Breathing became difficult. As he struggled inhaling, he began to get a sense of the room’s cavernous size. It was several stories of concrete-lined walls with massive machinery, some reaching up to and going through the ceiling of the room. Pipes, conduits and giant wires snaked up and down and around the space. Several huge conduits fed into what looked like a steam turbine in the room’s center. A similar group of conduits on the other side ran out of his field of view. The walkway they were standing on wrapped around the entire circumference of the chamber. Just in front of them, an opening in the walkway led to a stairwell that went down and around to the next wall, and then opened up onto the bottom floor.
Westerling stopped at the very edge of the walkway, only a small railing separating him from what was at least a hundred-foot drop. Just for a moment, Carrington thought, It would be so easy…
“I even know what you’re thinking,” Westerling said, and Carrington jumped, feeling like he’d been caught, his thoughts somehow exposed. “You’ll have ample opportunity to try that, but you’ll want to hear what I have to say first.”
It was the stifling heat, his sense of vertigo and perhaps the loud rumble of the machinery below that threatened to take hold of him and send him tumbling over; all conspired to knock him out at any moment. He said nothing and continued to stare forward and not down, desperately trying to get a firmer footing.
“Come here and take a look,” Westerling said. He waited to say anything more until Reid ambled over; instead, the scientist remained where he was, a few steps back from the railing.
Westerling chortled. “I see, so the larger-than-life Dr. Reid is afraid of heights. This is something I didn’t know.” He smirked.
Smug bastard . Reid trudged over, not willing to let this man get the better of him.
“What do you want?” Carrington snapped.
He noticed the shaft that ran from the main piece of machinery topside, trying to think of anything but down. It occurred to him that they were right under the tower where this prick had his penthouse overlooking the whole facility. He guessed this must be the main turbine for a geothermal power facility and the tubes were channeling the steam through and away from the turbine.
“You noticed the most central piece of Bios-2. This is our power source. It supplies the almost unlimited supply of power that runs this entire facility. It’s what gives us our lights, but even more important, our security. The length of conduit you are looking at, running through the ceiling, powers our EPF that keeps us safe by keeping all the cannibals out.”
Carrington couldn’t help but be intrigued with the brilliant design of the place. Feeling a little more confident, bolstered by his curiosity, he ventured a glance down the tube running from the shaft in the ceiling to the large turbine below. It hummed smoothly. On the other side of the cavernous room sat what looked like a bank of normal-looking gas generators. Perhaps backup .
“I can see you’ve figured out that our central generator is not powered by the diesel that runs our backup generators, which would be disastrous if it were to fail. Have you figured out how the main generator works and how it powers a small city of our size?”
Westerling obviously had some point to make, so Carrington patiently waited in silence for the conclusion of this insipid exercise.
“Fine, I’ll tell you… it’s geothermal.”
Westerling started walking slowly, using the railing as his guide. “Follow me; I want to show you something.”
Carrington reluctantly followed, interested, but still wondering what all of this had to do with him.
Westerling stopped where the walkway and railing elbowed left at the next wall that spanned a hundred feet or so until turning again along the next wall. “You see that?” He pointed to a large opening through the wall at the ground level.
Carrington
Westerling stopped at the very edge of the walkway, only a small railing separating him from what was at least a hundred-foot drop. Just for a moment, Carrington thought, It would be so easy…
“I even know what you’re thinking,” Westerling said, and Carrington jumped, feeling like he’d been caught, his thoughts somehow exposed. “You’ll have ample opportunity to try that, but you’ll want to hear what I have to say first.”
It was the stifling heat, his sense of vertigo and perhaps the loud rumble of the machinery below that threatened to take hold of him and send him tumbling over; all conspired to knock him out at any moment. He said nothing and continued to stare forward and not down, desperately trying to get a firmer footing.
“Come here and take a look,” Westerling said. He waited to say anything more until Reid ambled over; instead, the scientist remained where he was, a few steps back from the railing.
Westerling chortled. “I see, so the larger-than-life Dr. Reid is afraid of heights. This is something I didn’t know.” He smirked.
Smug bastard . Reid trudged over, not willing to let this man get the better of him.
“What do you want?” Carrington snapped.
He noticed the shaft that ran from the main piece of machinery topside, trying to think of anything but down. It occurred to him that they were right under the tower where this prick had his penthouse overlooking the whole facility. He guessed this must be the main turbine for a geothermal power facility and the tubes were channeling the steam through and away from the turbine.
“You noticed the most central piece of Bios-2. This is our power source. It supplies the almost unlimited supply of power that runs this entire facility. It’s what gives us our lights, but even more important, our security. The length of conduit you are looking at, running through the ceiling, powers our EPF that keeps us safe by keeping all the cannibals out.”
Carrington couldn’t help but be intrigued with the brilliant design of the place. Feeling a little more confident, bolstered by his curiosity, he ventured a glance down the tube running from the shaft in the ceiling to the large turbine below. It hummed smoothly. On the other side of the cavernous room sat what looked like a bank of normal-looking gas generators. Perhaps backup .
“I can see you’ve figured out that our central generator is not powered by the diesel that runs our backup generators, which would be disastrous if it were to fail. Have you figured out how the main generator works and how it powers a small city of our size?”
Westerling obviously had some point to make, so Carrington patiently waited in silence for the conclusion of this insipid exercise.
“Fine, I’ll tell you… it’s geothermal.”
Westerling started walking slowly, using the railing as his guide. “Follow me; I want to show you something.”
Carrington reluctantly followed, interested, but still wondering what all of this had to do with him.
Westerling stopped where the walkway and railing elbowed left at the next wall that spanned a hundred feet or so until turning again along the next wall. “You see that?” He pointed to a large opening through the wall at the ground level.
Carrington
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