Escape The Grid: Volume 1

by Patrick F. Kelly

  “That sounds great. Well, I’ll leave you alone. I just wanted to say hello and that I love you.”

  “OK.”

  “OK, what? Sofia…”

  “Love you. Hey, wait. Can I ask you a question before you go?”

  “Of course.”

  “I was watching a video training on economics last night for homework and it said that a long time ago, everybody worked on farms and made food, but then society changed and machines did all of the farming and food preparation.”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  “And then it said that lots of people used to work in factories and stores and driving cars and working at restaurants, and then society changed again and computers and robots took over those jobs.”

  “That’s right.”

  “And then it said that people started their own businesses using the robots and a lot of people worked in entertainment, making worlds for people to play in, and games and 360 movies.”

  “That’s correct. But why are you telling me all of this?”

  “Well, mom, don’t be mad, but I don’t think I want to work for the NSA. I really like making worlds and being creative. I think I want my internship to be at a company that designs worlds.”

  Susan smiled. “Sofia, you don’t have to join the NSA. School is for you to learn what makes you the happiest. Middle school is when you’ll get the assessment tests. The AI software will monitor your progress and then send us a report to help you decide what you want to study in high school. You don’t need to feel any pressure to follow your mother. You should follow your heart. I love you. If you love building worlds, then I can talk to some friends I have at companies who build worlds, and I can get you an internship set up. But that is a long time from now. You just started the sixth grade. You have the whole year to learn before the summer internship. Keep your options open right now, sweetie.”

  “OK, mom. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll let you get back to it. I’m really happy with whatever choice you make for an internship. Just follow your passion. Bye, bye.”

  “Bye, mom.”

  Susan took the goggles off. Sofia always helped ground her in reality. She looked at her screen. 2 pm on the east coast, 11 am in San Diego, the plane was flying over Virginia. She would get back home in time for dinner with Sofia. She would order food a little later to be delivered to her door around the time she got home.

  Got to focus on my new assignments.

  Margaret had been far more hands-on than Susan was used to, and she knew the technological details far better than Susan had expected. For her first assignment, Margaret had logged on with her and went step-by-step through all of the minutia of scheduling maintenance for security systems at various camps. They had spent over an hour just dealing with some grid camp outside of Nashville, overriding the maintenance schedule and going through each selection. Susan was surprised at how well Margaret knew the details, the software and the configurations.

  It made little sense. Susan’s new job had tremendous scale and responsibility. Margaret was the busiest person she had ever met. Yet the Secretary spent nearly six hours with her, focusing on tasks that Susan assumed would be a low priority. They spent half their time together reviewing grid camps, looking at historical video footage and the video archival processes, reviewing camera placement and maintenance.

  Susan had expected to focus on border patrol or Interstate surveillance processes. The NSA dealt with numerous border crossing incidents every month, whereas a camp incident only happened a few times a year. The NSA monitored vehicle videos and scans to ensure that traffic was flowing properly and that illegal vehicles or illegal cargo was not on the roads. And yet, Margaret didn’t once mention border or Interstate safety.

  Perhaps she just wants me to start off easy. Get some quick wins.

  But why give Susan a title with so much responsibility? Why not make Susan an assistant to someone else, where she would start by focusing on the camps.

  Her time with Margaret had left her with more questions than answers. The new job would be the biggest challenge of her life. Securing the borders and the roads would be critical, and any errors might cause problems for Margaret.

  Is there something going on with the camps that Margaret isn’t telling me?

  Susan tried to piece together her recent assignments. The project with Soldier World was all about crushing the underground railroad. At least, she believed that it was. And the underground railroad had nothing to do with the camps. Susan had clearances for the highest levels of intelligence. There were no known threats related to grid camps. There were no known connections between the URs and the camps. Was there something Margaret knew that Susan didn’t?

  You’re being silly. This is ridiculous.

  You are creating a problem in your paranoid mind and then obsessing about it instead of celebrating your good fortune.

  Breathe.

  Susan took five deep breaths.

  Smile.

  Susan smiled. When one smiles, the facial muscles signal the neurons which somehow cause positive releases in the brain, making one feel happier. Susan smiled again. It was a lesson she had learned earlier in life but had to remind herself at least once a week.

  Your life is great. You have a wonderful, smart daughter you are about to see.

  You have a perfect job and just got a dream promotion.

  You report to one of the most powerful people in the world.

  Susan acknowledged her good fortune. She smiled and finished the gin and tonic. Then she pushed the button to order another.

  35

  TODAY WAS the day. Perhaps it was the day that Thomas died. If not, it was the day he took back his freedom.

  Give me liberty or give me death, he thought.

  Somebody said that a long time ago. Some leader. Who was it?

  Didn’t matter. It summed up his situation nicely.

  The package from Julia had arrived on time. It had several pages of instructions. Thomas needed all the details, because there was a lot more technology than he was expecting. Not for his escape but for sustaining the impression he hadn’t left the camp. Buying a few extra days by tricking the camp’s monitoring systems.

  Simple gadgets, really.

  Nothing that a company would make and sell, since it would be illegal and probably have no market. Instead, they were contraptions jerry-rigged together by engineers that worked with Julia. One device was for flushing his commode on a programmed schedule. It had to be somewhat random, but needed to average the same number of times that Thomas would normally flush. The same device would pull fluids and water from the overhead systems to give the impression that Thomas was in the room consuming.

  Some gadgets were more complex. A mini-robot would log in to the grid for him, using patterns of behavior consistent with his profile. This robot had downloaded all of his usage statistics from the last six months and would follow a non-linear pattern consistent with Thomas’ last six months. This robot should be able to fool the AI for months.

  Thomas had plugged the memory stick Julia sent into this robot, and it had compressed all of his essential data, login info and other profiles into a thumb drive he could carry with him. Using the thumb drive, he could hack into his system whenever he wanted from remote locations and log on as himself. The robot was programmed to sense his login and disengage. When Thomas didn’t log in, though, which might be the case for several weeks, the robot would log in for him to continue the deception.

  The weak link in the chain was his biometrics. One of the devices would be left in his bed and would emit an infrared heat profile consistent with Thomas’ body. It took about an hour to set the thing up and for it to learn his heat patterns. Once he left tonight, he would have to turn it on and leave it on the bed. The IR scans in the ceiling were randomly conducted, and this device could hopefully fool them, but Julia had the least confidence in it of everything she sent. She wasn’t sure if the camp used more sop
histicated checking than just an IR sensor.

  “Let’s pray that it works for a week,” she had written.

  Apart from all of the deception technologies, what Thomas needed for his escape was simple. The thumb drive, six cans of water, and a disposable phone with pre-programmed contacts for Julia, Debbie, Elizabeth and somebody named Tito, all under code names.

  After Thomas had done his fifth run-through of all of the equipment, he checked the time. 10 pm. His heart was racing.

  Almost there.

  Julia had advised him to be careful of changing his log in patterns abruptly during all of this, so he logged in to Resort World, just as instructed. She was supposed to be sitting on the beach near the runway housing his skydiving plane. And as he walked along the beach, he saw her in a crowd of girls, and she waved to him.

  “Hola, papi,” she said, as he walked up. “All systems are a go for the flight today. The pilot should be ready in two hours, just like we planned. And I invited Maggy to come with us.”

  Red-headed Maggy walked up. “Thomas, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in a week.”

  Julia smiled.

  Thomas smiled.

  The mission was a go.

  THOMAS TOOK OFF his goggles. It was 11:45 pm. Julia had given him a pep talk, albeit in cryptic language surrounded by Maggy Malone. But it was what Thomas needed to calm his nerves and prepare himself.

  He double-checked the toilet gadget. It was turned on and everything was connected. He grabbed the thermal profile emulator and put it on his bed, next to the pillow.

  It was surreal to think that he would never sleep in this bed again. It was crazy to think that he had slept here twenty years of his life. He turned the gadget on and set a timer for 15 minutes. He did the same for the robot that would log in later tonight. Everything was turned on, connected. Check, check, check.

  He grabbed his backpack. The phone was inside and charged. The memory stick was in a zippered pocket, next to a flashlight. The six pack of chilled water was in an insulated pocket. He glanced at the phone. 11:50 pm.

  Time to go.

  Thomas took one last look around the room. It was small, but he had lived here comfortably for twenty years. Once you put on the goggles, the VR worlds are infinitely large and it’s easy to forget about your crummy living area.

  Right now, he took it all in. He had spent all these years living in a cement cell smaller than a jail cell. But things were about to change.

  He opened his door and walked outside, leaving the door locked behind him. He looked up at the camera system in the corner, but it gave no clue whether it was on or off. He trusted Julia blindly and walked to the multipurpose room. No looking back now.

  Once he got inside the MPR, Maxime was in the corner next to the foosball table. They smiled at each other. Thomas hadn’t spoken to him for days, both trying to minimize any digital evidence of their collaboration.

  “Nervous,” Maxime prodded.

  “Like a blind man in a mine field,” Thomas replied. They were both blind men walking into the largest mine field ever constructed.

  Got to have faith.

  Maxime read his mind. “We have an amazing faith in people we have never seen in real life. Hope and a prayer, right?”

  Thomas considered. “I’d like to think our odds are better due to smart planning.”

  “I hope so,” Maxime replied. He pointed toward the door, “Shall we?”

  Thomas nodded, “Let’s do this.”

  They walked outside, toward the spot of their thunderstorm conversation. Maxime made a beeline toward the woods. He seemed better prepped for this part of the journey.

  He walked through the picnic area and crossed into the neutral zone - the point of no return. Under normal conditions, once they walked through the neutral zone into the wooded area, the security system would begin a red alert, signaling the local police, drone surveillance copters and the NSA. Maxime was dangerously close - maybe a few steps away - from the trigger line.

  Thomas held his breath and kept walking behind. Maxime took the steps in stride.

  This guy has absolute confidence, Thomas thought.

  Was it youthful naivete or a faith based on reason? Maxime crossed the line and kept walking.

  No alarm sounded. No drone copters fired up.

  Are we safe?

  Thomas didn’t know what was supposed to happen. Might there be a silent alarm? All he knew is that everything seemed safe. The security system definitely seemed disabled.

  The plan is working.

  Maxime turned and looked at Thomas with a “What, me worry?” expression.

  “I’m going this way,” he said pointing to the left. “You are going that way,” he said, pointing toward a road beyond the trees on the right. “Best of luck to you. If we never meet again, I’m glad to have known you.”

  “Likewise, Maxime. You’re a great guy. Thank you for helping me with this. Best of luck to you. I hope you reach your destination and find what you are looking for.”

  Thomas continued walking to the road. As he walked, he reached behind and unzipped the side pocket of his backpack to pull out the phone. The time was 11:59 pm. Everything was going according to plan. In the next few minutes, Elizabeth’s truck should pull up.

  Thomas looked at the phone again. Still 11:59. He looked toward Maxime and saw him walking.

  Where would he go? DC. Why DC?

  He’s going right into the belly of the beast. Thomas had plans to get as far away from the reaches of the Feds as he could. He looked at the phone again. 11:59.

  What the fuck? Is this clock working?

  Thomas could feel his heart beating through his clothes, vibrating his backpack. He wiped sweat from his brow.

  Another glance at the phone. 11:59 again.

  Fuck!

  Where is this truck? What time did Julia say it would get here?

  Take a deep breath, buddy.

  12:05 is when Julia said it would arrive.

  You’re five minutes early. No need to panic.

  What if she doesn’t show up? Thomas was exposed out here on the road. Could he get back and just go to his room and hope for the best? If the security system was disabled, then he might. He might go back to his room, just pretend like nothing happened, and no one would be the wiser.

  He looked at the phone. Midnight. OK. At least he knew the phone was working.

  Cool down, buddy.

  He felt like he was about to hyperventilate.

  Think about the fun things you can do with Julia. Think about your freedom.

  He imagined what the truck would be like. He went through the steps that Julia had told him about the plan for the truck.

  He would get in a cylinder. A robotic arm would pull it out and he would get in. The arm would then place him back. He would be trapped inside for at least two hours. Luckily, he wasn’t claustrophobic. He would get in, drink fluids for two hours, and wait for the truck to arrive in Jasper.

  Fluids.

  A feeling hit him. He had to pee. He had forgotten to go before he left. Too many things to think about.

  Shit!

  He looked at the phone. 12:00. This is crazy. How can time move so slowly?

  Well, at least I have time to pee.

  Thomas looked at the nearest tree and walked over and relieved himself. His heart was beating frenetically, his pulse racing. He felt like he would faint while he was peeing, and he had to lean and grab the tree to steady himself.

  Once he zipped up, he looked again. 12:01.

  What is wrong with you, Thomas?

  You’ve spent the last twenty years online with constant stimulation.

  There was always something to do. Always an activity for his mind. He could walk around one world and look up in the sky to read an alert from another world or an email from a friend. He was a master at multi-tasking. And now he had to stand here for six minutes with absolutely nothing to do but be patient. It was the hardest thing he had done in
years.

  He breathed deeply as he paced back and forth on the road.

  Is this the right road?

  He looked at the phone. 12:03. Two minutes left. He could pace for two minutes. He could do a countdown. 120. 119. 118. 117.

  He paced. He breathed deeply. In and out.

  Think about Julia. Focus on holding Julia in your arms.

  He lost count. Was he on 100? He looked at his phone. 12:04. He started his count again. 60. 59. 58.

  He heard something. Was it a truck? It sounded louder than a car. It was definitely a large vehicle. He could hear it but didn’t see it.

  Was it driving without headlights? Thomas twisted to open his backpack and pull out the flashlight. He turned it on.

  Maybe I shouldn’t turn on the flashlight? Will I trigger anything?

  He didn’t care. He had to see if it was his truck.

  The sound grew louder and Thomas shined the light down the road. He flipped a switch to change it from a broad light to a more laser-focused light. He traced the road and there it was.

  The truck. Thank God!

  He felt his whole body get lighter. The backpack that seemed to weigh 200 pounds just a moment ago now felt like a feather. This was happening. Everything was going according to plan.

  The truck pulled up next to him and the door opened. “Turn off the flashlight for Pete’s sake,” a woman said. Thomas obliged.

  Elizabeth walked up to him and said, “My name’s Elizabeth. I’m going to get you safely to a new home, but you have to follow every instruction exactly. We don’t have much time.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Thomas said.

  And he did.

  Eight minutes later, they were on the road again. Thomas was safely lying in the cylinder in the dark.

  Instead of feeling claustrophobic or impatient, he had a zen-like calm. Julia had come through for him. The plan had worked flawlessly.