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Cover Artwork is copyrighted by the author, whofor some odd reason seems to feel the undying need
to create his own illustrations and designs.
2010. All rights reserved.
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T.O.A.D.Volume 4
The Push
By Keegan Hennis
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I love my family.
My sweet wife supports me,
My smart son and daughter inspire me,
On to excellence.
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This book is part of a series, written in
chronological order. Pick them up out of order andyou may become confused or frustrated by the
story.
T.O.A.D.
The Fall
The RiseThe Run
The Push
The ReachThe Grasp
The Pull
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There are many other series and single
books by Keegan Hennis.
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1Lenny woke before his alarm would have
sounded. The funny thing was his eyes werent
drowsy. He simply opened his eyes as if he hadblinked. Looking around his room helped him to
understand the reason for his present condition.His experiment had worked. The nightbefore, he had set up what he called his Sub-sonic
Alert System. Basically it was a large speaker
designed to work in the infrasonic range, andcontrolled by a timer that he had set to 8 hours and
thirty minutes. At the end of the timer countdown,
the speaker gave a few heavy pulses of air pressure,
which his body could then detect, but not with hisears. He felt it in his chest, which was just like
every other humans chest, little more than a bone-
armored diaphragm detection sensor.The subsonic pulses disrupted his breathing
patterns and caused him to wake up without the
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fright that normal alarm clocks use their sharp
sounds to produce.Lenny decided that a few more trials would
be warranted in his room as well as those of others,
and if his invention worked consistently, he would
put it in line for patent with the rest of hiscompanys present docket of applications. He had
personally invented it with no input from the rest ofhis creative team, but he decided it didnt really
matter who got the credit as long as he could help
people wake more easily in the mornings.After his shower, he dressed himself
casually in a t-shirt and jeans. Then he left his
small bedroom and walked the metal-clad hallway
toward the cafeteria where he would find hisbreakfast waiting for him in the fridge. Today was
cold-pizza-day and none of his coworkerscomplained. Cold-pizza-day came the morningafter pizza-night, a special night when Mrs. Duval
showed one facet of her range of skill in the
culinary arts.As he pulled a few slices of cold pizza from
the fridge and put them on his plate, he also glanced
at a few of the small glass bottles on the top shelf.
They came from a small town dairy deliverycompany in Colorado and were flown in weekly by
one team member or another. Really it was
whoever got to Starlas keys first that would makethe three-hour flight to Colorado, California, Idaho
and a few other stops to pick up supplies and
groceries for the week.
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In an effort to bring about more equality
among the gendered names of their common usevehicles, the TOAD team decided to let Red name
their new runabout. She took the entire production
time to carefully come up with a name that would
be as equally unique as the other named vehicles,and yet would also match the style and imposed
personality with which they had imbued the vehicle.When she told the guys that their sporty new class
of flyer would be christened Starla, the boys were
less than impressed. But it quickly grew on themand soon they were all happily calling the thing by
its given name.
Lenny chose to pour himself a glass of
orange juice and then shut the fridge. He found aplace to sit in the mostly empty dining hall and
made himself comfortable. A few minutes wouldnot be too long to wait for the others of his team tomake their way to breakfast with him.
His pizza this morning tasted as good cold
as it had hot the evening before. Sausage andpepperoni with a thick layer of cheese covered the
custom-spiced tomato sauce. It tickled his taste
buds and made him smile.
Half way through the second slice of pizzathe cafeteria door opened and in walked Hank
followed closely by Josh. Lenny had coincidentally
just cleared his mouth for a new bite, but spokeinstead, Morning Hank, Josh.
Good morning boss, said Hank cheerily.
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But Josh seemed more groggy that morning
and only grunted, Hey.Lenny took another big bite of pizza, the
crust making a pleasant cracking sound in his teeth.
Hank took his normal mug of morning brew, a few
slices of whole wheat toast and several slices ofpizza to his normal eating seat. Though the room
had enough seats and tables to feed the entirepopulation of the island at a time, should the need
arise, the employees of TOAD, Inc. generally kept
to the same table they habitually used.The subterranean complex had been
designed to accommodate much more than it
needed comfortably in the off chance that a heavy
storm besieged the island surface and its dwellershad to take shelter underground. They hadnt had
any storms that bad to date, but they were ready justthe same.Beneath their feet the hinged floor panels
could be unlocked and lifted up off their rests to
reveal softer pads for sleeping. The floor panelswould then slide down into cavities out of the way.
As well, like many other cafeterias most often
found in schools, the tables and chairs folded up and
recessed neatly into pockets in the walls to free upfloor space.
They had a desalinizer array hidden near the
cafeteria that provided more than enough drinkingwater for their needs. And large underwater
turbines out in the sea provided the island with all
the power they could use. They had chosen an
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island with subsurface currents nearby for just such
a purpose.Josh spoke after his first slice of pizza had
disappeared, So, whats on the agenda today?
Lenny answered, I was thinking we could
take a day off from fun and do a solid day ofschooling. We seem to be a little lazy about that
lately and I dont want to get into the habit.Hank nodded, That might be a good idea.
You people are smart, but learning doesnt have to
end when you have a job.Josh spoke, Hank, when are you going to
need the information you get out of your law
library? Its not like were going to go to court
again.Well, right now Im brushing up on patent
and trademark law, as well as international relationsand practices. You never know when you mightneed a good patent attorney.
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2Lenny, Red and Josh finished their
breakfasts and found their way up to the surface to
attend the small schoolhouse that serviced the islandchildren. It was little more than a building with a
few small classrooms in it. There were threeteachers who each taught several grade levels atonce. Because there were only a dozen and a half
students on the island, each child got the attention
they deserved.The teacher for the teenage children was a
very patient and creative woman named Mrs.
Armstrong. She had been hired out of a school in
Idaho with a strong background in teaching giftedstudents. She also won Teacher of the Year in
southeast Idaho several times. Her skill with the
young budding minds seemed unparalleled.As they walked along the footpath that
trailed from the entrance to the underground
complex toward the small village of their residents,
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Josh spied ahead of them, and walking in their
direction, one of their engineers. He had been hiredfrom a large firm in California, and had truly found
his place in their employ. Josh spoke softly to his
friends, Uh-oh, guys. Gary-Carl is coming this
way. The problem wasnt with their employees
work, or his personality, or anything else he couldchange, for that matter. The reason they dreaded
his approach was because not one of the three teens
could remember his first name. They knew it wasGary, or Carl. As embarrassed as they were to
admit it, they couldnt recall which name he had
signed on his contract, but they also couldnt let
anyone know that they had forgotten his name andfound themselves in this singular predicament. So
they worked very hard to make sure that no onewould ever suspect that they didnt know it. But inprivate, only between the three of them, they
referred to him as Gary-Carl, because they knew it
was either Gary, or Carl.Josh would use playful nicknames when
addressing him, names like chief and sport and big-
guy. Lenny called him Mr. Thompson, because
they were all sure that was his last name, and he hadnever corrected them on that one. Plus, whenever
Lenny referred to him in that way to the other
complex employees, they understood that that washis name. And Red simply called him sir, more out
of respect than their overwhelming embarrassment.
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Good morning Mr. Thompson, said
Lenny.Josh quickly added, Morning chief.
And as he shook their hands Red said, Sir.
Good morning, friends, said the always
cheerful Mr. Thompson. How was your collectiveweekend?
As they passed him and continued on theirpath to the school, Josh answered, Just like every
weekend, and he emphasized the word, fantastic.
Good to hear, said Gary-Carl. See youlater.
Once he was out of earshot and then some,
the teens shared a giggle of uneasy relief. One
more meeting with him had passed without himknowing they had no idea what name he signed
before Thompson on his checks. After all, Ms.Milner handled the payroll, and she knew his name.That was enough for them for the time being.
On this morning, the teens welcomed their
teacher to the room with smiles. In her hand shecarried a small basket with chocolaty delights, the
product of skilled labor by her husband who
specialized in delicious treats with fruit and nuts.
He also had skills in making ice-cream, which thetropical inhabitants enjoyed often.
Oh, you are the best teacher ever, said Red
as she eyed a precious berry cordial the size of agolf ball.
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Id like to think my skills go far beyond my
attempts to give you guys cavities in your teeth, butthanks anyway, said Mrs. Armstrong.
She placed the basket on her desk and then
faced the handful of students that she taught and
spoke, Thats for later. Everyone put your bookson the floor and stand on top of your desks.
The students nervously did so, a fewneeding balance support from other students,
primarily because the desk surface was just a little
bit slanted for ease of use. Once they were all up,Mrs. Armstrong addressed them, Now close your
eyes.
They cautiously did as they were asked.
Then Mrs. Armstrong asked, What do you see?Lenny answered, I see the dark orange of
the inside of my eyelids.And what do you hear?Josh answered, I hear your voice, and now
mine.
Red answered, I hear a bird chirpingoutside the window.
Mrs. Armstrong then asked, Who hears the
wall clock?
A few hands went up, because it was indeedticking loudly. Then Mrs. Armstrong asked, As
you see, there are many things happening around us
all the time, some of which we can hear, see,smell. As she spoke, she pulled a small object
from her pocket and prepared herself to open it.
And all the time we notice things, most of the time
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these sensations and records of input are simply
forgotten unless they are important. But what reallyhappens to the memories that are forgotten, that we
dont think well need again?
She silently opened the small bottle and
waved it around in front of the students. Theimmediate reaction came from nearly all of them at
once, a shocked and horrified expression on each oftheir faces. And then she said, What did I say that
day?
Red answered, while plugging her nose,You yelled at Josh for throwing a book across the
room and hitting the trophy shelf.
I told you it was an accident, defended
Josh.Lenny also answered, You taught us about
your husbands favorite team, the San FranciscoSomething-or-others. It was a lesson on statisticalanalysis as applied in sporting events.
Mrs. Armstrong then asked, Josh, what
number did I say?Twenty-one hundred, Josh replied.
You may open your eyes, said their
teacher. And safely get down from your desks.
Yes, thats roughly what I was talking about. Buthow did you know what day I was talking about?
You each pulled an event from that one specific
day, without any conversation between you aboutwhich day I meant.
Lenny answered, My guess is that strong
stimulus of any of the senses can be a reference tag
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for the retrieval of pertinent information learned at
the same time.Not just any stimulus, said Mrs.
Armstrong. The sense of smell is the most reliable
and powerful method of triggering memories in the
human mind. Ive been waiting a while to do thislesson, hoping youd not discuss it beforehand. But
you proved my point well.So, said Red, it was you who made that
smell on that day way back when? Just to be able to
teach us this point?Yeah, said Mrs. Armstrong. And it
worked well, wouldnt you say?
The students nodded, it had worked well.
The aroma of the chemical mix in her small bottlewas indeed pungent, and it would not be easily
forgotten again.After putting the bottle back in her deskdrawer, Mrs. Armstrong again picked up the basket
of goodies and spoke, Today, were going to have
a contest. The first person to answer me has anoption to receive a reward for correct responses, but
after that there will be no rewards for second place.
You must answer correctly the first time I hear an
answer. And I must get a correct answer before wemove on to the next question. Got it?
The teens nodded and awaited the morning
quiz. Casually Mrs. Armstrong sat on the stool nearthe white dry-erase board at the front of the room.
She squinted her eyes briefly and then shot out a
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question, Which civilization borrowed from the
other, the Etruscans or Macedonia?Carefully the teens considered their
responses before Josh raised his hand the fastest.
He gingerly answered, Macedonia borrowed from
the Etruscans?Mrs. Armstrong spoke jovially, Is that a
question or an answer?Before Josh could reply, a siren sounded
across the island. A slowly modulating wail
resounded from several air horns atop towers. Themajority of the residents simply assumed that the
storm warning system was being tested but the teens
knew otherwise. It told them that an incoming
vessel had been detected and would land on theirisland within a few hours.
Apologizing for the disruption, the teens ranfrom the classroom and entered the concealedpassageway that led into their command center
underground. The run took only a few minutes but
by the time they reached the operations room Hanklooked nervous. The radio operator, previously an
emergency dispatcher from Idaho, reported, Small
aircraft on a direct course for us. Itll be here in 45
minutes.How did they get so close before the siren
sounded? asked Lenny.
DaNell, the radio operator, answered, Itappears as if they were trying to literally fly under
our radar floor. The system only spotted them when
they ascended a few hundred feet to pass over a
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commercial shipping boat a hundred miles out.
They dropped below our detection again but theirextrapolated course says theyre headed here.
Well be able to see them better, said Red
as she typed on a computer terminal, if they enter
the range of the more advanced Doppler net at thirtymiles out.
Josh asked, Are they transmitting asquawk?
Not that I could tell, answered DaNell.
Theyre flying in silent and low. It could be amilitary surgical strike or outlaws."
Hank spoke, "Either way, we need to be
ready to defend ourselves and our friends. We also
need to be ready to launch the Drive modules intospace.
The kids were already running about theroom preparing for the arrival of their uninvitedguest. But one of them stopped and thought. Red
turned and spoke, Wait. Its too slow to be a jet,
were too far from land for it to be a helicopter andpirates dont usually fly planes. Maybe we should
radio them from the old shack when they get closer
and ask them what they want.
Red, we could- began Josh.Red interrupted, This just doesnt feel like
an attack to me. Something just doesnt add up. I
mean, they went over that ship and not around it. Ifthey knew they were flying under our radar, they
would try to stay below it, not buzz a cargo ship.
Please say you see my point.
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The boys and DaNell looked to Hank who
thought for a second. Then he spoke, Still getready to launch the Hatching Drives into space.
Josh, you get Gretta through preflight and ready to
liftoff. We wont be caught with our trousers down
after two years of peace.Gretta was built alongside Starla, but it had
a very different mode of service to the islanddwellers than the cargo runabout. Gretta had been
built with an armored drive module, stubby winglets
and a hidden weapons bay. Within the armamentscompartment behind the cockpit they had installed a
handful of air-to-air rockets and half a dozen 30mm
Gatling guns. The stubby winglets were thick and
strong enough to defend against impacts, as well asact as landing skids for the aircraft. The small
bubble that Josh sat in was made of three inch thicktransparent polycarbonate and could stop bulletssmaller than 50 caliber, as well as protect the pilot
from pressures up to several hundred feet under
water and the vacuum of space. Though the teamhadnt yet needed to use Gretta to defend their
peace, they kept her ready to do so on a moments
notice.
Josh sighed relief as he found the batteriesstill plugged in to the island grid. Full power would
be at his beck and call. He climbed up into the clear
half-bubble and belted himself into the seat. As theupper half lowered and the shell sealed, his ears
clicked, signaling to him that his compartment was
pressurized. He switched on the computers and
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waited for the launch order from the command
center.Hank waited patiently in the command
center for any word from the other two teens, which
were at that moment making their way to what they
had called the old shack. Really it looked like aweathered and worn shack with a radio tower near
to it. Though it was less than two years old, theyhad built it to look over thirty.
Lenny waited until the aircraft would be
within range and then he depressed the talk buttonon his corded mike, Unidentified aircraft, this is
island approach. We have no runway, so be
prepared to make a water-landing. If you need
assistance, we can send out a boat or two to helpyou. Over.
The radio only hissed back at them as theaircraft moved in closer to their shores. Lennykeyed his mic again, Unidentified aircraft, this is
island approach. If you copy me, be warned, we
have a reef surrounding our island and at this timeof day it is partially breaking the surface. Steer
clear of white caps.
Red went to the window and looked through
binoculars in the direction from which the aircraftwould be approaching. She scanned the horizon left
and right, hoping to spot the small craft. Lenny
softly spoke, even though he hadnt keyed his mic,Doppler shows them still inbound at a hundred and
twenty knots. You should see them pretty soon.
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The small two-way radio on the desk
startled them with DaNells question, Do you havea visual on them yet?
Lenny keyed the handheld, Nothing yet,
Command. Stand by to dispatch Gretta.
Acknowledged, came her reply.Lenny kept an eye on the computer screen
next to him, showing him the aerial view of theirisland and the approaching aircraft in the Doppler
net. Red still scanned the horizon and at last said,
Ive got it. Its a twin-engine high-wing airplane,amphibious by the shape of the nose and the
pontoons under the wings. Boy hes daring,
skimming the waves like that. He cant be more
than fifteen feet off the water.Lenny resisted the temptation to join her at
the window. He kept his eyes on the display andwatched the planes course veer to the south a fewdegrees. He guessed they were going to make a
close flyby and then land and idle right up to the
beach. But to his surprise, he heard the enginesslow their hum and then Red announced, Theyre
touching down off the cargo ship dock, look to be
aiming for it as a goal.
DaNell called again, Theyve slowed theirapproach, are they down?
Lenny keyed the handheld, Amphibious sea
plane. Theyre floating up to Bobbys dock. Standdown Gretta for now, but well need a welcoming
committee to the dock, post haste.
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Copy, came DaNells reply. "Alerting the
welcoming committee."Lenny and Red stayed in the shack but the
posse had been called. Within minutes, several of
the tougher looking men from the island, including
Bobby Gouse and his brother, and Mrs. Armstrong'shusband the ice-cream man, approached the end of
the pier. They had also heard the plane's approachand were already making themselves ready to greet
the visitor. As they sauntered closer, the pilot of the
seaplane looked unworried while he tossed a ropeunto the thick wooden planks and then jumped
across the gap himself to tie his vehicle down.
When he seemed satisfied with his double half-
hitch, he turned and addressed the waiting posse ina nonthreatening manor.
The teens in the shack watched the pilotshake hands with a few of the men and say a fewthings pointing to his plane over his shoulder. He
waved his hands a few times, evidently thinking it
helped to convince the men of his story, and thenBobby raised his handheld radio. They all heard his
transmission, This boy says his radios busted and
he couldnt reply back to yall, but he heard every
word of it. He thanks you for warning him aboutthe reef and wants to know if we have some fuel to
sell him.
The teens in the shack visibly relaxed as itappeared as if this was not an attack. But then came
a last statement from Bobbys radio, Also he asked
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if anyone knew a fellah by the name of Lenny
Hatching.
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3Lenny closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
He waited through the ensuing radio chatter from
various parties and only after half an hour of silenceover the waves did he and Red make their way from
the old shack back down into the subterraneanfortress complex. Their new guest would be stayingwith them for a while, in the lap of luxury, of
course. Although the island residents wanted him
to think he would be their prisoner, they wouldntstop him from leaving their care.
Lenny found his way to the conference room
that would host his interview. A few of the more
burly looking gentlemen had stayed behind to keeptheir guest company, but it was all for show. They
had no intention of assaulting the pilot that had
found their hiding place.Upon finding his seat across from the pilot,
Lenny began his interview. I am obligated to
inform you that this interview will be recorded, both
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video and audio. Full name, rank and serial
number. And speak up, please.The pilot answered with a sober expression
and tone, David James Winston. I never served in
the military, though I respect those that do.
Lenny continued, Your birth date andoccupation.
The pilot replied, July 7, 1977. I amemployed by the University of Southern Idaho as a
physics professor. But as a hobby I am an
astronomer.Professor or Doctor?
Excuse me?
Your title as a university professor, the one
you request your students call you.Does it matter?
It does if we want to offer you the respectof your education, said Lenny soberly.Then its Doctor, replied the pilot.
Dr. Winston, how did you hear my name?
The professor sat back now to answer,Thats a long story.
Lenny sat back also, I have time.
The professor eyed his interviewer for a few
seconds and then spoke, in probably the same wayhe would lecture his students at the university, I
became aware of you and your company a few
years ago at a professional conference. I thought itonly partially interesting that such a company
arrangement would exist in America. A relatively
small and yet ubiquitous parent company with
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subsidiaries in such a wide spectrum of commerce.
Yet your incorporated company seemed to make noefforts to grow itself beyond the state you were in.
This was a stark contrast compared with other
companies of your size. You became a hobby to
me, though no one else seemed to care either waywhich steps you took.
Lenny listened, growing more curious by theminute. Dr. Winston continued, I attended most of
the fights at the competition your company hosted,
noticing the recording equipment around the arenas.But again, no one thought it was worth their time to
notice. I did a little research and found that you
inherited your company and its government funding
from your grandfather and became even moreobsessed with meeting you. But then within a short
span you let your subsidiaries sell shares in thepublic markets and then you picked up your site anddisappeared with no forwarding address. You still
appear to have control over your subsidiaries
through online activity, but I couldnt find your newhome office anywhere in the world.
Lenny asked, And how did you find us
here?
I searched for other anomalous activity inthe area and found that one of the residents in your
previous hometown came in to a substantial amount
of money all of a sudden and made an unusual landpurchase at roughly the same time that you traded
your companies publicly. I tried to contact the
SEC, but received several stern phone calls from
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my congressmen asking me to stop looking for your
company. Why do you think that is?Lenny shrugged casually, I dont know
why your congressmen phoned you. Until now Ive
never heard your name. Why do you think they
wanted you to stop looking for us?The rumor mill hasnt been silent since you
left Alabama. A few crackpots have gotten togetherand formed a club. Really its the normal
conspiracy theories that scare foil-hatters. But one
small, almost forgotten point made me curious.You and your employees seem to be able to be in
two places at once.
Hows that possible? asked Lenny.
I dont have a clue, answered the pilot.But I was able to track down security camera
footage from several different cities in the US withsightings of one of three teens faces. They are seenon camera in Idaho Falls. Twenty minutes later
they are on camera in Denver. An hour later, they
are seen again in Boston. And unless you have alease on a modified SR-71, theres something fishy
going on whenever you go to town for groceries.
Lenny spoke after the professor paused, As
I told you over the radio, we have no runway on thisisland. The average Blackbird requires no less than
a mile and a half to take off from the ground and a
specially designed KC-135 to refuel it forsupersonic flights. Every time a Blackbird takes
off, its a million dollars in fuel and maintenance
costs. You think we have the kind of money to do
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that weekly? Besides, all the existing SR-71s were
decommissioned years ago. Theyre all accountedfor in museums.
I dont know, that was just an example.
What Im saying is that you guys are doing some
next level stuff here and people are noticing.A few people, said Lenny. But as youve
said, no one believes you and the government seemsto want you to not talk about it. I think you should
just drop it and go back home. Well sell you the
gas, but you are no longer welcome on this island.You cant hurt me, said the pilot.
We can defend ourselves from harassment
by an unwelcome intruder, but I think the bigger
problem would be, how you would get back home ifwe were to drop you off in the middle of the
Amazon rainforest, or on a raft in the center of thePacific Ocean, or in a tent in the heart of the Sahara.Think about that as you fill your plane. Think about
the possibilities if we seem to be able to be in
Denver and then Boston an hour later. Whatcouldnt we do to you?
With that, Lenny stood from his seat and
opened the door to the conference room, waiting
expectantly. But the professor remained seated.Im not here to bandy threats back and forth. We
need your help.
Lenny waited by the door, "We?"The pilot continued, As an astronomy
hobbyist, I also became aware of a large space rock
near Earth.
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Lenny interrupted, One among millions?
How very observant of you.This rock is different. A few of my
professor friends and I have come up with an
accurate model on a projected path for this rock and
the outcome isnt pretty. Were talking globalcataclysm.
Lenny stood still at the door to theconference room. He couldnt tell if the professor
was lying or not.
I have proof of my findings. Do you havea computer on this island?
Lenny replied, rather put off, Were
simplistic, not Luddites.
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4Lennys entire team watched the scene
unfold on the screen before them. The images were
projected onto a wall so that no grim detail could bemissed. They saw a projected timetable accelerated
to days passing in seconds. Within a months time,a meteor the size of Delaware would fall fromstable orbit and land on the surface of the Earth.
Their projected timetable had a variance of four
hours either way, and pointed to the rock crashinganywhere on a line from the central Atlantic to
Eastern Brazil. Even if it burned away three
quarters of its mass in entry and landed in the
ocean, the resulting impact would still have theforce of a billion nuclear warheads.
The ocean would be vaporized for a
thousand miles in minutes, and every fish that usedto live there would be turned to ash almost instantly.
The humans on Earth that survived the blast wave
from the initial impact would either burn up in the
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liquefied stone that used to be the surface rock, or
freeze to death in the following ice age. Theatmosphere would gain miles of thickness with all
the steam and poisonous gas given off by the
impact. The visible light from the sun would be
blocked completely and perpetual night wouldcover the land for thousands of years until the
planet could recover in its own extended schedule.But though it would be night, the other bands of
radiation from the sun would still heat the planet.
For millennia it would be pitch black and as hot asan oven, literally.
But by then, there would be no survivors.
Even the extremophiles, the organisms that live in
boiling acid pools in caves, the bacteria that live atvolcanic vents under the oceans, and every other
species evolved to withstand environmental torture,would be no match for the impending turmoil.Lenny felt skeptical, So, if this were true,
why havent we heard of it yet? Youre projecting
an extinction-level strike. This is arguably prettybig news.
We tried to have our work peer-reviewed,
but again, very convincing phone calls let us know
that inciting mass-panic would be bad for ourcontinued existence.
And what makes you think we can do
anything to help? asked an engineer.The professor answered, If you people have
tools or technologies more advanced than the
government, and operate outside their purview,
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maybe you could do something to stop or redirect
that rock. My hope was that you had discovered thesecrets to teleportation and could just place a nuke
in its path.
The room laughed. Teleportation? Are
you serious?Another operator scoffed, Beam me up.
But the professor wasnt laughing. Norwere the teens that had secretly visited the moon.
Lenny spoke after the laughter died down, Im
sorry to disappoint, but we dont have teleporters.We might be able to send a rocket up to that
asteroid, but nuclear payloads are outside our
purchasing power. And realistically were talking
about changing the orbital path of millions of tonsof assumedly solid rock. What did you really think
a nuclear warhead would do? Unless one couldsomehow channel the entire blast power in onedirection, it would have little measurable effect on
such a mass.
The professor lowered his head, I wasafraid youd say something like that.
Lenny continued, If your findings are
correct, I suggest you make the best of what little
time we have left on Earth. This isnt a high-budgetHollywood script. To do damage to a rock that size
would take a force equally as powerful as or more
powerful than itself, and we dont stock that kind ofartillery. And then to his escort, Make him
comfortable for the night in guest quarters.
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After Dr. Winston had left the room, Hank
turned to his employer, Please tell me theressomething we can do.
Lenny thought for a second, At the very
least, we can take Clarence up and see if theres a
rock where he says. We should be able to reachthose coordinates in a few hours time and then
well know for sure.Josh spoke up, Just because theres a rock
there, doesnt mean it will do as he says. Wed
need to confirm its orbital path and recalculate thedegradation spiral.
Im on it, said an engineer. Keep stable
position in relation to the asteroid for a while and
we can use that data to infer a flight path.Lenny and Josh led a team of smart people
down to the launching bay in the complex. Theyloaded a few extra pieces of equipment into theceramic balloon and then unplugged the batteries
from the charge cable.
Just before Josh closed the top hatch, Lennystood from his seat and said, Wait, we might need
Dr. Winston. And then to a handheld radio,
Please hood Dr. Winston and bring him to the
launch bay.Josh looked nervously toward his friend, but
he knew better than to question Lennys judgment.
Too many times he had been right against all odds.In a few minutes, they helped their guest down the
ladder in a black hood, which looked an awful lot
like a guest room pillowcase. They fastened his
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seatbelts, but had his hands bound down to the
armrests at his sides. The doctor didnt complain.Rather he was silently excited for what he thought
was coming.
The teens whispered on the upper level.
Lenny asked, Is everyone ready?Nods all around and he pressed the
command to open the inner doors to the launch bay.Clarence gently floated, in a way few other craft
could, into the chamber lock. The inner doors
closed and then locked and the outer doors openedallowing an influx of seawater to fill the lock
chamber. It scuttled quickly. Clarence then
traveled forward at a hundred miles per hour
beneath the surface. Little inertia could be felt bythe passengers as they rose to breach the surface at
around mid-day on their island.The surface turbulence they caused lookedhorrific and would do severe damage to small and
mid-sized boats in the area, but there wouldnt be
any. They flew due south for half an hour beforethey began to climb to their accustomed two
hundred foot altitude. Then Josh pushed the throttle
forward and they rocketed past mach 6 over the
southern Pacific Ocean. Since no boats they hadfound would be tall enough to impede their travel
they did so casually.
Soon they reached the Antarctic ice and thenturned their course to glide above the bergs and
glaciers. When they found the magnetic South Pole
they turned sharply upward, attempting to mask
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their ascent in the planets magnetic field. As they
climbed, they accelerated. The sky became dimmerand the stars appeared. Still faster they pushed their
little starcraft as they left the majority of the
atmosphere behind.
When they cruised at their maximum safespeed, Lenny unbuckled himself from his chair and
climbed down the ladder into the lower section. Hesaw that his pals were setting up their equipment
around the hooded guest. Lenny pulled the hood off
Dr. Winstons head and let his eyes adjust to thedarkness they saw outside. The doctor looked down
at his watch on his wrist, which Lenny graciously
twisted into view. His clock said still before noon,
but the stars outside the sapphire windows madehim pause.
And then the Earth began to peek into hisview through the high-visibility front of the vesseland he froze before speaking. Lenny knelt next to
him and spoke softly, We are in high earth orbit,
preparing to make our way toward the asteroid youwarned us about. Dont worry; youre safe in your
seat here. This craft has been tested at higher
altitudes than this. In a few hours well be close
enough to get an idea about the danger were in.Dr. Winston never questioned how he still
had gravity, nor how they had made it into space
without a rocket and a lot of shaking of the capsule.He simply took his view at face value, accepting the
truth that they were in fact flying through space at
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faster than escape velocity. All he said was, I just
knew you had something like this.But the other men working around him
made no effort to reply to the doctors statement.
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5The time passed quickly until they neared
the location in question. Just as Dr. Winston had
claimed, they found a massive space rock floatingserenely in the blackness. A hundred miles from
end to end, it looked more like a short femur bonethan a rock. It had a thinner waistline in the middleand bulbous ends. It toppled gracefully through the
void as if it were dancing in a water ballet.
Just as they said, said Dr. Winston softly.An engineer spoke on an intercom from the
lower level, Based on its size, it shouldnt have
much measurable gravity. It didnt coalesce like
this from smaller bits, it had to have been brokenoff a much larger rock in a collision. This was a
recent event, maybe a few thousand years ago,
based on its temperature and rough-hewn shape.Not many more centuries longer and impacts from
smaller asteroids would have rounded off most of
those jagged bits.
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Lenny asked, Do we have a reading on its
orbital path yet?The engineer replied, Not yet. But we
should have it before the PSR.
Dr. Winston asked, Whats the PSR?
The engineer answered him, The PSR is thepoint of safe return. We have limited power and air.
We have to carefully plan our trips to make sure wedont run out of either before we can safely land
back on Earth.
Dr. Winston nodded a few times, looked asif he was about to say something else and then shut
his mouth. He could wait to ask it later. He did
however notice perhaps for the first time that the
engineers around him were easily standing on thefloor as if they were still on the ground. He noted
this, but said nothing about it at the time.Half an hour after they found the topplingrock and began keeping close range to it, they had
ascertained a projected orbital path for it. The
programs they were using to crunch their numberstook into account all the major masses in the solar
system and most of the minor ones to calculate the
rocks path as it passed them. Within a margin of
.01% they had nailed down the exact path it wouldtake and the image didnt look pretty.
In 27 days and six hours, the asteroid would
make contact with the Earths atmosphere. At itspresent speed it would make landfall after only two
tenths of a second in the air. It would lose less than
a millionth of one percent of its mass to friction
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burn in the sky before it made a crater the size of
Greenland where Mongolia, China and most ofRussia used to be. Unless some other force entered
into the equation, the end of humanity was less than
a month away. And they stared at it, looking as
innocuous as a rubber duck floating in a bathtub. Ifthe computers hadn't confirmed the timetable, they
would simply think it was nothing more than aturning space rock, virtually indistinguishable from
the countless other Near Earth Objects identified up
to that date.For a half hour longer, they stayed close to
the rock. They flew in to get a better look at it and
discovered it had small holes riddling its surface.
Unlike a sponge whose entire structure is webbedwith holes and tunnels, the rock had only incidental
holes in its structure, like swiss cheese. It was morerock than emptiness by a long way.An engineer commented as he stood near the
transparent front on the upper level, These here
look like veins of hematite and cobalt. And thatover there could be iron or a ferrous ore. Based on
the jagged cleave lines Id say the impact that
cracked the asteroid here was a slower one. It just
broke off without transferring much energy intoheat.
Lenny asked, What are the chances that
those holes go deeper into the mass of the rock?Another engineer answered, From my
geology research, Id say the chances are high.
They look like leftover gas pockets from volcanic
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activity or cooled magma tubes like some caves on
Earth. Some of the tubes will be pretty shallow, butothers will go for miles.
Josh spoke up, brainstorming, If we could
get a Hatching Drive module lodged in one of those
tubes, we might be able to do a little to redirect therock. I mean, a little is all we need, right? Slight
changes in the asteroids path and it may miss theEarth entirely.
But how will we fasten it into the cavity?
asked Lenny. Steel cables wont be strong enoughand the rock looks brittle enough to just crack apart
and let the module fly out the other end of the tube.
An engineer spoke up, Wed need a
bonding material that has lots of surface area, lots ofadhesion and a fair amount of elastic resilience. It
needs to cushion the movements of the module butnot give way to them entirely.Josh interjected, Like that expanding foam
stuff? They use it to fill air gaps in construction
jobs. It bonds pretty good, and doesnt need oxygento cure. Its a recipe that dries on its own. If we put
a large enough payload of that stuff on a module
and then set it off remotely, it could make a good
plug in the tube and help the module to stay insidewhen we try to adjust the rocks course.
An engineer spoke up, Thats another
thing. Youre still talking about interfering with themomentum of a space rock that weighs in excess of
millions of tons. That inertia is going to be hard to
adjust. You wont be able to fly it around like this
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Clarence craft. The most youll be able to do is
slight changes in its path or speed. Do it wrong andit could hit the Earth sooner and harder.
Lenny replied, Right, but were only
talking about changing its trajectory by a few
degrees on the whole. Just a fraction one way oranother and it will follow a different orbit entirely.
But were also talking about applying adirectional force to a space rock in excess of
billions of newtons. Can a Hatching Drive module
dish out that kind of pressure without destroyingitself? I mean, this is going to stress the very
molecular structure of the materials its made of,
especially if theres a point of contact with the rock
wall.Josh spoke up as he read from a computer
display, Hey, guys? The system is picking up anactive ping on an unusual frequency coming frominside Clarences hull. Are we hauling a tracking
device?
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6Im sorry, said Dr Winston. They gave
me no choice.
After a close inspection of the guts of theprofessors smartphone, Lenny found an
aftermarket addition to the radio board. With hishead lowered, the professor continued softly,Please dont kill me.
Josh snorted slightly but kept his mouth
closed. Lenny thought about destroying the phonetracker, smashing it into pieces, but then he just set
it in Dr Winstons lap. He asked, Name, rank and
serial number.
As Clarence floated a few thousand milesabove the planets surface the professor answered,
I really am who I said. But when I tried to have
our findings on the asteroid peer-reviewed, theycontracted me to do this.
Whos they? asked Josh.
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Hes with the military. Some air force
general back east threatened me with eternalimprisonment in Cuba with no trial. He said that if
I could get you guys to help fix the meteor problem
I would be set free and rewarded for my service to
the planet.Josh spoke, Personally I wouldnt trust the
monetary promises of a guy that threatened tounjustly lock me up forever.
Dr. Winston defended, Im not in it for the
money! I just didnt want to go to a terrorist prisonand never see my family again.
Does the military know the location of our
island? asked Lenny calmly.
I have to assume so. They told me to flyout on that heading and land there. They gave me
that phone and told me not to lose it. If they weretracking it the whole time, you can bet theres anarmada of ships heading toward your little paradise
as we speak. All they needed was proof that you
had a way to get a payload out to that rock and fast.They probably tracked our ascent and path as far as
they could. Beyond that, I have no idea.
Lenny stood quietly thinking for a few
minutes. Then he climbed back up to the controllevel of Clarence and took his seat. He switched on
the fasten seatbelts sign and then made ready to
descend into the atmosphere. He keyed theintercom and spoke into his mic. Folks, the
conversation we just had never happened. We are
to pretend that we have no knowledge of an
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approaching military threat. When they land on the
island, we are to cooperate with their everycommand and make no efforts to fight them.
As soon as the intercom clicked off, Josh
asked softly, Are we losing Clarence today?
Lenny answered as the wind began to warmtheir front windows, Not if I can help it. As soon
as we have a stable link with the command center,forward them the conversation highlights and tell
them to seal off all access ways into the fortress but
our ingress tunnel. Prepare the surface residents forcompany and make sure no one gives the soldiers
any reason to escalate their tactics.
And what about the drive modules we still
have in storage? asked Josh.If we can keep the soldiers out of the
fortress, we shouldnt have to worry about themfinding the other drives. But we also need to startworking as fast as we can on the thing were going
to put into that space rock. Thats still a clear and
present danger that must be dealt with.
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7Once the digital link with their command
center registered as stable, Josh sent the files as he
had been told. But Lenny didnt take them directlyhome yet. He flew high over the ocean searching
for any ships that were heading for his island. Forminutes they hunted until their sensory array pickedup active radar pinging from below them.
A quick glance showed only a single wake
trail on the swelling ocean. From its size theyguessed it to be a large ship. They flew around in a
smooth pattern, trying to see what kind of tricks the
Navy would pull. Not many minutes into their
circling above the ocean and they picked up a radiosignal on the broad spectrum antenna.
Unidentified craft, you are hereby ordered
to descend to a landing on the US Navy carrierbelow us. Any attempt to flee will be met with
pursuit. Any attempts to attack your escort will be
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met with lethal retaliation. For your own good,
comply with these orders.At the same time that they heard the
message, they picked up several approaching jets.
They flew in a tight formation, generally toward
Clarence, but were not acting aggressively at thatmoment.
Lenny and Josh exchanged glances. Andthen they exchanged seats. Though they both spent
equally the time they sat in the pilots seat, Josh had
more experience with evasive tactics. But the onlyperson to speak was Red, who asserted, Punch it.
With no more convincing necessary, Josh
pushed his throttle control forward a few notches,
rocketing them forward. They jumped from twohundred miles per hour to four hundred miles per
hour in what seemed to be an instant. They feltlittle change in the room environment, but outsidethe ship, their wake disrupted not a small area of
sky.
Again the radio spoke, Unidentified craft.You are defying the US Navy in international
waters. Any actions you choose to take could be
misunderstood as threats to the sovereignty of the
United States. Comply with your orders. Descendto two hundred feet and slow to one hundred-eighty
miles per hour on approach to the carrier.
Joshs lips pursed as he concentrated on hisflying. He pushed Clarence to six hundred miles
per hour on a gradually circuitous path over the
pacific. Not many minutes passed before their
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sensory array detected a radar lock on their ceramic
hull, most likely from the pursuing jets.Josh muttered a quick, Crap. Hold on,
before pushing their throttle forward a few more
ticks. The acceleration from six hundred miles per
hour to a thousand passed unnoticeably for thepassengers of the flying submarine, but the eddies
caused by their maneuver played havoc on thepursuing jets. The Navy lost its target lock on their
hide, but they knew it wouldnt be for long.
Josh spoke up, Ideas?Red shouted, Full stop.
Lenny shouted, Crazy Ivan.
But Josh had an idea of his own. Stand by
for a Triton Orbit.With them following us? Are you nuts?
Well killem! said Red.Josh spoke up, calmly, Lenny, prepare todrop us a hundred feet on my command.
In seconds, Lenny had the auxiliary control
board up in front of his seat. The touchscreendisplayed a few dozen options ready for his
choosing. Ready, Lenny reported.
Red held her armrests tightly, though they
were moderately sure they wouldnt feel muchinertia in the maneuver. Josh made himself ready to
change their path much faster than the fighter pilots
reflexes could match.Just as the alarm sounded telling them that
the jets had again acquired a target lock on them,
Josh shouted, Now!
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In half a second, Clarence lost a hundred
feet of altitude, not dangerous at thousands of feetabove the ocean, but still not a safe trick. At
roughly the same time the jets began their own
dives, trying to catch the flying ball. But before
they could again take up position behind Clarence,Josh completely reversed their flight path, flying
back the way they had come, barely missing theNavy jets, but missing them still.
Josh turned Clarence to fly forward again,
knowing they had little time left before theirpursuers could again paint them with a target. He
enacted the dangerous but as he saw it necessary
programmed maneuver that would finally rid them
of the chase, as well as bring them in for a closerlook at the carrier. The Hatching Drive module shut
down and they fell out of the sky with growingspeed. They fell from a few thousand feet uptoward a growing blue ocean. Only a few dozen
feet above the water, Clarence detected the
approaching ground and reenergized the drivemodule while continuing their fall for six feet.
Then it slowed them to a gentler 10 miles per hour
and they sank controlled beneath the waves.
Because they had been falling when the drive againpowered up, the environment inside Clarence kept
its relative gravity situation. They experienced no
weight inside the ceramic bubble. No one knewwhy this was a byproduct of their drive principles,
they just knew it worked.
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They sank to a few dozen feet below the
waves and then leveled off. To anyone watchingthem from the air or monitoring their flight on a
radar scope, they would appear to simply crash and
then vanish as they hit the water. And since they
moved without engine noise, they could sneak upon sonar nets without being heard.
Josh whispered, Now what?Lenny answered, Now we wait.
Josh whispered again, Wait for what?
Lennys answer surprised Josh as he toounbuckled from his restraints, For them to send out
divers and find us drowned. Get everyone out of
their seats and floating through the air as if they are
dead. Theyll look in the windows and see us andassume were all dead. They wont notice that there
is no water in the cabin, which would be clearanyway. All lights and electronic displays need tobe shut off to make it look like they shorted out in
the water.
Josh whispered back, Theyll try to hoistClarence back out of the water and up onto their
deck.
Lenny replied in a whisper, But the drive is
still energized, holding us here no matter how muchlift they put on the cables. They wont want to
damage the rest of the ship so theyll leave us here
after a while and go to the island. This is just tostall them to give our people the time they need to
make ready for the navys landing.
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In three minutes flat they were ready for the
show to begin. They saw out the window thesurface of the water becoming very disturbed, most
likely from the wind generated by a helicopter
hovering over their position. In a few more minutes
they saw lights shining in the front lenses. Lennykept his eyes open, but focused on a bolt on the
floor. They wouldnt see his eyes moving anyway.A quick glance around the windows and they would
assume that the seal had failed on impact and the
crew hadnt had time to get out before all their airwas gone.
It took measurable control of their bodies
not to flinch when one diver banged a few times on
the front lenses. He was looking for reactions butnot one person in the ceramic bubble responded.
The lights left the windows and Lenny had a chanceto whisper to his companions, You guys are doinggood. A few more minutes and we can be on our
way.
A loud clanking sound came as a chain setfell across the shell. Some rubbing sounds as the
divers linked it together and they braced for the next
events. They heard the chain slipping on the
ceramic, but the ocean surface got no closer. Theywaited and waited and waited silently more until a
dark shape loomed in the distance. It was the keel
of the carrier.The massive ship turned to the side to barely
miss hitting Clarence. Lenny sighed as he knew
that the carrier would crush them like egg shell if
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they had collided. When the carrier stopped
moving, they waited a few more minutes and thenheard some more sounds from the chain net that
surrounded Clarences shell. They were leveraging
the power of the carrier to try to lift Clarence out of
the water. But after a few torturous minutes of thechain grinding against the ceramic Josh noticed the
water line on the carriers hull dipping below thesurface.
Wow, whispered Josh.
Lenny whispered back from where hefloated near him, I know, right?
But their depth stayed the same no matter
what the navy tried. They were lucky that the
seamen assumed Clarence was just too heavy andreleased the chain net from around them.
The divers all retreated to their helicopterand the carrier slowly began to move away fromClarence. They assumed that the navy believed
they could come back and pick up the shell later,
after they had taken the island.Josh found his way to Lenny and whispered,
Your plan worked. Lets hope we gave Hank the
time they needed to make ready to entertain guests.
Lenny nodded and then found his way downto the lower level. He whispered, The coast is
clear, but they may still be listening to us. Keep
noises at a minimum.All nodded and then began to quietly secure
the equipment that had floated up from the floor.
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Dr. Winston asked before Lenny left them, How is
it done?Lenny answered truthfully, Really, we have
no idea. We noticed on our first flight into space
that we still had the same gravity that we had on the
ground. Not until months later did we discover thatwe could sustain a weightless condition also.
And that maneuver, the Triton Orbit.Whats that about?
Dr Winston, as an astronomer you should
already know that of all the planets and moons inour solar system Triton is the only one to orbit
backwards in relation to the rest.
I didnt claim to know everything, he said
as Lenny again left him.For minutes they floated in silence, hoping
that they could gain enough distance from thecarrier to have any of their movements gounnoticed, but also to be able to do as they planned.
They knew that cautious military sonar operators
would keep listening for any signs of danger. Andthey knew that if there were any automated systems
listening to the sonar readings, they would be
alerted immediately to dangers, no matter the
direction or assumed state of the ceramic ball as thehumans saw it.
For minutes they spoke only in whispers to
keep their chances of being overheard to aminimum, but what they didnt plan on was a visit
from another mammal outside of Clarences skin.
The large gray swimmer closed on them, but
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curiously paused a dozen feet away. It looked like a
humpback or blue whale, but they couldnt tell fromthat distance. The point was that it was massive.
And it seemed to be watching them as intently as
they were watching it.
Josh felt the need to move Clarence, but hedidnt want to harm the whale, not certainly
knowing if simply moving near it would hurt it. Atlast, the whale moved off and disappeared in the
murky blue, assumedly continuing on its migration.
They didnt know that their island in fact rested sonear a whale migratory path. Though they didnt
have time to investigate it further right then, Lenny
decided that he would safely try to do so at some
other time.
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8Lenny keyed up the link with their island.
He hoped the ship would continue on and not detecttheir communications. At once a call came in. It
was the voice of DaNell, their dispatch operator,Repeat. This is island control calling Clarence.Do you copy?
Lenny keyed his mic, This is Clarence. I
read you five by five. No casualties. Prepare for abeach and air assault. Incoming US Navy aircraft
carrier. Make no efforts to obstruct the landing
soldiers. Cooperate but do not open the mountain.
Well be there shortly. Clarence clear.Lenny piloted them under the water for
miles until they reached their safe harbor. The
tunnel into the mountain remained open. Once theywere in, the doors locked on the sea-side. The bay-
side doors opened and the water from the lock
chamber rushed into the vents in the floor on the
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other side. Clarence flew gracefully to his cradle
and set down gently on the springed pads that hecalled his bed. But Lenny didnt shut down the
drive module yet. He thought he might need it still
to sustain the weightlessness within the shell. They
did, however, take the time to plug in their batteriesto the long power cord near the pads.
Josh helped Dr. Winston down the ladderonce he had been unbelted from his seat. He looked
a little dizzy from the weightlessness they had
experienced. But that wasnt anything with whichto be concerned, it would pass quickly.
Out of the craft the crew and passengers
climbed quickly. They had a job to do and not
much time to play around. The engineers ran totheir areas of work and began to collect the things
they might need. Lenny pulled his phone from hispocket and dialed control.Please tell me they havent landed yet.
DaNell replied over the line, Theyre
holding position thirteen miles out. As of yet therehave been no communications from them, nor any
launches of boats or aircraft.
Thanks, said Lenny and he hung up his
phone.In the supply warehouse, several decks
down from the highest level in the subterranean
fortress, he found the section marked for adhesivestorage and sighed relief. They had stocked up on
the expanding foam in industrial canisters, just in
case of water leaks through the stone walls that
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surrounded their submarine cavern. There looked to
be enough for their purposes. He began to loadcases of the large canisters onto a pallet for
transport. When he had cleaned their supply from
the floor he lifted the load with a pallet jack and
pushed the heavy stack out into a hall.The freight elevator lifted him to the launch
bay and before he could get the rolling load movingagain, his phone rang. This is Lenny.
DaNells voice came on the line, This is
control. Several small barges have launched fromthe carrier and are making their way toward the
eastern beach. Be advised also that magnified
optics have registered deck activity on the carrier as
we speak.Acknowledged, said Lenny. Keep me
informed.He put his phone away and started the palletjack rolling toward Clarence. Another few people
were working at removing the drive module from
their cargo hauler Starla. It was positioned abovethe payload container, housed in an armored casing,
which they were actively dismantling with drills
and wrenches.
Lenny called to them, It doesnt have tolook pretty, just dont damage it.
A machinist brought in some dive tanks
from storage on the next level down. He wheeledthem in a little trolley, because they too were heavy
in large numbers. Josh went to work as soon as he
had climbed out of Clarence. He was trying to
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make an adapter fitting that would allow the
contents of the smaller canisters of foam to betransferred into the larger dive tanks.
An announcement over the intercom let
them all know their time was running out. Naval
choppers have landed on the island. Do not resisttheir commands.
Everyone redoubled their speed assemblingtheir makeshift equipment. Lenny called, No time
to transfer the foam, just band the canisters together
to the skeleton of the drive module. And make surethat battery is charged.
Yes, sir, said the workers in unison.
Lenny pulled Josh aside and spoke to him.
"When the canisters are all in place and bandedtogether, wrap them with det-cord. Set the
detonator for a remote activated timer. Make surethe navigation computer is shielded against both thedet-cord and the foam, and that we can pilot the
module from here as long as its within range.
Josh nodded and ran to retrieve theirexplosive supplies. Lenny then ran from the bay to
the personnel elevators and pushed the button for
the control center. The ride was short but
agonizing. Once in the command center, he found aplace to sit and wait. He watched the screens
showing them the activity on the surface.
The sight wasnt pretty. Most of the peopleon the island were being rounded up at gunpoint
and congregated at a central location. The
schoolhouse served as the temporary jail. Lenny
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again felt relief that none of his residents were
fighting the soldiers. The last thing he needed rightthen was a complicated situation.
DaNell spoke to Lenny softly, Can you
guarantee the safety of those people?
Lenny opened his mouth to speak, but sheinterrupted him by asking more sternly, Can you
GUARANTEE the safety of my family?Lenny carefully answered, Were doing
what we can. As long as they are not hostile, they
will be treated well.DaNell nodded and turned back to the
computer screen before her. Lenny silently hoped
he was right. He was playing a dangerous game of
chess with a lot of lives.
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9Lenny found that his mind had begun to
wander as it was called briskly back to the subject at
hand. A call came in on a service line from theschoolhouse. I hope I am talking to Leonardo
Hatching from Alabama. My name is BrigadierGeneral Samuel Kastora. I am here to commandeeryour control center and any equipment I feel
necessary to the mission Ive been given, which is
to protect our planet from doom by meteor. If youcomply with my orders, I give you my word that we
will leave you and your citizens peacefully once we
have accomplished our mission. You have ten
minutes to comply.The line went dead as Lenny watched by
security camera the uniformed man put the phone
back down. But within seconds, a marine in combatattire stood in front of the camera and worked his
hands out of its view. The screen then showed a
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simple message that the camera no longer
functioned.Lenny wrote on a sheet of paper, one
security camera. He was making a list of items to
bill the Navy for replacing.
He keyed his intercom control and spoke onthe general announcement channel, Message to the
commander of the invading military forces. Youhave trespassed upon privately owned United States
soil. If you cease and desist now, I will overlook
the illegal treatment of our people and theintentional damage to our property. You are
working outside the rights of your position and are
asked to leave now peacefully before a permanent
entry is made in your service record. And FYI, if itstrikes the earth, it isn't called a meteor, it's called a
meteorite.DaNell spoke softly, Dont anger them.They may have permission to do this.
Before Lenny could reassure her, the phone
line spoke again, I have landed on this island byorder of the Commander in Chief, and as such I am
within my authority to take this island and its
residents and properties into custody by force. I ask
you to surrender your post peacefully, though youand I both know I have the men and tools to take it
aggressively. We have more than enough firepower
to breach your defenses violently, but we wish aquiet and orderly handoff of command.
Lenny doubted the intentions of his
adversary, but he also had to think of his friends and
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family. He keyed his mic and spoke, I will allow
you to use our equipment and facilities for yourpurposes on the condition that you remove all your
armed soldiers from the schoolhouse and simply
guard it from the outside. You will gain no honor
by holding unarmed civilian men, women andchildren at gunpoint. And FYI, if you had asked
nicely, I would have worked with you gladly.DaNell again mildly chastised her boss,
Better than the last one, but still antagonistic.
Make the situation better, not worse.My apologies, said Lenny, but Im trying
to do just that. Maybe next invasion you can handle
the communication.
DaNell spoke, I might just take you up onthat one, if this ever happens again.
The general called in again, as they sawfrom an outside view that soldiers were exiting theschoolhouse, Ill make my men guard the outside
of the schoolhouse, but if your civilians try anything
Ill take them all aboard my carrier and hold them inreal jail cells.
Thank you General Kastora, said Lenny.
My people and I will open the door and be waiting
for you at the access tunnel to this fortress. We havenearly finished refitting a module of our design to
approach the meteor with a payload. Well be
bringing it up with us. The access port to thisfortress is due west of the schoolhouse half a mile.
We await your appearance.
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DaNell spoke when Lenny had set his mic
down on the table, Do you really think hell honoryour agreement?
Lenny shrugged, It doesnt matter anyway.
Im just stalling him so that our engineers can finish
their tasks. With luck we should have an officialapology from Washington by dinnertime.
DaNell spoke, Sometimes I dont like thegames you play, but you always seem to have the
whole thing planned out. One of these days your
luck will run out, and when it does, I hope Im notthere to see it.
I hope Im not there either, said Lenny as
he left the command center.
Up flights of stairs he raced to the launchbay. The freight elevator had the ability to lift
equipment and personnel all the way to ground levelthrough the opening of a heavy cement cover overthe elevator shaft. But once it lifted to the surface,
security protocols cut off power to the controls on
the lift platform itself. Lowering the platform againcould only be done from the command center. And
since Lenny neglected to mention any other access
points into the fortress, he doubted that the soldiers
would find their way inside.In the launch bay, Lenny found that his team
had finished their task. The object they had
assembled looked very unprofessional, but it didntneed to look good, just work good. Josh
approached him as he neared the assembly.
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Handing Lenny a small black case, Josh
spoke, The guys wired this up to set off the timeron the foam poppers. But we still need to set the
timer to a specific delay. Was there a number you
had in mind?
Lenny thought a few seconds and thenanswered, Set it for five minutes. And then can we
fly it remotely?An engineer answered, It uses the same
tech we normally use. Small memory for a few
programmed maneuvers plus remote access fromeither here or from Clarences control board. We
figured it would be easier to get into place if you
were up there with it. Besides, the satellite link has
a limited range anyway.Good, said Lenny. Now, were going to
turn it over to the Navy and explain it to them.Maybe seeing this theyll let us launch it and thenjust leave.
Josh asked softly, Do you really believe
that?Lenny quietly replied, Given that theyre
one of the several branches of military that defend
our nation from threats, I certainly hope they dont
give up that easy. Would you want them defendingyour freedom if thats how they operated?
Josh shook his head a few times, Not in this
universe. So, cellmates then?No way, said Lenny. You snore too
loud.
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10Slowly the freight elevator reached the top
level, ground level on the island. Upon it rested the
modified drive module, Clarence, a few otherworthless bits of technology and equipment, and
Lenny and Josh and a few engineers. They foundwhen they reached the surface that a party awaitedthem. About a dozen well-armed marines waited
patiently for the lift to stop before they raised the
business ends of their rifles to bear on the peoplestanding on the lift.
Josh piloted Clarence, as they still retained
the weightless environment within its hull. When
they reached the top, Josh made no attempt toescape in the likely bullet-proof submarine. In fact
he did the opposite. He popped the top hatch and
tossed a rope ladder down the side of the shellinviting any who wanted a ride to climb aboard.
A few soldiers climbed the ladder quickly
and could soon be seen through the sapphire lenses.
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Lenny recognized the person in charge and spoke to
him in a nonthreatening way. Weve finishedbuilding what we think will help get rid of the
asteroid in space before it hits Earth. If youll let us
launch it-
The General interrupted, Can that ball bepiloted by one of my men?
Lenny answered respectfully, With just aminute of training from Josh.
Do it, said the grizzled officer.
Lenny put the two-way to his mouth, as theshell was too thick to translate much spoken noise,
Josh, show the soldiers how to fly Clarence.
The General then spoke, as if for the first
time recognizing that Lenny was the person incharge, Im taking over this operation.
Lenny felt a few hands gripping his arms,intending to lead them from that place. He walkedwhere they led him, not fighting or giving them any
reason to use any force against him or those loyal to
him.As they made their way from the clearing
Lenny heard several of the people talking at the lift,
Im trying, but the control isnt responding.
Another soldier spoke, Are you sure youredoing it right?
The directions are plainly marked here.
Nothing works. I think they cut the power to thecontrols. I know I would.
Well, open it up, then. Get this lift working
and fast.
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Lenny smiled. He knew they wouldnt be
able to use those controls anytime soon. Theseparation relay that disconnected that panel from
the rest of the network was located down in the
command center. Nothing they tried from ground
level would do them any good.Through the cleared terrain they walked and
Lenny realized only too late that the General had nointention to uphold his end of the deal. They led
him to a waiting helicopter and up into its side. One
soldier bound his hands with zip-ties while anotherstrapped his body down tightly for transport. The
chopper lifted from the fertile island dirt and
pointed its nose toward the sea.
Looking around him he saw a few other menand women he recognized. They looked at him
frightened, not knowing what to expect. Lennytried to put on his most brave expression, hoping itwould reassure his friends. But in the back of his
mind he had a feeling that his expression would do
little to help alleviate their fears. They were beingferried by helicopter, bound at the wrists, toward
unjust imprisonment in international waters.
Lenny tried to prepare himself for what
would follow. They would use extreme methods tointerview him, working their hardest to get the
secrets from him that they felt they needed. They
would keep him from sleeping, giving him food andwater only to keep him from passing out. They
would shout at him and threaten him with all
manner of punishments and horrible things.
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He knew they couldnt hurt him, but then
again, his was a special case. Hed have no lawyerassigned to him, would probably never again see the
light of day. Theyd threaten him with harming his
friends, anything they could do to get his lips
moving. But he knew that no matter what they said,no matter how they lied to him, promised him riches
and glory and prison cells and torture, the worldwould be better off if he kept his mouth shut. He
hoped his friends knew this also. But would his
team and the engineers that knew his secrets alsohave the fortitude that he wanted to show? Only
time would tell.
The helicopter touched down on the deck of
the carrier and immediately Lenny received a hoodover his head. They helped him roughly climb out
of the side and walked him across the windypavement. The hood he knew would keep him frombeing able to find his way out of the ship should he
escape his captors, but he had no intention of
running.Through hallways and doorways they
marched him, on what would most likely be a very
circuitous route to his destination. Every few
seconds they told him to step over a doorwaycasement. A few times he climbed down steep
ladders and twice he climbed up sets to higher
levels. It all washed together for Lenny as theytraveled. He had no longer any idea which way he
headed as they kept him moving and turning often.
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When at last they found a place for him to
sit, they told him so, Theres a chair behind you.Sit down.
Lenny bent his knees, but found no pad
behind his legs. He fell a foot and a half to the hard
floor, bruising his thigh as he landed to the side. Heheard a few men laughing at him as they stood
around his body. Someone began to rifle throughhis pants pockets, removing anything they could
find. Another set of hands unlaced his shoes and
briskly removed them from his feet. His socks soonfollowed.
Then his pants were taken down his legs and
his t-shirt cut from his shoulders. They left his
wrists bound so the shirt had to come off in a morecreative way. Thankfully they left him his
underwear, but it was of little comfort on the coldfloor. The hood remained on his head and the tieson his sore wrists as the people left him alone. A
heavy door closed and squeaky locks slid into place.
Taking the opportunity to remove the hood gavehim no joy. He sat presumably alone in pitch
blackness. Not even a crack of light around the
door to his cell let him know which way he had
entered.Startling him a voice came out of the
darkness, but it was just an intercom, Youll find a
jumpsuit near you on the floor. You may put it onif you want.
Lenny groped around the floor looking for
fabric and found it after a minute. He worked it in
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his hands until he had an idea of the arrangement of
its bits. It had buttons on its chest seam. Lennyclosed his eyes realizing that a way to shock him
would be to suddenly turn on lights around him and
mess with his vision. He closed his eyes tightly, not
wanting to give his captors any more concessionsthan they had already taken.
Out of habit, he felt for the stitch lines in thefabric of his new clothing. He felt the direction of
the pattern and noticed that they had given him the
jumpsuit turned inside out. Probably something thathappened in laundering it. He pulled the legs and
arms the right way and then started to slide his legs
into the lower section. But his hands were still
bound, making it impossible to get his arms into thesleeves of the suit.
Lenny buttoned the front seam as far as hecould and then took the sleeves of his attire and tiedthem around his waist. Not an easy thing to do with
no sight and fettered hands but he managed just the
same. His next priority became finding the door tohis cell. He felt along the walls for a while before
he found that he was in a room no more than ten
feet on the edge. The doorway sat centered on one
wall. Lenny found a corner to sit in, to the side ofthe doorway. There he would wait.
He knew a little about these things from his
studies in school. He knew they werent allowed tohurt him legally, they couldnt deprive him of life-
sustaining requirements such as food and water.
But they could keep him awake for days, lying to
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him about everything under the sun. They could
confuse him and try bribery and forms of neuro-programming such as punishing incorrect answers
and rewarding correct ones. They would try to trip
him up, get him to doubt his memory. But in the
end, Lenny knew, he would win. Good always wonin the end, didnt it?
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11Youll find a jumpsuit on the floor near
you, said the speaker in the darkness.
Red found it quickly and then put it on.Thankfully the soldiers had removed the ties from
her wrists before leaving her alone and almostcompletely disrobed. She fumbled with the buttonson the seam, but in less than a minute she felt more
modest. The suit was larger than her body, and
baggy. Obviously they had never had any prisonersher size.
Rolling the leg cuffs helped her not trip over
her own feet, but the cold floor seemed to be an
unfair trade. With her back against the wall, shedidnt know which one, she sang a song in her head.
Distantly she began to hear other noises. One
sounded like footsteps outside the door. Anothernoise she became aware of sounded like a small
computer fan with a noisy bearing.
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She also heard a soft tick with a moderately
regular tempo. Just about five seconds of gappassed between each tick, it held constant. It could
have been the sound of water dripping, or linear
expansion of metals due to temperature change.
But then again, it could have been from a speaker,produced electronically either on purpose or on
accident.Red found herself with her eyes closed, but
with no real reason to open them again she kept her
eyelids down. After all, what was there to see?
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12Josh heard nothing in the darkened room.
His wrists hurt him, but he kept this informationfrom anyone who could hear him. He knew if it
were he designing the cells, hed have included a
night vision camera to still be able to watch theactions he would take in the dark. Such simple
security measures were probably not outside the
imagination of the designers of the cell in which he
found himself. So, knowing he was at that momentlikely b