Read Online Atlantis Rising by Michael McClain - Free Book Online Page B

back.
    Terri just smiled at him and
patted him on the chest.
    Someone in the audience shouted,
“Thank god you are okay.”
    This started a rumble of
agreement through the auditorium.
    Mike held his hands up motioning
people to be quiet. Once he had them quieted down, he spoke.
    “Yes, as you can see, Brad and I
are just fine. We have come back here to pack-up the compound, and move our
operations to a better, more secure location.”
    That started another rumble
through the crowd.
    Mike held his hands up again,
“You’re going to be given the choice of whether you want to go or not. I’m
going to turn the floor over to Commander Hunter. He will explain everything.”
    “Here I go,” Jonathan muttered as
Mike stepped back and motioned to him.
    Marc said, “Commander?” Looking
over at Jonathan, who gave a crooked smile and shrugged as he stepped up to the
podium.
    Jonathan cleared his throat,
which echoed through the auditorium. This caused Jonathan to blush a bit as he
apologized. This got a few chuckles from the audience. Jonathan organized his
thoughts and started to speak.
    “Hello, I’m Commander Jonathan
Hunter. Everyone can just call me Jon. I’m Commander of Atlanta Base. This base
is located deep beneath the ocean in a secret location. We discovered it by
accident when our boat had a small malfunction. What we have learned since
being there is just the tip of the iceberg. The base has almost everything we
need, except food,” Jon said.
    That got a few more chuckles, and
a few ‘I don’t believe what I’m hearing’ stares.
    “This base was left by a highly
advanced civilization. We are now its caretakers. The base’s AI, Atlanta, put
me in charge. I’m not real wild about that idea, however that’s a different
story,” Jon said.
    The chuckling stopped in the
auditorium, and all eyes were on him. He felt like a turkey on Thanksgiving in
a room full of hungry people. The people in this auditorium had been with the
corporation since its founding . The
corporation picked most of them to work here because of their ability to see
the realm of possibilities.
    “AI? You mean Artificial
Intelligence?” someone shouted.
    “Yes. A living, thinking,
computer,” Jon said.
    “By living and thinking, do you
mean it’s self-aware?” a woman yelled.
    “That is what I mean. Please, let
me finish,” Jon said.
    When no one else shouted
anything, he continued.
    Jonathan stepped around the
podium and placed a small disk on the floor. He figured this was going to be
the best way for people to understand how serious he was coming to them. He
activated the small device and stepped back as Atlanta appeared.
    “Commander,” Atlanta said.
    Gasps of astonishment, and even
some oohs and aahs came from the audience.
    “Atlanta, how are you today?” Jon
asked.
    “I’m fine. What can I do for
you?” Atlanta asked. She already knew but they had decided this would work
better.
    “What is your primary function?”
Jon asked.
    “I’m Atlanta base’s controlling
AI. I control the day-to-day functions of the base and bots,” Atlanta said.
    “How do we know this isn’t
prerecorded, a clever trick?” someone asked.
    “You can ask her a question if
you would like,” Jon said.
    “Okay, how long has this base
been on Earth,” the same person asked.
    “On Earth? Three thousand four
hundred years, not including construction time,” Atlanta said.
    “What is the purpose of the
base?” someone else asked.
    “Originally it was a research and
development base. However, due to the outbreak of war, it was converted to a
repair and defense base,” Atlanta said.
    “What war?” someone asked.
    “The Eutharan people were, or
are, at war with a race called the Invaru,” Atlanta said.
    “How long has this war been going
on?” the same person asked.
    “To answer that question would
require me to make a guess, based on whether I think the war is still going on
or not,” Atlanta said.
    “So guess,” someone said.