Wanda

by carl smothers

  Wanda

  By CL Smothers

  Wanda

  By CL Smothers

  Copyright 2014

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Original Publication Date: September 2014

  Revision 1: October 2014

  Revision 2: April 2015

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank my good friends and colleagues at the Robson Ranch Writers Guild, and David Marx for their encouragement and support.

  Angela Rogers designed the cover. She can be reached at misadvmom@yahoo.com.

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, technologies and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used facetiously or adapted to fit the story.

  Note to Readers: Wanda was adapted from my prior novel, The Wormhole Project.

  PROLOGUE

  The wormhole was out of control. It was like a Jekle and Hyde monster. Hyde was loose — threatening to destroy the entire facility and everyone in it.

  “Warning, self-destruct will occur in nine minutes.”

  Wanda was getting extremely concerned. Harry was trapped in the tunnel way and Pepper’s co-workers had escaped and left her alone in Mission Control. She quickly concluded that Pepper was in trouble and would not be able to achieve shutdown. It was a difficult call. If she intervened, without concurrence, she could make matters worse. I’ll give her a few more seconds. If she doesn’t contact me, I’ll have to initiate my own procedures, or they will all be killed. The wormhole will be uncontrollable in a matter of minutes. I hope she’s able to help me. I’m afraid me and the operating system are going to have one hell of a dog fight before this is over.

  The MCC walls oscillated, the floor rolled and the piping bent and deformed. Objects appeared as multiple images, and seemed to move around with a life of their own. It was like Dante’s Inferno accentuated by the stereoscopic sound of the warning claxons. Pepper tried to override the system, but no joy. She remembered Harry told her to immediately access Wanda if she needed help. Panic consumed her. She fumbled desperately and finally entered Wanda’s access code in her Qtab. Wanda immediately appeared next to Pepper’s console.

  “Have you been following the events here?” Pepper frantically asked.

  “I’m aware of the situation. What do you want me to do? It looks like all hell is getting ready to break loose.”

  “Wanda, the operating system has me shut out. I desperately need your help, or we’re all going to die.”

  “I understand. I expected your call any microsecond. I almost initiated independent action, but I was afraid I might confuse you. I think I can get in through the back door. I’ll keep you informed.”

  “Five minutes to self-destruct.”

  “Please hurry!”

  After a short while, Wanda reported. “I’m having a brawl with the operating system. It’s trying every trick in the book to shut me out. Very smart, but I’ve figured out a shutdown code that will work, and I’m sending it to your Qtab. It’s not a normal shutdown sequence, so it will fool the op system for a short time. You’ll have to enter it from the holographic keyboard.”

  “Why, Wanda? I can barely function. My senses are all confused. I’m getting dizzy and disoriented … I’m afraid I’m going to faint.”

  “It’s monitoring my actions too close and might intercept the code if it thinks I’m trying to interfere with it. The only way we can pull this off is for me to divert its attention while you input the shutdown sequence. If I lose my focus, even for one nanosecond, the operating system will find a way to block off this link. Even talking to you right now jeopardizes our efforts. You have to find a way while I’m fighting it off. I have to go, it’s trying something weird.”

  Pepper sat there confused, waiting for the code that would save them. The seconds seemed like hours.

  “Time to self-destruct is three minutes.”

  Wanda sent the twenty digit alphanumeric code. She appeared briefly on her link. “Do it now, Pepper, and don’t make any mistakes or the operating system will shut you out. You can’t imagine the fight I’m having. Gotta go … here it comes again ... Arrrahhh! She growled, as she confronted her attacker in cyberspace.”

  Pepper wiped away the tears streaming down her face and read her Qtab screen. Frustrated and scared, she slowly and deliberately input the code digit by digit. The keyboard appeared to be moving in-and-out of focus, numbers and letters almost impossible to read. Input of each alphanumeric symbol was laborious and becoming more and more arduous. I don’t know if I can do this. She was crying, scared and fearful she would make a mistake and kill everyone.

  With each second that passed, the wormhole instability increased, and the space–time continuum grew more bizarre. The room degraded into a hellish nightmare of contorted geometries and unnatural sounds — the noise of a monster escaping hell.

  “Time to self-destruct is one minute.”

  She fought her paranoia and continued entering the code in a deliberate fashion. It was becoming harder to concentrate. Tears clouded her vision, and she could barely recognize the alphanumeric symbols. Her terror was about to overcome her ability to function.

  “Time to self-destruct is ten seconds and counting down.”

  Her anxiety increased almost exponentially as she fought to maintain her composure. Entry of the shutdown code alphanumeric sequence slowed as she almost lost consciousness. The urge to vomit came back. Her head spun, and she could barely breathe. She fought her fear and tried to finish the task to save her teammates.

  “Time to self-destruct is five seconds.”

  “Time to self-destruct is four seconds.”

  Pepper struggled with her apprehension, fighting her panic, sobbing and trying desperately to enter the remaining digits.

  “Time to self-destruct is three seconds.”

  Terrified she would make a mistake; she wiped the tears from her eyes and carefully entered the final three symbols.

  “Time to self-destruct is two seconds.”

  With a loud grunt and her last once of determination Pepper managed to hit Shift/Ctrl/Enter. She had nothing more to give. She was done for. It was all over.

  “Time to self-destruct is one second. There will be no further announcements.”

  Pepper closed her eyes, and hoped death would be swift and decisive, Time stood still. Now I know the terror of facing death. I’m so sorry I failed … I’ve killed my teammates. She held her breath, envisioning the horrible pain of being torn apart atom-by-atom.

  Wanda

  Chapter 1

  The loft

  Washington, D.C.

  Harry sat on the patio of his new apartment reading the morning paper. He was so preoccupied thinking about his new job at the National Science and Technology Agency (NSTA) it was hard to concentrate, so he just skimmed the news and looked at the pictures. He found himself constantly checking to see if it was time to go. He was very excited about his new job, but at the same time, he was anxious. This was such a high profile project, filled with risk and critics that were looking for any excuse to shut it down. His inexperience still bothered him and that created a self-doubt that he was uncomfortable with. He wasn’t sure how he would deal with it, but he knew he had to.

  For some reason he glanced up and was startled to see a large UFO moving over the city at a relat
ively slow speed. What? A UFO? Here? He nearly had palpitations just looking at it. He couldn’t believe his eyes. All his life he had wanted to see a UFO and there it was! I wish dad could see this. He would flip out. I can’t believe this.

  Flashes of static electricity darted from the craft into the atmosphere, reminding him of the scary electrostatic machines used in old Frankenstein movies to create the creature. He estimated the UFO was approximately 10, 000 feet up, and it appeared to be about 150 meters in diameter. Its dark grey skin gave it an ominous look. Those contrails are weird. They look like long, perfectly spherical dual strings of beads hooked together. The bead diameters were identical and a beige hue made them stand out from the early morning light blue sky.

  Mesmerized, Harry watched as it slowly crossed overhead. They sure don’t seem too concerned about being detected, he thought. Suddenly the craft bolted and disappeared at a high rate of speed … without the contrails. Man, they must have some powerful inertial dampers to accelerate that fast and not kill the crew. Wonder if the contrails are some kind of sensor mechanism.

  All of his life, he dreamed of seeing a UFO and now … there it was, unexpected and him without a camera. His heart pounded and he breathed so fast, he thought he would hyperventilate. He just stood there trying to reconcile his amazement.

  I wonder what that’s all about. Why would a UFO fly so casually over D.C. and right over the White House? You’d think the Air Force would have scrambled some fighters.

  Chapter 2

  NSTA

  Washington, D.C.

  Harry’s anxiety began to build and his heart raced so fast he thought it would explode as his new Surface Transportation Vehicle (STV) approached the NSTA building. He got out and walked slowly towards the large glass doors that guarded the entrance. He felt himself tremble, and his mouth was so dry it was hard to swallow. He stopped short of the entrance and watched as other people came and went. He was a nervous wreck and felt foolish. The other people seemed so calm and obviously unfazed about being there. They were talking, joking, and seemed to enjoy themselves.

  I have to get this anxiety under control before I go in, or I’ll probably say something stupid or look unprofessional.

  He took several deep breaths, got himself calmed down and went to personnel to complete his new hire paperwork. He was preoccupied thinking about what kind of assignment they might give him, so he checked it over twice to make sure he had filled the forms out correctly. He was hoping his new boss, head of the Theoretical Physics Directorate, Bill Hart, would let him work on the wormhole project even if under another PM. In some ways, he wasn’t opposed to that since maybe that manager would be experienced and mitigate some of the risk. I could use a good mentor. After attending briefings by personnel and NSTA security, the Security Officer directed him to report to Dr. Hart.

  The tenth floor reminded Harry of a beehive. Every office and conference room overflowed with contractors meeting with the program managers. As one group left, others came in. They were there to try to pitch a new research program, report on status or get briefed on a project that hadn’t been released yet. It was an electrifying environment.

  This is going to be a wild ride, he thought. I can’t believe how busy this place is. It’s sure not going to be boring. How in the world do these program managers cope with so much activity?

  As he approached Hart’s office, he stopped short. His pulse raced and he knew he had to calm down before he met with his new boss. He certainly didn’t want to babble or appear nervous. He collected himself, and then continued and stopped at Hart’s doorway. His new boss smiled and waved him in.

  “Welcome aboard, Harry. I’m anxious to talk to you. Sit down, please,” he said as he shook his hand. Hart smiled, took off his glasses, laid them on the desk and then leaned back in his chair. “I’ll get right to the point. I want you to head up the wormhole project. Would you like that assignment?”

  Harry almost jumped out of his chair in excitement. He fought to contain his exuberance and simply said, “Yes, sir, very much!” It was all he could do to keep his excitement under control and maintain a professional image. I can’t believe Bill’s going to let me manage that program. Fantastic!

  “Good. I’ve assigned Pepper Martin to be your co-manager. Pepper can help you with project planning, structuring the request for proposals and compiling the final acquisition package so we can get this thing underway. As you’re going to find out very quickly, launching, and running a new research program is enormously complicated and requires a lot of sweat effort. You’re going to need her knowledge of how things work around here to get this thing off the ground smoothly. She’s not only technically strong, but she’s a team player and an excellent program manager. She’ll be enormous help to you and can mentor you on the acquisition process. You need to get your Top Secret clearance papers filled out and submitted. You’ll need that clearance.”

  “Thanks, Bill, I honestly appreciate the help. I’ll have my clearance papers submitted tomorrow. One other thing. I’d like to have access to the reports on the previous wormhole project you told me about during my interview. I need to understand what went wrong. I don’t want to make the same mistakes and get everyone killed.” I’m so grateful he assigned Pepper to help me. That sure takes a lot of heat off me.

  “I’ll make sure you’re cleared to access those files. You’ll have to wait until your clearance is issued to have complete access. Many are Secret and Top Secret. I think that’s a great place to start. My door is always open if you need assistance. Good luck, my boy. When you get settled in we can talk some more.”

  As soon as Harry sat down in his new office, Pepper came through the door with a big smile. “Welcome to NSTA. I hear we’re going to be working together.”

  “Bill told me. I’m going to need your help to pull this off. I’ve never been through a government acquisition before, and I’m a bit nervous. I’m sure it’s a very complex process.”

  Pepper gave him a smug smile. “It is, but don’t worry. I’m very good at it.”

  Chapter 3

  The Loft

  Washington, D.C.

  At the end of the day, Harry signaled his STV, and headed down to the parking lot. Jack, the system-operating computer of his sleek, new candy- apple- red Corvette, had the STV waiting for him at the entrance. As he approached, Jack recognized him and released the door lock.

  “Hi, Harry. Where to?”

  “Home, Jack. I’m tired.”

  “Roger that, boss. I’ve programmed your favorite music so sit back and relax. Traffic’s light so we’ll be home shortly.”

  Harry sank back in the comfortable seat, closed his eyes and thought about his first day on the job. He was exhilarated, but this was the big leagues. A PM couldn’t hide shortcomings, errors or failures. If you failed here, everyone knew it, no matter how much spin you put on it. I hope I’m up to this. I’m glad Hart assigned Pepper to help me. I’m not sure I could handle this project by myself. I can’t believe how complicated these government projects are. I wouldn’t even know where to start if I didn’t have her to help me.

  Jack activated the superconducting nanotechnology based, magnetic levitation system and the STV rose about twenty-four inches off the surface. Jack retracted the wheels and engaged the magnetic propulsion sequencers. As he increased the drive frequency, the Corvette STV smoothly accelerated out into traffic. “Do we need to stop for anything?”

  Harry thought for a second. “No, Jack. I just want to go home and crash. First day on the job, you know.”

  “Home it is.”

  When they got to Harry’s loft apartment, Jack asked, “What time tomorrow and where are we going?”

  “Back to NSTA. I want to leave at seven-thirty.”

  “Have a good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me if you need me. I’ll be in the parking garage.”

  Scooter, his new household robot, greeted him as he entered his apartment. He had a green Bass King fishing cap on
and a small pouch strapped around his middle. Harry could hear a fishing show playing on the hologram video display in the kitchen.

  “Good evening, Harry. I’m so glad you’re home. What do you want for dinner? You forgot to text me.”

  “Sorry, work was crazy today. Can you make a casserole?”

  Scooter raised his head and rotated it slightly to show a bit of amusement. “Does a one-legged frog swim in circles, Harry?”

  That’s an interesting question … does he? Harry thought, fully amused by the query.

  “Why don’t you just relax for a while? Would you like a drink?”

  “I’ll take a rum and diet cola? Please go heavy on the rum.” Harry enjoyed his R and C. It helped him relax after the day’s work, — his stress reliever.

  “You got it, pal.”

  Harry bought the little guy at a local robotics store to perform routine household duties. Although most household robots were somewhat humanoid in appearance, he wanted a vintage design similar to the ones in the old 1950s science fiction movies he and Wanda watched when they were kids. Since few people wanted such an antiquated type design, the little robot had been in the store’s inventory a long time. They were anxious to move him out, so the clerk gave Harry a big discount incentive. The funny thing was, Harry would have bought him at full price.