by Paul Teague
Then Dad surprises us all. ‘I can help here,’ he says. ‘I know how to get access to The Global Consortium mainframe.’
23:01 Quadrant 4: Dixia Cheng, Beijing
Xiang had drawn a blank. She’d explored the entire bunker but could not figure out how to reach the storage unit for the embryos. It would be quite a sizeable area and it would need to be kept very cold.
The only suggestion that she could find to indicate that there might be some other area beyond the main bunker was in the lift. She’d noticed it earlier when they’d first gathered at the facility, prior to the darkness falling: two unusual markings on the lift. She pressed the buttons, nothing. She pressed them in different combinations, but still nothing. She knew that the key lay in those unusual buttons, but she didn’t have the required access. If only she knew where this lift went – there had to be some hidden areas in this bunker.
Resigned for now, and alerted by a message from the Control Room, Xiang headed back to her position of command. Data was showing that the first drones had reached their target in the USA. She calculated that they probably had thirty minutes to an hour before the strikes began on her own facility, before the lives of her own team were put at risk, but more importantly, before the onslaught began which could end in the destruction of millions of embryos.
Earth’s second chance.
Chapter Two
Exposed
Mike had never been to the Head Teacher’s office before, and certainly not because of any misdemeanours, so he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He was met by two women and one man, all wearing dark suits: dark suits which meant business. They all wore ID tags, each one showing the same Global Consortium logo that had appeared on his computer screen only hours earlier.
They dismissed the Head Teacher from his own office. He went too. Clearly his authority didn’t extend to these people. The bottom line was that Mike was in big trouble. They were confiscating his computer equipment. He was to cease all hacking operations immediately.
If he agreed to accept these terms without fuss, his parents would not find out that he had been stealing bandwidth from his father’s employer. They would make up the financial discrepancy, alter the data records, and erase any history of Mike’s activities.
If he didn’t accept the terms, he would be revealed as a thief. His father would lose his job for misuse of company equipment. It would not play out well.
Mike was only young, but he knew when he’d been caught red-handed. He had no choice but to agree. By the time he got home, his computer rig was gone. His secret hook up with his dad’s ISDN line had been removed. There was no evidence that he’d ever even carried out any computing in that room.
Later, when his parents asked about what had happened, he’d simply announced that he was tired of computing and that he wanted more fresh air. Now that would be the day.
Nobody knew what happened to Mike that day. The school was not told what was going on, neither were Mike’s parents. The three dark-suited visitors had given him the lowdown on what The Computer Misuse Act meant, and having just turned sixteen, there was no getting away with its penalties. Mike was well and truly warned off and terrified to return to The Global Consortium site – for the time being at least.
Because they’d missed something crucial when they’d removed the equipment from his bedroom. Concealed underneath his copy of ‘The Hacker’s Handbook’ 1989 edition was the dot matrix printout that he’d made alongside his homework. It was the code matrix to access the wormhole that he’d created earlier, the wormhole that would remain open and undetected for many years before he would have the need to access it once again.
23:03 Quadrant 2: Balaklava Bay, Crimea
Viktor knew very well how to prioritize in times of extreme stress and pressure. As he watched the dots on his screen which represented the sixty or more drones heading towards his own bunker, he understood that they probably had about twenty to forty minutes before the strikes began.
The bunker was buried deep below the ground, surrounded by solid rock, so it would take some continued bombardment to inflict fatal damage. This facility was capable of surviving a direct nuclear strike of up to 100 kilotons. But even hidden beneath 120 metres of thick rock, that end would certainly come. There were so many drones launched that any other outcome was unthinkable.
For Viktor, rather than panic or issue ridiculous orders, this was the time for calm reflection, a chance to look at the angles and assess the possibilities. His increased Tier 10 security access had revealed the true purpose of his own Quadrant. It was two-fold. Quadrant 2 was essentially a place of growth and renewal.
Somewhere – deeper below the ground – Viktor’s own research had been deployed for human benefit, to grow crops hundreds of metres beneath the Earth’s surface, in darkness and using tidal seawater.
But this bunker had a much more sinister and destructive purpose too. He’d not been unduly surprised as he read the briefing notes. Quadrant 1 was not the only bunker that was armed. Viktor’s bunker was ideally positioned to access the Black Sea. Previously it had been used as an underground submarine base during the Cold War. It had been selected by The Global Consortium for precisely that reason.
Now it could be used to launch drone submarines. Over two hundred of them were concealed in this place. Only Viktor was unable to access them. They lay somewhere beyond his access level, hidden for a time and enemy unknown.
The truth is that they were never supposed to be needed as part of the Genesis 2 project. But like all good strategists, some clever person deep within The Global Consortium had deemed it essential to maintain a defensive capability, or even an offensive one if that’s how things played out. Just like the drones in Quadrant 1, Viktor’s bunker was capable of unleashing massive firepower, concealed by the waters of the Black Sea.
Viktor now had two objectives: to make contact with the other two bunkers which had not yet been taken over by whoever it was who had sabotaged this project. And, if that failed, to find a way to launch his vast underwater armoury, to annihilate the opposition and preserve the lives of his own countrymen.
23:11 Quadrant 1: Troywood, Fife
The doors open to Level 3 and Mum, Simon and James get out, accompanied by three of the security guards who will wait by this exit. I’m relieved to see that Kate is not there waiting for us, she still only has control of the top two levels. For now.
Mum hugs Nat and me and looks at us in a ‘they’re growing up fast, aren’t they?’ kind of way. I’ve grown up faster in the past two days than I have at any other time in my life, even I recognize that fact.
One thing that we did all agree on in the Meeting Room earlier is that we’ll only use stun devices, not proper weaponry. There’s a strong feeling here that Kate and her team are not doing this of their own volition. There’s no desire to cause any more deaths than are necessary. So Magnus has issued us with devices that can kill, but which are set to stun. I’m not quite ready for that level of aggression yet – I may be naive, but I’ve no desire to hurt anybody. I saw the state of James earlier, that’s quite enough rough stuff for me. I’ll be getting everybody together for a group hug at this rate.
So Mum, Simon and James set off to check out Level 3, and Nat and I head down to Level 4 with our own security team. We get six officers from the Quadrant 3 security team. Maybe they don’t trust us, we’re allocated twice as many guards. We’re all linked by Comms-Tabs and we’re in constant contact with Dad.
I just learned something else about my parents in the last ten minutes. Apparently Dad was a bit of a hacker when he was a teenager, in the days when computers were powered by petrol and screens had slightly more definition than an Etch-A-Sketch.
Magnus has given him access to one of the terminals in the Control Room – and the assistance of some of his best tech people. Dad reckons he has something which might be useful. I don’t want to be negative about my dad, but I do wonder what he might have that could help us here. An on
line video of a piano playing cat perhaps?
Nat and I walk along the corridor of Level 4 – it’s still eerily quiet down here. We pass the Transportation Area, but it’s the double doors right at the far end of this curving corridor that Nat and I want to get a look at. It seems to take us ages to get there, we must be really deep underground.
Nat and I are key to all of this of course. We need to stay alert because the team on Level 3 are going nowhere without Nat and me to operate the Transporter. I place my hand on the panel which operates these doors and they slide open. Nat and I are stunned at the sheer size of this area. It’s absolutely vast. I’m no sporting expert, but I would estimate that it’s the size of twenty or so football pitches. Like bats in a cave, there are hundreds of drones filling this massive area.
As if activated remotely by some dark force, one by one the drones light up, two red lights like the eyes of a devil. It looks to me like most of this hangar is still full. I’d guess around a quarter of the drones have been launched so far. I would estimate there to be five hundred or more of the things still in here. How many must have been launched already and what kind of firepower do they carry? I shudder just thinking about it.
These evil devices are what are currently bombarding the Quadrant in the US. It seems eerie to watch them launching here, knowing where they are heading. It’s a good job they can’t travel as fast as we can in the Transporters: they still have to use airborne technology to fly over to their destinations.
There’s a rumble at the far side of the hangar. Nat and I are shocked at first, but we quickly realize what is happening. A vast door is opening onto the darkness beyond, but it is shielded by a wonderful blanket array of lights which I can only assume stands between this atmosphere and whatever it is that is lurking outside. Effectively, somebody just wound down a window, but fortunately it’s not letting any air in from outside.
Whatever is out there looks more blue than black to me, although it may be this protective field that is causing that effect. The drones in this sector of the hangar activate one at a time, and as they do so they rise about one metre in the air, hover there as if waiting their turn, then shoot off at some speed beyond the bunker, towards their destinations. Just like wasps leaving the nest. And with the same spiteful intent, no doubt.
I’m taking all of this in, but Nat is ahead of me. We’re here to find out how to stop these things. There’s nobody in this massive hangar area, just us and the drones. But Nat has found a control panel area – it looks small and insignificant in this vast, open aerodrome.
However deep underground we are, this area seems to open to the outside world; we must be buried in a hill or mountain. I wasn’t particularly aware of the terrain when we entered as tourists. At that time I thought I was on a pleasant family day out. I hadn’t been expecting to save the world.
Nat is studying the console. It’s made up of the usual high-tech, multiple screens, no visible power supply and, of course, no instruction leaflet. Why anybody thought that we could sort this out I don’t know. Nat is combing the area like she’s part of a police forensics team when I rest my hand on a circular panel in the work area. It’s like a built-in mouse mat, but it doesn’t have a picture of a cartoon character on it like the one I use at home.
A small, technical unit disengages from underneath the screen on my right and the console powers down. Just like that. ‘You’re kidding?’ I say to Nat. The drones that were in the process of activation stop dead, like somebody just switched off the fridge.
The vast doors all around the hangar, not just the one that opened a few minutes previously, all close slowly and heavily and as the thud of metal on metal is heard, the force field protecting us from whatever is outside also disappears.
The hangar is still. The drones have stopped. I call Magnus on the Comms-Tab.
‘Have they stopped, Magnus?’ I ask, not quite believing that it can be as simple as this.
After a few moments Magnus replies. He’s just consulted with the Quadrant 3 Control Room. ‘The drones in the air are still activated,’ he says, ‘but we can see that they are no longer leaving the bunker.’
‘Good work Dan!’ says Magnus, ‘Did you get the enabling unit?’
I assume he means the bit that just popped out a moment or two ago, so I pick it up and answer ‘Yes’.
‘Bring it with you!’ replies Magnus. ‘Come and join us back here in Quadrant 3 as soon as you can.’
I pick up the enabling unit and grin at Nat. ‘Mission accomplished!’ I say, feeling pleased with myself. Moments ago this area was launching powerful weapons intent on destroying the remaining three bunkers. There are still scores of drones up in the air, but at least we held back the tide.
‘Don’t be so sure Dan,’ cautions Nat. ‘I know these people and they’re clever – and ruthless.’
There it is again. She knows something and she’s holding it back.
We stroll towards the double doors and press the button to exit, stepping out into the long corridor. Although it’s a long way up to the top, and the curve is obscuring our view, we can just see enough from here to know that Kate must have got access to this area.
The six people guarding the Transporter door on our behalf are lying on the floor, unconscious or dead, we can’t see from this distance. And the people who shot them are now heading in our direction, weapons at the ready and trained directly on us.
Enabled
Kate had received her briefing from Doctor Pierce and was to await the final codes, which he anticipated would be available shortly. Her new Tier 20 security access now put at her fingertips the full truth about the hidden levels below and their sinister secrets: secrets which were to have remained concealed, extreme contingency planning only for the Genesis 2 project.
She’d barely had time to digest the full extent of that information when Doctor Pierce re-established contact to provide the final piece of information that she needed. The kids had taken the bait. In fact they’d all fallen for it, Magnus as well. He’d certainly chosen the right Custodian to lead this sabotage. Kate had already shown herself to be ruthlessly focused and efficient.
When the boy had placed his hand on the activation pad, in that very instant he’d had his DNA signature harvested remotely. The sequencer had taken it, analysed it, re-created the patterns and duplicated it. Doctor Pierce had digitally replicated Dan’s DNA. Kate and her team could now access any of the areas that had been pre-activated by the twins. If only they’d got the girl’s DNA too, that would have opened up all four Quadrants immediately.
But for now, they’d just gained access to the lower levels of Quadrant 1. Wherever the twins went, Kate would follow. Quadrant 3 was next. But that would first require Kate to access her bunker’s darkest secret deep down on the lower levels.
Chapter Three
Access
Mike tapped at the virtual keypad which was projected just in front of him in the Control Room. Although he knew more than a thing or two about computers, he still preferred to use keyboards rather than motion swipes to control his tech. Some old habits die hard.
It took him a few moments to acclimatize himself to the device, which was the fastest bit of kit he’d ever used. They appeared to have much more than superfast broadband in this bunker. ‘Typical Government,’ Mike thought to himself, ‘Keeping the fastest broadband to themselves!’
He couldn’t figure out who made this terminal – there was no logo or brand name that he recognized – but he resolved to check the store catalogue when he got back home to see if he could buy one. He suspected though that this would not be available in the shops.
After taking a few moments to get over his initial disorientation, Mike figured out where everything was that he needed to use and set about entering the system via the wormhole, a wormhole that he’d left open twenty-three years ago. The chances of it having been undetected all this time were surely remote and, even then, who even knew if it was connected with whatever his family
were caught up within the bunker?
Sometimes the human brain can make huge leaps and seemingly bizarre connections. That’s what Mike had done here. Random elements of his life seemed to be fusing together: a threatening warning as a teenager; the reappearance of a child who he thought was dead; a son who seemed to have some kind of special powers, and a war that threatened the future of the planet. These things had to be connected. He didn’t know how just yet, but he was very pleased that he’d left that wormhole open all those years ago.
He’d memorized the details on that old dot matrix printout, because he’d taken it out and looked at it so many times in the intervening years: never daring to hack back in to take another look, but always wondering what lay in that particular box of secrets.
Mike tapped away, occasionally seeking the assistance of the technical experts that Magnus had assigned to him. Even Mike’s key tech assistant looked on in awe as she watched him work. Her look was like the one a nuclear engineer might give to a retired RAF pilot talking through the mechanics of an old jet engine. Their experiences are miles apart – and one is working with an old technology – but the knowledge, expertise and skill never go away even though the tech used might no longer be fashionable – or cool.
Mike knew his stuff, and he was soon on comfortable territory. The speed of his finger movements accelerated wildly as he could see his final destination in the distance. A code here. A password there. Enter the code matrix that he’d created all those years ago. A double click … and he was in.