Discovering Alien Technology Part Two
Copyright© 2026 by GMet
Chapter 11
Sunday morning I woke up early, worked out and then went for a swim, timing myself through Base to go out half a mile and come back to shore to see how long it would take as part of a triathlon. The Olympic triathlon consisted of a 1500m swim or 0.93 miles, 40km for bike or 24.8 miles and 10km or 6.2 miles of running. The swimming average time for that distance was around thirty minutes, give or take a minute or two and varied by age with younger swimmers usually average slightly below the thirty minutes. I wasn’t trying for my best time, just consistent speed out and back.
‘Twenty-nine minutes and ten seconds,’ Base told me. ‘A very good time already and I know you were not racing.’
‘Good, I should be able to improve that if I want to start training for a real triathlon,’ I responded. ‘I guess I should get a bike and see how that goes. The ten kilometre run shouldn’t be an issue. I feel good enough to run right now.’
‘Why don’t you go ahead and get changed and then to that run now then?’ Base suggested.
‘Okay,’ I agreed and quickly got changed into short and a tee shirt and runners.
Base informed me that the average for a 10 km run in a triathlon was between one hour to one hour and seven minutes based on age. I wasn’t out to beat any particular time but kept a good, steady pace from start to finish.
‘One hour, two minutes and fifteen seconds,’ Base told me.
“So right in the average,’ I responded. ‘I know I can shave off a few minutes on that as well. Definitely need to get a bike and do some training on the bike portion and then do a few practice full races before I start looking for some official races nearby.’
‘Sounds like a good plan,’ Base agreed. ‘I’ve taken the liberty to research good bikes and have a list of those that can be purchased and shipped in a day or two. It’s in your inbox.’
‘Thanks, I’ll let you know after a quick review,’ I replied as a went into the garage to have a shower.
After an early breakfast with dad, we drove up the road to the property and walked around to determine where we might build a house. The top of the hill was out so I didn’t bother to even suggest it. Base and I thought we might build it beside the hill near the lakeshore with a tunnel directly into the base from the basement – dug out after the house was built so no one but me knew about it, at least for now. Dad and I concentrated on finding a fairly flat area with a pathway to the road winding through the trees. There was a small beach in front of the area we picked, though the house would be a hundred feet from the lake and beach. I had my laptop and used pictures of the area from ground level as well as from an overhead drone to map out the location and then put in a predesigned two storey house with an attached three car garage into the map. A full basement, large bay windows for the living and dining rooms facing the lake and a big back porch were all part of what I wanted in a house as well as multiple bedrooms with ensuites for each. Base added a big weeping bed and septic system as well as a water purifier system if we pulled water from the lake along with digging a well.
“You’ve put a lot of thought to this already,” dad remarked as we did a final look at the design and the area. “It’s a nice property with lots of old trees for privacy as well as a nice view to the lake.”
“Yep, the design is just about ready to submit for approval and we could pull a building permit and start the basement dig out with the robots as soon as we get approvals,” I told him. “I’m going to put some time on the build while we wait on the base to be ready. The rest of the time I’ll travel to Winnipeg to monitor the builds there.”
“Should keep you busy,” dad stated.
“Between those two and training for triathlons I should be good,” I agreed.
We discussed the lengths for triathlons versus Ironman contests and agreed I should just start at the shorter version for now. We went home to find the girls up and eating breakfast, wanting to know where we had gone. Dad had agreed to keep the house a secret so we just said we went to look at the space port. Next on the discussion agenda was the fact that I was done playing for the Ice Dogs and that I would be training for triathlons to keep in shape. When the conversation was over, the girls decided to go shopping while dad went back to the space port. Base and I picked a bike from his list and got it ordered for delivery in a few days from Wisconsin. Since cost wasn’t an issue, we went with one of the best bikes on the market, built for triathlons.
After that was done, I grabbed our chainsaw with extra gas and my tool kit and loaded it up in our boat to go to the new property and clear off the area we decided to build the house on. There were a bunch of trees that needed cutting and moving out of the way to split later and then we had to remove the stumps. A few robots met me at the site and helped pull the branches and logs away as I cut them up. Others started on the driveway, weaving it between the trees so that we didn’t have to cut many down to get a twelve foot wide path to the road. When we had that done, they marked out the proposed corners of the house and attached garage, the well, the septic and weeping area as well as potential trenches to the lake for water. Electricity would come from the road via normal wires on poles to keep up appearances but we would generate our own from our tech and perhaps connecting to the base in the future.
Base had other robots start the tunnel dig from the base to the house’s basement but would stop it well before the area until after the footings and foundations were put in and the framing was up. Where the house was to be built was all bedrock so we would have to clear out all the dirt and then even out some of the bedrock to make it as flat as possible before drilling holes for rebar and put in footings on top of the bedrock for the foundation and basement walls. The side closest to the base would actually be cut into the side of the rock hill so it would be an interesting build as we would have cold storage cut into the side of the basement wall on that side as well as the tunnel behind it.
I let the robots start the stump removal and then the clearing of the topsoil, dirt and loose rock from the area while I packed up the equipment in the boat before heading out to fish for a bit. When I arrived home, I put things away and then cleaned and filleted the fish before putting them into the freezer. A quick shower in the garage and I was in time to help the ladies carry in their purchases. Both Riley and Teigan had bought all their back-to-school clothes and school supplies. They had a week left before school started after Labour Day next Monday. Both were somewhat sad but also looking forward to see their friends again.
In a surprising move, Reece and Sage decided to go to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, a four hour drive away to the southeast, to study business and health care. They were going to room together in an off-campus apartment and fly back on the weekends using AddlerEight. They had bought a lot more than clothes as they needed things for the apartment. The plan was for the three moms and the older girls to fly down there this week to get the apartment, already picked out, furnished. Dad would go once to help with the move but would fly back after a day. I would stay home with the younger girls and handle everything at the shops, at Winnipeg and at the new house build. The rest of the day was spent packing up all their stuff and driving it to load up the AddlerEight. The robots helped load the plane so we were done in time to bring supper home. After supper, I was informed that the two younger ladies would be spending time with the older girls up in my room so I was regulated to the den once again.
Monday morning, the adults, which now included Reece and Sage, were off early to the airport. I had already done my swim and run before they got up so I just wished them well and said I would see them soon. Once they were gone, Riley and Teigan started washing all their new clothes and in between each load got their books and supplies ready for next week. I didn’t have a ride to the airport so I just went to the new house site via boat and worked on the design of the house on my laptop with Base. I knew we needed a professional architect or engineer to stamp them but having the CAD drawings ready for them to approve should save time. Base had researched all the necessary electrical, plumbing and building codes and had hacked a few existing designs from the Dryden building department so we knew what was required and accepted.
We laid it out starting with the fact that we would be cutting out the bedrock so it was level and had a two foot high step around the outside to lay the footings on, with rebar holes drilled into the bedrock to anchor the footings. One side of the house would be cut into the hill’s bedrock so we could have a cold storage room through the foundation into the bedrock, which would hide the tunnel behind a fake wall and storage rack. When dad got back tomorrow, the two of us would apply for the permit and ask for the first inspection of the site before we started cutting the bedrock or pour the concrete for the footings, just to be sure there wouldn’t be any legal issues. Base sent the designs to one of the architects in town to review and stamp so we could pick them up tomorrow to bring to the building department in town. I caught some more fish and found Riley and Teigan out on the back porch getting some late August sun before the weather turned in the next week or two.
“Hello ladies, looking gorgeous as always,” I told them, admiring them in their bikinis.
“Hi yourself handsome,” Teigan replied. “Why don’t you join us after you clean your fish and take a shower?”
“Sounds like a very good idea,” I replied and made quick work of the fish before showering.
I was back out and lay on the open lounger between them in fifteen minutes. They both applied sun screen on my back and then on my front twenty minutes later. After an hour of so, we went inside and had showers to wash off the lotion and I was a bit surprised when Teigan joined us in the shower. Apparently, they decided that it was time for her to join our duo and make it a trio. They both rode me on the bed and then enjoyed each other’s company while I watched from the side.
“So, Teigan and Nancy are going to move in here, and Teigan will join us in our bedroom,” Riley informed me.
“Okay, sounds like a good plan,” I agreed. “I’ve always wanted a blonde with my brunette.”
“That was easy,” Riley said to Teigan.
“Well, I’m very likable and he wanted a blonde so I was the obvious choice,” Teigan responded as if it was obvious.
“True,” Riley agreed before they both looked at me. “I’ll still be the official girlfriend but we’ll all be equal partners.”
“As it should be,” I replied.
We went done to make supper and then had another exhausting bout before I fell asleep, leaving them to their own activities.
Dad was back early in the morning, arriving after I had done my swim and jog and then a workout in the garage. We had breakfast and then went to check on the space port. Foundations were up on the footings for the buildings that needed them while four massive hangers were also being built on top of the other concrete pads. All road diversions were done as well as all the clearing of the land at the end of the runways so they could build soft landing areas should a plane or spacecraft go off the end of the runway. Everything was on or ahead of schedule so we hoped we could start building craft here in two to four weeks.
Next we visited the architect to pick up a couple sets of stamped drawings. Luckily, he had the time to review the design and even complimented me on the design and the detail. We paid him for his work and his stamp on the drawings before heading to the building department nearby, after picking up a couple cups of coffee from the closest Tim Hortons. Base and I had filled out all of the building permit documentation required so we thought we had everything we needed. Dad had been dealing with them for the space port builds so hopefully he would smooth out any rough edges.
“Daniela, nice to see you again,” dad said to the woman at the front desk, handing her one of the coffees.
“Chris, thank you for the coffee, how are you this fine morning?” the pretty raven haired woman asked with a smile.
“Fine, and you?” dad inquired.
“Better, now that you’ve graced our offices and brought this handsome man to see me,” Daniela replied, turning to give me a grin.
Daniela, meet Ben, my son,” dad made the introduction. “Ben, meet Daniela, the person who makes this place run like a Swiss watch.”
“Good morning Daniela, shouldn’t you be in Paris modeling rather than making sure buildings are erected properly?” I asked her with a smile.
“Ah, a sweet talker just like his old man,” she observed with a smile. “So not only are you a genius, but you’re also a handsome smoothy.”
“Just speaking the truth,” I corrected her.
Daniela just shook her head before turning back to dad and asking, “So what are you changing out at his space port this time?”
“Actually, this is for Ben, he’s got some property on Rice Lake down from ours and he wants to build his own house on it,” dad explained. “He’s got his designs signed off by Carmen Architects and his building permits all filled out. He even brought his wallet to pay for everything.”
“Good for you Ben, let me take a quick gander at everything before I get an inspector to take a more thorough look at them,” Daniela said as she was suddenly all business.
I spread out the drawings and then put the folder with the building permit paperwork next to them. Dad and I were quiet as she looked through each drawing, following electrical lines, plumbing and the sewage and weeping beds throughout.
“Carmen didn’t draw these, just stamped them, right?” she asked, looking at me with a lot more respect than earlier.
“Correct, I did the designs on my laptop and sent them to him yesterday,” I told her.
“Very impressive,” was all she said as she moved on to the paperwork.
Five minutes later, she got through it all.
“You don’t have an official survey of the property, you’ll need Halstein Surveyors to go out and do that for you before we can sign off on the building permit,” Daniela informed us. “I’ll get Rod out here to bless everything else and schedule a first visit in a couple of days, which should give you time to get the survey done.”
“We’ll go visit them right away,” dad assured her.
“Good, let me get Rod,” Daniella responded, giving us both a smile.
She sauntered back to an office, giving us plenty of time to appreciate her very fine long legs and tight derriere.
“Always bring Daniela a double-double large coffee and be polite and it will go much easier,” dad informed me.
“I saw that,” I agreed. “Now I know why you insist on delivering all the plans yourself.”
“Want something done right, do it yourself,” dad tried to deflect.
“Sure, we’ll go with that,” I responded with a roll of my eyes.
He just grinned at me.
An older man accompanied Daniela back to the counter.
“Chris, how are you?” the man asked, holding his hand out to shake.
“Doing fine Ron, and you?” dad inquired.
“Doing passably,” was Ron’s response before he turned to me. “Ben Addler, it’s nice to meet the young man who’s kept me so busy out at the new space port.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir,” I replied. “Hopefully we’re doing everything correctly out there so it’s not too demanding.”
“For the most part, and it’s not you or your dad causing the issues I find,” Ron informed us. “Construction companies aways try to skimp when they can if they think we won’t catch them at it.”
“Let me know if I need to talk to them,” dad said. “I don’t like to hear they’re trying to skimp on something that is so important to get right.”
“I’ll let you know,” Ron agreed. “Now, let’s look at this house your son is going to build.”
Ron took his time going over the prints but explained what he was looking at and only had a couple of ideas on how to make it better. I had a second set with me and we made the notes on both sets and initialled them. I even pulled out my laptop and made the corrections on the CAD while he watched.
“I like how you do things Ben,” Ron said after we were done. “I assume you’re ready to go out there?”
“I’ve cleared the site and the laneway from the road through the trees but haven’t started the cutting of the bedrock until you’ve done your first inspection and the surveyors come out,” I told him. “That’s our next stop so we should have that in a day or two.”
“Only if you pay extra,” Ron told me.
“I want this done before the snow hits so I’ll pay extra,” I told him. “There won’t be a driveway yet but you should be able to get to the site through the pathway we cut in the woods. I’ll get a few loads of stone laid out this week for the driveway for now.”
“Alright, I’ll be out there at nine am tomorrow morning and we’ll do the first inspection of the site to make sure your layout matches and the drainage for the weeping beds, the well site and the septic tank are all in the right spots for the site,” Ron said.
“Great, thanks for the quick response,” I told him.
“No problem, I like working with people who are prepared and want to build things right, like your dad and you,” Ron responded.
I shook his hand and then dad did before he went back into his office.
Daniela stamped a few things and handed me back my folder.
“Okay, get the survey done and hand it in, get Ron’s blessing tomorrow and then you can get started,” she said with a smile. “I expect lots of visits to get all your other permits for plumbing, electrical and sewage as you get Ron’s signoffs.”
“I’ll make sure to visit every time I’m in town, Daniela,” I told her. “Thank you for all of your help today and in the future.”
“Smooth talker indeed,” she said, smiling. “Get out of here before I steal you from that Owen girl.”
I grinned at her as I gathered up my paperwork and laptop.
“See you soon,” I said.
“Thanks Daniela,” dad added.
“Two Addler men, my week is off to a great start,” she responded as she waved the paperwork in front of her face.
We laughed before heading out. The surveyor company was close so we popped in and, for an additional fee, got them to go out there this afternoon to do a full survey. A second fee got them to work late to make up the paperwork so we had it tomorrow morning at eight. We drove home and relaxed for the rest of the day, putzing around in the garage a bit and then spending time with the girls. Everyone helped with a nice fish dinner and then we all watched a movie before splitting up for bed.
Wednesday, after my normal swim and jog, I had an early breakfast with dad and we drove into town to get the survey and drop it off at the building department, bringing Daniela a coffee. We made it time to meet Ron back out at the building site with a copy of the stamped survey for him to use. We walked the site and discussed our plans. He was dubious of our intention to cut the bedrock down as much as we said we were but would hold his comments until his next visit when he would inspect our footings’ forms and rebar before the first concrete pour. He was okay with our well placement as well as our weeping bed, septic tank and drainage proposals. He had a stamp in his truck and used it to put his ok on the prints, building permits and ok to proceed documentation for the footings, weeping bed, well drilling and other drainage needs.
“Thanks Ron, I appreciate the quick response and we’ll make sure we do things right out here,” I told him. “Not sure if this is appropriate, but can I offer you a steak dinner and a few beers at the Riverview? I have a gift card but don’t want to seem anything but grateful.”
“If you had offered prior to my inspection, I might have felt insulted but you’ve done it right and I’d be happy to have a steak and a few beers on you Ben,” Ron replied and took the offered gift card.
“Good, I hope you enjoy it,” I responded with a smile. “We’ll get to work out here and hopefully have something for you to inspect early next week.”
“I’d normally scoff at that timeline but I know how fast you two work, especially with your robots helping, so I’ll plan for a visit early next week,” Ron said. “Have a good week and be safe.”
“You too Ron,” I replied.
Dad walked him back to his truck and they talked for a bit before they shook hands and Ron drove back through the trees.
“You handled that well, Ben,” dad told me when he came back. “Ron was impressed and he doesn’t impress easily.”
“Good, I want him on our side and I actually want to do this right,” I responded. “I’ll get some robots over to start the bedrock removal and start digging the well and the other drainage items. I can help with the footings and the rebar later this week and we’ll be ready for his next inspection Monday or Tuesday. We can pour them on Wednesday and then start the foundations by the end of the week if we use fast drying cement.”
“Okay, I need to go help the ladies with furniture assembly tomorrow in Thunder Bay and I’ll take Riley and Teigan so you’ll be on your own for a couple of days,” dad informed me.
“Good, I can spend it here at the building site,” I told him. “Can you work on getting a few loads of stone for the driveway delivered tomorrow by one of your construction contacts who will spread it down the path I cut?”
“Sure, Dolby Construction can do that, I’ll call them now and explain what we need,” he agreed. “We’ll have to show them what we want and they’ll have to back in as you don’t have a big enough area for them to turn around back there yet.”
“I should have them dump a load back here as well to spread out and we’ll work on a turnaround,” I said.
“I’ll get a truck headed here in an hour to start things off, and we’ll mark out what we want while we wait for them,” Dad suggested.
I agreed and he got on the phone and had a truck on it’s way. There was already dust flying where the robots were grinding off the bedrock with a grinder of their invention. Another group was busy drilling the well while others were digging the weeping bed and the hole for the septic tank.
“What about putting a big parking lot over here so even trucks can turn into there to turn around if necessary,” dad suggested, pointing over to a relatively flat bedrock area with no trees, close to the hill.
“That looks okay, I didn’t have anything planned for that area,” I told him.
Okay, we’ll have them put a couple loads on it to smooth it out and then they can pull in there, back up and then drive back out, letting the stone out along the way,” dad explained. “All the trees are gone and there aren’t any wires to catch on their raised buckets so it should be easily done. The first couple need to back in and then the rest can come in front first. I’ll go wait for the first truck and explain what’s up.”
“Thanks dad, much appreciated,” I replied.
He drove back to the road while I had a couple robots pound in some stakes to show where we wanted the parking lot and the turnaround. Twenty minutes later the first truck eased it’s way in reverse and turned into the area for the parking lot. Both dad and the driver got out and dad explained what he wanted. The driver nodded and backed up a bit more after releasing the chains that held the back door of the bed. He had the long bed rise up and the stone started falling out the back. The driver slowly went forward to spread half of the load in the area before stopping and lowering the bed. He moved over and did the same thing again until the entire load was in that area. He promised to come back with another load and a second truck to continue with the turnaround and then the driveway.
Dad handled the driveway while I took down a couple trees that would impinge on the weeping bed. The robots quickly had the stump removed and continued with the weeping bed tiles. I had Base order the large septic tank to be delivered as soon as possible as well as a load of wood and rebar for the framing of the footings and the foundation. I had all deliveries slated for tomorrow morning after nine so I would be around after my swim and run. As part of the removal of the bedrock, I had the robots leave material for pilons for the front deck so we could just attach our posts to them. I would wait on building the deck until at least the framing of the house was up. The outer covering of the house would be native stone so any chunks of a big enough size we found or made from our bedrock removal would be saved for later. Base had lots from his tunnel making in a pile on the other side of the hill so we shouldn’t have to purchase much, especially as we were making more tunnels now.
After several trucks had come and dumped their loads, we now had a driveway of sorts. The last truck drove over the driveway a few times before he left to pack it down and got a couple hundred bucks to share with the other drivers as a reward. We went home for lunch after that, having some barbequed hamburgers and sausages along with potato patties. The girls ate with us and then worked on their tans before packing for their weekend trip to Thunder Bay. Base and I reviewed the status of all of our projects and then designed our home defences to be installed during the build and after the house was completed. Shields, rail and laser emplacements, radar, lidar and other scanning devices were all mapped out as well as a safe room half way between the house and the base as a fake end to the tunnel. Another hidden door would allow me and the robots to move on to the base out of the safe room. A separate set of tunnels linked the base to the new space port headquarters and one of the hangers being erected.
Just before we ate, my new bike was delivered. It needed a lot of assembly so I just put it in the garage for the night. After a supper of wings and fries, I spent the evening and night with my ladies as we would be separated for a few days.
Thursday morning, I put my bike together with a robot’s help and then took it for a forty kilometer run, basically a twenty km run out and then back to the house. The girls and dad were up and having breakfast when I got back so I ate with them before helping them load up their luggage into dad’s pickup and kissing them goodbye. I did my usual swim and jog before heading to the build site to be there in time for the deliveries.
When I got there, the robots had the bedrock cut out for the basement, with a two foot step along the outside shape of the house where we would put the footings. The hole for the septic tank was finished and they were still digging the well. The weeping bed seemed to be completed already and they were working on other drainage troughs down the slope for water runoff. I started to help on the framing for the footings, while other robots were drilling rebar holes in those cutouts inside the framing, so we could stick rebar straight up so the cement footings would encapsulate them and anchor the foundations and walls. Over the next few hours, lumber, rebar, the septic tank and piping all were delivered and unloaded before I signed for them. We had everything in position before I left for the evening. Tomorrow, I would fly to Winnipeg to check out the space ship builds while the robots continued their work on the house. I heated up some leftovers and went to bed after texting the girls good night.
Friday morning I was up even earlier so I could do all three legs of a triathlon. I swam, biked and ran and was done in about two hours and ten minutes without trying to beat any records. It took half an hour for swimming, an hour for the bike ride and forty minutes for the jog, totalling the two hours and ten minutes. I had a way to go in all three areas but knew I had room for improvement in all aspects. After a shower and breakfast, I had an Uber pick me up and drive me to the airport where AddlerEight was waiting, having arrived an hour earlier from Thunder Bay. I boarded the jet, made sure that we had submitted a flight plan to Winnipeg and then allowed P1 and P2 to contact the tower for permission to take off. It took only ten minutes to get to Winnipeg once we were off the ground and another five to land and taxi to our hangers.