by Paul Teague
‘Dan, I’m sorry but your mum will have to stay there until our mission is completed. Once the bunker doors are closed, they must remain that way until clearance is given.’
Now I know that Kate is deceiving me. Whatever that man is doing at the bunker entrance, Kate clearly knows nothing about it. She either believes that the bunker doors can’t be opened or she’s knowingly lying to me. How do I know that she’s lying? Well, the figure pictured on Kate’s screen has Mum’s face, but is wearing a skirt, fleece and t-shirt. The face is Mum’s. But the clothes are not.
Kate has just tried to deceive me with a photo edit. It’s very well done, of course. But whoever that is on the floor of the cottage, it’s not my mum. But Kate obviously wants me think that it is. Maybe she just wants to stop me worrying. Perhaps it’s just not a priority for her. She doesn’t know what I know.
At this precise moment, the man who should be sitting at the empty work station right in front of me is in the process of retrieving her from beyond the bunker doors. How do I know? Because on the vacant workstation is a photo of him, his wife and his kids. They look nice, like they’re all having fun. These people have obviously been allowed to bring mementos with them into this bunker. And next to the photo of his family is something else that must be very important to him. It’s a photo of the man I just left in the corridor, much younger and dressed in a military uniform. And standing next to him, much younger and as I’ve never seen her before is my mum.
Exceptional
This has never happened before. Zero-97/4 and Zero-98/4 have shown themselves to be completely exceptional. But we’ve ended up with casualties. This is going to cause problems for the program. She was the one who realised it first.
In an exchange that took an instant, she showed him what they would have to do to beat this situation. It was an exceptional and extraordinary action. Any of the test subjects who’ve made it this far behaved with complete consistency. When faced with enormous, massive and sudden stress. When confronted with imminent violence and the possibility of death. After complete disorientation and a total and immediate change of situation. With terrible and impossible decisions having to be made in a ridiculously short time. 99.9% of the test subjects who reached this stage did the same thing every time. They made the only decision that you can in these circumstances. ‘Kill me’ they would say, sometimes both of the test subjects at exactly the same time. The lasers would fire, but the test subjects would be stunned, not killed. But Zero-97/4 and Zero-98/4 have messed it up completely. Nobody has chosen as they have chosen in that 10 seconds of fear, adrenalin and panic. All of the test subjects would be able to act logically, selflessly and unilaterally. Ordinary people, under stress, but doing the right thing. Saving the people they love most, making the sacrifice that they know they must. In the face of massively conflicting and confusing information.
But Zero-97/4 and Zero-98/4 have done something so clever that in all the tests that have been carried out, nobody else has even thought of it. Most of them have given themselves up for dead. Zero-97/4 and Zero-98/4 have seen another way out in what they thought were the final ten seconds of their lives. There is no need to accept certain death. They’d seen what the lasers could do, most people thought that was their only option. But it wasn’t.
She’d seen it first, and he’d accepted it a moment later. If they shot each other they could potentially buy more time. It was the only way they could possibly buy more time. They would need to make it look good, and of course it would be painful. We define who we are in moments of greatest stress. And they weren’t getting out of this any other way. He was more accustomed to weaponry, he knew that he would need to shoot somewhere near the stomach, not directly at it, but to the side. Not to kill, not to maim, but to make it look convincing. To buy time, in case they were rescued. In case they could escape in some other way. She was not so accustomed to the weaponry. Basic training had not entailed shooting real people. This was the first time she’d shot into flesh. She had meant to shoot for the shoulder, close enough to make it look like a heart wound with all that blood.
She misfired and shot him in the head. As she fell to the ground in excruciating pain, she knew that she’d probably killed him. As she glided into unconsciousness those were her final thoughts. Neither of them knew that this was just another simulation. The entire exercise had been repeated hundreds of times.
It was so well rehearsed and they were so certain of the outcomes that nobody had ever thought that one of these specially selected candidates would ever shoot each other. In statistical terms it was impossible … or, to be more accurate, completely improbable. There would be massive fallout over this. They’d have to cover it up, make sure she was removed from the Army, placed out of harm’s way. It was she who’d triggered the impossible outcome. He was less dangerous to the program, her colluding partner, if he lived through this, he’d be able to stay.
As events unfolded, both of them lived, precisely as they’d gambled when they’d taken that impossible decision to avoid the deadly lasers and to shoot each other. In the impossible scenario in which they’d been placed, they had gambled correctly. They had outwitted certain death, even though that threat was not actually real. In so doing they had caused damage to each other that would never have occurred in any other circumstances. He had received trauma to the brain and would spend many months in hospital, firstly on life support, then in rehabilitation.
He would fully recover and go on to serve in the Army and enjoy a remarkable career, until being made redundant many years later. She would recover too, more quickly than him, but she would carry with her a lasting wound through life as a result of the bullet wound that she received. At the age of 22, she discovered that she would never be able to have her own children as a consequence of the wound that she’d received on that day.
Part Three: Regeneration
Chapter One
Pretence
At least I now know where I stand with Kate. It’s hard to condemn somebody who’s being so pleasant and reasonable all of the time, but I can see that she is happy to deceive me - to lie to me. She may not be motivated by any ill-will on her part, but I know that I can’t trust what she says from now on. I decide that the best strategy is to keep up the pretence that she started. I really wish that I’d paid more attention in drama lessons when I was at school, but I do my best to channel my most convincing acting skills. ‘Thanks for showing me this Kate,’ I begin, ‘And you’re absolutely sure that she’s okay?’
‘Absolutely certain Dan,’ she replies, ‘Although we haven’t been fully briefed yet on the nature of the events outside, we do know that it is benign and that anybody outside this bunker is - very much like your family - in a state of stasis.’ I decide to probe a little further, and put on my ‘wide eyed and inquisitive’ look. The face I use with Mum when I want something, but I need to look cute to stand any chance of getting it. She needs to see me as a harmless kid and not a threat. ‘How far does this darkness reach, Kate?’
‘We believe it to be global Dan, certainly that’s what our initial briefings in training suggested, but we get the full rundown at 20.00 hours.’ The next sentence seemed to be difficult for her to say. ‘Of course, you have full authorisation to attend that briefing Dan and it will be held here, in the Control Room and on other screens throughout the bunker.’
‘I suppose we’ll all find out more then,’ I reply, and then hesitate about whether I should mention the faint, glowing lights that I’ve spotted pulsating in the necks of the bunker staff. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I stop myself asking the question. Kate just lied to me about my mum.
I know she doesn’t want me here, but at the moment, she’s powerless to stop me. For whatever crazy reason I have authorisation to be here. When 20:00 hours comes - or 8 o’ clock as I prefer to call to it everything may change. It’s irrelevant who that person is that I’ve just been shown on the screen. I suspect that the guy I saw at the bunker entrance may be t
he quickest way to reunite with Mum. I decide to bypass Kate and try and find out what he was up to at the bunker entrance.
I was pretty sure he was about to let someone in from outside, and I’m even more certain about that now I know that he and mum were friends at one time. I’m as sure as I can be that I’ve never seen him before, or that photograph, but I wouldn’t claim to have tabs on everybody my parents know. We’re not big on old photos in our house, I don’t think there are even any baby pictures around, most of what we have a recent images on laptop screensavers.
Most importantly, I really want to find out why nobody in the Control Room seems to be aware of what he’s doing. ‘Kate, I really appreciate the update on Mum and thanks for reassuring me,’ I say. I’m getting quite good at this deception technique, even if I do say so myself. ‘I know that you can track me on the cameras, is it okay if I go off and do a bit more exploring, there doesn’t seem much more that we can do before the briefing?’ Kate is quite clearly relieved. She thinks that she’s fooled me. She’s almost grateful that I want to go off on my own and not pry any further.
‘I’m pleased that’s put your mind at rest Dan,’ she says, ‘Feel free to explore any Green Zone areas and don’t forget to pop into the canteen if you need any food or drink.’ Emphasis on the ‘Green Zone.’ ‘No problem,’ I reply, ‘See you later Kate!’ I’m spoiled for choice as to where I’m heading next.
I just know that I need to be taking a good look around Levels 3 and 4, I suspect that I may get a much better idea of what’s going on if I can get down there. But my first stop has to be the long corridor that leads to the bunker entrance. I have a feeling that’s where I may begin to find some answers without having to wait for this 8 o’clock briefing. I’m about to head out of the Control Room when the entire room explodes into life and frantic activity. Red lights flash everywhere and there’s a loud, penetrating alarm going off.
It’s a full bunker alert. The bunker doors have been breached.
Rescue
James carries out the protocols at the bunker doorway as if he has done it many times before, but in reality, this is the first time that he has carried out this operation. A combination of detail-specific and immersive training simulations and the data that is currently streaming via the blue, pulsating object in his neck - means that he can carry out a procedure which he has never done before with all the proficiency of an expert. Had he not been under the cerebral control of the blue device, he would have felt more emotion at this stage. Certainly, he would have been amazed at the beauty of the shield that he’d just activated at the bunker doors - the only thing that stopped the darkness beyond the doors breaching the entrance to the bunker. He might have even stopped for a moment to wonder who - or what- might have created this incredible technology.
However, he was receiving his directions remotely, and although he was completely aware of what he was doing, it felt to him much like it does when you ride a bicycle, an automatic process and something that happens without you having to think too much about it. All he could think of was to retrieve the two people that he’d spotted on his monitor in the Control Room. He knew that he must retrieve these people as they would be mission critical. Critical to the mission that he was involved in. Had the device not been controlling his emotional responses, James would have been shocked at what happened next.
It was necessary for the blue device in his neck to inhibit his body’s reaction to his current activities, after all what he was doing at the moment would have created a massive adrenalin rush under normal circumstances. Even though he’d spent much of his life in the Military, the nerves and the heightened state of awareness never went away. The person controlling James’ actions needed him to quickly and efficiently carry out this operation and powerful emotional responses would not be required. It was a simple task that needed to be completed without detection and, because of the people involved, preferably without full awareness at this stage.
He was expecting two people to step into the corridor, because that’s what he’d seen on his monitor screen earlier. He didn’t question that the second figure to enter the bunker from beyond the doors was not what he’d actually seen on his screens, he was just intent on recovering two people. As the woman and the child enter the bunker, the blackness beyond the illuminated shield is so dense and complete that it looks like they are materialising out of nowhere, as if stepping out of nothingness.
There is a reason that neither of them has succumbed to the powerful black force beyond these blast doors, but neither of them will realise this until much later. The woman and the child are quite clearly relieved to be in the light again, and their eyes have difficulty adjusting, there is just too much to take in in that instant.
James moves towards the control panel that he operated earlier, to begin the process of closing the bunker doors. He is not expecting a third person to step out of the darkness, so he is not even aware of what is going on just beyond the illuminated shield. A third figure steps out from the blackness beyond the bunker doors. The woman and her young companion are completely disorientated and still do not have full vision, but this third person has an advantage, his eyes are already accustomed to the light. He is wearing a device that has enabled him to have full vision during his time beyond the bunker entrance.
This man is used to making quick and ruthless decisions. As he steps into the light he has a weapon drawn. He has had time to think this through, he is very familiar with the processes of strategy and planning. He glides quietly behind the man at the control panel and past the woman and her companion, who can still see virtually nothing as their eyes adjust to so many hours in complete blackness. Undetected, he makes his way at speed along the long corridor, as James turns to assist the bunker’s two new inhabitants.
As he turns the corner at the end of the corridor, the man presses a large, red alarm button - one of many that are placed at regular intervals throughout the structure - and immediately the bunker springs to alert, lights are flashing and deafening alarm sirens sound everywhere. He needs this distraction, he will need some time to find a uniform and integrate himself in this place without being noticed. He knows that the three people who he just left at the entrance will be safe for now, even though there will be some difficult questions to answer and possibly even a heightened state of security to deal with in the aftermath. But if he’s played this correctly, nobody will even know that he’s in the bunker. And that will leave him a free agent to get to the bottom of what’s really going on here. Because if the child is still alive, this is much bigger than anybody in this bunker could possibly imagine, himself included.
27th November 1983
It’s difficult to determine from the historical articles exactly when governments throughout the world began to publicly acknowledge the universal threats to the environment. Publicly, many countries rejected the claims of the scientists, others didn’t even reveal them to their citizens and some were seen to be taking action, although it was never deemed to be enough. The public did their bit turning off lights, reducing aerosol use, buying the correct type of fridge and leaving their multi-coloured wheelie bins at the end of their drives. But the damage had been done a long time before that. It was never globally acknowledged, of course it wasn’t, there would have been mass hysteria, riots and anarchy. And the planet would have died anyway.
We’d taken the steps that were killing our planet a long time ago, many of them we couldn’t have even detected with the technology that we had available to us. We were so blissfully ignorant of the extreme damage that we had done.
So on 27th November 1983 a global consortium representing all territories across the earth’s surface signed an agreement that put us on a path to renewal and regeneration. The world continued to function as it does - wars were fought, pacts signed, treaties forged and everything else that makes up the daily news headlines. But completely unknown to the population on earth, steps were in place to secure the survival of the planet, an
operation that was taking place only at the highest global level of security. It would take more than 30 years to put in place, but when regeneration began, it would start with darkness.
Secret Reunion
Even though she’d left the Military not long after that terrible event, she’d still kept in touch with Roachie. Nothing that could be traced of course. After the mission debriefing, they’d been warned threatened to be more accurate - never to discuss the events that had taken place that day. They weren’t direct threats of course. But it was made very clear that this really was Top Secret stuff. She hadn’t even been allowed to visit Roachie. They’d given her regular updates about his progress, made sure that she knew he was okay. But they were forbidden from ever discussing that exercise together. They were monitored for a while - phones, emails and meetings - but she’d shown every sign of being relieved that she was away from military operations. Like she knew herself that she was well clear of it all. Not long afterwards she’d met a man called Mike in her civilian life and they’d married very soon after that. They stopped monitoring her after the wedding. They’d wrongly assumed that she’d put it all behind her.
But she knew how to play the waiting game, and when the time was right, six years later, she reached out to Roachie. Via a disposable mobile phone and a bit on online research. DIY espionage kits now available via your home PC. He was delighted that she’d contacted him again and they met up when he was on leave. On a train, where they would never even think to monitor.