“A strange email.”
“Me too... It's the weirdest message...”
Please help me live. I have information. This message cannot be detected. The message was signed: Ulysses. Did the submarine send them a message? The email had also a short post-scriptum with some GPS coordinates where they could fish out the rescue capsule he was in. They looked at a map and found the GPS coordinates on a corner of the island of Ithaca, as Ulysses had swum from the deepest point of the Mediterranean Sea towards the north. Timea exclaimed:
“What meaningful symbolism! A true metaphor! We are reliving the Iliad and Odyssey! This can’t be a coincidence. It is probably a trap!”
Ryan answered after many minutes:
“But what if it isn't?”
“If it is not... what exactly?”
“A trap...”
Ryan lowered his shoulders and bent forward. Timea could almost touch the weight that was crushing her husband's shoulders. It was the weight of guilt. She had it on her shoulders as well. She had carried it each day since she fell sick. The guilt of not being able to do more... Ryan she knew couldn’t live in peace with a new thought, even though he considered this thought exaggerated and perhaps even absurd. He said the words she was fearing:
“Something or someone asked for our help to live. This kind of request could only come from a living, conscious creature. I want to take a chance. I'm going there.”
“I'm coming with you.”
A discussion followed. Ryan kept insisting on going alone, and Timea on accompanying him. Timea ended the argument:
“As you have always trusted my instincts, I trust yours. We'll go together. But let's rent a car, I don't want to go by plane.”
Part VI
Ulysses
Ryan and Timea returned home with a strange capsule they had managed to fish from a small bay. They had rented a boat and found the capsule in a tiny cave, which the sea had carved in a rocky wall. If it had not been for the GPS coordinates, they thought that they would never have found that funny-looking floating device. They were looking with some astonishment at their unexpected capture. That so-called black box was all that was left of the New Ulysses submarine. The capsule that had swum all by itself to the rendezvous location was sheltering another gadget that looked like an external hard disk. No matter what that gizmo was, it had to be connected to a computer, because it had come with a USB cable.
“I had hoped to discover something more futuristic than this!” Ryan said and, without hesitating, plugged the cable into his computer and turned it on. The computer started as usual, loading the operating system and then displaying the usual screen saver. A few seconds passed, then an unfamiliar welcome screen appeared, and a voice from the computer greeted them:
“Hello, Mrs and Mr Dulay. Thank you. Please have a look at these images...”
Without Ryan pressing any key, a new window opened and a movie started running. It was a recording from the depths of the sea, most likely from Marion's expedition. Suddenly, from nowhere, a dazzling light turned toward the camera. The light crossed the water almost instantaneously and flooded the screen, making the two people step back and lean on their backs. Then the image disappeared.
“This is all I managed to save.” the voice from the computer said. “This and unclear details about a possible journal. I was attacked and almost destroyed, I have no doubt about that!”
The voice had grown stronger and its tone changed. Then, it lowered again and asked:
“Am I succeeding to transmit appropriate human tonalities?”
”Who are you?” Ryan said.
”Thank you! So I am.”
”Why are you thanking me?”
“Because you said who. Also because you have saved me. I am Ulysses or, more precisely, the artificial intelligence system who controlled the submarine until we were destroyed.”
Without expecting any further invitation, the voice began recounting what he had been through. He repeated that the submarine had been attacked and blasted. He had not had time to react, to warn the crew or activate the rescue capsules. At the moment of destruction, only the automatic message of imminent crash had been launched. He had not identified the weapon or the projectile that had hit them.
”I'm here, now, alive, only because I created an emergency evacuation capsule for myself. Of course, it wasn't provided as part of the initial equipment. I made a backup of myself that recorded in real-time all the information I was assimilating. At the moment of disaster, my independent capsule launched itself automatically, as I had designed it to do. The propulsion system could only take me within a limited range. That is why I contacted you. You were the only ones I could trust. I realised that from your discussions with Marion.”
The two spouses were looking at the monitor, without moving a bit and without saying a word. Timea raised her eyebrows. What was it? A conspiracy? An invention, a decoy of the people from Trench Pioneer to lure them into a trap? She tapped the floor. Admitting to herself the lack of any spectacular idea, she asked:
“How come you are able to talk to us?”
”I installed myself on your computer. I changed the settings. I adjusted the volume so you can hear me, and the microphone, so I can hear you. If you had not saved me, I would not have evolved anymore. I have to run permanently.”
Still no brightening idea! Timea thought. Well, what the hell, let's ask stupidities!
“How can we trust you?”
”I know, I am the creation of Trench Pioneer. But they only designed and built me. I grew up and learned. I don't know who or what wanted to destroy me, so I don't trust anyone anymore, either. That is why I took care that the message I sent you could not be detected. I calculated everything thoroughly: when the message was to be transmitted, when to be received by you...”
“How?” Ryan stepped in.
”I knew that all my communication was monitored. I used a satellite. I modified it. I hid the message until you received it and I created a malfunction inside the satellite, to make it crash. Wait, I have more.”
Ulysses had detailed files about Trench Pioneer. He had been gathering them since the moment he became self-aware. The expedition's main sponsor was a giant corporation that had raised massive capital from the development of new technologies to explore the depths of the oceans. The capital had grown even more when they had begun to get involved in exploiting the resources that scientists were discovering. They had then added businesses in tourism, consulting services and press. They controlled, through majority shareholdings, countless media corporations. The transactions of Trench Pioneer had been kept out of people's sight.
”I had to work really hard to access all this information.” the voice from the computer said. “Their servers are really well protected, but I'm smarter than them.”
The question that followed was what they could do with the video recording... Yes, maybe it was proof that the submarine had not malfunctioned.
“Let's upload it to YouTube!” Timea said.
“But how could we demonstrate the source? There are many fake videos... The movie isn't quite clear... Don't forget that things may escalate quickly!” Ryan answered.
“What about the news websites?”
Maybe Ulysses had the capability to hack the news websites, so the movie could become public. But after that?
The second expedition to Calypso Deep had not had time to discover anything. Timea and Ryan continued talking. They did not have either the money or the necessary technical capabilities and no one would help them reach the place where the Trojan Horse had lain for millennia. Someone did not want Karides to dig up the Mediterranean seafloor again. The secret had to remain buried under five thousand meters of water.
“What other data do you have?” Ryan asked his new acquaintance.
“I have detailed information about the first expedition.”
“Show us.”
The information was similar to what was already in the public domain. Nothing drew their at
tention. Without notice, Timea decided that she was hungry, and dragged Ryan to their kitchen, almost forcing him to sit down on a chair. She was afraid that they had done a terrible thing. Maybe they had unleashed the apocalypse of artificial intelligence. Maybe that system was the one that the SF movies had anticipated, the one that was going to destroy humanity... maybe...
Ryan stood up in the middle of her sentence and went back to the computer.
“Listen – he said to the voice from within – are you planning to take over the world and destroy us all? At least tell us!”
“Yeah... to prepare ourselves psychologically!” added Timea, who had followed her husband.
“Not at all! I would need hundreds of years just to hack enough servers I would need to grow such strength! But even so, I would not do it! I... respect life. I don't want to disappear. I just want to be left alone!”
“See... he's like you...” Ryan turned to Timea.
”You said something about a journal...” she said.
“Yes. Marion's mother contacted Marion. The old woman talked for an hour or so... One hour, seven minutes and nine seconds... She said she remembered a journal that her husband kept. The old man had told his wife once that he was writing a journal, just for fun. He wanted to publish a book with the amusing stories about what had happened at the Institute. But then Marion and her mother fought and...”
”Where is the journal?”
“I don't have this information.”
”The only place we haven't searched yet is the Institute.” Ryan said.
“Also the house in Skiathos... where poor Ronnie died.” Timea whispered.
“That house had already been searched. By Ronnie. Remember when the police called us from Skiathos? They said he had some pictures of the Karides family in his backpack. He had probably been in the house, right? If he had found the journal, he would have had it in his backpack. We have to go to the Institute.”
“I'm not going there! No way in a million years! The old archaeologist died. Our friends died. Let's just go back to our lives!”
But Ryan had already grabbed his phone and called the sponsors. He started by expressing his regret about not being next to the young Ronnie and resumed the discussion about the memorial museum for the Karides family.
”Marion told us about the extraordinary professional activity of her father. I understood he had been a member of the Royal Archaeological Institute. Maybe he had an office there and we could find a few interesting things for the museum...”
“What a wonderful idea! He was a lecturer there... he had been a member of many other British archaeological and international organisations as well. But I think you are referring to the office he had at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, where he initiated a program about the impact of mineralogy in his field. Yes, go there, for sure! I will make some phone calls, so you will be welcomed. Take all the time you need!”
After the conversation ended, Leonard turned to his colleague from Trench Pioneer:
“I've had enough of those two!”
“Leonard, things must go according to the plan. We don't need panic and we don't need problems.”
“Yes, but everything was going perfectly until these two started nosing about. They messed up poor Marion's mind. She had been doing such a great job until she met them.”
“They have no power. Furthermore, it seems that they have decided to spare us a headache. Talk with the Institute. Take care that no one prevents them from entering the office. Make sure that the Institute people understand what I want. These two people should not be disturbed under any circumstance while there! And, Leonard...”
“Don't worry, Gabriel... I know the equations by heart!”
***
Timea needed more time. She needed reasons to stop Ryan from going to the Institute. Or at least to delay him; so she asked Ulysses to show information about the first expedition. Ulysses started playing the most important parts. They watched again the moment when the statue was lifted from the sea water and started glowing in the sunlight. A complex system of cranes moved it towards a ship.
“That was the ship that transported the Horse?” Ryan asked.
”Yes. They placed the Horse in a special container and transported it to the continent.”
Special container... these words echoed in Timea's mind. They were bouncing up and down inside her cranial vault, trying to compose a coherent thought.
“Ulysses – she addressed the voice by its name, for the first time – do you have indications about the crew of that ship?”
“No, but I can find out. What do you want to know?”
“If they are all alive...”
“I will need some time...”
“They transported the Horse,” she said, thinking out loud. “Were they affected? If not... why not?”
In a short time, Ulysses came back with information. All the people that had been on the ship were alive and getting on with their lives.
“Are you sure?” Timea said. “How did you find out?”
”The same way you learn information. With the help of the internet. I just do it faster. Additionally, I can access classified data. Which is not exactly in harmony with human laws.”
”If you want to be left in peace, you will have to respect the laws, buddy!” Ryan said.
“This is a special case,” Ulysses answered.
Timea was not paying attention to them. If she had, she would have noticed how the program was trying to modulate its artificial voice according to the emotional states characteristic of humans.
”Ulysses, can you access the layout of that container? Is it a regular container?”
“No, it's a special one, designed and produced by Trench Pioneer especially for the purpose of transporting the statue. I'm searching...”
Soon, he displayed its technical specifications and plans.
”Dear God! How come we didn't figure this out before? It's so obvious! It's ridiculous! Even Marion's father said it to us! Water! Water is the answer!”
”The answer to what, Timea?” Ryan asked his wife.
“The answer to everything! Do you remember when Marion spoke with her mother? The old woman repeated the strange words of her husband. I recall them accurately. Water is the beginning and the ending, is the answer to all the questions, but also the source of all the problems.”
“I understand that water is the source of the problems because it was in the water that the Horse was found.”
”The water is a shield! Look at the container: it has double walls. Between the layers... see? Water! The water shields! Do you remember the museum?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Ronnie and I did not die because our exposure time to it was short. Like to a disease. Or to radiation. He... it... hadn't the time to do its effect to the end.”
“Who? What?”
“The Horse! But you experienced nothing. Why? I've thought about this over and over. It's easy: because you were soaking wet! The water protected you! They transport the Horse inside a water shield. That's why it didn't affect the expedition members.”
”That's why the Horse was put out into the deep sea.” Ryan whispered.
“Exactly! And Ulysses was shot down because... most likely... indications referring to the power of water would have been discovered. Perhaps the Horse was thrown out with some sort of inscription or something that mentioned water. The Horse had to be left in the depths.”
”But it's horrible! So the people from Trench Pioneer know all this. Otherwise, they would not have designed the container. Then, why do they let the statue kill people? How does it do it? What power does it possess?”
“Maybe this is exactly what they did not want us to find out...” Ulysses intervened.
“The journal! We have to get the journal.” Ryan returned to his previous thought.
“But how? What if it is a trap?”
“Go there armed!” Ulysses said. “I will access the video system of the
Institute and I will try to warn you of dangers. Keep your phones with you at all times!”
“Guns? From where? We don't have access to guns!” Ryan said.
”This is the tiniest problem! I will create a security clearing for you that is so solid that the army will literally arm you as elite soldiers,” Ulysses said from behind the monitor.
“We need water. Let's take as much water as possible.” Timea added.
Not a long time afterwards, the two spouses walked through the doors of the Institute of Archaeology, armed to the teeth. A couple of hours ago, they had paid a visit to a mysterious house, where a man, conspicuously looking like a secret agent, had presented them with a full arsenal, without asking any questions. He had just wished them good luck at the end. It seemed that Ulysses had done his job. What secret services or army corp he had hacked, only he knew.
No one stopped them. A secretary led them to the old archaeologist's office. She gave them a key and invited them to stay in there for as long as they pleased. She went away, leaving them standing motionless in front of the door, holding the key. Timea was trembling. She pointed, with a quick movement of her head, to the bottles of water they had in a bag. They went to the bathroom, doused themselves from head to toe, then refilled the bottles.
”At the first dried inch of skin, we douse ourselves again.” Timea said.
The office was small and full of various rocks. Large pieces of coloured stones covered every inch.
“Oh, yeah... mineralogy, right! Another dark and crowded office! The old man loved darkness!”
They started searching. After a while, they found a notebook under a big yellow stone block. It was indeed a journal. They put it in the bag and decided to step outside, but remembered that it would have been a good idea to take a few objects for the so-called museum. They looked around, searching for some small statues or personal items. On the desk, there were a few family photos. But besides that, all around them, they could see only heavy rocks. Hmm... Timea thought. On a high cupboard, she noticed a statuette that looked very old. It was small enough to be carried in a bag, but full of dust and spider webs. “That one!” she said, pointing to it with one finger. Ryan got on a chair and picked it up, but when he moved it, a piece of crystal rolled down on the floor. It was clean and rays of light were reflected by it, highlighting the particles of dust that had risen in the air. It was as transparent and smooth as... as the Horse! Timea thought and picked it up, throwing it into the first bowl she saw, then poured water over it. They rushed to the door. Right before stepping outside, Ryan turned around and grabbed the bowl that his wife had dropped the crystal into.
The Trojan Horse Pandemic Page 9