took a
deep breath and stepped in front of the ATS entry. I closed my eyes and raised
my right hand. Again, it moved quickly on its own, the door flying open. When
we looked in, the drawers from a nearby opaque desk were all open, papers floating
around. I shook my head and slowly walked into the room.
“Don’t
worry you’ll get there,” said Rider, patting my shoulder.
The
room was somewhat lit with bright blue sconces lining the walls, providing
minimal light. A narrow path made its way down the middle of the room. Seven
square pods lay on each side of the walkway, with one large rectangular pod
marking the end of the path across from the entry. Fifteen pods total, I was
taken aback by the fact that such a simple-looking system could actually transport
people anywhere in the world in an instant. Each pod had red lights racing
across the standing pad. As if reading my mind, Rider began to explain.
“Each
pod indicates whether or not it’s ready for use by the color of the lights
depicted around the base. Green means it’s activated and ready for transport,
red means it is deactivated. To set your location, you must access the ATS
launch codes at the desk.” He turned and walked over to the desk, where the
drawers remained opened. I ran over and began shoving papers back inside,
closing them when everything was cleared.
On
the opaque desk was a single green light. The light was in the desk itself.
When Rider touched the light, I realized that the entire table top was a touch
screen. A hologram popped up requesting a password, with a keyboard now
appearing on the touch screen desk. Rider typed in ‘warrensato’ and pressed
enter. “He’d never guess,” winked Rider. The hologram then opened up a screen
that depicted all fifteen launch pods in an interactive map.
“The
square pods can accommodate one being at a time,” he explained. “The large
rectangular one can hold up to twenty beings and can only be activated in the
event of an emergency. The launch code is the same for all of the pads. It is
112057. If you forget, it is simply the date of the detonation of the nuclear
reactor. The day the great Solomon Arch was killed.”
Rider
tapped on the first pod depicted, on the right of the path. It began blinking
green on screen and a box appeared asking for the launch destination. We soon heard
a hum. Luke and I turned to look at the pod in the room. The lights around its
base were now green and blinking rapidly. A skylight above the pod opened,
shining blue light onto it.
“The ATS is
situated under the grotto,” explained Rider. Being under water, we could see
the movement of the water in the skylight.
“I’m going
to transport myself to a launch base in a city called Los Angeles. It sits just
under three thousand miles away from here. The angels there are aware of what’s
been taking place in Terredome and know all about you, Sol. They understand
that you are undergoing training and they are expecting my arrival. Whenever a
launch destination is entered, the receiving end will activate a pod
automatically. I will return, followed by one of our affiliates. Both of you
just wait here.”
On the
screen he entered Los Angeles. It then requested the launch code, where he
entered 112057. “Access Granted” appeared on the screen. Then a voice came on
overhead.
”You have
fifteen seconds to board launch pod 2.” It then began counting backward from
fifteen. Rider strode over and stepped onto the standing pad inside the pod.
Luke and I walked over toward him. I held onto Luke’s arm.
“He’s not
going to explode, Sol,” laughed Luke.
“I know,” I
replied, slightly embarrassed by my worry. I let go of his arm and watched
Rider as the countdown continued, biting my lip.
“Three,
two, one.” The lights around the standing
deep breath and stepped in front of the ATS entry. I closed my eyes and raised
my right hand. Again, it moved quickly on its own, the door flying open. When
we looked in, the drawers from a nearby opaque desk were all open, papers floating
around. I shook my head and slowly walked into the room.
“Don’t
worry you’ll get there,” said Rider, patting my shoulder.
The
room was somewhat lit with bright blue sconces lining the walls, providing
minimal light. A narrow path made its way down the middle of the room. Seven
square pods lay on each side of the walkway, with one large rectangular pod
marking the end of the path across from the entry. Fifteen pods total, I was
taken aback by the fact that such a simple-looking system could actually transport
people anywhere in the world in an instant. Each pod had red lights racing
across the standing pad. As if reading my mind, Rider began to explain.
“Each
pod indicates whether or not it’s ready for use by the color of the lights
depicted around the base. Green means it’s activated and ready for transport,
red means it is deactivated. To set your location, you must access the ATS
launch codes at the desk.” He turned and walked over to the desk, where the
drawers remained opened. I ran over and began shoving papers back inside,
closing them when everything was cleared.
On
the opaque desk was a single green light. The light was in the desk itself.
When Rider touched the light, I realized that the entire table top was a touch
screen. A hologram popped up requesting a password, with a keyboard now
appearing on the touch screen desk. Rider typed in ‘warrensato’ and pressed
enter. “He’d never guess,” winked Rider. The hologram then opened up a screen
that depicted all fifteen launch pods in an interactive map.
“The
square pods can accommodate one being at a time,” he explained. “The large
rectangular one can hold up to twenty beings and can only be activated in the
event of an emergency. The launch code is the same for all of the pads. It is
112057. If you forget, it is simply the date of the detonation of the nuclear
reactor. The day the great Solomon Arch was killed.”
Rider
tapped on the first pod depicted, on the right of the path. It began blinking
green on screen and a box appeared asking for the launch destination. We soon heard
a hum. Luke and I turned to look at the pod in the room. The lights around its
base were now green and blinking rapidly. A skylight above the pod opened,
shining blue light onto it.
“The ATS is
situated under the grotto,” explained Rider. Being under water, we could see
the movement of the water in the skylight.
“I’m going
to transport myself to a launch base in a city called Los Angeles. It sits just
under three thousand miles away from here. The angels there are aware of what’s
been taking place in Terredome and know all about you, Sol. They understand
that you are undergoing training and they are expecting my arrival. Whenever a
launch destination is entered, the receiving end will activate a pod
automatically. I will return, followed by one of our affiliates. Both of you
just wait here.”
On the
screen he entered Los Angeles. It then requested the launch code, where he
entered 112057. “Access Granted” appeared on the screen. Then a voice came on
overhead.
”You have
fifteen seconds to board launch pod 2.” It then began counting backward from
fifteen. Rider strode over and stepped onto the standing pad inside the pod.
Luke and I walked over toward him. I held onto Luke’s arm.
“He’s not
going to explode, Sol,” laughed Luke.
“I know,” I
replied, slightly embarrassed by my worry. I let go of his arm and watched
Rider as the countdown continued, biting my lip.
“Three,
two, one.” The lights around the standing
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