Connexion : The Atlantis Project, Book.1 (32 page)

“I suppose this is one of the pillars you
mentioned earlier?”

“Yes, the drones showed the presence of
symbols engraved on the top,” replied Francisco.

“How are you planning on getting to them?
This one must be ten or twelve meters high and I can’t see us
climbing up there. These perfectly smooth cylinders don’t seem to
have anything to grip onto.”

“Don’t worry,” answered Giuseppe. “We thought
to bring a detailed map of the place with us. We have a high
resolution photograph of each one of these pillars. Here, look.
These are the symbols on top of this one,” he said, handing Charlie
a little tablet that he kept attached to the side of his suit.

Charlie looked attentively at the screen,
while Giuseppe scrolled through a complete map of the no-go zone
with jerky movements of his finely gloved finger. Each sector was
numbered, but the numbering was quite random, as they were
incapable of deciphering the N.H.I.’s writing. After a short
search, he stopped over one of the pillars and dragged his gloved
fingers apart on the screen to bring up a detailed view of the top.
A series of symbols appeared, which Charlie immediately deciphered
without even noticing: Sector 4. He was not mistaken. The sectors
were apparently numbered from lowest to highest and this one must
be the very first, along with the one opposite it, on the other
side of the main road. He turned his head in that direction and
noticed another pillar, a mirror image of the first. The main
highway really must cross the town, as Francisco called it, just
like those long, straight streets that divide most big American
cities up into a grid pattern.

“Could you show me a picture of that other
pillar?” he asked, pointing to the second one.

“Of course! Nothing could be simpler.”

“Sector 3. I suppose the numbering must begin
in the area recently colonized by your men. I hadn’t paid much
attention to them before, but now I remember seeing two pillars
identical to these ones at the entrance to the residential zone. Is
that correct?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right. Perhaps you would
like to see those images too?”

“There’s no need. This one marks the entrance
to Sector 4 and the one opposite, on the other side of the main
highway, marks the entrance to Sector 3, as I have just read on
these pictures. In that case, there is no doubt that the two
pillars in the residential zone are numbers 1 and 2. The sectors
are numbered from lowest to highest and the colonized area is the
starting point. Your men must have discovered the main entrance to
this huge, underground cave. Perhaps there are others, but
apparently I didn’t see any on the map you showed me, nor on the
model in the dome where Victor is lying.”

What Charlie had just said, sounding as if he
had just discovered it, was in fact mere repetition for him. He had
already gathered much of this information from looking through the
graphic tablet that Giuseppe had trusted him with several days
earlier. He had been able to access a map of the whole base and
knew perfectly well where Sector 24 was. That was what had made him
so confident of finding Rosaline in this ocean of domes. He was
therefore certain that she was not among the victims in the zone
contaminated by the presence of humans, but for now it was
important that everyone believe they were moving on blindly, guided
only by physical clues and the maps they had with them.

35 A SIZABLE PROBLEM

“If what you say is correct, Charlie, we will
need to walk for quite some time before we reach Sector 24. I’m
afraid that we may not reach it by the end of the day, in view of
our slow pace in these suits,” said Giuseppe.

“You mentioned earlier that there was an
N.H.I. magnetic levitation vehicle in each sector. So there should
be one in this sector. Could you take us to it, Giuseppe?” asked
Charlie.

Giuseppe looked at the digital map again then
pointed out the way to go.

“There’s one over there, but I doubt you will
be able to get it working. The general operating system must have
been programmed to remain inactive throughout the hibernation
period. In their place, I think that’s what we would have done,
too. The amount of energy needed to power a network of this size,
even on standby, must be colossal, aside from the technical risks
generated by such a long time period.”

“You’re probably right, but we have nothing
to lose in trying. There must be some sort of reactivation system,
even if it’s only temporary.”

“Unless everything is pre-programmed, or even
controlled from the outside,” added Francisco.

Charlie had not thought of this last
possibility, but it did seem logical. The bases had been designed
to preserve the lives of the population that stayed on Earth, for
the time it took to launch a rescue mission from outer space. He
had not found any information on how the magnetic network
functioned while looking through the graphic tablet, but he had
mainly been concentrating on the mission Victor had given him. Not
knowing when, or even if, Giuseppe would give him another
opportunity to search those archives, he had deliberately skimmed
over all the technical documents regarding the operations of the
base. Anyway, he would have needed months to read everything. Even
with the new intellectual abilities convergence had bestowed on
him, he was not sure he would be capable of deciphering such highly
technical information. Victor himself would probably not have been
able to either, unlike his brother.

“That’s possible”, he replied, “but there’s
only one way to find out. Let’s take a closer look at this
vehicle!”

When they got there, Charlie immediately
recognized the sleek lines of the vehicle that he had ridden in not
so long ago, with Emma. Dark gray and massive, there it sat on the
magnetic strip, rooted to the ground like a block of iron weighing
several tons. In the connection he had climbed in as easily as
could be, but here it was a different story. The vehicle was
designed to transport beings that were ten times the size of
humans. Lined up like a procession of ants before this horizontal
monolith of extravagant proportions, the little group looked
utterly helpless.

“So, what next?” asked Jacques
sarcastically.

“It’s hard to say. From a distance, things
seemed quite simple, but I realize we are confronted with a serious
problem of size. When I got into this type of vehicle I was in the
connection. All I had to do was climb onto the first step and hop
in. It’s true I hadn’t thought about the fact that our small size
would be such an issue. We can’t even reach the door handle of this
vehicle.”

“Maybe you’d like me to give you a leg-up?”
Jacques teased.

“I’m not sure it’s really a time for joking
around, Jacques, especially as everyone can hear our conversation
over the radio, remember!”

Jacques had completely forgotten that detail.
Well, it did not really matter now, so he just smiled. He took the
joke even further, determined as usual to relax the atmosphere.

“Maybe we could make a human pyramid!” he
continued in his jovial tone. “Giuseppe and Francisco could form
the base, followed by Mario and Clementine on the next level. Then
you and I would just need to put our feet on their shoulders, just
like those human pyramids they do in Barcelona! It’s a pity they’re
not Spanish; that would have made it much easier!”

“What a good idea! What do you say, Mario?”
laughed Charlie. “Spain, Italy – what’s the difference? You
Mediterraneans love your street acrobatics and know all about team
work? Jacques is right; it’s time to show our team spirit!”

“Oh, I think that’s an excellent idea!”
answered Mario, “Especially when you consider that, as research
scientists working on a common project, we are well-versed in group
spirit and sacrifice. Isn’t that right, Giuseppe?”

Giuseppe smiled behind his visor. He looked
at Francisco, who did not seem at all sure about the plan that had
just been suggested; then he answered, in a slightly more serious
tone than his fellow team members.

“Absolutely! However, what will happen when
Charlie opens the door? Don’t you think our fragile pyramid would
fall down then, like a house of cards? The idea is not a bad one,
but I don’t think it would stand up to the test. That door must
weigh three or four tons at least. The fall could be quite painful,
don’t you think?” he added, jokingly.

“Yes, it would be, Giuseppe. I’m afraid we’ll
have to find another, more suitable solution. What do you suggest,
Francisco?” Mario asked, trying to catch his eye, but he seemed
more furtive than ever.

Francisco hesitated for a long moment,
carefully observing everything around them. He scanned the bodies
and faces of his team members one by one without ever making eye
contact with them. The way he avoided their eyes gave them the
impression they were merely part of the surroundings.

“There is no solution to this problem. If we
want to try entering this vehicle we must come back with suitable
equipment. For now, all we have is a small exploration drone, a few
dozen meters of rope, three magnetic handles, flashlights, knives
and survival kits which would allow us to survive for several days
if anything went wrong, until a search party could rescue us. The
magnetic handles and ropes are to enable us to explore areas that
are inaccessible from the ground. They could help us to reach that
door handle but even if we managed to climb up there, I doubt you
could open the door, Charlie. The handle will not work without
being unlocked and the equipment we have will be of no help for
that.”

Francisco’s reply discouraged the group. He
was right. They were full of good intentions but that was not
enough for them to achieve their goal, at least not as easily as
they had thought at first, in any case. Being small and
under-evolved, in a world designed by giants with intellectual
abilities and technology far more advanced than their own, was a
handicap they had greatly underestimated.

“No”, agreed Charlie. Behind his visor, his
face had lost all signs of lightheartedness.

“I’m afraid Francisco is right, Charlie.
We’ll never be able to open that vehicle. I did warn you. Either we
decide to turn back now, and come back better prepared next time,
or we carry on our way on foot. It could be a very, very long way,”
said Giuseppe.

“Wait!” Mario said suddenly. He had left the
group for a few minutes, to search the area around the vehicle for
any possible clues. “Come and look at this!”

Lying on the ground was a sort of
rectangular, metal plaque. About eighty centimeters long, it
blended into the magnetized metal of the road. On its upper side
was a line of symbols and in its center they could make out a
slightly darker disk.

“What could it be?” asked Mario.

Charlie came nearer the object, which was
actually quite difficult to make out; it blended into the gray
surface of the magnetic road so well. He looked at it carefully and
easily deciphered the symbols. It was a line of letters and figures
that were most certainly a personal access code.

“This could be an access card that an N.H.I.
dropped before leaving. With a little luck, it may even enable us
to unlock the door. Help me get it off the ground!” he said
enthusiastically.

Mario tried first, without success, then
Giuseppe, Clementine and even Francisco joined in, but the card
would not budge an inch. It was magnetic, stuck to the metallic
ground. Charlie sighed, before exclaiming in frustration, “That’s
it; we’re obviously not going to get anywhere today! I’m starting
to think you were right, Giuseppe. I must have been a little too
optimistic. The N.H.I.’s technology seems to be locked down and
literally inaccessible. Everything is oversized for the ants that
we are, in comparison to those giants. I wonder how you even
managed to open the domes in the colonized area.”

“Actually, we didn’t exactly open them. You
could say we broke in. Our technicians had to use powerful lasers
to cut through the thick, metal walls. Even with that technology,
it was no easy task. I thought you simply wanted to explore the
no-go zone, so I didn’t deem it necessary to bring along a team of
technicians. Also, the design of the entry chamber means it is not
possible to bring in material that is too bulky. For that we would
need to build a new entrance, with all the risks of contamination
that would involve. If you tell us what you are really looking for,
Charlie, I could help work out a strategy for finding it.”

Charlie was quiet for quite some time, while
Mario continued exploring the surroundings. The mood had become
heavy, as each of them took stock of the impasse they found
themselves in. The situation seemed hopeless; then Francisco
suddenly spoke, in a barely audible voice.

“There may be another solution.”

All faces turned toward the one who had just
shattered the morose atmosphere in such an unexpected way, but no
one could catch his eye, as he was staring determinedly at his
feet.

“Go ahead, Francisco!” Mario said
impatiently. “What solution are you talking about?”

“I recently found some documents in the
archives of the base that detailed a sector different to the rest.
The drones had photographed a number of non-metallic structures
there. Different hypotheses were put forward and one of them
suggested that it could be some type of computer command center.
Irvine Sigler had begun studying it, but after the first N.H.I’s
died from contamination by humans, everything was stopped and the
containment wall was quickly erected to avoid the risk of never
being able to enter into contact with one of the giants some day.
Charlie’s knowledge might help us to understand its function.”

“He’s right!” Charlie suddenly shouted. “I
should have thought of it earlier. I saw that sector when I was
looking at the graphic tablet. I didn’t pay much attention to it,
since it wasn’t what I was mainly looking for. It clearly mentioned
that there was an area for infrastructure management and
networking. It’s in Sector 49.”