The Abacus Equation

by Peter Stremus

  Chapter 23

  Pieter gazed in disbelief to Oona and Jonathan. He shook his head as if he wanted to chase away the ghosts in his brain.

  Karum was faster than Jonathan to meet Pieter and the Huttons. Just like the others he greeted them cordially. Then he addressed the group in the hall.

  “Can I have your attention please? Welcome everyone. Our small party is complete and our plane is ready to go. So, I suggest that we start boarding, the quicker we board, the faster we arrive at our destination. Don't worry about your luggage, which will be stowed on board.”

  He turned to Jonathan and Oona. “Your personal belongings will come later since you are now travelling ultra light.” Without further ado Karum led the way, the small group following meekly. Pieter looked amazed. Apparently he was the only one not knowing where they were going to. He asked Karum: “but, before we are even getting on board, shouldn't you tell us where we are going to?”

  Karum nodded: “indeed, Pieter. I realize that you and the misses Hutton and Oona don't yet know where this trip is taking us. Well, we are going to Africa where Ian Summerton is expecting you.”

  Pieter was not happy with the answer: “Karum, Africa is a pretty big place to wait for us. Can you be more precise?”

  “But of course, we are going to Luuq,” he answered and disappeared in the door of the airplane.

  Pieter walked up to Jonathan and said “you old bastard.”

  With some reservation he hugged Oona. Both of them confused how it all added up. Also Jane and Jackie looked suspiciously to Oona who smiled to them wondering what she had done wrong.

  “There is free seating on this bus,” Alex shouted from the cockpit as he saw Pieter clambering on board. He loved the amazed look in Pieter's eyes. A look that became even stupider when Brigitte turned towards him from within the co-pilot seat and enthusiastically waved at him.

  Alex steered the plane to the beginning of the runway and throttled to full power with breaks closed. When he released the breaks, the jet jumped forward and departed steeply from the short runway. It reached quickly its cruising altitude so that everyone could relax. Not very reassured Pieter observed Alex who apparently handled the jet easily and gallantly based on the smooth ride.

  Jonathan was sitting next to Pieter and whispered: “well, old boy, I hope we did not scare you too much?”

  “I thought you were dead. Shot by Oona.”

  “Nice piece of acting. If I may say so myself.”

  “Why?”

  “We needed you to bring out those documents. Without the additional pressure you would never have reacted so inventively. Admit it, without that phone call; you would have concluded that nothing was urgent. Certainly not with your attitude towards military secrets. And you would be sipping pina collada on your little island next to Jane and Jackie. Am I right?”

  Pieter did not answer. Maybe he was right. “And what about Oona?”

  “She was not even in the neighbourhood when you heard those shots. Blanks fired from Bramaud's gun. I had to, euh, deceive Oona a little bit to get her this far without too many questions. It had to appear logical that she would join me to collect you on this island.”

  “But how did you know we had landed here? The yacht was the perfect decoy. There is no way that you could have known where we flew to.”

  Jonathan admitted: “that was indeed a great escape. Not that I had expected anything less from you. I had to initiate the pursuit of the yacht and destroy it because everyone on the base had to believe that the information was sunk together with the ship and its crew. And of course I had some idea where you would be going. It was a matter of waiting for the right signs. Like the poor fisherman whom you almost killed. By the way, the trick with the Japanese floatplane was quite ingenious I must admit.”

  Jonathan continued and pointed to the cockpit. “Alex works for Ian Summerton. He had been informed that you were on your way. Apparently you caught him at a bad time during more pleasant occupations with miss Lafontaine.”

  Karun interrupted politely their conversation and introduced them to the family of four that had taken the seats behind them. “This is Professor Hans Liebeck and his family. Spouse Vivian and their two children Gregory and Lise. Professor Liebeck and his wife are both specialised in the study of fauna and flora in barren and extreme places. And of course you know Vivian as the manager of the resort. Lisa is walking into the footsteps of her parents and has already gained some fame with her research into species living in underwater geysers.”

  Gregory, who was notably younger, received a friendly rubbing over his wild curls. “This young lad has to urgently finish his school and than he can start as professional surfer.”

  Dr. Liebeck snickered: “I don't think do.”

  Karum turned to a Japanese girl who had so far kept herself in the background. “And this is Yuriko Yamamoto. Miss Yamamoto lectures western and eastern philosophy. On the resort she did not only lead the eastern therapies. She had retreated to this place to finish her lifelong work on the comparison between the world's largest philosophies. Let's say where Bertrant Russell stops, Miss Yamamoto starts.

  Pieter recalled that he had seen Yuriko while teaching Tai Chi to stressed managers.

  Karum spoke to everyone in the cabin.

  “Only a few of you know the purpose and final destination of our trip. So, let me provide you some background information. Even if I may not always be able to go into the details.”

  He switched on the LCD screen where a three dimensional simulation of a growing development started to flow. The image zoomed in a highly detailed satellite image from a region in Africa.

  “Sir Ian Summerton has set up in collaboration with the Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian governments an ambitious development programme. The location is at the point where the three countries meet. A, let's say, forgotten piece of land that has little economic, military nor agricultural value. The purpose is to build a prototyped society. Ecological, sustainable and self-supporting. Note that it is not a city. History has seen many prototypes of so called ideal cities, from Heliopolis to Brasilia. This society is based on new, yet already existing, technologies that for all kind of reasons, mostly economical, do not get foot on the ground in the rest of the world. The purpose of the project is purely scientifically, to learn from the practical implementations, so that in a couple of years this society can be duplicated in other parts of Africa and the world.”

  Vivian interrupted Karum. “Why Africa? Why not someplace else? I think it would be better to do this somewhere in Europe. There is a higher need there than in a god forgotten place in Africa."

  “Good question. The answer is simple: space. Africa by now is the only continent where there still is an abundance of open space. Setting this up in Europe would immediately strand in endless discussions about subsidies, where the project would be situated, whether the entire member states are equally represented etcetera. Australia and New Zeeland are bursting the past decades because of the large influx of the US, Europe and Asia. China and India have known the past years the highest increase in their population. Africa is no longer the lost continent. It has become the newly found continent. And it is open for all what is new and modern so that it is taking a quantum leap compared with the other parts of the world. And that space also ensures the necessary discretion to set up a project as vast as this one.”

  On the screen the simulated development and growth of buildings, parks, rivers, lakes, squares, industrial and agricultural areas were shown. Pieter noticed how the different elements grew and entangled naturally into each other. Forests hosted industries. Living spaces were seamlessly integrated in agricultural areas.

  “The total surface of the project is slightly more than two thousand five hundred square kilometre. About the size of Luxemburg. At this moment three thousand five hundred people are present, the next days that will increase to five thousand.”

  Karum had to constrain himself not to call out the exact numbers,
but he rightly assumed that for his present audience it did not really matter.

  “And who is financing all of this?” Pieter asked.

  “Most of the money comes from sheer optimisation of the current development funds and the world bank. By eliminating the hundreds of obscure, mostly fraudulent, projects and streamlining the management of the large structural organisations, we have achieved a status of self-funding.”

  He paused and continued: “Have you ever seen the movie Independence Day? A classic movie from nineteen ninety six starring Will Smith? At a given moment the president, upon entering a secret lab where captured aliens are being investigated, asks how all of this is funded. The answer is “Mister president, do you really believe a hammer costs two hundred dollars?” The director or scriptwriters were closer to the reality than they ever imagined. And of course there are several financial streams. Not to mention Sir Summerton's personal investments.”

  Pieter thought: “so the old man finally got his way.”

  Karum continued: “the people who are there now are a collection of technical experts, medical specialists, engineers, teachers, philosophers, journalists, social workers, farmers, biologists and so on. They are coming from all corners of the world, represent all ages, races and religions.”

  He paused but there were no additional questions.

  “And this is where you all come into the picture. Each of you has a specific skill set that is required and that is why we have approached you to participate in this project.”

  Pieter reacted cynically: “well, nobody did approach me. I'd rather call it a civilized abduction. And I think that applies to more people than just me in this plane.”

  Karum corrected him: “that is not entirely correct, Pieter. You have received an invitation from Ian. But you did not immediately or directly participate in the project. No, you have first spent a couple of years on the Egmont islands to ensure that the non fishing treaty was executed throughout the Chagos archipelago. That enabled the Doctors Liebeck to quietly do their work, without annoying disturbances. So, your task was crucial. I'll come back to that in a moment.”

  He looked at Jackie and Jane. “What concerns you, as you know sir Summerton has close ties with your father. The day that you both departed, also your parents left to join the team as biologists. In fact, we are bringing you back together. I must say that we have been very lucky to have Pieter or you could have died on the ocean. We knew you were in the good hands of Pieter. Although I must admit there was some fear about his flying skills. Let's say that at a given moment it was challenging to convince your father that everything was going to be alright.”

  Karum stopped to drink from his whiskey-coke. At that moment Alex entered the cabin. “I hope you are all comfortable?”

  He took the remote control of the LCD screen and switched from Karum's presentation to CNN. Pieter sat straight in his seat, just like all the others. The red bar with Breaking News underlined the excited anchorman's commentary.

  Alex pushed up the volume so that everyone could clearly understand what he was saying:

  “From a trustworthy source we have been informed about the detailed invasion plans from India and China into their neighbouring countries. Those plans have been detected on both nations' super computers by corporal Votilio, a US navy computer administrator. The corporal tried to release the details but has been murdered on his home base, Diego Garcia. So far it is unclear who is behind this murder, but navy officials suspect that Chinese Special Forces were able to intercept the corporal when attempted to sail away.”

  A recent picture of Votilio in his military uniform was shown. The voice of the newsreader continued while archived footage of Diego Garcia was shown.

  “Using the Abacus super computer located on the highly secured naval base Diego Garcia, Votilio, while doing some routine research, stumbled over Chinese and Indian military files. He was able to retrieve documents and simulations that in detail outline the expansion plans of both nations. It is not clear whether both nuclear powers are working together in what could be the world's largest threat. Despite the death of Votilio, the documents have been received by news agencies around the world.”

  “The Indian and Chinese authorities have already formally protested that these documents have been brought into the open without consulting them first on the authenticity. Navel experts are formal after their investigations that these files are real. The world is already reacting severely to this threat against peace. In most countries the ambassadors of India and China have been summoned for explanations. Cities such as Dubai saw riots with the Indian population. The Middle East as a whole is very sharp in their condemnation. The presidents of the United States and Europe have urged to stay calm and have begun a thorough investigation into the matter.”

  Alex turned off the screen and went back into the cockpit with two meal trays which he had taken over from the stewardess. “On the other channels there is very similar news. It is indeed better that we are flying to a somewhat quieter part on this planet.”

  Pieter took a more comfortable posture in his puffy leather seat. They were a huge difference with the worn chairs from his loyal Grumman. He was not too alarmed by what he had heard and seen on TV. The world knew about the plans, so it would be quite impossible for the Indian and Chinese government to even continue with whatever they were thinking. The community was on their back, so they would be more careful in the future. There would be an international investigation, some governmental high-rankers were going to be fired and the world, it kept on turning. He wondered if or when he would ever return to Egmont and see his house. He hoped that by then the pigs had not taken over his dwelling.

  He reclined the seat to its maximum, took an extra pillow and put it against the wall of the cabin.

  Through his eye lashes he noticed that the plane was taking a westerly course, following the sunset. He sensed that Jane was looking at him. And before he dozed off, he thought that he could see the same look in her eyes as in the restaurant just before Jackie had interrupted them. But that could also be wishful thinking.

  While he was polishing the two snow white outboard engines until he could mirror his stubby face, both engines fell off their support into the clear water of the lagoon.

  He was shaken awake from the landing and reclined his seat, sitting straight in the wide couch. His beard and hair itched terribly. His left leg was tingling painfully. He looked in the cabin and saw everyone happily chatting with each other. Obviously he was the only one who had slept the whole distance and was still tired.

  Pieter scratched himself without caring about the others but the itchy feeling only got worse.

  * * *