Bits, Bytes and Life
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 2: Chaos and a New World
I had not slept much the last two and a half days. Somehow, the swaying of the train and the constant small, irritating noises of moving pieces of machinery kept me awake. The sound of the wheels on the track was ever present, and remained a background irritant the entire trip. My dress blue uniform was wrinkled from constant wear since I had started this trip. This made for a very uncomfortable situation.
The train was getting close to Washington, D.C., and I felt anxious, and to be honest, a bit afraid. The largest city I had been in prior to this trip was Steamboat Springs, which is really a very small town. Denver really didn’t count, as I was there for so little time, I didn’t have a concept of living there. Washington, however, I envisioned to be a large city and would also be my new home. At least until the Navy decided to reassign me someplace else.
Getting nervous, I retrieved the large yellow envelope with my medical and military records from my sea bag. I again read the instructions on my orders. Somehow, it just didn’t make sense; there was no mention of a military base to report to, only a street address in Washington.
I was interrupted from my thoughts, as the conductor came through the car and announced the next stop would be Washington, and this was the end of the line. All passengers would have to debark.
I stowed my orders back into my seabag, grabbed my white hat and jammed it on my head; ready to jump off the train as soon as it stopped.
The train eventually came to a stop with a loud squeal from the air brakes. I grabbed my seabag, checked to make sure I hadn’t left anything, and then walked down the aisle and stepped off the train.
Confusion swirled around me. Loud sounds, people shouting, and a general sense of chaos prevailed. Many of the passengers gathered with awaiting families, while others tried to enlist the help of porters to help with their luggage.
With my seabag on my shoulder, I quickly made for the nearest exit, eager to escape the madness around me.
My exit from the building brought me right in front of a cab stand, so I asked the first driver I saw to take me to the address listed on my orders.
He stowed my seabag in the trunk, while I sat down in the rear seat of the cab. Then we were off through what I would later come to understand as light traffic for Washington. It was only 1:30 PM and not close to rush hour.
It was only about fifteen minutes before the driver pulled up in front of a nondescript building across the street from a small park.
“Here’s your stop, bud. That will be $3.40,” the driver said as he opened the door and moved to the rear to the trunk.
I retrieved $5.00 from my billfold and said, “Keep the change,” all the while wondering if I had tipped too much, or not enough.
The driver took the money without comment then handed me my seabag and quickly drove off.
I hefted the bag up onto my shoulder, walked up the three steps and entered the double doors. Through the doors was a small room, with a dour-faced woman sitting behind a desk. I slowly walked up to the woman, and as I reached the desk she asked me, “Can I help you, sailor?”
“Ahhh yes, ma’am, I have orders to report to this address,” I stuttered, feeling like a fool.
“Can I see them please?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said then dropped my seabag and retrieved the yellow envelope.
The lady took the orders from me and after looking at them, reached under the desk top and brought out a large book and paged through it.
“Ahhh, here you are. Please take a seat by the window, and I will have someone to help you shortly. She then picked up the telephone and talked with someone for a short period of time.
I gathered my seabag and walked over and sat down, waiting for what would come next.
About five minutes had gone by when the door opened and a Navy Chief Petty Officer came to the desk and the lady handed him my orders.
“Seaman Apprentice Rossi, come with me,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, then started towards the door.
Grabbing my seabag, I hurriedly followed. When we reached the door, I could hear a click before the Chief turned the knob.
When I entered the room, there was a Marine guard stationed by what was now apparent to be a two-way mirror. On the other side of the wall, it looked just like a regular mirror. It was clear; the Marine was controlling access to this part of the building.
I followed the Chief down a hallway and then into a small office. The Chief took a seat behind a large desk.
“Sit down, Rossi,” he stated, and I followed his instruction.
“Now let me see,” he said, as he turned and pulled a large file folder from a cabinet behind the desk.
He placed the folder on his desk, and I could see that it was labeled with my name and Navy service number.
He opened the folder and perused the contents for about two or three minutes. He then said, “Your clearance has been processed, so we can start processing right away.”
I had not a clue to what he was talking about, so I spoke up, “Chief, what am I going to be doing here, and what is this about a clearance?”
With a look of pure astonishment on his face, he asked, “Did anyone explain what your assignment here is going to be?”
“No, Chief. The only thing I was told was to report to this address, and that is what I have done.”
“Damn, SNAFU for sure. OK, kid; let me give you the short version. You are being assigned to a special agency. I can’t go into it right now because this is not a cleared environment facility. You are here for special training and will be assigned to work on material that is highly classified. You have a Top Secret clearance with several special endorsements. This will all be explained to you over the next few days.”
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.