Chapter 15

I quickly found the power source, partially. There were batteries and, from the connections, there had to be some solar panels somewhere. I told Eric that this was the current power source but it was a battery and would eventually lose power. I said that I hoped there were solar panels we could uncover which would still work. There were no assurances after over eight hundred years. He had some people began a search outside climbing on roofs; I cautioned him to have them be careful.

We continued to search the building looking for anything that might be useful and which might still work. I found a toolbox full of tools which I grabbed and had one of Eric's people carry. I also found a bank of laser printers and wrote down a note on their type and location. If they could be powered and then connected, they might still work. For the most part, the building was built-ins and items that duplicated the main room with the computer. I had hoped for more though there were other buildings.

Finally, we went back to the computer. Bebby and the rest joined us and I turned the computer back on and watched it boot up. I tried to cycle it out of the programs and files we had heard earlier and was successful. I had noticed it booted Linux, an operating system that I had used some. Now, we could see what other information was on it. We found a little. One file was a descriptive map with legend of the buildings of the Institute. This would be helpful though it was just an overview of the buildings. The other file was another history file. It was written without an oral accompaniment so I had to read and explain it once I got it on screen.

The file was a descriptive narrative of the occurrences immediately following the disaster. The author, who was not listed, explained that the Institute director met with the other leaders of the Oak Ridge area. They decided that the situation was bad and started an orderly shutdown of the reactor and everything else. This computer was designated to be the last simply because it was the easiest to use. On it would be stored the final data. Apparently, the virus had begun to wipe out everyone though it's effect could be felt already. The effects could be seen and those with the institute felt it would quickly wipe out much of the order in the U.S. A description of the Spring storms which were more violent than usual and which had few people able to help others because of the virus. The file continued with most of the shutdown procedures including what electrical lines were closed off from the outside world. It also described the location of the solar panels. It's listing stopped when the virus had obviously taken hold.

From all this, my best guess was that the world was hit by a virus that got loose from the facility in Florida. The file disclosed that investigations at explosion site showed strange radiation effects and a strong presence of the virus. I now knew what happened and when though I was unsure how that would assist in my living in the here and now.

We located the solar panels and cleaned them off carefully. One panel looked pretty bad but it had been in the weather for hundreds of years with no maintenance. It had kept the batteries charged. Bebby and Rachel, the woman learner from the Oaks, were becoming interested in fixing everything and making it work while learning. I suggested to Eric and Calveen that they would make fine directors and teachers with Annette as more people should know what was found and how our history developed. They agreed and informed the two who were happy about their new task and responsibility.

Calveen and I agreed that we would stay two more ten-days and then would depart though our plans for a direction were not set as yet. Eric wanted to add two of his men to our party and we agreed to that. I told Jan and Lind our plans and that they needed to work hard on learning to read and write in the period we had here. I told them that our quarters would be used in the evening to continue lessons as much as possible. Jan agreed though said she didn't want the loving to stop nor the training of our two bitches. They continued in their lessons with the others as Calveen, Eric, and I continued to explore and find anything available that could be of use.

The day finally ended and we returned to our quarters. When we entered our quarters, Jan, Lind and I found there for there to have been some effort made to clean. Both our two bitches were waiting anxiously still tied up. One and Two knelt with Sue and greeted us at the door. I spoke, "It would seem that you are starting to learn your lessons. One and Two, I congratulate you. Be thankful for the training you receive from Trud and Sue."

Sue murmured that she should get back to Calveen's quarters. To that, Jan nodded.

I then looked over at Jean and Ann. "Bitches, you have done nothing thus far to save you from dancing on a pole. Suffering for failure does not mean that you are saved. Considerable improvement is expected to avoid you feeling a lot more pain or even pole dancing in the future. Jan, Lind, would you two please each take One and Two. Go over their failings in cleaning. Bring them back to me when you are finished. Leave the bitches where and as they are."