After Don came back from the rescue mission and witnessed the poor conditions his wife and son had survived under in the bunker, he made it a priority for everyone at the base to go outside on a regular basis.
Don thought it would lift the spirits up if people had an opportunity to see the sun and get in touch with nature. It would also serve the purpose of giving people something to look forward to. And for the mothers who were teaching the kids, an opportunity to have outdoor activities and to teach them a thing or two about biology and geology.
For the soldiers, it was an opportunity to exercise and to work on their fighting skills in real conditions. If one day they had to protect the base from the outside, they’d better know the terrain extremely well.
Once in a while, the soldiers would even sacrifice a bullet on a large animal, usually a deer, which would provide some meat for a meal to the entire community. A couple soldiers always stayed at the base to monitor the area. In case of a threat, they would relay the information to the people outside so they would have enough time to find cover at the base.
While women and kids and sometimes men play outside near the entrance of the base, some soldiers are patrolling the area.
As a way of training, Gabe and Dave regularly join the soldiers in patrol. At some point during the surveillance practice, the boys are usually allowed to continue on their own. The soldiers take an opposite direction and both groups are supposed to meet again once they complete the vast loop they cover around the base.
It is during one of these patrols that the accident happened.
Gabe and Dave are alone, separated from their peers, and walk toward their meeting point. Dave decides to wander outside the path to find something to give to Sonia.
He is looking for flowers.
Thanks to Gabe’s advice and help, Dave now has the self-confidence and the courage to tell Sonia about his feelings.
He is planning on picking a nice bouquet of flowers and to give it to her tonight. He is sure she will appreciate. Women usually love flowers. And in the current situation and environment, flowers are even more precious than they’ve ever been.
As Dave is picking flowers, Gabe suddenly hears him scream. He runs in his direction and realizes he was bitten on the arm by a rattlesnake. He quickly pours some water on the wound and loosely attaches a bandage a few inches above the bite marks. Without wasting a minute, he lifts Dave up and carries him on his shoulders.
Gabe knows that in case of a snake bite, time is of the essence. As he reaches the tunnel entrance, everyone runs to him and other soldiers give him a hand with Dave.
Jack jumps to them and takes one of the soldiers’ place. His son is in bad shape, he needs to be close to him and to take care of him. This is his duty as a father.
Dave’s sister, Kelly, is frantic.
In the middle of the commotion, Gabe explains what happened to Jack and his father and they urgently get back inside the base to get medical attention as quickly as possible. Dave already shows signs that the venom is starting to take effect. His forearm is now twice its normal size. He complains because of the pain the bite is causing him. He feels extremely weak and starts throwing up.
As soon as they reach the infirmary, the doctor finds antivenom. Rattlesnakes are not common in the area but chances are that soldiers may encounter one. Antivenom is therefore always available in such an eventuality. After the injection and the several others that followed, Dave’s condition eventually stabilizes.
Against all odds, the person who spent the most time looking after Dave is not his father, his mother, nor his sister. Not even Gabe. In fact, it is Sonia. She knew from Gabe the conditions under which the accident happened and realized that Dave could have died just to show her his love.
She didn’t stay on Dave’s side because she felt guilty he was there because of her. And she definitely didn’t stay because she felt pity for him.
She only stayed because when the thought of losing him crossed her mind, she also suddenly realized what Dave really meant to her. She realized that a life without him on her side would have a bitter taste. And she realized that he is, just like she thought before she met Gabe, the man she loves.
The accident occurred a few weeks ago and Dave is now back on his feet. His girlfriend and his best friend on his sides. They spend time in the base’s entertainment center. Doing what young adults their age do. They simply try to enjoy life. And they are all happy. Feeling much better than their parents at the command center right now.
A couple of days later, the entire base is fully focused on the tasks Pam and the group have agreed upon during the meeting. As ordered by Pam, no one left the room until an action plan was defined.
Don is still resting and Pam is in charge. Everyone now reports their progress to her on a daily basis. If something does not move as scheduled, corrective actions are put in place right away. It didn’t happen before. And if the actions still do not produce anything, the project is canceled and the team that worked on it is assigned a new task.
As per Pam’s proposal, the radio has been turned on. Henry and the other analysts gave themselves one day to see if someone tried to contact them. As nothing was received during the agreed timeframe, they no longer wait for nothing. They move on to the next task and start sending messages.
The first messages are fake. The intent is to send wrong information out there and see if it triggers a reaction. If someone or something is listening to them, they will know about it.
The messages contain very specific and detailed information. They mention the resistance is getting organized and that whoever wants to join the fight against GAIA is welcome to meet at a place which coordinates are given, repeatedly. The surveillance satellites are directed above the meeting point and start monitoring the area. If nothing happens in the next few days, then the base will know that GAIA is not listening to them. It will also know that no one is listening to them.
This is exactly the conclusion the group comes up with. There is no one out there. Or at least no one that has communication or transportation capabilities.
Despite the fact that they don’t have the codes to secure their communications with the three other bases in Europe, Asia, and Siberia, they decide to communicate directly with them. Now that they know they are not listened to, they feel more confident to communicate with the other bases and potentially expose them.
But there again, they don’t get any answer.
As some people at the base seem discouraged by this news, Pam actually sees it as valuable information. Indeed, knowing more about their situation will help them define the resources they can use. And once they know exactly what they have and do not have, they will be able to frame a strategy that fits within these new boundaries.
Another task on Henry and his team’s list is to update the map of GAIA’s locations. It is an extremely detailed task as some of GAIA’s facilities are partially underground and others do not differentiate much from another building totally unrelated with GAIA. Fortunately, as most cities and facilities have been destroyed by GAIA, the only buildings that are still standing are very likely to belong to GAIA.
Another way to identify GAIA’s location is to monitor movement around those locations. In the case of a factory, there is a regular flow of vehicles traveling to and from that location. For data centers and other power plants, infrared imagery is used. The vast amount of heat that such facilities generate makes them easier to spot.
When the team has an accurate and updated map of GAIA’s locations, it will be easier to choose which ones to hit so the damage to GAIA is real.
Finally, the team also monitors the activity in the Metropolises. Each Metropolis is then carefully mapped in the event that one day they have to attack one.
The focus on the Metropolises brings new facts to the group’s attention. As they compare previous pictures with the ones they currently see, it seems like the activity within the Metropolises has dramatically decreased.
Indeed, pictures taken a few weeks ago were showing what more or less looked like a normal city. In other words, it looked busy. The data analysts could clearly distinguish people within the city limits. They were either walking in the streets or even resting in some kind of park. From above, the Metropolis looked like any other city.
But the latest pictures are now showing a different kind of Metropolis. There are new construction sites near the center and the streets and public areas look desperately empty.
This is clearly new information that needs to be brought to the attention of the rest of the group. The findings are disclosed during the daily review meeting.
“It looks like GAIA is up to something,” Pam says.
“Yes,” Henry says. “And it appears this is a global phenomenon. We have seen similar changes in all the other Metropolises we’ve looked at.”
“Does anyone have any idea of what could be happening?” Pam asks the people in the room.
“Has everyone just vanished?” Jack asks.
“No. Here is another picture from a Metropolis in Europe,” an analyst answers. “It seems like people are still there, but they now walk in a very orderly fashion. We don’t see the same kind of random behaviors or movements as in the past. They seem to go somewhere and back. The moves seem to happen in the morning, around noon and in the late afternoon. They usually come back from where they go in less than one hour.”
“They are eating,” Don says. “That’s all I can think of. Does anyone have a better idea?” he asks.
As everyone seems to agree with his conclusion, he continues.
“What do you make of the construction sites? I can see they appear in a few cities but not in all of them,” Don asks.
“Hard to tell. It looks like the construction just started. We will certainly know more as the construction progresses and starts to look like something we recognize. For the time being, it could just be anything,” the analyst answers.
“Alright. Let’s keep an eye on the progress. We need to know what GAIA is building. But I bet it is something important. It is right in the center of the city and it looks big compared to the surrounding buildings” Pam says.
“As for the people, what do you think is going on?” Pam asks the group. “They used to act normally, and suddenly they seem to follow a disciplined schedule.”
“They look like an army,” Henry says.
“More like slaves,” Jack replies.
“Ok, army, slave. What does that tell us?” Pam asks.
“That they follow orders,” Don answers.
“I buy that, Don. Thanks. So they follow GAIA’s orders. Now, why? Why does everyone follow GAIA’s orders? What happened to their free-will?” Pam asks.
As no one can think of an answer, John opens his mouth for the first time since the meeting started. He has been very quiet and silent for the past few days. Ever since Pam told him to think before he speaks.
“Brainwashed,” he says. “The only reason I can think of to follow someone or something blindly is to be brainwashed.”
“So, that would mean that GAIA can control people or their thoughts,” Don says.
“Henry, do you think it’s even possible? I mean does GAIA have a way to take control of people’s minds?” Pam asks.
“Well, I think GAIA has access to all knowledge in the world and pretty much all technology. When you combine it all, I would say that yes, everything is possible,” Henry answers.
“Alright, thank you. So here is what we know or believe so far; GAIA has control over the people and it is building something large and most likely strategic in the center of the cities. Now the question is why. Why this change in approach? What has changed in the past few weeks that GAIA is changing its course of action?” Pam asks.
“Well, no one knows if GAIA is changing its course. Maybe it was its plan the entire time,” Henry says.
“I don’t believe that. I think I could probably agree with you on the people subject. You relocate people and in order not to frighten them, you let them live as they used to. And once everyone is in the city, you turn them into slaves. But regarding the construction, I believe GAIA is smart and if whatever it is building was supposed to be part of the city, it would have been built from the beginning. Building something now makes me think that GAIA is reacting to something it did not foresee,” Jack says.
“Wow … if that really is the case, that may mean that our actions have caused some damage to GAIA. At least enough to force it to change its plans,” John says.
“Do you think so?” Don asks.
“Well, it’s possible. One of the data centers we destroyed was a very large one. Maybe this one and the others that have been attacked are causing GAIA to … No … we might have made the situation even worse” Henry says.
“What do you mean?” Pam asks.
“I mean that GAIA is probably centralizing its capabilities in the Metropolises. In the middle of the populations …” Henry answers.
“… Thus making it more difficult for us to sabotage its installations. GAIA is using the populations as human shields,” Don continues.
“Well, if this is the case, it only means one thing. Our future attacks will need to be in the Metropolises. We just need to find a way to penetrate the cities without being noticed and destroy whatever needs to be destroyed,” Pam says.
“I’m afraid it might be a suicide mission,” Don replies.
“How so?” Pam asks.
“Let’s imagine we manage to get inside the city. I would assume that the cities are all monitored by cameras and that security is very tight near the new facility. It will require us to spend a few days staking out the activity around the facility in order to find the best point of entry. And where do we stay during that time? Do we simply knock at someone’s apartment and hope they welcome us? No, I think we need to find a different way to attack the city facility,” Don adds.
“Can’t we just blow up the facility from a distance? There might be casualties, but if we strike precisely, maybe the collateral damage will be very limited,” one of the soldiers asks.
“Too risky. And I expect GAIA would not just build data centers in the middle of the cities, but it would also make sure that those facilities can sustain any kind of attack … Similar to this base” Don answers as he hits the concrete wall with the back of his hand.
“Good discussion everyone. Thank you. This is exactly the method we need to follow going forward. Let’s continue. So, infiltration is a no-go. Airborne strikes potentially dangerous for the population. What other options do we have?” Pam asks.
“I think I can probably be useful here,” Jack says.
Everyone around the table is taken by surprise and turns to Jack. No one would expect a solution to come from him. Don and Pam are usually the ones finding them.
“Excuse me, Jack … What … what do you have in mind?” Pam asks with a lot of hesitation and doubt in her voice.
“Thank you, Pam. You remember when you told me we didn’t know what to do with the robot we hacked? I think this is an opportunity to put it to use. If we, as humans, cannot penetrate the city limits without being noticed, then maybe a robot can” Jack says.
“Interesting. Please continue,” Don says.
“We can control our robot remotely. We now have a good understanding of how to turn GAIA’s robots into robots that we can control. We need some components, but I’m sure we will be able to find them in the factory that Don and John found. And, if possible, it would be great to actually steal a few more robots from that factory,” Jack explains.
“I think this is actually a very good idea, Jack,” Don says. “We have been monitoring the factory for a while now and have gathered good intel about it. It doesn’t seem particularly guarded and it shouldn’t be too difficult to send a mission to get what you need. And then, once we have the robots, what do you plan on doing?” Don asks.
“Reverse-engineer them and take them back to the factory. They will b
e picked up by the trucks and probably sent to one of the Metropolises. Once there, they can be our eyes on the ground, or we can probably booby-trap them and try to send them to the Metropolis facility to destroy it from the inside,” Jack says.
“I must confess I am astonished, Jack. I think you’ve just come up with our next mission,” Don says.
“Alright. You’ve all heard him. Let’s get down to it. Jack, please tell us exactly what kind of components you need. Don, you will come up with the best way to get inside the factory. Henry and the team, keep monitoring the factory and the Metropolises. Emphasis on the factory as it has become our priority. I’ll deal with the logistics,” Pam concludes.
“Not sure we will be able to see anything for a couple of days. There is a major storm cell coming towards us. It is huge and will cover almost the entire country. It is one of these once-in-a-century types of cell. I don’t think we will be able to see anything or go anywhere for a few days,” Henry says.
CHAPTER 26
Today, just like every day, Rose and the rest of the population is about to connect to the education network. Everything is as usual, except for a major storm that starts rumbling in the distance.
Heavy winds blow everything. Most trees in the Metropolis have been uprooted and fly around in mid-air. Some are projected against buildings but do not seem to cause much damage. People are looking through the windows, but no one seems to be either amazed by the show Mother Nature is giving them, or worried by the risk they are taking standing in front of their windows.
GAIA is busy and does not pay attention to the threat that is looming. It notices, however, that some of the robots, the ones that were outside, no longer seem to send their position back.
While not considering this as a red flag, GAIA uses some of its processing capabilities to try and understand what appears to be a glitch. It is only when GAIA connects to the outdoor cameras that it realizes the problem.
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