Migration: Beginnings (Migration Series Book 1)

by Walter Hopgood

  “Dear Doctor Tambor,” he reads. “I would like to officially congratulate you on your new position as Chief Scientific Liaison for Military Matters and Project Manager of the Migration project. Your starting salary will be…” Rhys’ eyes get big, and he looks up. “Oh shit!” he says.

  “Thhitttt,” one of the neighbor kids repeats, and Rhys is immediately appalled that he’d just taught an impressionable young mind to cuss.

  “Your Uncle Rhys is a bonehead,” Jason says, leaning down and grabbing the child, pulling her into his arms. “Can you say ‘bonehead?’” Jason asks, his voice mirthful.

  The little girl looks playfully at Jason and giggles out a response.

  Rhys shows Jason the letter, pointing out the outrageous salary, and then that it is signed ‘General John Landingham’ before he pulls out the second page, which is addressed to Jason. He has also been hired, with an equally outrageous salary, and the title of Assistant Project Manager, Chief Civilian Liaison, and Historical Documentarian.

  “Historical Documentarian?” Jason questions, showing Rhys and Franks the offer. “How cool is that going to look on my résumé?”

  The hiring packet gives them some colorful discussion over the dinner table, answering questions for the neighbors who hadn’t been filled in yet. As Rhys tries to direct their conversation back to the project, Jason suddenly blurts out, “Uh, did you already quit your other job, boo?”

  Rhys stops mid-movement, his fork hovering just outside of his mouth as he ponders what Jason had just said. “Yeah, I guess I need to do that, don’t I?” he asks. “Harvey is gonna be pissed…” he adds, giving Jason a wry smile.

  There’s more conversation as Rhys’ mind returns to his new job and responsibilities. “Migration…” he says, letting the word dangle in the lull of the conversation. “Oh wow,” he exclaims as the full weight of the word and all its implications jumble with the rest of his thoughts. “You know what this means?” Rhys asks.

  “Does what mean?” Leslie and Scott ask almost simultaneously.

  Jason shakes his head, confused, but Franks just gives a slow nod in response as she takes a bite of her burger. Chewing it, she says, “Well, I kinda figured that out after they brought me up to speed on everything.” She wipes her mouth, and adds, “It’s really the only logical conclusion.”

  “What is?” Jason asks, then mutters, “Migration…” Suddenly his eyes light up, and he gets pretty animated. “Oh my God,” he says. “We’re going to lead a migration to a whole new planet?”

  “That’s the plan…” Rhys says, quickly adding, “Or at least, that’s what I think the plan is.”

  The table is silent for a few seconds as everyone contemplates the future.

  Standing, Rhys says, “This calls for a bottle of wine.”

  “Better make it two,” Jason calls after him.

  Scott stands, glancing down at his wife. “I’ll go get the rum,” he says with a wink.

  “Woohoo! It’s a party!” Leslie says, dancing in her chair. Jason nods in agreement.

  Rhys returns a few minutes later with a couple bottles of Pinot. “The good stuff,” Jason remarks as he chooses the first to be opened, and grabs a handful of glasses as Rhys makes quick work of the cork. And this time, he smiles as Franks finally decides to partake.

  Chapter 35

  The flight back to Sacramento, which comes three days after Rhys and Jason have officially been hired by the United States government, is relatively quick. Franks arranges for an 11:00 a.m. departure and makes herself scarce once they board and finally get underway. Jason reads, and Rhys augments the copious amount of notes he’s been making with new thoughts as they occur to him. As Rhys is typing, lost in his work like normal, he feels the slight descent of the plane, indicating their impending return to Sacramento. A few seconds later, Franks shows up. It’s only then that Rhys checks his watch, noting it’s nearing 1:00 p.m., the almost two hours since they left Portland having gone by in an instant.

  “General Landingham would like to meet with you after we land,” Franks says, indicating both Rhys and Jason. “He says he’d like to go over a couple things before the full team meeting tomorrow morning.”

  “We can do that,” Rhys says, saving his work and starting to shut down the laptop he’s working on. Once it’s shut down and stowed, he pulls out a notebook and a pen, to jot down new thoughts that come to him, though he never gets a chance to write anything down. And while he tries to think about the project, he mostly just sits back and considers how they got to where they are.

  Once they are wheels down, deplaned, and settled into a car, it’s a quick trip over to the base warehouse where General Landingham awaits.

  “Gentlemen,” Landingham says as they walk into the building, “Welcome back.”

  “General,” Rhys says, walking up to Landingham and shaking his hand, Jason right behind him.

  “Good flight?” Landingham asks, and hands the pendant over to Rhys.

  Jason and Rhys give him a nod, and Jason replaces the imitation pendant with the real one, securing it on a chain around his neck.

  “So what’s going on, sir?” Rhys asks. “Want to plan how we’re going to handle the team tomorrow?”

  Landingham shakes his head. “No, Doctor; that’s all you. You will oversee the team and the project as you see fit.”

  Since the conversation has already been steered that way, Rhys pushes it along further. “So this project,” he says, then adds, “Project Migration…”

  “Indeed,” Landingham says with a knowing nod. “After the evacuation of Europe, and the loss of European resources, Earth has indeed had its resources stretched quite thin. If this thing allows us to move some of Earth’s population or at least allow for additional natural resources to supplement our own, that can only be a good thing for the whole planet.”

  “Wow,” Rhys says. He knew that it was probably the case, but hearing it out loud, from the lead military person, makes it all that much more real.

  “So, how will we know if that planet is habitable, anyway?” Jason asks.

  Pulling out his phone, Landingham keys in a few words, sending a message to someone. “We’re about to start that process,” he says, glancing at his phone when there’s a reply. “That’s why I wanted to present that to you now,” he adds, pointing at the pendant. “Before anyone shows up.”

  There’s soon the faraway sound of quick steps, followed by one of the scientists, Doctor Ingred von Schoor, coming through the door with a heavy sigh. “You beckoned, John?” she calls halfway across the warehouse. When she spots Rhys and Jason, she manages a brilliant smile and a wave, but when her eyes land back on Landingham, they hold a bit of what can only be described as playful scorn.

  “Oh,” General Landingham says, giving her a sweet smile, “I forgot to ask; can you bring that little special project that I had you working on? Please?”

  Von Schoor rolls her eyes and huffs out a playful sigh. “Jackass,” she mutters. “Why didn’t you text me that you wanted me to bring Rollo?”

  “Rollo?” Rhys questions, but it’s Jason who bursts out in laughter as von Schoor disappears back behind the door, muttering under her breath.

  When Jason catches his breath, he finally asks, “Jackass?” before laughing again.

  Turning back to the doorway that von Schoor had disappeared through, Landingham sounds almost wistful when he says, “I like her; she’s spunky.”

  “Spunky, sir?” Rhys asks as they hear von Schoor approaching again, this time much slower.

  Sighing, Landingham says, “All of the other scientists are afraid of me, except von Schoor; she’s not afraid of squat.” The look Landingham holds tells Rhys that he’s quite smitten with the scientist.

  Just as Rhys goes to respond, von Schoor throws open the door once again, ignoring the fact that the metal door bangs against the wall behind it, the sound echoing throughout the building. She walks through with a controller in her hand, typing in a few commands of
some sort.

  Jason just mutters, “What the…” as von Schoor walks, the rugged looking machine preceding her.

  “Gentlemen,” General Landingham says as he gestures toward the thing that looks like a laptop with external sensors and all-terrain wheels, “this is Rollo.”

  Rhys leans down and examines it, calling off the different features he thinks he recognizes until von Schoor gets tired of the questions. “Oxygen sensor, toxicity screener, microscopic water filters, seven gyroscopes to keep it upright even in rocky terrain, and a heavy-duty laptop that allows it to make autonomous decisions on where to go. It can scoop up soil, and check for contaminants and pollutants, while taking readings to tell us about breathable atmosphere, amount of oxygen and nitrogen in the air, and if there are any microscopic, dangerous impurities. And finally, if it’s not raining,” she types a few commands onto her tablet and some lenses extend out from underneath a cover, each pointing in different directions, “it can take pictures of the night sky, so it can help us determine where he is in the galaxy. Or even what galaxy it’s in.” She glances over at the cludiant, and says, “But it’s all a gigantic waste of time until we get that damn thing to work.”

  “Yes, about that,” Landingham says, raising an eyebrow. He turns to Rhys, where he gives him an imploring look. “Would you mind?”

  Rhys nods, and walks over to secure the pendant into the hidden slot, then steps back a few feet. As he returns to Jason’s side, there’s the brief flicker, and the smell of ozone as electricity courses through the air; suddenly the area inside the triangle shape is transformed, a dark, moon-filled sky scene coming into existence.

  “You…” von Schoor says, not taking her eyes off the scene for a moment. She crosses her arms at first, then unfolds them, playfully whacking Landingham on the shoulder before she walks closer to the cludiant. “Bastard,” she finally says as she turns back to the general though her voice holds no heat. “Why didn’t you tell me?” But instead of waiting for an answer, she goes to stand in front of the device, not saying a word.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Jason says as he walks up and stands next to her, Rhys joining them a moment later.

  Nodding, she says, “It sure is.” She glances down, then at Jason, pointing to his bare neck. Closing her eyes and shaking her head gently, she says, “The charm…I should have known!” as she realizes how the device works. She shakes her head, and glances back at Landingham before breathing out a heavy sign and turning back to study the nocturnal image.

  They stand there and ponder the scene in front of them until von Schoor finally breaks the silence and turns to the general. “So, should I deploy Rollo?” she asks.

  “Absolutely,” General Landingham replies. “I’m not sure how much nighttime there will be, but the more pictures Rollo can get before morning, the better.”

  Von Schoor nods, checking her data pad. “You,” she barks, Rhys pointing to himself since he’s not sure if she’s calling him or Jason. “Yeah, you’ll do. Set that ramp back on the base so Rollo has a clear path.”

  Rhys does as he’s told, and he can tell when Rollo is on his way without even looking back, by the mechanical sounds that echo off the walls.

  Checking his watch, Landingham says, “Set him on an eighteen-hour cycle.”

  Nodding, von Schoor plugs in the few variables and aims Rollo for the ramp, where he sits.

  “Here goes nothin’,” she says, and presses something on her screen. Rollo responds immediately, starting up the short ramp and continues on until it gets to the barrier between the worlds. As soon as the front of the robotic vehicle touches the flickering screen, it slowly becomes bathed in an electric blue light as it passes through the event horizon. The light is bright enough to cause those watching to squint, but quickly fades as Rollo continues his journey, completely passing through and ending up on the foreign planet.

  Von Schoor hits a button and Rollo stutters to a halt. “Still responsive,” she says. “It’s like he’s on the other side of the room instead of…Well, instead of wherever he is.”

  The general gives Rhys a quick nod, so he kneels down, taking out the pendant and letting the beams begin their slow countdown to disconnection. “And how is Rubens coming with the program?” Landingham asks.

  “Slow,” von Schoor replies. “But this,” she says, using her data pad to gesture to the now quiet machine, “well, you could say it’ll light a fire under his ass.” She presses a few buttons on the data pad and Rollo’s cameras come out from their protective case. They stand there momentarily, and watch as the robotic laptop begins its journey, heading away from them, and the scene flickers out of existence.

  “Good,” Landingham says as he slowly turns and heads for the doorway. “Good.”

  That night at the base house Landingham has appropriated for them, there is a buzz of excitement that Rhys and Jason share. Jason and Rhys talk about the possibilities the project could bring; Jason is just excited for the adventure, while Rhys talks about the ability to not only explore a whole new planet, but also settle on it—permanently. Franks comes by after dinner to check on them, and they invite her to stay and share another bottle of wine.

  Chapter 36

  Morning comes, though if Rhys was honest with himself, he slept very little the night before. He and Jason get up and go for a run to try and get rid of excess energy, following the running pathway that’s been worn down by excessive use over time. Once they’re back, they have a quick breakfast and shower, then wait to get picked up by Franks for the drive back to the warehouse. They swap out the decoy pendant for the real one before they get back to the warehouse, to keep up the illusion.

  “Good morning!” Rhys announces as he and Jason walk into the room. Immediately they are welcomed by the gathering of scientists, and there is a quiet buzz of voices as people get reacquainted with Rhys and Jason.

  Gathering everyone’s attention, Landingham starts out addressing the entire group. “Today begins a bright, new adventure for the people of Earth. As Doctor von Schoor suggested a few days back, we did bring back Doctor Tambor and his husband, Jason. And that, my friends, was one of the wisest decisions of this project.” Landingham makes a gesture to Rhys and nods to the cludiant. “If you would be so kind,” he says.

  But instead of Rhys going to the device by himself, he grabs Jason by the elbow, leading his husband to stand in front of it. Rhys nods to Jason, who pulls the pendant from around his neck as Rhys leans down and moves the ramp to the side, allowing Jason to insert the pendant into the slot, turning and smiling to Rhys when it clicks into place. He reaches out and takes Rhys’ hand in his, and steps back a few feet, as the cludiant flickers, and a stormy day appears on the triangular empty space where the wall was once displayed. Judging by the scene, and how dark the sky is, Rhys can’t tell what time it is. But the strong winds, based on the oft-bending tree limbs and lightning in the distance, tell Rhys that the planet is at least ecologically interesting.

  From behind them, Rhys hears one of the scientists say, “So that’s where Rollo went. Dammit, Ingred! Why didn’t you tell me?” Looking down at the ground in front of them and just beyond the event horizon, they spot the rugged little robotic machine waiting patiently. Rhys is so excited to hear the findings that he’s practically vibrating.

  “So, what does Rollo say, Doctor von Schoor?” Rhys calls back.

  “Boo, look,” Jason says, pointing to the upper part of the triangle.

  Rhys looks up, spotting a bright spot that wags up and down slightly, and it doesn’t take long for him to figure out that it’s a branch of an unseen tree, jutting through the event horizon.

  “Hold on a second,” Rhys says. He keeps his eyes on the branch as he steps toward the cludiant, and reaches down for the pendant. He tries to release it, but it won’t budge. “Can you try, Jase?” he asks.

  When Jason can’t pull the pendant out either, Rhys says, “I think it’s safe to say that the device cannot be turned off if the fi
eld is active—which is good to know.”

  “Yes, but how long will it stay active?” Doctor Burnaby asks. “I mean, is it indefinite? We know it appears to be a two-way journey, at least based on that branch sticking through.”

  The room is quiet, with everyone’s attention on the scene in front of them, the only sound coming from von Schoor as she types on her data pad.

  “Hey look at that,” Rhys says, pointing to the concrete floor in front of them.

  There are quick flashes of light that shine on the event horizon, but Rhys draws everyone’s attention to the floor, where there seems to be raindrops coming from the distant planet and passing through the cludiant, and coming to rest on the grey slab floor.

  “Looks like it’s really starting to storm,” Jason says. He reaches out, pulling Rhys back a few more feet, saying, “Just in case; you never know.”

  “So what about Rollo?” Landingham asks.

  Von Schoor steps to a nearby monitor and sends the data from her data pad to the gigantic screen so everyone can see it. “Oxygen and nitrogen comparable to Earth, with very little pollutants found. There’s a bit of carbon in the air, but that’s probably due to forest fires or something similar. Could be a campfire, if there’s an indigenous population.” She grabs a laser pointer and directs attention to different parts of the screen. “Though, Rollo didn’t come across anything that could be recognizable as a person or a building. Just a similar device he’s currently sitting in front of right now.”

  “Disease? Contaminants? Contagions?” Landingham asks.