Enlightenment [Book 2: SEKTOR V Trilogy]

Chapter 7: Various Irons in the Fire

Chapter 7: Various Irons in the Fire

"Has the Pacific Rim team reported in yet?" an impatient Maddy asked as she sat at the mission planning room table, waiting for her recently-appointed Global Coordination Liaison, Alanta Andersdóttir, to give her another update.

"Yes, they have, Madam Chancellor," replied the local Icelander.

"Chancellor" was bad enough but "Madam"? Maddy didn't want to be Madam of anything. "Please, Alanta, 'Maddy' will do...Chancellor if you must."

"Yes, of course, Chancellor, whatever you wish."

Maddy rolled her eyes at the response and instantly regretted it. She felt bad, especially given how hard Alanta had been working to please her. Fortunately, Alanta was busy juggling three different air tablets simultaneously and hadn't noticed.

"So, tell me, Alanta, where do we stand? Dr. Narain and the others would like to start re-running the simulations as soon as possible, but without a full complement of updated and accurate conditions on the ground, the coupled modeling system cannot be initialized."

"Yes, Madam, I have my teams working overtime, quite literally. The other teams have reported back and downloaded all pertinent information to their respective servers. The two teams that remain in the field are the Pacific Rim contingent and the group documenting socioeconomic and political conditions within the Middle Eastern states. Unfortunately, both groups ran into delays. One was weather-related while the other was more technical in nature. Both teams have resolved their complications and should be back here within 24 hours."

"Excellent. Please inform our modeling teams that they should organize their debriefs and begin the initialization process as soon as possible. We still have to figure out a way to quickly secure the necessary resources required to run the 10,000-member Ensemble forecast. I would like to begin the multi-month simulations as soon as possible. We need to know if improved global initial conditions alter some of the simulation outcomes such that the nuclear devastation witnessed by the Dials and our Jump teams is also predicted by our advanced modeling systems. If so, we will have a fighting chance to better diagnose when this travesty is set to transpire, and more importantly, what group is behind its initiation." Maddy took a deep breath and exhaled. "OK, we still need to discuss fabrication, logistics, and infiltration. Where would you like to begin?"

Alanta didn't immediately respond. She effortlessly air-thumbed through her files on each device. Maddy couldn't hold back a smile as she watched this young woman do everything she could to impress her. Truth be known, Maddy was already impressed. Alanta's organizational skills and multitasking abilities, even at this young age, were already impressive. She had a mind like a trap and forgot nothing. No detail was too small and no task too insignificant to address. Maddy liked her a lot. She was also happy that she was able to assign such an important position to a non-Institute holdover. A high-profile assignment like this helped ease tension at Næsta Kynslóð and simultaneously built up local morale. Maddy liked having trustworthy people around her and despite the minimal amount of time she had known Alanta, Maddy's instincts told her that she was the type of person she could rely on, especially when things started to heat up. And there was little doubt in her mind that things would be getting a lot hotter sooner rather than later.

"I think the most logical place to continue, Madam Chancellor, would be fabrication," Alanta said eventually without looking up.

Maddy decided not to comment on her continued use of formalities to address her. "That's fine, Alanta. Please continue."

"As you know, our facility has an unmatched capacity for fabrication. We can print or build almost anything. This ability came in handy given the custom nature associated with many of the technical items that had to be built. Naturally, some items could not be 'created', including mostly dehydrated, non-perishable food items, potable water, and other organic materials. However, almost everything else was created or fabricated on campus. Some components, mostly metals, were machined at our engineering facility, but the majority of the components needed for the custom devices were printed on-site with minimal delay. The raw materials required included several types of plastics including polyethylene, terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, and an array—"

"Thank you, Alanta, but I was hoping you could give me an update on the operation itself."

Alanta's job required knowledge of detail. Her ability to get into the weeds like this was a big plus for Maddy, given how busy she had been lately. As to the specific weeds in question, Maddy was very pleased that this level of self-sufficiency existed at Næsta Kynslóð. It allowed them to import very little in the way of finished products, which in turn helped keep their Organization largely anonymous to the outside world. Nevertheless, this wasn't the time or the place for minutiae. Maddy needed to know, in clear, simple terms, where things stood with the ongoing operation. Learning about the molecular makeup of each piece of equipment her engineers fabricated could wait.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry, Ma'am. Yes, a status update, I apologize. Well, once the major items such as personal ground-based and airborne transport equipment, portable global surveillance ballistics, computing, and networking devices were constructed and fully tested at our labs, we quickly moved on to the logistics phase of the operation."

Alanta paused and briefly made eye contact with Maddy as if looking for her approval to proceed.

Maddy obliged. "Please continue, Alanta," she said with a hint of a smile that she hoped would help Alanta relax.

"Yes, of course," Alanta replied. "We're now working on getting everything where it needs to go. Since we'll be operating in a remote portion of America's desert southwest, our options for shipping are somewhat limited. We've arranged for the majority of the non-mobile technology and organics to arrive at secured warehouses in Salt Lake City, Utah. The transport-related equipment and vehicles are being sent to Las Vegas. We have reliable sympathizers at both locations who will help on the receiving end and will monitor conditions until our infiltration teams get in place."

"And when do we anticipate that happening?"

"We should have everything where it's supposed to be within two weeks, Madam Chancellor."

'Madam' again. I guess I'll simply have to get used to it. Maddy remembered when she was in her early twenties and wanted to please everyone around her. Alanta was no different.

"Shipping is not going to be the long pole in our tent, Ma'am," Alanta continued before Maddy could comment. "Infiltration will be..."

"What exactly are you referring to, Alanta?"

"Getting our people into America...many of them. Coming in and out of multiple ports of entry most likely. We have several teams of differing expertise that will be required to set up the Danger and Jukebox Cave destinations."

Maddy nodded in agreement. "Yes, there will be difficulties, especially within the US where we're likely to have Ministry and ICP bounties on our heads. This is precisely why I plan to use as many homegrown agents and scientists as possible for this particular task. They don't have the built-in handicap as 'Old guard' Undergrounders like myself who are much more likely to get caught up in entry point screening traps. For our last set of Jumps, we tried to use as many non-US agents as we could spare, especially for American operations, but in the end, it was simply impractical given all the ground we had to cover. However, for this specialized effort, it's a bit easier. I want you to assemble the necessary scientists, infiltration agents, and other technical staff required to get the job done. Whenever possible let's try to use personnel that has their roots tied in some way to Iceland."

"Yes, Madam Chancellor, I can do this."

Maddy put her hand on her shoulder. "I know you can, Alanta. If I was unsure, I would not have you in the position you are in. Always know that."

Alanta briefly looked up and nodded before resuming her multi-tablet juggling exercise.

"I have set up the 11-month Jump teams," Maddy continued. "However, before moving forward, we must be 100 percent sure that all the hardware, software, and area remote sensors are in place before we pull the trigger. I want our people to be able to diagnose, in great detail, the world we may soon inherit. If we're looking at a devastated planet, we need actionable information brought back to us before anything actually happens. This could come from any number of sources, including satellite systems that still may be in operation in the future. It could also come from the use of long-range surveillance rocketry that should give us an accurate global-scale depiction of air, land, and sea conditions associated with our future world. By whatever means necessary, our Jump teams must have the odds stacked in their favor. Without their input, we will be flying blind, and given the incredibly high stakes involved, that's something we need to avoid at all costs."