Milo Moon: It Never Happened (10 page)

It was quite a few minutes before they heard the footsteps approaching, and a voice.

‘Nothing to report Control. We’re almost at the limits of G Sector. Over.’

There was a crackling sound, and an electronic voice, hardly audible. ‘Continue to D27a D, then return and commence a search of F Sector. Over.’

‘D27a D. Then F Sector. Copy Control. Over and Out.’

It was impossible for Michael to see through the grating of the vent cover, as the mesh was too thick and finely slotted. He could hear the footsteps moving to his left however. He put his finger to his lips to tell Anne to remain silent. They had to wait until the patrol returned and headed back toward F Sector before they could move. It was a full fifteen minutes before the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from their left, and another ten to hear them pass and head off too their right.

‘Is i….,’ Anne started to say in a whisper, before Michael put his hand to her mouth, and shook his head. It was another twenty minutes before Michael thought is was safe to move. He lit his torch and hoped.

‘Okay, quietly though,’ he whispered, as he opened the vent and lowered himself. Helping Anne as she followed him.

‘Oh, nice breasts.’

‘Thank you, Milo.’

‘You two are going to be a real handful I think,’ Anne whispered.

‘Sorry, Anne. Milo can be a bit, well, Milo,’ Michael replied.

‘But I’m not used to having nice breasts yet,’ Mary interrupted.

‘You tell them Mary,’ Milo offered in support.

‘Sorry?’ Michael asked.

‘Well, I was rather flat chested before I got put in here with Anne, so it’s a bit of a novelty. Sorry.’

‘Better than me. I was just smelly and ugly before I got moved into Michael.’

‘Hey, enough you two! We’ve got more important things to worry about,’ Anne said, in a firm whisper.

‘Yes. Get a grip you two.’

‘I wish I could,’ Milo whispered. Mary giggled.

Anne and Michael trudged off to get to work, leaving Milo and Mary to their daydreaming.

‘I don’t understand why our third eyes are not being tracked?’ Anne asked Michael.

‘Luckily, I think we’re just out of range. George told us that there was a problem with tracking on the edges of Sootere. Seems like he was right.’

‘Poor George. What do you think happened?’

‘Terminated it would seem. Anyone we spoke to today had been wiped and reloaded, and had no idea who George was.’

‘But he did put us together.’

‘But I wonder what has happened to William Drake. He was the third.’

‘Oh yes, I saw that in the file you gave me. I don’t think he’ll be helping us.’

‘Why Anne?’

‘I saw him this morning. He didn’t remember me.’

‘So you think he got wiped?’

‘I think so Michael.’

‘Sounds like they found one of George’s creations.’

‘So? What now, Michael?’

‘Up, Anne. Up!’

Chapter 10 - Digging A Hole In The Sky

‘George told us about two men he met that came from above us. It was on the edge of Sootere, a few years ago. They told him they were building a machine above us, and that they came from a place called Switzerland,’ Michael explained to Anne.

‘How long ago was this?’

‘Three years I think he said. Seems like he’s been working since then to try and find a way to contact them again.’

‘So, he created us pair of odd twins to do the job.’

‘Well, triplets in fact, but it looks like it’ll be just us four.’

‘Yes. Poor William.’

‘Did you read the whole file?’ Michael asked Anne.

‘Yes. Where do you think George got all that?’

‘I really don’t know, but clearly he’d been collecting for a long time. The records for you and Milo make terrible reading.’

‘Milo and I only glanced at them. We were more shocked by the secret document.’

‘Well, we were too, but Mary thought she knew the system.’

‘Yes Michael,’ Mary started. ‘I had no idea the treatments were so regular. It must have been that I was being blanked out or something. The files I handled normally had treatment or re-identification every ten or fifteen years. Or so I thought. But these files show that you and Milo were having treatment every few months. I don’t understand the notes all that well, but it looks to me as if every time you had a treatment, your memory was erased and replaced. There are a few mentions of a file reference to your memory data,’ Mary paused as she flipped through the pages of the file. ‘Here we are. M37-4565-78-alpha-22.mem for Milo Moon and M37-8976-71-beta-27.mem for Michael Fischer. The file references recur with notes about data modification and what I think are medical records.’

‘That’s what’s on our arms.’

‘What, Milo?’

‘Those numbers are on my arm. Look! M37-4565-78-alpha-22.mem.’

‘They are, Milo,’ Michael said, as he looked at his own arm.

‘Well anyway, the information ties in with the reference to human experimentation in the copy of the old document,’ Milo added.

‘Yes,’ Mary agreed. ‘So what did George want us to do with this information?’

‘Take it to Switzerland?’ Milo asked.

Nodding of heads seemed to indicate that all four were in agreement.

‘I’m sure George selected Michael, Anne and William for their knowledge of the ducting system. To find a way out, and up. And Mary for her knowledge of the re-identification program. There’s no note in the file about William’s other self, so we don’t know. But I’m at a loss to understand why he chose me,’ Milo said, with some embarrassment in his voice.

‘There must be a reason, Milo,’ Anne said, trying to lift Milo’s confidence. ‘If we manage to find a way up and out, it’s clear that Mary was chosen for her ARC knowledge, and I’m sure we’ll know soon enough why he chose you, Milo. There’s obviously something special about you that we just don’t know about yet.’

‘Yes, I’m sure my intimate knowledge of nuts and bolts will be really useful.’

‘Oh, come on, Milo. Cheer up. We’ve got a job to do,’ Mary said, trying to lift Milo’s spirits as well.

‘Milo. Don’t you remember what George said?’

‘No Michael.’

‘He said, he chose you because you were precise and meticulous. And patient I think.’

‘Oh yes. That makes me feel a whole lot better,’ Milo said sarcastically.

‘Right, enough chat. Let’s get on with this,’ Michael said with determination, and rolled out his map of the ducting system. ‘Right. There was a collapse at A27 D in G Sector. It’s not far from here. That’s where we found some items referring to CERN. Maybe that should be our starting point.’

‘Maybe Michael. But a team will surely be sent to repair the duct soon,’ Anne said.

‘I’m not so sure. After I completed my damage report, there was only a circulation re-direction put into place. That normally means that repairs are not seen as urgent. It could be months before a repair team is sent.’

‘Well, let’s go and check it out. See if there’s been any activity there. A27 D is also close to the highest point in the entire system. Only A28 is higher. Did George mention where he met these men?’ Anne asked.

‘Not really. He just said, on the edges of Sootere.’

‘Doesn’t help much,’ Anne replied.

‘George did say it was a building project just above us,’ Milo interrupted. ‘So if A27 is close to the highest point of the system, and the collapse you inspected was caused by some form of weakening or pressure from above, then maybe it’s the closest point. I think we’re looking for a building, or something similar, just above our heads. He said it was something that was, just above us, and surrounding us.’

‘That’s right, he said it was some kind of machine,’ Michael added.

‘So, we dig, up,’ Anne concluded.

It only took thirty minutes to arrive at A27 D. It seemed nothing had been touched since Michael’s inspection. Anne and Michael inspected the cavity above, and then looked for space near the collapse that could be used to store debris from the excavation they would need to do to begin an ascent. They found an unused duct that looked as if it had been closed many years before. It was large enough, level and headed back towards Sootere. It was also only meters from the collapse at A27 D. They went back again to survey the cavity.

‘Well, up is a good start Michael, but how do we know which direction to take? We’ll have to excavate at a shallow angle,’ Anne said.

Michael was thinking, but Milo beat him to the answer. ‘Why don’t we listen?’

‘Sorry Milo?’ Anne asked.

‘You know, like putting a glass to a wall. George said they were building a machine. Machines make noise.’

‘I think you’re onto something, Milo,’ Anne said. ‘Maybe we’re starting to find out why George chose you now,’ she smiled.

‘Well, let’s see if can find something to use,’ Michael said with intent, and started to look for anything possibly useful. He pulled a long metal rod from the pile of debris that had probably been a supporting rod for the duct. It was straight and about a meter and a half long. ‘If we can drive this into the soil in the cavity far enough, it might let us pick up any vibrations. Is there a mallet in my sack there, Anne?’

Michael heaved himself up into the cavity, and cleared out enough soil so he could position himself on the undamaged duct roof that was stable. It took him nearly half an hour to clear enough space and adding more height to the pile of debris below. Anne stood back until he had finished. She then climbed the pile to see where Michael would drive the rod.

‘I think I’ll try directly upwards first. Probably the best chance to hear anything.’

‘Yes. Good idea,’ Anne said, as she passed the mallet up to him. He placed the end of the rod at the top of the centre of the cavity and started to drive it into the soil.

‘It’s very soft, Anne. The rod is going in very easily.’

‘Okay, well let me know if I can do anything,’ Anne said, and knew immediately she was just being supportive, as there was nothing she could really do to help. Within minutes Michael had driven nearly a meter of the rod into the cavity above. He then tried to get his ear to the end of the rod, having to perform gymnastics to get his body in a position where his left ear was near the end of the rod. He listened.

After a minute or more Anne couldn’t help herself. ‘Anything?’

‘No. Can’t hear anything at all. I’ll try on my left and at an angle this time.’

It took Michael a lot of pulling, twisting and heaving to dislodge the rod from his first attempt. Finally managing to pull it out, and another load of soil fell from the roof of the cavity. He then aimed at a point on his left and at about forty-five degrees. This time he hit something solid and could not drive the rod in further than half a meter.

‘I’ve hit something. Probably rock. I’ll try again.’

‘No Michael. Try listening first. It might not be rock. If it’s part of any type of structure, you might get something.’

‘Okay, I’ll try,’ Michael replied, as he tried to reposition his body to get to the end of the rod, which was now much lower.

‘I think I hear a slight hum!’ Michael said excitedly. ‘Watch out, I’ll try and expand the cavity. It’s not too far.’

Anne stood back as soil tumbled to the floor of the duct as Michael dug away with his hands and a screwdriver.

‘Anything?’ Anne asked.

‘Not yet. It’s hard and compacted.’

Another twenty minutes or more passed as Michael dug away in search of what was solid and emitting a hum. Finally he could see it.

‘It’s a pipe of some description,’ he yelled down to Anne. ‘Looks like a water pipe. It goes straight up.’

‘Can you hear anything?’

‘Hold on.’

Michael put his ear to the pipe. ‘Yes, there’s a hum. Like a pump or a turbine. It’s not very loud though. I’m coming down.’

‘Okay.’

While the pipe proved that there was something above them, it was impossible to know how far. Anne and Michael wondered if they should keep digging upwards, until Milo interrupted their planning.

‘If there is something above us, surely there must be an entrance. A lift or a shaft. I was thinking about what George said. If we are an experiment, surely someone would be monitoring us. From above.’

‘But even if there is, Milo. How would we find it?’

‘Where does our air come from?’ Milo asked.

‘Now that’s a good question, Milo,’ Anne said.

Michael and Anne considered Milo’s idea silently. Michael studying his maps and Anne looking into space.

‘It obviously won’t be marked on your maps, Michael, but there must be an entry point into the duct system. Mark the intake and exhaust ducts. Is there a pattern that could indicate a possible area?’ Milo said and gave Michael food for thought.

‘Anne. Give me a hand here. Can you mark all the major exhaust lines? And I’ll track back all the main oxygen and inlet ducts.’