Read Online 2040 Revelations by Robert Storey - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robert Storey
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please.’
A few seconds later a soft yet purposeful knock came on the door.
‘Come in,’ Goodwin said.
The door opened, shifting the image to one side and revealing the reception office beyond and a short man with silver hair and a bushy brown-grey beard.
‘Professor Steiner,’ Goodwin said, walking forward and shaking his hand. The door closed behind him and the illusion resumed once more.
The professor looked around the room at the beautiful setting.
‘Did you have a good journey, Professor?’
‘I did, Richard, thank you,’ the professor said, his strong voice belaying his age and appearance. He wasn’t the most powerful person on the planet, but he was right up there. Able to call upon massive resources from around the world, governments bent to his will. He was perhaps the most important man on the planet in terms of ensuring the continued functioning of civilisation as they knew it. He was also Goodwin’s direct superior, in principle, anyway; he rarely got to see the man due to his never-ending workload.
Goodwin was the operational director of the Dulce underground facility, officially called the United States Subterranean Base Steadfast, or U.S.S.B. Steadfast for short. Located on the border of Colorado and New Mexico, it was the second largest of the U.S. bases which had been constructed deep underground to preserve not only human life, but all other life on the planet. Of course, the United States wasn’t the only country with such bases. They also weren’t just there to protect against acts of God, such as meteors, solar flares and the like, as they also protected against nuclear war, plague, biological war and other catastrophes devised and unleashed by nature or man.
Goodwin had worked on the base for ten years and had led it for four. More than a kilometre below the surface at its uppermost point to over three kilometres at its deepest, the complex housed nuclear reactors; weapons depots, five hundred thousand residents and staff, offices, laboratories, engineering and computer suites and a huge multifaceted living ecosystem. Alongside the Chinese Shanxi base, U.S.S.B. Steadfast contained the largest manmade partial self-sustaining biological organism (P.S.S.B.O.) in the world. The P.S.S.B.O. utilised fully integrated technology, including water recycling, air regeneration, horticultural and microbiological continuity manipulation and sunlight wave systems, representing human ingenuity at its finest.
‘How goes Steadfast, Richard?’ the professor asked him as he walked around the room taking in the view.
‘I sent you a report last week, Professor,’ Goodwin said with concern. ‘Didn’t you get it?’
‘Yes, of course; however, you can never really gauge a situation until you have seen it first-hand.’
‘It also means you don’t get stuck in an office all the time, either,’ Goodwin said in jest, and then regretted it instantly; crap , he thought, have I angered him? That sounded like I think he’s lazy or something .
Luckily Professor Steiner just chuckled. ‘There is that advantage, although,’ – he looked about the room – ‘this projection makes real life seem bland, office or no.’
Goodwin coughed in discomfort. He’d requisitioned the room’s screen tech to combat the depression he suffered from being underground on such a long term basis. He occasionally took time out to walk through some of Steadfast’s gardens and forests, but even that wasn’t really enough for him.
‘It is very soothing, it helps me work better,’ Goodwin said, his reasoning sounding lame even to his ears.
‘Then it’s worth every dime, you have done some excellent work here, Richard. A few perks merit the investment, I think,’ – Steiner flashed him a wink and smiled – ‘we have the budget, after all.’
Goodwin grinned back at him, relaxing a little. The professor was right, though, their budget was enormous. Virtually anything they needed, they got. Goodwin wasn’t sure
A few seconds later a soft yet purposeful knock came on the door.
‘Come in,’ Goodwin said.
The door opened, shifting the image to one side and revealing the reception office beyond and a short man with silver hair and a bushy brown-grey beard.
‘Professor Steiner,’ Goodwin said, walking forward and shaking his hand. The door closed behind him and the illusion resumed once more.
The professor looked around the room at the beautiful setting.
‘Did you have a good journey, Professor?’
‘I did, Richard, thank you,’ the professor said, his strong voice belaying his age and appearance. He wasn’t the most powerful person on the planet, but he was right up there. Able to call upon massive resources from around the world, governments bent to his will. He was perhaps the most important man on the planet in terms of ensuring the continued functioning of civilisation as they knew it. He was also Goodwin’s direct superior, in principle, anyway; he rarely got to see the man due to his never-ending workload.
Goodwin was the operational director of the Dulce underground facility, officially called the United States Subterranean Base Steadfast, or U.S.S.B. Steadfast for short. Located on the border of Colorado and New Mexico, it was the second largest of the U.S. bases which had been constructed deep underground to preserve not only human life, but all other life on the planet. Of course, the United States wasn’t the only country with such bases. They also weren’t just there to protect against acts of God, such as meteors, solar flares and the like, as they also protected against nuclear war, plague, biological war and other catastrophes devised and unleashed by nature or man.
Goodwin had worked on the base for ten years and had led it for four. More than a kilometre below the surface at its uppermost point to over three kilometres at its deepest, the complex housed nuclear reactors; weapons depots, five hundred thousand residents and staff, offices, laboratories, engineering and computer suites and a huge multifaceted living ecosystem. Alongside the Chinese Shanxi base, U.S.S.B. Steadfast contained the largest manmade partial self-sustaining biological organism (P.S.S.B.O.) in the world. The P.S.S.B.O. utilised fully integrated technology, including water recycling, air regeneration, horticultural and microbiological continuity manipulation and sunlight wave systems, representing human ingenuity at its finest.
‘How goes Steadfast, Richard?’ the professor asked him as he walked around the room taking in the view.
‘I sent you a report last week, Professor,’ Goodwin said with concern. ‘Didn’t you get it?’
‘Yes, of course; however, you can never really gauge a situation until you have seen it first-hand.’
‘It also means you don’t get stuck in an office all the time, either,’ Goodwin said in jest, and then regretted it instantly; crap , he thought, have I angered him? That sounded like I think he’s lazy or something .
Luckily Professor Steiner just chuckled. ‘There is that advantage, although,’ – he looked about the room – ‘this projection makes real life seem bland, office or no.’
Goodwin coughed in discomfort. He’d requisitioned the room’s screen tech to combat the depression he suffered from being underground on such a long term basis. He occasionally took time out to walk through some of Steadfast’s gardens and forests, but even that wasn’t really enough for him.
‘It is very soothing, it helps me work better,’ Goodwin said, his reasoning sounding lame even to his ears.
‘Then it’s worth every dime, you have done some excellent work here, Richard. A few perks merit the investment, I think,’ – Steiner flashed him a wink and smiled – ‘we have the budget, after all.’
Goodwin grinned back at him, relaxing a little. The professor was right, though, their budget was enormous. Virtually anything they needed, they got. Goodwin wasn’t sure
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