Foundation

by M J Kendrick

  The team estimated it would take a year to have Uharu ready. Creating the space was the easy part. The fitting out would take the time.

  Marek had come through again for them and had amassed fifty competent, no-questions-asked engineers and builders to help complete the work, which they did without even knowing which part of the world they were even in. Everybody involved was handsomely paid for their work.

  When the bank accounts reached close to $300 billion, Carlton had called a halt to any further TBL contracts and slowly wound down their operation to zero. He had deposited $1 billion into the accounts of all the Smarties families and core staff members and paid $1 million bonuses to each of the other Quantum employees.

  Nineteen months after acquiring the island, Uharu was finally fully operational, and work had finally begun.

  The Quantum Research Academy was proving to be a great success. Several ex Omni scientists had been recruited and were now running the academy, freeing up Susanna and Kennet Svensson, Freddie, Bar, and their families to relocate to Uharu and rejoin the team.

  By the end of the second year, life at Uharu had settled down to a steady pace of research and development, focusing only on the spacecraft specifications.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  William’s father had been keeping the other parents updated with the Smarties’ activities, so they all had a good idea as to the reasons why the Smarties had to be completely invisible, even if they didn’t know the detail.

  It was clear to them all that their children had become incredibly successful in whatever it was that they were doing, and they had complete faith in their judgments.

  Communication with William’s father had been restricted to coincide with the global supply runs for the MV Star as a precaution to protect their location.

  William’s father had arranged with Carlton that each of the parents would independently take different holidays around the world. All seemingly booked off the cuff.

  They would travel for a few weeks and eventually make their way to different ports where they would independently board the Star. When they were all collected, they would head to Uharu to surprise the Smarties.

  Fifteen weeks later, in the late afternoon, the Star pulled into the docking area and, whilst the Smarties were all in their labs, Carlton boarded her and went to meet the parents and plan the surprise.

  When he entered the lounge area, the parents were all waiting for him and immediately swamped him with hugs, kisses, and affectionate greetings. When the rumpus had settled down, Carlton could see that Miles’s parents were the only ones absent. That didn’t surprise him, and he doubted it would surprise Miles much either.

  As the parents sat down, Carlton felt a pair of cool hands cover his eyes from behind, and he heard a distinctive female South African accent say, “Guess who?”

  Calisto had joined them! Carlton spun around and hugged Calisto hard. He was almost in tears of joy, which immediately set all of the other women off crying.

  It took a while to get her story. Her uncle had bought them out, and her parents had fully retired, but all Carlton heard was that she was here to stay. The Smarties were finally all together again, and this time, it was for good.

  Carlton eventually managed to explain what he had planned for the surprise. He had told the Smarties that they would be having a working dinner in their Waterfall restaurant. The Smarties were used to the waitering service that they enjoyed at Uharu, but what they wouldn’t be aware of was that the waiters and waitresses would now be their parents in disguise and the ones serving them a bowl of children’s ice cream and cookies. The men decided on betting who would notice first.

  Carlton had set up a small whiteboard in the restaurant so that it gave the appearance of a brainstorming session and the lighting had been dimmed a little to create a few shadows. As the Smarties all filed in and took their usual seats, they continued their normal jabber to each other, enthusiastically talking about the various things that they were involved with, completely unaware of the ploy.

  As soon as they had settled, the parents approached each of the Smarties from behind and, taking a silent cue, leaned around and simultaneously tilted the bowls of ice cream enough to allow them to slop out into the laps of the Smarties. Almost in unison, each of the Smarties jumped back in their chairs and gasped, stunned at the incompetence. Then came the first shriek and scream as Lucy saw her mother standing right next to her, smiling and with tears streaming down her face. Then Haru, and finally all the Smarties were screaming, and before long, everyone in the restaurant was crying.

  As the hugs and noise continued, the real waiters and waitresses silently and quickly rearranged the room to host the surprise party, and the real reunion started. After a few hours, Freddie, Bar, Rose, and Melanie joined them, and they all stayed and drank until the early hours of the morning.

  ***

  At breakfast the following day, Carlton told the Smarties that they could spend as much time with their parents as they liked and the parents would be welcome to remain at Uharu for as long as they wanted.

  Carlton wasn’t the least bit worried about any secrets being revealed. He knew the parents would die before revealing anything they learned. He suggested the Smarties take them on a tour of Uharu and then they could all have lunch on the beach.

  As they all eagerly trotted off, William’s father remained. He wanted to talk privately to Carlton.

  When they were both sitting with fresh cups of coffee, Simon said, “Everyone is so proud of what you have achieved here. Your parents were right about your abilities.”

  Carlton felt a flush of embarrassment. “I couldn’t have done any of it without William’s help,” said Carlton, trying to spread the credit.

  Simon continued, “You know, Carlton, your parents confided in me and asked me to look out for you wherever I could.”

  Carlton, feeling a little uncomfortable at the heart to heart nature of the conversation, said, “I know that, Mr. Pope, and I will always be . . .”

  Simon held up his hand to stop Carlton.

  “What you don’t know,” he continued, “is the full extent of our relationship. Your parents had told me of your discovery and the dangers it represented. I don’t mean all the techy stuff, just what it represented.”

  Carlton was shocked and intrigued at the same time. Why had his parents told William’s father and not informed him? There had to be a reason.

  “After they approached me,” Simon added, “they told me of just how far the government intervention in their work was pointing ever more to an ominous conclusion. Fortunately, your parents are smart.”

  Carlton felt a wave of sadness as he picked up on Simon’s use of the word “are” instead “were.” He let it go.

  “They had an ambitious plan that would safeguard everyone from danger,” continued Simon. “When things became really bad, and by that I mean far worse than you ever knew, they asked me to help them put their plan into motion.”

  Carlton just sat, wondering why Simon needed to tell him these things now. It was nearly six years since their deaths and Carlton had come to terms with things. Again, as he was about to speak Simon raised his hand and continued.

  “They knew what to do, but not how to do it, and that’s when I stepped into the picture. Carlton, what I’m about to tell you has cost a great deal, not in money as such, but in lives. To bring their plan about took a lot of courage and some pretty nasty things had to happen. None of which makes me happy, but happen they did, and it’s something that we will have to live with. This is going to be a big shock for you, and I want you to be prepared. Please hang on until I’ve finished.

  “Your mother had asked me to facilitate a secure area for her somewhere that only I knew of. She had built two stasis pods that would need to be housed there indefinitely and only moved when it was completely safe, no matter how long that might be.

  “The explosion at the farm was a carefully planned operation that took months to put tog
ether. Every one of the emergency services, right through to the funeral directors and everyone in between that was in any way involved, no matter how small, had been carefully selected and bought off. Carlton, your parents are alive in those stasis pods and safe in a custom-made container with its own nuclear battery power supply. That time they spoke of when it would eventually be safe to move them is now, and they are in the cargo hold of the Star.”

  Carlton was shaking, and the tears were streaming from his eyes. He was lost for words and didn’t know where to begin.

  Simon handed him a glass of water. “Here, drink this; take a moment to let it sink in.”

  Simon was smiling, partly because he could finally tell Carlton of the secret that had been burning his very soul for the last six years, and partly out of joy for Carlton, knowing that his parents were still alive.

  After a few moments, Carlton’s tears turned into ones of grateful thanks and joy that his parents had had the foresight and courage to do what they had.

  It didn’t take him long to realize that if they hadn’t, then they would be lost forever.

  All of the pain, sorrow, and heartache he had endured over those six years evaporated and were replaced with the logistics of getting them revived.

  Simon, staying one step ahead of Carlton’s thoughts, said, “Your mother left strict instructions about who would be needed and how they should be revived.”

  He handed Carlton a document with a list of names and instructions.

  By the time Carlton had read it through, he had completely regained his composure.

  “This is fine,” he said with enthusiasm. “We have the appropriate equipment, and we also have two of the primary scientists on Mom’s list, and she states they only need one. The rest of the document is the revival protocols in the event none of them are available. I need to get Daniel and Melanie in here. They’ll need to get things prepped and run the diagnostics before they initialize the revival program, but first I want to see my parents.”

  When they were in the cargo hold, Simon pointed to an old-looking tarp that was covering an even older, rusty, beaten-up steel container.

  Seeing Carlton’s worried look, Simon said, “Hang on a moment, don’t pay any attention to the outside appearance.”

  He pulled back the dusty tarp and unlocked the double doors and swung them wide open to reveal an immaculate shiny titanium inner capsule that housed the two stasis pods. On the top of the capsule was a crystal glass inspection port, through which Carlton could clearly see the two stasis pods.

  In the dim light, he could see rows of slowly pulsing green status LEDs that glowed gently through the frosty upper canopy face plates of the pods to reveal the serene sleeping faces of his parents within them.

  Carlton gently touched the capsule and whispered, “Mom, Dad.”

  Simon put his hand on Carlton’s shoulder, “Let’s get Daniel and Melanie. It’s time for your parents to wake up.”

  ***

  Carlton and Simon returned to the Waterfall restaurant. Carlton wanted a moment to think things through.

  Of course, his first thought was to have Daniel and Melanie immediately revive his parents, but as they returned from the docking bay, Carlton realized that this wasn’t just shocking news for him, it would also be shocking to the others and would have to be handled delicately. Unfortunately, Simon was right. There was no easy way to break the news. But rather than have everyone in a state of shock at the same time, Carlton decided to only inform those closest to his parents first, and that would be Daniel, Melanie, Rose, Freddie, and Bar. Only when his parents were in recovery would he inform the Smarties and their parents.

  Carlton told Simon of his plan. “I think that’s a good idea. Also, you need to consider the fact that an awful lot has happened since they entered stasis six years ago. For all they know they could be waking up the next day. It’s going to be quite a shock for them too, especially when you bring them up to speed on events. If you think back to where your lives were, to where they are now, there’s a good chance they’ll be more shocked than you were when you learned they were still alive.”

  Carlton was nodding as Simon spoke, “Yes, of course, you’re right, I’ll need to keep them isolated for a day or so. I’ll stay with them and gently bring them up to date so that they are well prepared when it’s time for them to join the rest of our world. I’ll call the others in, might as well get this over while the Smarties are out of the way.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the five scientists joined Carlton and Simon. When Simon had finished telling them the whole story, Melanie and Rose were clutching both of each other’s hands and crying.

  Daniel, Freddie, and Bar were in shocked silence, trying to understand what they had just learned. Carlton fully understood how they felt. It was only two hours ago that he was in their position. Taking the floor, Carlton stood and firmly but sympathetically told them how they were going to proceed with the revival and debrief of his parents, and when the others should be informed. Carlton’s confidence snapped the shocked group back to the immediate task, and they quickly switched into the very capable and professional scientists that they were.

  Carlton, Freddie, and Bar would release and unload the stasis pod’s titanium capsule and bring it to Uharu’s medical center.

  Rose would assist Daniel and Melanie in quickly installing some of Daniel’s lab equipment in the largest recovery room, and then they would all help in unsealing the capsule and carefully reposition the stasis pods, ready to connect them to the re-initialization monitoring and recording equipment. When everything was in place, and the monitoring station had run a thorough diagnostic analysis of both pods’ status, Daniel would commence the startup program, which would automatically activate the re-initialization protocols.

  It would then just be a matter constantly monitoring the process and waiting.

  Daniel felt it necessary to tell Carlton that no human subject had yet undergone the process. As far as he was aware, that phase of the research hadn’t received government approval and had not yet been reached.

  Jean’s research showed that the stasis pod program had actually been ready for human trial years ago, but the prototype version of the stasis pods needed for human trials hadn’t been completed at the time of the accident. This was going to be a first.

  Uharu’s lavish medical center was large and actually more like a small hospital. It had been fitted out with state-of-the-art medical equipment and was designed to be able to cope with any major catastrophe that might befall the personnel at Uharu. There were three recovery rooms and the largest, where the stasis pods were, had its own isolation and ICU wards attached and could be sectioned off from the rest of the medical center, so it was perfect for David and Jean’s cryogenic re-initialization.

  At 1 a.m. Daniel started the data-recording systems and commenced the startup program.

  At 1:47 a.m. the re-initialization program activated, with an estimated completion time of 4 hours, 38 minutes. That meant that David and Jean should awaken from their cryo sleep at 06:25 a.m.

  Carlton knew there would be no point in him even trying to sleep that night, so, like Daniel, Melanie, Rose, Freddie, and Bar, he sat quietly and patiently watched his parents and the monitor’s readouts throughout the night.

  At precisely 06:25 a.m., a long beeping tone followed by three short bleeps indicated the re-initialization program had completed its cycle. At the same time, both stasis pods’ soft internal lights came on, illuminating David and Jean.

  A series of LEDs flashed on the sides of the pods, and then there were two clicks as the locking mechanism released and a slight whooshing sound was heard as the stasis pods evacuated their internal atmospheres. Immediately the top half of each pod’s crystal upper canopy raised a fraction and smoothly slid down to cover the bottom half of the lid.

  The only sound was the faint hum of their motor drives.

  Daniel was standing over David, manually taking his vitals while Melanie atten
ded to Jean. Within a minute, both began to stir and blink their eyes. Carlton watched nervously. His hands were sweating, and his emotions were in turmoil as he began imperceptibly shaking. He still couldn’t quite believe they were alive, and, even though he knew that this moment had to be his and only his, he still wished he had Lucy by his side as the rock he had so come to depend on whenever he felt shaky.

  David was the first to try and speak. “Wha... Wher... ?”

  Daniel calmly said, “Slowly David, take it gently, you’re coming out of cryo sleep.”

  Jean was a little more alert and managed a slight smile and whispered, “Hello, Melanie.”

  On hearing their voices, Carlton struggled to hold himself together as he recalled the overpowering sadness of their deaths that had cut into him so deeply. In his mind, they were gone forever. But now they were here, in front of him. His eyes began to well up as he watched them slowly move.

  Daniel and Melanie continued to busy themselves with David and Jean. They were clearly both fighting the desire to just hug their lost friends over doing what was needed. The mood was tense as Carlton watched them through blurry water-laden eyes while they gently removed the sensor pads and massaged his parents’ arms.

  After a few moments, David and Jean were talking coherently, unaware of their audience. When Daniel was satisfied that the couple was ready, he gave a slight nod to Melanie and said, “We are going to sit you up, you may feel a little weak at first but we are right here. If you feel nauseous or shaky then let us know immediately and we’ll lay you back down for a little longer. And, just so you know, there are some special people here that have been waiting to say hello.”

  Daniel and Melanie placed their arms fully around David and Jean’s shoulders and very gently raised them up to a seating position.