TKG08 WE WILL BUILD Rel 01 (29 page)

“Why would it be better?” Barnabas replied.

“There would be at least half the population left behind.
 
Without my Own around to deal with it, I'm next up and I can promise no one will want to see me coming.”

“Certainly you wouldn’t kill innocents in the population?”

“Have you ever read the story of Lot?”
 
Bethany Anne asked.

“Lot?
 
The Old Testament Bible, Lot?”
 
Stephen asked confused.

“Yes.” Bethany Anne replied.

“Yes, I’m aware of the story.”
 
Barnabas replied.

“Then you know my answer.”
 
She confirmed.

“Hmmm.
 
I understand.”
 
Barnabas allowed.

Bethany Anne could hear Dan whispering to Stephen in the background, “What the hell did she just say?”

“It’s the story of Sodom and Gomorra,” Stephen replied to Dan.
 
“The short, short version is there are
no
innocents.”

“And there is no Sodom and Gomorra, either.”
 
Barnabas said.

Barnabas was thinking, a Fury indeed.

“Ok, so pack it all up and ship John and Eric out?”
 
Dan confirmed.

“Well, if you are asking me as the Political leader, I’d tell you yes, double the weapons and get with Frank.
 
If you are asking me as a military person, that’s your call.”

She could hear Dan’s smile in his voice as he said, “You can never have too much ‘boom’.”

Bethany Anne wondered if Dan was going to invite himself along.
 

Sahara Desert, Africa

Jeffrey and Marcus had the Pod descend into the Gobi Desert just a half mile from a small encampment.
 
Once the Pod was a couple of feet above the sands, it moved quietly through the bush and stopped to let them out a few hundred feet outside of the camp.

Their contact, Dr. Michelle S. Brown-Williams had told Jeffrey that she was in the middle of the damned desert. If he wanted to interview her for a ‘super-secret’ position, he could come out that evening to speak with her.

She allowed that she had ‘just looked’ at her calendar and unfortunately every other day for the foreseeable future was booked.
 
She was slightly surprised to hear him say that he and one other would be there slightly after dark.

She had told him that he was kidding himself if he thought that was possible from Colorado. Jeffrey made her a bet.
 
If they got there, she would be open to hear him out for two hours before making up an excuse to kick them out of her camp.

She laughed at that and told Jeffrey he was ‘alright for a suit’ and to come on over.

So he and Marcus had done just that.

Both were in light clothing, dressed in Khakis, wearing tennis shoes and untucked polo shirts.
 
They stopped a hundred feet out of the camp and called, while Jeffrey turned on a flashlight and waved it around.

A dark man in dark clothes came out of the bushes some thirty feet away and stared at them.
 
He had an old rifle, but he didn’t point it menacingly at them.

Jeffrey said, “Dr. Brown-Williams?”
 
The man said nothing so Jeffrey tried again, “I’m looking for Dr. Brown-Williams?”

“Well, you found her!”
 
Both men pivoted to their right to see an older woman with a sun-weathered face and a large beaten hat on her head come through the bushes from the direction of the camp.
 
She stopped a few feet away and put them in the beam of her flashlight. “Which one of you is Jeffrey?”
 
Jeffrey raised his hand.
 
She turned to Marcus and asked, “And who are you?”

“Dr. Marcus …”
 
Almost too late, Marcus realized that he should look like her, grey hair and older skin.
 
She wasn’t going to believe that he was who he said he was.
 
Marcus stumbled over his last name and she asked him to repeat it.
 
Finally, he sighed and said, “Cambridge”.

“Marcus Cambridge?
 
Never heard of you.”

Jeffrey snorted to his left and Marcus wanted to punch him. Instead, he replied “No reason you should have.”

She came closer, “What is your area of specialty?”

Jeffrey answered for him, “Would you believe Rocket Science and Gravitic Movement?”
 
She looked at him suspiciously and he shrugged, “It’s true, I’m just asking if you are willing to believe it.”

She looked around the bush and sand, then up at the stars, “Well, considering the two of you made it here from Colorado?”
 
She glanced to Jeffrey who nodded and she continued, “In such a short amount of time. I’m willing to suspend belief for a little while and that is only because I can’t figure out why you would be in Africa looking for me in the first place.”
 
She turned around, “Come with me, the guys will look after your vehicle.”
 

Jeffrey looked over to Marcus and he shrugged.
 
Neither guy knew what to say since their Pod was already gone.

They came into the camp which was setup rather well.
 
There were two Land Rovers, one with a large tent attached, jutting out at least fifteen feet.
 
The other was a more traditional tent not connected to a vehicle.
 
There was a stone area in the center where they were burning a small amount of wood.
 
Jeffrey could see multiple tarps over items and one had the cover off just far enough for him to tell that they were solar generators.

“Take a seat.”
 
She waved over to a couple of old fold out chairs.
 
“Best seats in the house, don’t say I didn’t offer you first class accommodations.”
 
She smiled to herself as she reached into the tent that was connected to the Land Rover and pulled out another chair.

The two men sat down.
 
Jeffrey looked over to Marcus who was trying to settle his chair into a comfortable position as it rocked back and forth.
 

Michelle pointed to the feet on his chair, “It’s just on a rock, move the chair a little ways and you’ll be fine.”
 
Marcus got up far enough to move his chair half a foot before putting it back down to settle in the sand.

Marcus nodded to Michelle, “Thanks.”
 

“City slicker?”
 
She asked, but this time it was with a smile.

“Yes, I would say I am.”
 
Marcus turned to Jeffrey, “Please do not say a word to Bobcat and William, they will not let it go if you tell them this.”
 
Jeffrey didn’t say anything, just nodded his agreement.

“Ok,” She continued, “Your dime or dollar or ten thousand dollars.
 
What do you have?”

“I have a challenge,” Jeffrey started.
 

She held up a hand and motioned around, “I already have a challenge.”

Jeffrey looked around, “Not so much, you have a passion project that is helping move humanity forward in an admirable way.”
 
He turned to look back at Michelle. “This is great, but you are one of many scientists in the field and pulling you from this would be a problem, but in the end your contribution is going to be one of hundreds maybe?”

She admitted, “Probably dozens, but I get your point.
 
Go on.”

“Ok, one of dozens who are helping.
 
I’m not suggesting you aren’t a major force in making this happen.
 
I’m offering you a challenge you haven’t solved yet.
 
One that doesn’t have government oversight or involvement. I can also guarantee it has the funding already in place that will allow, no, require us to solve this problem in months…”

“Weeks.”
 
Marcus said.
 

Jeffrey turned to him, “Really?
 
Everything is ready to go that fast?”
 
Marcus nodded.
 

Michelle thought it was interesting that the scientist was telling the suit the timeframe and the scientist was telling him it was sooner than projected.

“I guess I better make this pitch a whole lot more engaging.”
 
He smiled back at Michelle, “Ok, her is the really long pitch I was prepared to say:
 
We are putting civilians on the moon in weeks or a few months maximum.
 
The governments don’t know about this and we need to see what it will take to grow food up on the big white ball in the sky damned fast.
 
We don’t ‘think’ the governments can shut us down, but we don’t want to find out the hard way that they have accomplished it.
 
So, we want the moonbase to be self sustaining as soon as possible.
 
You come highly recommended by a previous co-worker with NASA…”

“You working with them dumb-shits at NASA?”
 
Michelle started.

“Look, there are good people there,” Marcus retorted, “just because politics are the name of the game at the top, no need to belittle everyone else.”

Michelle looked closer at him, “You know what’s bothering me?”

“Not a clue,” Jeffrey admitted.

“It’s that Marcus here does look like a face I remember from over a decade or maybe more ago.
 
Problem is, this Marcus is too young.”
 
She turned in her chair slightly, “You have a father in the field?”

Marcus answered her question, “No, my father was a high-school band director.
 
But he’s passed away now.”

“Sorry, my condolences.”
 
She said, “I occasionally suffer from foot-in-mouth disease.”

“I’ve found it common with most of my scientist friends.”
 
Marcus admitted.

“You seem pretty laid back, you must be on the civilian side of the microscope.”
 
Michelle commented.

Jeffrey interrupted, “Uh, he has government experience, trust me.”
 
Then continued, “I’m here to ask you if working on viable food growth in outer space still intrigues you, and would you be willing to go immediately,” he stopped talking and looked around, “Or very close to immediately dropping your existing work if we pay to have another take your place. Also, would you be willing to keep it to yourself?”

“Why, looking to rape the moon?” Michelle asked.

Michelle was starting to get on Jeffrey’s nerves.
 
“No, there is no ‘raping’ and I might add that is a harsh word.
 
My boss is not going to take it lightly if you say that around her.”

“Your boss is a female?”

Jeffrey pursed his lips, “Should it matter?
 
What happened to gender equality?”

She waved that off, “When it happens, let me know.
 
That is going to be in the far future anyhow.”
 
She was about to continue when one of her men came into the camp and then talked excitedly with her.
 
She answered with a question and he replied.
 
She turned back to the two men, “How did you two say you got here?”

Jeffrey answered, “We didn’t say.
 
Why, is that important?
 
We are going to leave the same way as we showed up.
 
On foot.”

“Because my man here says your footprints just suddenly appeared in the sand.
 
There isn’t any disturbance around the area but it looks like you jumped off of something not that far away from the camp.”
 
She spoke again with her man and waited for his reply before she turned back to them. “He says no one out on the perimeter heard anything, either.”

“You need a perimeter guard out here?” Marcus asked, looking around as if something would jump out of the bushes.

Michelle ignored Marcus, “That’s a pretty incredible feat.”

Jeffrey shrugged, “You said we had to be here tonight otherwise we couldn’t get an interview.
 
You didn’t say that we had to explain our transportation.”

Michelle drummed her fingers on the chair arm-rest. She finally said, “You are working on my curiosity, aren’t you?”
 
Jeffrey nodded. “Do I get to see the magic carpet first, or is accepting the job a prerequisite?”