outside the buffer were available, he then performed a least-cost route analysis—one that required the least amount of time and fuel to complete.

  The next activity was to measure distances between points, which Bill did with ease. He then was required to do the same, but this time using ground units of measurement taking into account changes in elevation. Again, relatively simple, but more complex than just a straight line.

  The first change analysis operation had Bill looking at the changes over time to the base, from its founding and in ten-year increments. He had to show what additions took place. For this, he imported raster data—data in pixelated format and ran the analysis. There were distinct areas of change visible.

  The rest of the afternoon went on like this. Bill kept plugging away, analyzing change, identifying man-made structures, developing topographic maps using digital elevation models derived from more raster data. It seemed that Bill was running through every aspect of GIS that he had learned.

  Merriman announced, “Okay, guys. Five o’clock; day’s over. Shut it down, and I’ll see you here tomorrow at eight. And don’t forget to take your packs and rifles!”

  Bill was surprised when Merriman spoke, as he was deep into his work and hadn’t even noticed that four hours had slipped away. He suddenly realized he was thirsty and needed to use the restroom.

  Kim spoke what he was thinking. “Wow, where did the time go? I thought we had only been at it for an hour or so.”

  “Well, you know GIS,” Bill said, and then tried to sing the verses from “GIS State of Mind,” a parody of the old song “Empire State of Mind”.

  Kim covered her ears. “Noooooo. That came out of UT-Austin!”

  Others in the class joined in briefly for the chorus, and that ended the song.

  After shutting down the computers, the Probies filed out of the classroom. Bill made a beeline for the restroom. When he came out, everyone was gone, so he started down the stairs on his own, making his way to the cafeteria. It was then he realized he hadn’t even checked his tablet all afternoon, so he pulled it out of cargo pocket.

  Sure enough, there was an email from Meri, but not the type Bill wanted to see. She was having supper with her dad again, and couldn’t join him, but would meet him in the morning. Feeling dejected, Bill went on to the cafeteria.

  The next morning, Bill and his roommates were all on the same playing field, leaving the cabin and having breakfast together. As usual, Nicole joined them, and luckily for Bill, so did Meri. Bill introduced Meri to Jordan and Thep, both of whom greeted her warmly.

  Meri told Bill about her first day as a co-pilot, explaining how they started out doing transition flights with the Caribou.

  “It’s much more complicated than anything else I’ve flown so far,” she said. “I’m multi-engine rated, but the Caribou is a lot larger than anything I’ve ever flown before. So far, we’ve done a couple of touch and goes, but most of the time has been spent in the simulator.”

  “So how long do you think it’ll take to get up to speed?” Bill asked her.

  “Don’t know, but I don’t think too long. They want us up to speed on all four aircraft before they move us to our secondary duties training. How about you? How’s the GIS stuff so far?”

  “It’s been pretty much a bunch of stuff I know already. If there isn’t much more, I’m sure we’ll be through the GIS soon and on to remote sensing. I wonder how long it’ll be before they have me learning the aircraft?”

  After breakfast, Meri agreed to join the group for supper, telling Bill that she would be eating lunch at the airfield for the foreseeable future.

  “It’s a mile to the airfield, and it doesn’t make sense to spend my entire lunch walking,” she explained.

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” Bill agreed. He wasn’t too happy about it but tried not to show his disappointment.

  Meri picked up on it anyway. “Hey, there’ll be other times.”

  The group gathered their backpacks and rifles and headed out the door, each going their separate way.

  Soon, Bill was entering the Training Building and climbing the stairs to the second floor. Upon entering the room, he placed his rifle in the rack and went to the same computer he’d used the day before.

  “You’re a little early, but you can get started if you want,” Merriman told him.

  Bill did just that, and was soon importing digital data, mostly in raster format, performing analyses, and creating maps.

  Eventually, he was done with all the tasks put to him. He looked up and saw that, unnoticed by him, the class had filled in while he was working. Kim Smith was sitting next to him diligently working away, ignoring him as he had ignored everyone else.

  Not sure what to do next, Bill raised his hand. Merriman got up and came over.

  “Yeah?” he asked in a quiet voice.

  B
ill quietly told him he was done with the exercise and asked what he should do next.

  “Take a break. We’re about to mix things up in the next half-hour, so sit back and read something. Just don’t leave.”

  Bill pulled out his tablet and brought up The Explorer to see what new stuff was happening in the world of discovery.

  Shortly after Bill began reading, a message came across his computer monitor. It advised all Probies to remain seated after completing the assessment until dismissed.

  Bill could tell others were finishing up by the increase in bustling noise and activity in the room.

  Precisely at noon, Merriman called out, “Listen up. Most of you have finished your GIS assessments, and they look pretty good. For those that haven’t, you’ll get to do so tomorrow morning. For those that have, you’ll begin working on the remote sensing assessment in the morning. This means we’ll be testing to see how well you know the various platforms and how to get the data from image capturing to analysis. After that, you’ll be introduced to our equipment and methods.

  “We’ll be mixing it up in the afternoons, so after lunch report to the rifle range. Make sure you’ve got all your required equipment, which most especially means your rifle,” he said. “You’ll report to the range master when you get there. Be prepared to do a bit of shooting. See you tomorrow.”

  Bill walked out of the class feeling pretty good, knowing that he was the first done, and had apparently passed the initial assessment.

  Kim joined him on the walk to the cafeteria. “So, what do you think so far?”

  He thought about it for a couple of seconds. “Interesting.. so far. I mean, other than giving us some set tasks, it seems pretty fluid. You?”

  “Pretty basic. I mean, most of what we’ve done so far is standard GIS. Although I gotta admit, I wasn’t too keen on that metadata development exercise,” she finished with a grin.

  “Metadata. Yeah. I hate dealing with it, but I guess it’s a necessary evil. Without it, how’ll anyone be able to understand what your data’s about? Or even in what projection?”