When they’d settled into the lattice-work bench, Tali gave his friend a serious look. “Okay, John. Spill it. Why all the cloak and dagger, and before you answer, you do know I work at the Pentagon with some very high-level stuff, so they keep a fairly close eye on me.”
“I know, and if you say the word, you can get up and just leave. No questions asked,” John said. He waited for Tali to nod before taking a deep breath to continue. John had always thought of his friend as having solid ethics, and despite working for many years with the military-industrial complex, he hoped his friend hadn’t been sucked into the morass and corruption that surrounded it. However, he also needed his friend's expertise in navigating the murky swamp of that same group. It was a terrible risk, but John didn’t see any other way.
“Hypothetically,” John continued. “What would be your expectation if someone started introducing some fairly advanced technology into the world market?”
Tali frowned. “What do you mean, advanced technology? Like some sort of super microwave oven or transporters?”
John shrugged, holding his hand up and tilting it as he spoke. “A bit more toward transporters, though I don’t think that’s on the table. At least I don’t think so. It’s not just one technology, either. It’s a whole slew of them that, if I read it right, will have a huge impact on global markets.”
Tali leaned back on the bench and took off his aviators, looking at John silently for a long moment. “Well, hypothetically, it would depend on the technologies and how much money is currently tied up in its field, how visible to the public it is, and how quickly it's done. My groups have gamed this question before because let’s face it, a lot of the defense contractors are pretty cut-throat. If some of these folks are caught by surprise, they could react rather drastically. Is that where your concern is?”
“Yeah, part of it,” John answered.
“Is this some other country we’re talking about? Weapons oriented?” Tali asked. “Hypothetically, I mean.”
“Actually, no. It’s not another country, which probably makes it more delicate and I don’t think much of what they’re doing is weapon based, though I’m sure that’s relative. However, from what I’ve heard, they also want to make their technologies widely available, which will step in a lot of powerful people’s pies. People that bank on a lot of what they offer being purposefully difficult to get.”
Tali grimaced. “Your politics are showing, John, but I can’t really argue with you. We both know there are good people out there, but there are a whole lot more bad folks that don’t mind standing on people’s necks to get things done. If you’re talking about messing with those people’s pies, then yes, you have a right to be concerned.” He said, then stopped talking and gazed out over the park. “How easy will these hypothetical folks be to work with? Are they willing to listen to reason?”
“I think to a point they will, though I don’t think they’re interested in just becoming someone’s toy, either,” John said. “They confided in me that it was a concern of theirs to make sure people aren’t taken by surprise and that people in certain job fields have time to retrain. That markets have time to stabilize. They are willing to subsidize that education, as well.”
Tali raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s a whole lot of money,” he said, rubbing his chin. “Musk? Though he’s been pretty transparent and we’ve got people on the inside of his company. He’s being watched closely, and even that one incident where someone managed to fly by and sabotage one of his rockets doesn’t have him spooked. Where is this group based? That will also make a difference.”
John shifted, knowing he was getting out of the hypothetical discussion and that there was no going back. However, Tali hadn’t backed out, and he hoped that was a good sign. He himself didn’t have a lot to lose, but Leann would, and he didn’t want to see what would happen to her at the beginning of her career when the system wanted someone out of the way. “They’ve got several centers scattered around in the western world. Primarily Copenhagen, England, and some in the US. There are some other places that make it a bit more complicated.”
“More complicated?” Tali said thoughtfully. “Other than being in the middle of Russia or China, or heaven forbid, North Korea, I can only think of one group that sounds like this. One we’ve been keeping our eye on anyway.” The smaller man paused, giving John a considering look. “I’ll be honest; I can help. But more importantly, I’m very interested in helping make sure Empyrean get what they’re doing out into the world.”
John let out a gasp, but Tali just waved his hands. “Hold on. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. If I’m wrong, let me know, but of course, we would be paying attention to someone who makes their own island. To tell you the truth, it was me that got you and Leann onto that project through the state department.”
“Why?” John asked.
Tali gave him a regretful smile. “Because we didn’t want too much attention paid to our investigation. With you involved, a lot of people would just write it off as something we weren’t taking seriously. China and Russia are already snooping around, and there are some power moguls in the US that are nervous about them.”
John took a deep breath and gave his own look across the park. He’d been some sort of dupe the whole time, but he completely understood the reasoning behind it. Still, it was a hard pill to swallow to realize that he had been used because people didn’t take him seriously.
“John,” Tali said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. “I know it’s hard to hear that. I hated what they did to you, but despite how it sounds, this was a chance to get you back into what you have always wanted to do. Change the world.” He paused, waiting for his friend to look back at him. “You were the right man for the job. Heck, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opportunity. Honestly, I was still trying to figure out how to get ahold of you to feel out the situation. But here you are.”
“So, this has somehow all been planned?” John asked.
“Planned? No,” Tali chuckled, shaking his head. “More like things just coming together. Happens more often than you’d like to think, but there it is. Listen, if you’re up for the job, I can arrange for you and your partner to stay assigned to this issue. You’ll be liaisons of a sort. It will put you on the outside with the State Department, because they’ll go insane trying to figure out what’s going on, but I think you’re pretty well done with them anyway. What about your partner?”
John considered that, uncertain what Leann would want. “I don’t know, but I can ask. She might not want to risk her career.”
Tali nodded. “Let me know as soon as you can,” he said, pulling out a card. “Leave a message on this computer forum with a username of digger. If you don’t know how to do that, have your partner help you. Just leave a simple yes or no, and I’ll get the message.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks, Tali. I am anxious about all of this. I don’t know much, but even to me, it feels big.”
“I think so, too, as do several other concerned parties. Don’t ask who they are, but they’ll be watching closely. Just rest assured, that these are the good guys.” Tali said before standing up from the bench, followed by John. Reaching out his hand, he shook John’s hand warmly, giving him a smile. “Thank you, Digger. It looks like you’re back in the game.”
“For better or for worse,” John added.
Chapter 15
Time: February 26, 2030
Location: Sea Base Atlantis, One hundred miles west of Empyrean Island, Pacific Ocean
“Welcome to Atlantis,” Alex said to Johan as the tram car slid from its travel tube into what looked like a cross between an airport and a train station. There had been no windows from when they’d entered the travel tube on Empyrean Island until they’d arrived since the tube itself had been constructed below the seabed. It would have been faster and easier to make it above the floor, but they had wisely decided that making them difficult to access would be advantageous for security reasons.<
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Johan raised his white, bushy eyebrows at his younger friend and smiled. “Atlantis? I thought you weren’t going to name anything Atlantis.”
Alex rolled his eyes, watching the various workers and other employees filtering into the station from the tram. Both men waited for the rush to clear before disembarking themselves and heading towards one set of escalators that indicated where they could get more local transportation.
As they crested the top of the long escalator, Johan caught his first glimpse of the outside through huge, clear windows that were set into the wall. The hallways were tall, stretching above them in an arc at over twenty-five feet. The windows themselves stretched almost that high, with only one thick span of wall material between it and its twin on the other side while following the entire stretch of that section of hallway.
Johan put his hands upon the transparent pane, staring out into the ocean before him like a child. They were far enough under the water that it would typically have been pitch black, but the area around the sprawling Atlantis base was lit with powerful floodlights shining out into the surrounding waters.
Large domes, some with vast panes of transparent panels like the one he was looking through, and others that were solid and only decorated with lights stretched into the near distance. Each was connected by one or more huge tunnels, many crisscrossing or meeting at junctions. In the distance, he could see two of the massive construction submarines building the shell of a length of tunnel that would lead to yet another dome in the near future.
Their construction techniques had evolved considerably since their first big project on Dubai. Instead of just dirt and sand, they now could combine most basic building materials from various tanks that held slurries of needed material. Each molecule was directed to its assigned place and then incorporated into the overall design using intense lasers to bond them in place molecularly. In effect, printing out each construction section as needed. Once complete, each section would undergo testing, before having the water pumped out and all necessary machinery installed.
It served to fuel the almost explosive expansion that Empyrean required for its ever-growing infrastructure. Once they had built the transit routes between the base and Empyrean Island, they had relocated many of the more sensitive labs and workshops here. It only took thirty minutes to travel from the island, which allowed the workers, scientists, engineers and other high-level employees easy access to their families whenever they wished. Atlantis itself stretched out for a mile or more, but most of the construction was actually under the seafloor since Atlantis had initially started out as a mining base.
“It is amazing, young Alex,” Johan said in awe. “Truly amazing. You must be proud.”
Alex smiled, looking at the older man fondly. Each year, Johan had moved slower and had gotten just a bit more hard of hearing which had broken Alex’s heart. “You’re part of this, too. Without you, I don’t think we would be here. At least, not this fast.”
Johan laughed softly, turning his bleary eyes to Alex. “You are kind, boy. Perhaps I do deserve a bit of credit for knowing that I needed to attach myself to your coat-tails, but either way, it is a work of art. I’m glad I was able to see this before…well, before I’m not able to see things like this any longer.”
Alex frowned, giving his friend a long look. Johan had been the first man to give him a chance, and since then, he’d been a father-like figure for Alex. He knew that Helen and her teams of doctors and scientists were working hard on improving healthcare. It was one of the primary paths she was pursuing along with food production, and she had made great strides in both.
In a recent conversation, she’d indicated she was getting closer to solving cell duplication problems, having the most significant challenge surrounding cell mutation correction and telomere shortening. However, she felt that might be a decade in the future. She was having more short-term success with replicating stem cells and reintroducing them into someone’s systems. It would help their aging regress somewhat, and that would likely help Johan the most. Alex was just hoping that his friend lasted long enough for the treatment to be perfected.
However, that was not to be today. Instead, he had brought Johan here to review the first space construction unit. Modeled somewhat off of the same submarines that were currently at work outside, It would be a modular vehicle with the ability to chain multiple tanks of construction material together at need. The central control module which housed the construction equipment, computer, crew quarters, and propulsion would be the first part scheduled to go up. If everything went as planned, that would hopefully happen next month.
After a few moments longer, Johan smiled and gestured that he was ready to continue with both men proceeding down the hallway. When they reached the main thoroughfare, it expanded considerably, providing more than enough room for the groups of people moving up and down its clean expanse. However, Alex took Johan over to a set of doors that led to a train which would quickly take them to their destination.
The trip took only another twenty minutes, leading to an area that was composed of many subsections which housed a variety of assembly plants and dry docks. They arrived in the busy section, each wearing a blue guest hardhat when they stepped out onto the assembly floor, looking up at the massive frame that looked all but completed before them.
The construction ship module was large, coming in about the size of a small commercial fishing vessel. The bridge was set forward on the hull, giving the vehicle a snub-nosed look, with the various manipulator arms and application lines writhing around its side and front like a massive spider.
In addition to the vessel itself, there was a large, bulbous-topped barge. When complete, the construction ship would fit within for its trip first to the surface of the ocean, and then above into orbit. Looking nothing like a regular rocket, or even a space shuttle, it was a squat affair that most would not guess could leave the surface of the ocean, much less ascend beyond it. With the application of anti-gravity, and powerful enough engines, it was more than possible
Piper and an enthusiastic thirteen-year-old Terry had worked with a team of scientists to develop a variety of powerful engines for both main burn and station keeping. Coupled with the lessening of mass and weight, it meant any craft or object they put in space would need an almost exponentially smaller amount of fuel for just about everything. It added considerably more versatility and meant getting much heavier or awkward loads into space.
The massive barge would not only serve as a launch vehicle but once in orbit; it would function as a berth for the construction ship while the lift engines would detach and return to earth to be reused.
“What is this fine vessel going to be called?” Johan finally asked after taking in the ship.
“Alex smiled. “We’re naming this one Brokkr, after one of the dwarves that forged the hammer of Thor. A fitting name, I think. Future vessels will be named after famous blacksmiths or metal workers from around the world, but I wanted to name the first one in your honor.”
Johan returned the smile, nodding before asking another question. “Are you still planning on launching directly from the ocean?” he asked, still looking up at the odd-looking spaceship.
Alex nodded, breathing out slowly. “Yes. The wave movement will add some additional vectors to the launch, but it will be better than using Empyrean’s spaceport. There are too many undocumented ships off of our coast, and since we’ve opened to tourism, it’s impossible to keep the spies and potential saboteurs out. China and Russia have not been shy about trying to steal our secrets, and despite our working with them, the US hasn’t been entirely innocent, either.”
“Saboteurs? Is that just a bit paranoid, Alex?”
Alex gave Johan a forlorn look before turning back to watching the crews putting the final touches on the spacecraft. “Maybe, but we’ve been pretty careful to only do a little more than the other big space-oriented companies and NASA. Sending up satellites and payloads at a cost only a bit less tha
n our competitors is acceptable, but when we send up this baby to begin construction of the first habitat, the cat is going to be truly out of the bag. I’m hoping to delay a bad reaction for as long as possible. In fact, the longer, the better.”
“Hmmm,” Johan said, rubbing his chin. “They will see it when it goes up. There will be no way to hide it. They’ll be watching everything we do in mid-orbit, as well.”
“Once we’re up there, we’ll also be able to see them coming. I just want to get out of the atmosphere without someone trying to shoot it down. That’s not actually the worst that could happen, either.”
“Oh?” Johan asked, his bushy eyebrows raising. “What could be worse than shooting our beloved craft down?”
Alex frowned. “Someone might decide we need protecting and use the opportunity to come in and protect us.” He said, making air quotes around the last two words with his fingers. “I don’t think they would appreciate our response or the end result.”
Johan chuckled, nodding slowly. “True, though I would never have thought we’d have the capabilities to repel an armed response, I am, at heart, a Viking, eh?”
Alex smiled though he hoped it would never be necessary. One of the side effects of developing a variety of technologies had come to the variety of uses for them. Some of those could be decidedly deadly, but others had revealed paths that could be used for defense, and while initially resistant, Alex had eventually seen the wisdom of investing in some of those defensive technologies.
“By all reports, we’ll be ready to launch on time,” Alex said. “Once it’s up there, the payloads of material will follow along, and we’ll begin construction of our first space station.”
“Have you decided on a name, yet?” Johan asked.
“Alex smiled.” Yes, I think we’ll call it Gateway.”
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