Chapter 38

This time Solomon transported us into the same storage room as our first trip to Tokyo. As planned, Solomon immediately started programming the TDM to jump to a laboratory that had never been used before. Wafer and Teknos were already there, ready to guide the electronics portion of the attack from a safe distance. As Aimee, Katherine, and I got off the TDM and headed for the door, I thought the mood of our little party was like a family going to a funeral. Oh, dear. Definitely not a fortuitous simile.

We had wished each other luck before jumping so that we wouldn’t waste time in sentimental thoughts once we arrived. As planned, it was all business. I would have liked to say something to try to lighten up the mood, but couldn’t think of a single thing that wouldn’t sound stupid, totally phony, or both. So I just trudged along with the ladies as we headed for the drop tube.

And I do mean trudged. The thermal suit was bulky and heavy. I carried the helmet under my arm, not in the least like a grizzled athlete or ancient warrior. In fact, I felt like the Pillsbury Dough Boy without any flavor. When we had planned the timing of my entry and presumed exit, it sounded like a casual stroll through my own living room. Huffing and puffing as I tried to keep up with two young, fit women, it now had the ominous overtone of trying to walk along the bottom of the ocean with weights on my arms and legs. And I was yet to be breathing the canned air in the tank, which would be another real thrill. I could hardly wait.

“Please wait, Barnaby,” Aimee said. Lost in my thoughts, I had expected her to palm the recognition plate and just walk through the door in front of us. That illusion passed quickly as Aimee started going through a very elaborate identification process.

Even when she finished the recognition procedures, we still had a couple of pieces of business to finish. As Katherine helped me fasten the helmet onto my suit, Aimee reminded me of the time limits I had to get through each door. I listened patiently, knowing that she felt a heavy burden as to my safety. But, there was another reason I put up with her lecturing.

It was obvious Katherine was lingering over her task. Although she didn’t say a word, I could feel her fingertips lightly stroking my hair and touching my cheeks as she fitted the helmet to my head. I tried to concentrate on Aimee’s last second instructions as Katherine snapped and snuggled and sealed me safely into the suit. But it was difficult.

Finally, they were both done. Katherine looked at me mutely, but I could hear every thought she was saying. Aimee asked me if I was ready to go. I felt like telling her the truth, but instead gave them my most sincere smile through the thick plastic faceplate.

Katherine sent the signal to Teknos and Wafer that I was starting my timing cycle, and Aimee pressed the recognition plate to let me through. The door slid open silently.

I stepped into the fire room and the heavy door slid shut behind me. I looked around at walls that were smoother than normal, but not really ominous looking. I knew Wafer and Teknos were monitoring me, but that didn’t exactly make me feel like a baby in its mother’s arms. As I walked across the room, the floor felt somewhat soft and springy. I couldn’t tell if it was the thick boots I was wearing or if it was actually made of some rubbery substance.

Reaching the other side of the room, I looked at my chronos, as they called watches in these days. There were thirty seconds left before Wafer would open the door for me. I got down on my hands and knees, ready to crawl through as soon as it opened.

“He should be across the room by now,” Wafer said intently.

Teknos merely nodded. His attention was fixed on the video stream in front of him. This one would be very easy, as the viewer of the door was fixed. He clipped the very latest image he could and fed it into the loop program. “Go!” he said with controlled excitement.

Wafer hit the key to feed Aimee’s codes into the door. He could almost feel them jump instantly across the thousands of miles, landing precisely in the relay mechanism he knew Katherine was holding. From there the signal was retransmitted through the silica-like substance she had sprayed around the door frame, which acted as a conduit for the signal to enter the MS building. A similar, although much more complicated ‘antenna’ was broadcasting the video feed Aimee was receiving from Teknos.

Wafer gave Barney ten seconds to get through the door. Then he sent the signal to close it again, to save having to override the system for too long. Having locked in the fixed video loop of the door, Teknos immediately switched his attention to various viewers inside the hallway. Some of these panned across areas, especially where corridors joined. Getting a good, fresh clip and putting that on a loop that would look realistic to the guards was a much greater challenge.

Both of those signals, once inside the MS building, were absorbed by the electronic equipment within that massive complex. Although extremely sophisticated, both of the signals could have been detected if the guards on duty were as alert as they should have been.

# Although there was jamming equipment inside the Security Force control rooms, it had not been used for more than twenty-five years. The guards who manned the security stations could only stand the unrelenting boredom for a few years before requesting transfers. No one had ever tried to attack the MS building, and there had never been any signs whatsoever of electronic tampering. Following all of the intricate procedures initiated more than a century before gradually irritated the guards, even the ones who started their jobs with zeal and enthusiasm to be protecting the most important single building in the world.

The two who were on duty that night were no exceptions. Yoshi Kawaii Fujitsu and Yukiri Suntori Kawabata were both in their mid-twenties, and in excellent mental and physical condition. They both spent the required hours in the weight room, and practiced their martial arts religiously.

When young men had first been Assigned to this particular duty, it was believed the best possible officers should fill the posts. ‘Best’ was determined to mean young and mentally sharp, as well as top graduates from Advanced Training. In retrospect, perhaps older, more mature guards would have remained more alert, not being as eager for action. Security Force guards in factories saw more action than those in the MS building, being able to roam around the grounds and having the occasional scuffle between workers to break up.

Consequently, the detection equipment that could have picked up such irregularities in the electronic signals was not on, primarily because occasional false alarms had become a major irritation decades before. Close attention to the monitors, which may have revealed minute but strange glitches in the video signal, had been replaced by infrequent glances. Tiny sounds of scraping and scuffing could have been heard if the volume levels had not been turned down. In spite of the highly effective thermal suit, both the heat and infrared monitors also had readings too low to set off the alarms, but would have been noticeable if someone actually looked at the displays.

Fujitsu and Kawabata both had their attention raptly focused on the ‘go’ board in front of them. Kawabata especially considered himself quite adept. They both had idle fancies of attaining the rank of Master, and participated in all of the ‘go’ tournaments in their division. Fujitsu’s eyes idly flicked towards the video monitor, then passed over the rest of the monitoring equipment without registering any of the messages they conveyed.

Fujitsu felt like pointing out that it had been nearly twenty minutes since Kawabata had made his last move. However, remembering what was at stake - a bottle of Zankyo “Super 7” sake - he held his tongue. He had better continue studying his opponent’s potential next move and prepare possible responses. Once again, both young men locked their eyes onto the game in front of them.

# Right on time, the door slid silently open. I crawled through it quickly, knowing it would shut in a few seconds. According to Aimee, the motion detectors were placed about three feet off the floor. Along with the more sophisticated equipment protecting the corridor, one set to register anyone walking normally was enough. The idea was to crawl steadily along, keep my head down, and not make too much noise. I should be able to reach my destination well within my timeframe without triggering any alarms. Because the video equipment covered a bigger field of vision, Teknos would have to account for the entire corridor.

As quietly as possible I progressed down the hallway, trying to keep to the ‘optimal crawling rate’ we had practiced. My nervousness at doing this for real made me want to speed it up. I also wanted to leap to my feet and run screaming down the hall in the opposite direction. I fought hard to resist both urges. I kept my attention strictly on what I was doing and where I was going without trying to even think about the next stage. It wasn’t easy.

# Fujitsu was idly drumming his fingers on the table. Kawabata was now twenty-five minutes into his move. Their agreed maximum time was thirty minutes per move. Immediately he quit drumming, fearing the noise might attract his friend’s eyes to the timer. Failure to keep under the time limit would mean an automatic default. Considering the wager they had on this game, it would be a relief to have such a gift. As much as Fujitsu hated to admit it, Kawabata was a more skilled player.

Fujitsu glanced at the video monitors again. As his eyes passed over the view of the corridor intersection, his subconscious mind noted that something seemed very slightly off kilter in the angle. It was enough to make him review the rest of the sensors, but not enough to make him really pay attention to them.

Another faint movement caught his eye much more consciously. Fujitsu looked back at his opponent. Unfortunately, Kawabata’s body indicated he was about to make his move. Fujitsu sighed silently. He was not going to be so lucky as to win by default after all.

# The sweat was dripping down my forehead, into my eyes, and off my chin. Having never worn anything like this before, we had not considered the heat. We had known I would be nervous, which would cause a certain amount of perspiration. But the combination of intense fear with being stuffed into a bulky, hot, totally confined suit made it a lot worse. Sure, it was only an irritation, but at this particular time it was a damned irritating irritation.

Passing the intersection made me feel a lot better. It was only about half the distance down this corridor to the doorway of the chiller room. I was right on schedule. I kept my head down and just kept on trudging.

In less than three minutes I should be in front of the door to the chiller room. Then the heat would really begin.

“He should be approaching the door to the chiller room. Have you got all the video set up?”

“Yeah, right, right. Just about.”

“Which is it? You’ve got it ready, or you need more time?”

“Hey, don’t get testy with me, okay? I’m doin’ the best I can.”

Wafer took a deep breath. It was incredible how high the tension was running in this room when they were thousands of miles from the action. What must the rest of them be going through right now, especially poor Barney? As much as possible, his frail body shivered at the thought.

“I’m sorry, Teknos. Just a little tense, I guess. How long before you have the video set?”

“Give me a minute, okay? No, literally, I mean two minutes.”

“Okay, two minutes. And then I open the door.”

# I was getting awfully tense. According to my chronos, I had been waiting here for more than a minute, yet the door had not opened. Something must have gone wrong.

The sweat was now soaking my entire body. This damn suit was getting unbearably hot, and my temper was rising along with it. I was going from fear to paranoia, and it was not a good transition.

The best thing I could do was keep my head down and wait it out. This was a group effort, and I just had to trust my partners. For someone who had gone it alone for most of his adult life, it was like a dedicated agnostic praying for God’s help. You wanted to believe, but didn’t really think there was anything to believe in.

“Teknos, I’ve got to open the door!”

“Yeah, right, right,” Teknos agreed absently. He was feverishly trying to complete the loop that would cover the video from the last of the viewers in the chiller room. Because of the equipment in the room, it was by far the most complicated video he would have to reproduce. Teknos was acutely aware that lives depended on his quick actions. It only made the pressure more intense.

“Teknos...” Wafer prayed urgently.

“Okay, go!’ Wafer immediately hit the switch. He only hoped they were still in time.

# Finally! I practically launched myself into the little ante-chamber, which was about ten feet square. The schedule gave me thirty seconds to crawl across the floor to the chiller room, but that time was already gone. I sped up my crawl, wanting to make up some time, but not wanting to blow it. The walls in this room looked like some sort of porcelain, and the floor was the same hard, slick substance. In my haste, I was almost sliding across the room. Even as I approached the door, it opened. If he stuck to the schedule, Wafer would give me four minutes to plant the fake bomb and successfully download the virus through the ducting. Although the door to the hallway had closed behind me, Wafer would leave this one open until I had supposedly done my work and got back into the ante-chamber.

Because of the vital, delicate equipment in the chiller room, Aimee had assured us there would be no detection equipment or weapons inside that room. I could actually get up and walk to the huge chillers, which were practically silent as they generated and pumped cold air into the computer chamber above. I fumbled with the flap to the pocket on my right thigh. It was attached with some kind of velcro-like material. Inside the pocket was a small tool, as well as the instrument that would inject the virus into the computer. Because of the gloves, made seemingly thicker due to my nervousness, it felt like it took forever to open the flap and get those things out. I was getting further behind schedule.

As rehearsed, I opened the hatch covering the blower portion of the chiller. The tool was evidently some kind of electro-magnetic device. They no longer used screws to connect metal; the tool demagnetized the connection points and the cover came off quite easily. I immediately hit the button to start the download running. Using Katherine’s wavelengths modulator, the signal should travel up the ducting into the computer room, where it would bounce around until it found some part of the computer memory banks to call home. Once in, it would start its incubation cycle as it was passed from computer to computer.

Somehow, this was the hardest part for me. Transmitting the entire program would take over fifty seconds, during which I just had to stand there and remain patient. My eyes were locked on the chronos the entire time. Each second seemed at least a minute long. Just when my swearing was about to become audible, the final second ticked away. I looked at the indicator on the transmitter, and the red light turned to green. The bug was planted.

# Kawabata gazed at his opponent smugly. How would Yoshi Fujitsu react to that move? Just a few more stones, and he was certain the match was over. They had seen the rare bottle of sake beautifully displayed in a window a couple of days before and had agreed to enter the day’s battle with that as the prize. It would be more than a week’s wages for the loser. Kawabata could almost taste the excellent elixir on his tongue now. He looked closely at his friend, seeing the first trace of suspicion that the game might be nearing an end reveal itself in a tiny glint of fear in those dark eyes. Kawabata tried to restrain a smile.

“You think he’s done it yet?”

“How could I possibly know?” Wafer protested. “Three minutes are up, but it’s probably taking him longer than it did in practice.”

“Yeah, right. I know. But we gotta try and get back on schedule. He’s only got so much oxygen, you know.”

“I know, I know. I’ll give him an extra thirty seconds. Then I’m closing the door. Are you ready with the video feed for the return trip?”

“Yeah, right, right. I’m just using what I fed in on the trip going. All the angles should still work out right.”

“Okay, then. Counting down.”

# Reversing the polarity on my little tool, I quickly refastened the plate. I put both in my pocket and gave a tiny sigh of relief. I was so pleased with myself I almost turned and walked back out of the chiller room. Then I remembered I had to attach the ‘bomb’ to the chiller equipment, and again almost swore out loud. I was already so far behind schedule! But it had to be done, so I fumbled with the flap to the pocket on my left thigh. My clumsiness was even worse, and it took precious seconds just to get the pocket open. I took the thick package out and reached as far around the chiller housing as I could. Not being able to see where I was attaching it, I just stuck it against some object. It was all metal, so I knew the magnets would hold. Then I lumbered for the door before Wafer closed it.

As I was about halfway to the doorway I heard a sharp ‘thunk’ of something hitting the floor. I turned my head to look at the noise. It must have been the fake bomb falling because I had attached it too quickly. I was extremely irritated with myself, and for a split second actually thought about going back and refastening it. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door starting to close on me.

# Fujitsu’s head was bent gravely over the board, straining to see a way out of this trap. Kawabata leaned back in his chair, confident there was no way. He was just starting to clasp his hands behind his head when a sharp noise caused him to jerk towards the instrument panel.

“What was that?” he barked.

Fujitsu’s head snapped up at the words. “What was what?”

“I heard a noise,” Kawabata explained, getting up from his seat and stepping in front of the panel. His eyes darted everywhere. “It seemed to come from the sound detector.”

Fujitsu looked carefully at all of the visual monitors. Then he looked at the neural scan, which they depended on most of all. There was nothing on either.

“You must have imagined it. Perhaps you were hearing the sound of your own doom as I prepare for my next move.”

“You cannot possibly be so self-deluded, Yoshi Fujitsu,” he retorted. However, the banter did not dissuade him from his examination of the various monitors. Kawabata was certain he had heard something. He turned up the volume on the sound, and then decided to check all of the other readings closely.

# I launched myself through the doorway, sprawling on that slick floor. I felt totally exhausted from the strain of crawling around in a hot suit to perform a dangerous mission. I wished I had that small TDM right now because I’d just teleport myself out of there. And then it hit me.

“Oh, shit!” I actually said out loud, although softly. I had come through that doorway too high. I could only pray I hadn’t been spotted. Wafer had better open that hallway door soon, because I felt an urgent need to get the hell out of here before I found out for sure. I tried to remain as calm as possible, however. Now was not the time to panic.

# “Look!” Kawabata cried.

Fujitsu saw the light his partner was pointing to. It flashed red, indicating that one of the motion detectors in the ante-chamber to the chiller room had been tripped. Kawabata quickly switched on all of the auditory alarms. Instantly, a shrill warbling came from the alarm attached to the same motion detector.

“But there’s nothing in the room!” Fujitsu protested. “And I see no heat indication, no neural activity!”

“Look at that!” Kawabata commanded again.