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Cover Artwork is copyrighted by the author, whofor some odd reason seems to feel the undying need

to create his own illustrations and designs.

2010. All rights reserved.

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T.O.A.D.Volume 4

The Push

By Keegan Hennis

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I love my family.

My sweet wife supports me,

My smart son and daughter inspire me,

On to excellence.

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This book is part of a series, written in

chronological order. Pick them up out of order andyou may become confused or frustrated by the

story.

T.O.A.D.

The Fall

The RiseThe Run

The Push

The ReachThe Grasp

The Pull

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There are many other series and single

books by Keegan Hennis.

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1Lenny woke before his alarm would have

sounded. The funny thing was his eyes werent

drowsy. He simply opened his eyes as if he hadblinked. Looking around his room helped him to

understand the reason for his present condition.His experiment had worked. The nightbefore, he had set up what he called his Sub-sonic

Alert System. Basically it was a large speaker

designed to work in the infrasonic range, andcontrolled by a timer that he had set to 8 hours and

thirty minutes. At the end of the timer countdown,

the speaker gave a few heavy pulses of air pressure,

which his body could then detect, but not with hisears. He felt it in his chest, which was just like

every other humans chest, little more than a bone-

armored diaphragm detection sensor.The subsonic pulses disrupted his breathing

patterns and caused him to wake up without the

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fright that normal alarm clocks use their sharp

sounds to produce.Lenny decided that a few more trials would

be warranted in his room as well as those of others,

and if his invention worked consistently, he would

put it in line for patent with the rest of hiscompanys present docket of applications. He had

personally invented it with no input from the rest ofhis creative team, but he decided it didnt really

matter who got the credit as long as he could help

people wake more easily in the mornings.After his shower, he dressed himself

casually in a t-shirt and jeans. Then he left his

small bedroom and walked the metal-clad hallway

toward the cafeteria where he would find hisbreakfast waiting for him in the fridge. Today was

cold-pizza-day and none of his coworkerscomplained. Cold-pizza-day came the morningafter pizza-night, a special night when Mrs. Duval

showed one facet of her range of skill in the

culinary arts.As he pulled a few slices of cold pizza from

the fridge and put them on his plate, he also glanced

at a few of the small glass bottles on the top shelf.

They came from a small town dairy deliverycompany in Colorado and were flown in weekly by

one team member or another. Really it was

whoever got to Starlas keys first that would makethe three-hour flight to Colorado, California, Idaho

and a few other stops to pick up supplies and

groceries for the week.

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In an effort to bring about more equality

among the gendered names of their common usevehicles, the TOAD team decided to let Red name

their new runabout. She took the entire production

time to carefully come up with a name that would

be as equally unique as the other named vehicles,and yet would also match the style and imposed

personality with which they had imbued the vehicle.When she told the guys that their sporty new class

of flyer would be christened Starla, the boys were

less than impressed. But it quickly grew on themand soon they were all happily calling the thing by

its given name.

Lenny chose to pour himself a glass of

orange juice and then shut the fridge. He found aplace to sit in the mostly empty dining hall and

made himself comfortable. A few minutes wouldnot be too long to wait for the others of his team tomake their way to breakfast with him.

His pizza this morning tasted as good cold

as it had hot the evening before. Sausage andpepperoni with a thick layer of cheese covered the

custom-spiced tomato sauce. It tickled his taste

buds and made him smile.

Half way through the second slice of pizzathe cafeteria door opened and in walked Hank

followed closely by Josh. Lenny had coincidentally

just cleared his mouth for a new bite, but spokeinstead, Morning Hank, Josh.

Good morning boss, said Hank cheerily.

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But Josh seemed more groggy that morning

and only grunted, Hey.Lenny took another big bite of pizza, the

crust making a pleasant cracking sound in his teeth.

Hank took his normal mug of morning brew, a few

slices of whole wheat toast and several slices ofpizza to his normal eating seat. Though the room

had enough seats and tables to feed the entirepopulation of the island at a time, should the need

arise, the employees of TOAD, Inc. generally kept

to the same table they habitually used.The subterranean complex had been

designed to accommodate much more than it

needed comfortably in the off chance that a heavy

storm besieged the island surface and its dwellershad to take shelter underground. They hadnt had

any storms that bad to date, but they were ready justthe same.Beneath their feet the hinged floor panels

could be unlocked and lifted up off their rests to

reveal softer pads for sleeping. The floor panelswould then slide down into cavities out of the way.

As well, like many other cafeterias most often

found in schools, the tables and chairs folded up and

recessed neatly into pockets in the walls to free upfloor space.

They had a desalinizer array hidden near the

cafeteria that provided more than enough drinkingwater for their needs. And large underwater

turbines out in the sea provided the island with all

the power they could use. They had chosen an

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island with subsurface currents nearby for just such

a purpose.Josh spoke after his first slice of pizza had

disappeared, So, whats on the agenda today?

Lenny answered, I was thinking we could

take a day off from fun and do a solid day ofschooling. We seem to be a little lazy about that

lately and I dont want to get into the habit.Hank nodded, That might be a good idea.

You people are smart, but learning doesnt have to

end when you have a job.Josh spoke, Hank, when are you going to

need the information you get out of your law

library? Its not like were going to go to court

again.Well, right now Im brushing up on patent

and trademark law, as well as international relationsand practices. You never know when you mightneed a good patent attorney.

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2Lenny, Red and Josh finished their

breakfasts and found their way up to the surface to

attend the small schoolhouse that serviced the islandchildren. It was little more than a building with a

few small classrooms in it. There were threeteachers who each taught several grade levels atonce. Because there were only a dozen and a half

students on the island, each child got the attention

they deserved.The teacher for the teenage children was a

very patient and creative woman named Mrs.

Armstrong. She had been hired out of a school in

Idaho with a strong background in teaching giftedstudents. She also won Teacher of the Year in

southeast Idaho several times. Her skill with the

young budding minds seemed unparalleled.As they walked along the footpath that

trailed from the entrance to the underground

complex toward the small village of their residents,

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Josh spied ahead of them, and walking in their

direction, one of their engineers. He had been hiredfrom a large firm in California, and had truly found

his place in their employ. Josh spoke softly to his

friends, Uh-oh, guys. Gary-Carl is coming this

way. The problem wasnt with their employees

work, or his personality, or anything else he couldchange, for that matter. The reason they dreaded

his approach was because not one of the three teens

could remember his first name. They knew it wasGary, or Carl. As embarrassed as they were to

admit it, they couldnt recall which name he had

signed on his contract, but they also couldnt let

anyone know that they had forgotten his name andfound themselves in this singular predicament. So

they worked very hard to make sure that no onewould ever suspect that they didnt know it. But inprivate, only between the three of them, they

referred to him as Gary-Carl, because they knew it

was either Gary, or Carl.Josh would use playful nicknames when

addressing him, names like chief and sport and big-

guy. Lenny called him Mr. Thompson, because

they were all sure that was his last name, and he hadnever corrected them on that one. Plus, whenever

Lenny referred to him in that way to the other

complex employees, they understood that that washis name. And Red simply called him sir, more out

of respect than their overwhelming embarrassment.

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Good morning Mr. Thompson, said

Lenny.Josh quickly added, Morning chief.

And as he shook their hands Red said, Sir.

Good morning, friends, said the always

cheerful Mr. Thompson. How was your collectiveweekend?

As they passed him and continued on theirpath to the school, Josh answered, Just like every

weekend, and he emphasized the word, fantastic.

Good to hear, said Gary-Carl. See youlater.

Once he was out of earshot and then some,

the teens shared a giggle of uneasy relief. One

more meeting with him had passed without himknowing they had no idea what name he signed

before Thompson on his checks. After all, Ms.Milner handled the payroll, and she knew his name.That was enough for them for the time being.

On this morning, the teens welcomed their

teacher to the room with smiles. In her hand shecarried a small basket with chocolaty delights, the

product of skilled labor by her husband who

specialized in delicious treats with fruit and nuts.

He also had skills in making ice-cream, which thetropical inhabitants enjoyed often.

Oh, you are the best teacher ever, said Red

as she eyed a precious berry cordial the size of agolf ball.

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Id like to think my skills go far beyond my

attempts to give you guys cavities in your teeth, butthanks anyway, said Mrs. Armstrong.

She placed the basket on her desk and then

faced the handful of students that she taught and

spoke, Thats for later. Everyone put your bookson the floor and stand on top of your desks.

The students nervously did so, a fewneeding balance support from other students,

primarily because the desk surface was just a little

bit slanted for ease of use. Once they were all up,Mrs. Armstrong addressed them, Now close your

eyes.

They cautiously did as they were asked.

Then Mrs. Armstrong asked, What do you see?Lenny answered, I see the dark orange of

the inside of my eyelids.And what do you hear?Josh answered, I hear your voice, and now

mine.

Red answered, I hear a bird chirpingoutside the window.

Mrs. Armstrong then asked, Who hears the

wall clock?

A few hands went up, because it was indeedticking loudly. Then Mrs. Armstrong asked, As

you see, there are many things happening around us

all the time, some of which we can hear, see,smell. As she spoke, she pulled a small object

from her pocket and prepared herself to open it.

And all the time we notice things, most of the time

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these sensations and records of input are simply

forgotten unless they are important. But what reallyhappens to the memories that are forgotten, that we

dont think well need again?

She silently opened the small bottle and

waved it around in front of the students. Theimmediate reaction came from nearly all of them at

once, a shocked and horrified expression on each oftheir faces. And then she said, What did I say that

day?

Red answered, while plugging her nose,You yelled at Josh for throwing a book across the

room and hitting the trophy shelf.

I told you it was an accident, defended

Josh.Lenny also answered, You taught us about

your husbands favorite team, the San FranciscoSomething-or-others. It was a lesson on statisticalanalysis as applied in sporting events.

Mrs. Armstrong then asked, Josh, what

number did I say?Twenty-one hundred, Josh replied.

You may open your eyes, said their

teacher. And safely get down from your desks.

Yes, thats roughly what I was talking about. Buthow did you know what day I was talking about?

You each pulled an event from that one specific

day, without any conversation between you aboutwhich day I meant.

Lenny answered, My guess is that strong

stimulus of any of the senses can be a reference tag

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for the retrieval of pertinent information learned at

the same time.Not just any stimulus, said Mrs.

Armstrong. The sense of smell is the most reliable

and powerful method of triggering memories in the

human mind. Ive been waiting a while to do thislesson, hoping youd not discuss it beforehand. But

you proved my point well.So, said Red, it was you who made that

smell on that day way back when? Just to be able to

teach us this point?Yeah, said Mrs. Armstrong. And it

worked well, wouldnt you say?

The students nodded, it had worked well.

The aroma of the chemical mix in her small bottlewas indeed pungent, and it would not be easily

forgotten again.After putting the bottle back in her deskdrawer, Mrs. Armstrong again picked up the basket

of goodies and spoke, Today, were going to have

a contest. The first person to answer me has anoption to receive a reward for correct responses, but

after that there will be no rewards for second place.

You must answer correctly the first time I hear an

answer. And I must get a correct answer before wemove on to the next question. Got it?

The teens nodded and awaited the morning

quiz. Casually Mrs. Armstrong sat on the stool nearthe white dry-erase board at the front of the room.

She squinted her eyes briefly and then shot out a

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question, Which civilization borrowed from the

other, the Etruscans or Macedonia?Carefully the teens considered their

responses before Josh raised his hand the fastest.

He gingerly answered, Macedonia borrowed from

the Etruscans?Mrs. Armstrong spoke jovially, Is that a

question or an answer?Before Josh could reply, a siren sounded

across the island. A slowly modulating wail

resounded from several air horns atop towers. Themajority of the residents simply assumed that the

storm warning system was being tested but the teens

knew otherwise. It told them that an incoming

vessel had been detected and would land on theirisland within a few hours.

Apologizing for the disruption, the teens ranfrom the classroom and entered the concealedpassageway that led into their command center

underground. The run took only a few minutes but

by the time they reached the operations room Hanklooked nervous. The radio operator, previously an

emergency dispatcher from Idaho, reported, Small

aircraft on a direct course for us. Itll be here in 45

minutes.How did they get so close before the siren

sounded? asked Lenny.

DaNell, the radio operator, answered, Itappears as if they were trying to literally fly under

our radar floor. The system only spotted them when

they ascended a few hundred feet to pass over a

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commercial shipping boat a hundred miles out.

They dropped below our detection again but theirextrapolated course says theyre headed here.

Well be able to see them better, said Red

as she typed on a computer terminal, if they enter

the range of the more advanced Doppler net at thirtymiles out.

Josh asked, Are they transmitting asquawk?

Not that I could tell, answered DaNell.

Theyre flying in silent and low. It could be amilitary surgical strike or outlaws."

Hank spoke, "Either way, we need to be

ready to defend ourselves and our friends. We also

need to be ready to launch the Drive modules intospace.

The kids were already running about theroom preparing for the arrival of their uninvitedguest. But one of them stopped and thought. Red

turned and spoke, Wait. Its too slow to be a jet,

were too far from land for it to be a helicopter andpirates dont usually fly planes. Maybe we should

radio them from the old shack when they get closer

and ask them what they want.

Red, we could- began Josh.Red interrupted, This just doesnt feel like

an attack to me. Something just doesnt add up. I

mean, they went over that ship and not around it. Ifthey knew they were flying under our radar, they

would try to stay below it, not buzz a cargo ship.

Please say you see my point.

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The boys and DaNell looked to Hank who

thought for a second. Then he spoke, Still getready to launch the Hatching Drives into space.

Josh, you get Gretta through preflight and ready to

liftoff. We wont be caught with our trousers down

after two years of peace.Gretta was built alongside Starla, but it had

a very different mode of service to the islanddwellers than the cargo runabout. Gretta had been

built with an armored drive module, stubby winglets

and a hidden weapons bay. Within the armamentscompartment behind the cockpit they had installed a

handful of air-to-air rockets and half a dozen 30mm

Gatling guns. The stubby winglets were thick and

strong enough to defend against impacts, as well asact as landing skids for the aircraft. The small

bubble that Josh sat in was made of three inch thicktransparent polycarbonate and could stop bulletssmaller than 50 caliber, as well as protect the pilot

from pressures up to several hundred feet under

water and the vacuum of space. Though the teamhadnt yet needed to use Gretta to defend their

peace, they kept her ready to do so on a moments

notice.

Josh sighed relief as he found the batteriesstill plugged in to the island grid. Full power would

be at his beck and call. He climbed up into the clear

half-bubble and belted himself into the seat. As theupper half lowered and the shell sealed, his ears

clicked, signaling to him that his compartment was

pressurized. He switched on the computers and

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waited for the launch order from the command

center.Hank waited patiently in the command

center for any word from the other two teens, which

were at that moment making their way to what they

had called the old shack. Really it looked like aweathered and worn shack with a radio tower near

to it. Though it was less than two years old, theyhad built it to look over thirty.

Lenny waited until the aircraft would be

within range and then he depressed the talk buttonon his corded mike, Unidentified aircraft, this is

island approach. We have no runway, so be

prepared to make a water-landing. If you need

assistance, we can send out a boat or two to helpyou. Over.

The radio only hissed back at them as theaircraft moved in closer to their shores. Lennykeyed his mic again, Unidentified aircraft, this is

island approach. If you copy me, be warned, we

have a reef surrounding our island and at this timeof day it is partially breaking the surface. Steer

clear of white caps.

Red went to the window and looked through

binoculars in the direction from which the aircraftwould be approaching. She scanned the horizon left

and right, hoping to spot the small craft. Lenny

softly spoke, even though he hadnt keyed his mic,Doppler shows them still inbound at a hundred and

twenty knots. You should see them pretty soon.

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The small two-way radio on the desk

startled them with DaNells question, Do you havea visual on them yet?

Lenny keyed the handheld, Nothing yet,

Command. Stand by to dispatch Gretta.

Acknowledged, came her reply.Lenny kept an eye on the computer screen

next to him, showing him the aerial view of theirisland and the approaching aircraft in the Doppler

net. Red still scanned the horizon and at last said,

Ive got it. Its a twin-engine high-wing airplane,amphibious by the shape of the nose and the

pontoons under the wings. Boy hes daring,

skimming the waves like that. He cant be more

than fifteen feet off the water.Lenny resisted the temptation to join her at

the window. He kept his eyes on the display andwatched the planes course veer to the south a fewdegrees. He guessed they were going to make a

close flyby and then land and idle right up to the

beach. But to his surprise, he heard the enginesslow their hum and then Red announced, Theyre

touching down off the cargo ship dock, look to be

aiming for it as a goal.

DaNell called again, Theyve slowed theirapproach, are they down?

Lenny keyed the handheld, Amphibious sea

plane. Theyre floating up to Bobbys dock. Standdown Gretta for now, but well need a welcoming

committee to the dock, post haste.

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Copy, came DaNells reply. "Alerting the

welcoming committee."Lenny and Red stayed in the shack but the

posse had been called. Within minutes, several of

the tougher looking men from the island, including

Bobby Gouse and his brother, and Mrs. Armstrong'shusband the ice-cream man, approached the end of

the pier. They had also heard the plane's approachand were already making themselves ready to greet

the visitor. As they sauntered closer, the pilot of the

seaplane looked unworried while he tossed a ropeunto the thick wooden planks and then jumped

across the gap himself to tie his vehicle down.

When he seemed satisfied with his double half-

hitch, he turned and addressed the waiting posse ina nonthreatening manor.

The teens in the shack watched the pilotshake hands with a few of the men and say a fewthings pointing to his plane over his shoulder. He

waved his hands a few times, evidently thinking it

helped to convince the men of his story, and thenBobby raised his handheld radio. They all heard his

transmission, This boy says his radios busted and

he couldnt reply back to yall, but he heard every

word of it. He thanks you for warning him aboutthe reef and wants to know if we have some fuel to

sell him.

The teens in the shack visibly relaxed as itappeared as if this was not an attack. But then came

a last statement from Bobbys radio, Also he asked

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if anyone knew a fellah by the name of Lenny

Hatching.

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3Lenny closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

He waited through the ensuing radio chatter from

various parties and only after half an hour of silenceover the waves did he and Red make their way from

the old shack back down into the subterraneanfortress complex. Their new guest would be stayingwith them for a while, in the lap of luxury, of

course. Although the island residents wanted him

to think he would be their prisoner, they wouldntstop him from leaving their care.

Lenny found his way to the conference room

that would host his interview. A few of the more

burly looking gentlemen had stayed behind to keeptheir guest company, but it was all for show. They

had no intention of assaulting the pilot that had

found their hiding place.Upon finding his seat across from the pilot,

Lenny began his interview. I am obligated to

inform you that this interview will be recorded, both

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video and audio. Full name, rank and serial

number. And speak up, please.The pilot answered with a sober expression

and tone, David James Winston. I never served in

the military, though I respect those that do.

Lenny continued, Your birth date andoccupation.

The pilot replied, July 7, 1977. I amemployed by the University of Southern Idaho as a

physics professor. But as a hobby I am an

astronomer.Professor or Doctor?

Excuse me?

Your title as a university professor, the one

you request your students call you.Does it matter?

It does if we want to offer you the respectof your education, said Lenny soberly.Then its Doctor, replied the pilot.

Dr. Winston, how did you hear my name?

The professor sat back now to answer,Thats a long story.

Lenny sat back also, I have time.

The professor eyed his interviewer for a few

seconds and then spoke, in probably the same wayhe would lecture his students at the university, I

became aware of you and your company a few

years ago at a professional conference. I thought itonly partially interesting that such a company

arrangement would exist in America. A relatively

small and yet ubiquitous parent company with

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subsidiaries in such a wide spectrum of commerce.

Yet your incorporated company seemed to make noefforts to grow itself beyond the state you were in.

This was a stark contrast compared with other

companies of your size. You became a hobby to

me, though no one else seemed to care either waywhich steps you took.

Lenny listened, growing more curious by theminute. Dr. Winston continued, I attended most of

the fights at the competition your company hosted,

noticing the recording equipment around the arenas.But again, no one thought it was worth their time to

notice. I did a little research and found that you

inherited your company and its government funding

from your grandfather and became even moreobsessed with meeting you. But then within a short

span you let your subsidiaries sell shares in thepublic markets and then you picked up your site anddisappeared with no forwarding address. You still

appear to have control over your subsidiaries

through online activity, but I couldnt find your newhome office anywhere in the world.

Lenny asked, And how did you find us

here?

I searched for other anomalous activity inthe area and found that one of the residents in your

previous hometown came in to a substantial amount

of money all of a sudden and made an unusual landpurchase at roughly the same time that you traded

your companies publicly. I tried to contact the

SEC, but received several stern phone calls from

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my congressmen asking me to stop looking for your

company. Why do you think that is?Lenny shrugged casually, I dont know

why your congressmen phoned you. Until now Ive

never heard your name. Why do you think they

wanted you to stop looking for us?The rumor mill hasnt been silent since you

left Alabama. A few crackpots have gotten togetherand formed a club. Really its the normal

conspiracy theories that scare foil-hatters. But one

small, almost forgotten point made me curious.You and your employees seem to be able to be in

two places at once.

Hows that possible? asked Lenny.

I dont have a clue, answered the pilot.But I was able to track down security camera

footage from several different cities in the US withsightings of one of three teens faces. They are seenon camera in Idaho Falls. Twenty minutes later

they are on camera in Denver. An hour later, they

are seen again in Boston. And unless you have alease on a modified SR-71, theres something fishy

going on whenever you go to town for groceries.

Lenny spoke after the professor paused, As

I told you over the radio, we have no runway on thisisland. The average Blackbird requires no less than

a mile and a half to take off from the ground and a

specially designed KC-135 to refuel it forsupersonic flights. Every time a Blackbird takes

off, its a million dollars in fuel and maintenance

costs. You think we have the kind of money to do

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that weekly? Besides, all the existing SR-71s were

decommissioned years ago. Theyre all accountedfor in museums.

I dont know, that was just an example.

What Im saying is that you guys are doing some

next level stuff here and people are noticing.A few people, said Lenny. But as youve

said, no one believes you and the government seemsto want you to not talk about it. I think you should

just drop it and go back home. Well sell you the

gas, but you are no longer welcome on this island.You cant hurt me, said the pilot.

We can defend ourselves from harassment

by an unwelcome intruder, but I think the bigger

problem would be, how you would get back home ifwe were to drop you off in the middle of the

Amazon rainforest, or on a raft in the center of thePacific Ocean, or in a tent in the heart of the Sahara.Think about that as you fill your plane. Think about

the possibilities if we seem to be able to be in

Denver and then Boston an hour later. Whatcouldnt we do to you?

With that, Lenny stood from his seat and

opened the door to the conference room, waiting

expectantly. But the professor remained seated.Im not here to bandy threats back and forth. We

need your help.

Lenny waited by the door, "We?"The pilot continued, As an astronomy

hobbyist, I also became aware of a large space rock

near Earth.

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Lenny interrupted, One among millions?

How very observant of you.This rock is different. A few of my

professor friends and I have come up with an

accurate model on a projected path for this rock and

the outcome isnt pretty. Were talking globalcataclysm.

Lenny stood still at the door to theconference room. He couldnt tell if the professor

was lying or not.

I have proof of my findings. Do you havea computer on this island?

Lenny replied, rather put off, Were

simplistic, not Luddites.

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4Lennys entire team watched the scene

unfold on the screen before them. The images were

projected onto a wall so that no grim detail could bemissed. They saw a projected timetable accelerated

to days passing in seconds. Within a months time,a meteor the size of Delaware would fall fromstable orbit and land on the surface of the Earth.

Their projected timetable had a variance of four

hours either way, and pointed to the rock crashinganywhere on a line from the central Atlantic to

Eastern Brazil. Even if it burned away three

quarters of its mass in entry and landed in the

ocean, the resulting impact would still have theforce of a billion nuclear warheads.

The ocean would be vaporized for a

thousand miles in minutes, and every fish that usedto live there would be turned to ash almost instantly.

The humans on Earth that survived the blast wave

from the initial impact would either burn up in the

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liquefied stone that used to be the surface rock, or

freeze to death in the following ice age. Theatmosphere would gain miles of thickness with all

the steam and poisonous gas given off by the

impact. The visible light from the sun would be

blocked completely and perpetual night wouldcover the land for thousands of years until the

planet could recover in its own extended schedule.But though it would be night, the other bands of

radiation from the sun would still heat the planet.

For millennia it would be pitch black and as hot asan oven, literally.

But by then, there would be no survivors.

Even the extremophiles, the organisms that live in

boiling acid pools in caves, the bacteria that live atvolcanic vents under the oceans, and every other

species evolved to withstand environmental torture,would be no match for the impending turmoil.Lenny felt skeptical, So, if this were true,

why havent we heard of it yet? Youre projecting

an extinction-level strike. This is arguably prettybig news.

We tried to have our work peer-reviewed,

but again, very convincing phone calls let us know

that inciting mass-panic would be bad for ourcontinued existence.

And what makes you think we can do

anything to help? asked an engineer.The professor answered, If you people have

tools or technologies more advanced than the

government, and operate outside their purview,

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maybe you could do something to stop or redirect

that rock. My hope was that you had discovered thesecrets to teleportation and could just place a nuke

in its path.

The room laughed. Teleportation? Are

you serious?Another operator scoffed, Beam me up.

But the professor wasnt laughing. Norwere the teens that had secretly visited the moon.

Lenny spoke after the laughter died down, Im

sorry to disappoint, but we dont have teleporters.We might be able to send a rocket up to that

asteroid, but nuclear payloads are outside our

purchasing power. And realistically were talking

about changing the orbital path of millions of tonsof assumedly solid rock. What did you really think

a nuclear warhead would do? Unless one couldsomehow channel the entire blast power in onedirection, it would have little measurable effect on

such a mass.

The professor lowered his head, I wasafraid youd say something like that.

Lenny continued, If your findings are

correct, I suggest you make the best of what little

time we have left on Earth. This isnt a high-budgetHollywood script. To do damage to a rock that size

would take a force equally as powerful as or more

powerful than itself, and we dont stock that kind ofartillery. And then to his escort, Make him

comfortable for the night in guest quarters.

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After Dr. Winston had left the room, Hank

turned to his employer, Please tell me theressomething we can do.

Lenny thought for a second, At the very

least, we can take Clarence up and see if theres a

rock where he says. We should be able to reachthose coordinates in a few hours time and then

well know for sure.Josh spoke up, Just because theres a rock

there, doesnt mean it will do as he says. Wed

need to confirm its orbital path and recalculate thedegradation spiral.

Im on it, said an engineer. Keep stable

position in relation to the asteroid for a while and

we can use that data to infer a flight path.Lenny and Josh led a team of smart people

down to the launching bay in the complex. Theyloaded a few extra pieces of equipment into theceramic balloon and then unplugged the batteries

from the charge cable.

Just before Josh closed the top hatch, Lennystood from his seat and said, Wait, we might need

Dr. Winston. And then to a handheld radio,

Please hood Dr. Winston and bring him to the

launch bay.Josh looked nervously toward his friend, but

he knew better than to question Lennys judgment.

Too many times he had been right against all odds.In a few minutes, they helped their guest down the

ladder in a black hood, which looked an awful lot

like a guest room pillowcase. They fastened his

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seatbelts, but had his hands bound down to the

armrests at his sides. The doctor didnt complain.Rather he was silently excited for what he thought

was coming.

The teens whispered on the upper level.

Lenny asked, Is everyone ready?Nods all around and he pressed the

command to open the inner doors to the launch bay.Clarence gently floated, in a way few other craft

could, into the chamber lock. The inner doors

closed and then locked and the outer doors openedallowing an influx of seawater to fill the lock

chamber. It scuttled quickly. Clarence then

traveled forward at a hundred miles per hour

beneath the surface. Little inertia could be felt bythe passengers as they rose to breach the surface at

around mid-day on their island.The surface turbulence they caused lookedhorrific and would do severe damage to small and

mid-sized boats in the area, but there wouldnt be

any. They flew due south for half an hour beforethey began to climb to their accustomed two

hundred foot altitude. Then Josh pushed the throttle

forward and they rocketed past mach 6 over the

southern Pacific Ocean. Since no boats they hadfound would be tall enough to impede their travel

they did so casually.

Soon they reached the Antarctic ice and thenturned their course to glide above the bergs and

glaciers. When they found the magnetic South Pole

they turned sharply upward, attempting to mask

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their ascent in the planets magnetic field. As they

climbed, they accelerated. The sky became dimmerand the stars appeared. Still faster they pushed their

little starcraft as they left the majority of the

atmosphere behind.

When they cruised at their maximum safespeed, Lenny unbuckled himself from his chair and

climbed down the ladder into the lower section. Hesaw that his pals were setting up their equipment

around the hooded guest. Lenny pulled the hood off

Dr. Winstons head and let his eyes adjust to thedarkness they saw outside. The doctor looked down

at his watch on his wrist, which Lenny graciously

twisted into view. His clock said still before noon,

but the stars outside the sapphire windows madehim pause.

And then the Earth began to peek into hisview through the high-visibility front of the vesseland he froze before speaking. Lenny knelt next to

him and spoke softly, We are in high earth orbit,

preparing to make our way toward the asteroid youwarned us about. Dont worry; youre safe in your

seat here. This craft has been tested at higher

altitudes than this. In a few hours well be close

enough to get an idea about the danger were in.Dr. Winston never questioned how he still

had gravity, nor how they had made it into space

without a rocket and a lot of shaking of the capsule.He simply took his view at face value, accepting the

truth that they were in fact flying through space at

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faster than escape velocity. All he said was, I just

knew you had something like this.But the other men working around him

made no effort to reply to the doctors statement.

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5The time passed quickly until they neared

the location in question. Just as Dr. Winston had

claimed, they found a massive space rock floatingserenely in the blackness. A hundred miles from

end to end, it looked more like a short femur bonethan a rock. It had a thinner waistline in the middleand bulbous ends. It toppled gracefully through the

void as if it were dancing in a water ballet.

Just as they said, said Dr. Winston softly.An engineer spoke on an intercom from the

lower level, Based on its size, it shouldnt have

much measurable gravity. It didnt coalesce like

this from smaller bits, it had to have been brokenoff a much larger rock in a collision. This was a

recent event, maybe a few thousand years ago,

based on its temperature and rough-hewn shape.Not many more centuries longer and impacts from

smaller asteroids would have rounded off most of

those jagged bits.

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Lenny asked, Do we have a reading on its

orbital path yet?The engineer replied, Not yet. But we

should have it before the PSR.

Dr. Winston asked, Whats the PSR?

The engineer answered him, The PSR is thepoint of safe return. We have limited power and air.

We have to carefully plan our trips to make sure wedont run out of either before we can safely land

back on Earth.

Dr. Winston nodded a few times, looked asif he was about to say something else and then shut

his mouth. He could wait to ask it later. He did

however notice perhaps for the first time that the

engineers around him were easily standing on thefloor as if they were still on the ground. He noted

this, but said nothing about it at the time.Half an hour after they found the topplingrock and began keeping close range to it, they had

ascertained a projected orbital path for it. The

programs they were using to crunch their numberstook into account all the major masses in the solar

system and most of the minor ones to calculate the

rocks path as it passed them. Within a margin of

.01% they had nailed down the exact path it wouldtake and the image didnt look pretty.

In 27 days and six hours, the asteroid would

make contact with the Earths atmosphere. At itspresent speed it would make landfall after only two

tenths of a second in the air. It would lose less than

a millionth of one percent of its mass to friction

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burn in the sky before it made a crater the size of

Greenland where Mongolia, China and most ofRussia used to be. Unless some other force entered

into the equation, the end of humanity was less than

a month away. And they stared at it, looking as

innocuous as a rubber duck floating in a bathtub. Ifthe computers hadn't confirmed the timetable, they

would simply think it was nothing more than aturning space rock, virtually indistinguishable from

the countless other Near Earth Objects identified up

to that date.For a half hour longer, they stayed close to

the rock. They flew in to get a better look at it and

discovered it had small holes riddling its surface.

Unlike a sponge whose entire structure is webbedwith holes and tunnels, the rock had only incidental

holes in its structure, like swiss cheese. It was morerock than emptiness by a long way.An engineer commented as he stood near the

transparent front on the upper level, These here

look like veins of hematite and cobalt. And thatover there could be iron or a ferrous ore. Based on

the jagged cleave lines Id say the impact that

cracked the asteroid here was a slower one. It just

broke off without transferring much energy intoheat.

Lenny asked, What are the chances that

those holes go deeper into the mass of the rock?Another engineer answered, From my

geology research, Id say the chances are high.

They look like leftover gas pockets from volcanic

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activity or cooled magma tubes like some caves on

Earth. Some of the tubes will be pretty shallow, butothers will go for miles.

Josh spoke up, brainstorming, If we could

get a Hatching Drive module lodged in one of those

tubes, we might be able to do a little to redirect therock. I mean, a little is all we need, right? Slight

changes in the asteroids path and it may miss theEarth entirely.

But how will we fasten it into the cavity?

asked Lenny. Steel cables wont be strong enoughand the rock looks brittle enough to just crack apart

and let the module fly out the other end of the tube.

An engineer spoke up, Wed need a

bonding material that has lots of surface area, lots ofadhesion and a fair amount of elastic resilience. It

needs to cushion the movements of the module butnot give way to them entirely.Josh interjected, Like that expanding foam

stuff? They use it to fill air gaps in construction

jobs. It bonds pretty good, and doesnt need oxygento cure. Its a recipe that dries on its own. If we put

a large enough payload of that stuff on a module

and then set it off remotely, it could make a good

plug in the tube and help the module to stay insidewhen we try to adjust the rocks course.

An engineer spoke up, Thats another

thing. Youre still talking about interfering with themomentum of a space rock that weighs in excess of

millions of tons. That inertia is going to be hard to

adjust. You wont be able to fly it around like this

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Clarence craft. The most youll be able to do is

slight changes in its path or speed. Do it wrong andit could hit the Earth sooner and harder.

Lenny replied, Right, but were only

talking about changing its trajectory by a few

degrees on the whole. Just a fraction one way oranother and it will follow a different orbit entirely.

But were also talking about applying adirectional force to a space rock in excess of

billions of newtons. Can a Hatching Drive module

dish out that kind of pressure without destroyingitself? I mean, this is going to stress the very

molecular structure of the materials its made of,

especially if theres a point of contact with the rock

wall.Josh spoke up as he read from a computer

display, Hey, guys? The system is picking up anactive ping on an unusual frequency coming frominside Clarences hull. Are we hauling a tracking

device?

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6Im sorry, said Dr Winston. They gave

me no choice.

After a close inspection of the guts of theprofessors smartphone, Lenny found an

aftermarket addition to the radio board. With hishead lowered, the professor continued softly,Please dont kill me.

Josh snorted slightly but kept his mouth

closed. Lenny thought about destroying the phonetracker, smashing it into pieces, but then he just set

it in Dr Winstons lap. He asked, Name, rank and

serial number.

As Clarence floated a few thousand milesabove the planets surface the professor answered,

I really am who I said. But when I tried to have

our findings on the asteroid peer-reviewed, theycontracted me to do this.

Whos they? asked Josh.

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Hes with the military. Some air force

general back east threatened me with eternalimprisonment in Cuba with no trial. He said that if

I could get you guys to help fix the meteor problem

I would be set free and rewarded for my service to

the planet.Josh spoke, Personally I wouldnt trust the

monetary promises of a guy that threatened tounjustly lock me up forever.

Dr. Winston defended, Im not in it for the

money! I just didnt want to go to a terrorist prisonand never see my family again.

Does the military know the location of our

island? asked Lenny calmly.

I have to assume so. They told me to flyout on that heading and land there. They gave me

that phone and told me not to lose it. If they weretracking it the whole time, you can bet theres anarmada of ships heading toward your little paradise

as we speak. All they needed was proof that you

had a way to get a payload out to that rock and fast.They probably tracked our ascent and path as far as

they could. Beyond that, I have no idea.

Lenny stood quietly thinking for a few

minutes. Then he climbed back up to the controllevel of Clarence and took his seat. He switched on

the fasten seatbelts sign and then made ready to

descend into the atmosphere. He keyed theintercom and spoke into his mic. Folks, the

conversation we just had never happened. We are

to pretend that we have no knowledge of an

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approaching military threat. When they land on the

island, we are to cooperate with their everycommand and make no efforts to fight them.

As soon as the intercom clicked off, Josh

asked softly, Are we losing Clarence today?

Lenny answered as the wind began to warmtheir front windows, Not if I can help it. As soon

as we have a stable link with the command center,forward them the conversation highlights and tell

them to seal off all access ways into the fortress but

our ingress tunnel. Prepare the surface residents forcompany and make sure no one gives the soldiers

any reason to escalate their tactics.

And what about the drive modules we still

have in storage? asked Josh.If we can keep the soldiers out of the

fortress, we shouldnt have to worry about themfinding the other drives. But we also need to startworking as fast as we can on the thing were going

to put into that space rock. Thats still a clear and

present danger that must be dealt with.

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7Once the digital link with their command

center registered as stable, Josh sent the files as he

had been told. But Lenny didnt take them directlyhome yet. He flew high over the ocean searching

for any ships that were heading for his island. Forminutes they hunted until their sensory array pickedup active radar pinging from below them.

A quick glance showed only a single wake

trail on the swelling ocean. From its size theyguessed it to be a large ship. They flew around in a

smooth pattern, trying to see what kind of tricks the

Navy would pull. Not many minutes into their

circling above the ocean and they picked up a radiosignal on the broad spectrum antenna.

Unidentified craft, you are hereby ordered

to descend to a landing on the US Navy carrierbelow us. Any attempt to flee will be met with

pursuit. Any attempts to attack your escort will be

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met with lethal retaliation. For your own good,

comply with these orders.At the same time that they heard the

message, they picked up several approaching jets.

They flew in a tight formation, generally toward

Clarence, but were not acting aggressively at thatmoment.

Lenny and Josh exchanged glances. Andthen they exchanged seats. Though they both spent

equally the time they sat in the pilots seat, Josh had

more experience with evasive tactics. But the onlyperson to speak was Red, who asserted, Punch it.

With no more convincing necessary, Josh

pushed his throttle control forward a few notches,

rocketing them forward. They jumped from twohundred miles per hour to four hundred miles per

hour in what seemed to be an instant. They feltlittle change in the room environment, but outsidethe ship, their wake disrupted not a small area of

sky.

Again the radio spoke, Unidentified craft.You are defying the US Navy in international

waters. Any actions you choose to take could be

misunderstood as threats to the sovereignty of the

United States. Comply with your orders. Descendto two hundred feet and slow to one hundred-eighty

miles per hour on approach to the carrier.

Joshs lips pursed as he concentrated on hisflying. He pushed Clarence to six hundred miles

per hour on a gradually circuitous path over the

pacific. Not many minutes passed before their

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sensory array detected a radar lock on their ceramic

hull, most likely from the pursuing jets.Josh muttered a quick, Crap. Hold on,

before pushing their throttle forward a few more

ticks. The acceleration from six hundred miles per

hour to a thousand passed unnoticeably for thepassengers of the flying submarine, but the eddies

caused by their maneuver played havoc on thepursuing jets. The Navy lost its target lock on their

hide, but they knew it wouldnt be for long.

Josh spoke up, Ideas?Red shouted, Full stop.

Lenny shouted, Crazy Ivan.

But Josh had an idea of his own. Stand by

for a Triton Orbit.With them following us? Are you nuts?

Well killem! said Red.Josh spoke up, calmly, Lenny, prepare todrop us a hundred feet on my command.

In seconds, Lenny had the auxiliary control

board up in front of his seat. The touchscreendisplayed a few dozen options ready for his

choosing. Ready, Lenny reported.

Red held her armrests tightly, though they

were moderately sure they wouldnt feel muchinertia in the maneuver. Josh made himself ready to

change their path much faster than the fighter pilots

reflexes could match.Just as the alarm sounded telling them that

the jets had again acquired a target lock on them,

Josh shouted, Now!

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In half a second, Clarence lost a hundred

feet of altitude, not dangerous at thousands of feetabove the ocean, but still not a safe trick. At

roughly the same time the jets began their own

dives, trying to catch the flying ball. But before

they could again take up position behind Clarence,Josh completely reversed their flight path, flying

back the way they had come, barely missing theNavy jets, but missing them still.

Josh turned Clarence to fly forward again,

knowing they had little time left before theirpursuers could again paint them with a target. He

enacted the dangerous but as he saw it necessary

programmed maneuver that would finally rid them

of the chase, as well as bring them in for a closerlook at the carrier. The Hatching Drive module shut

down and they fell out of the sky with growingspeed. They fell from a few thousand feet uptoward a growing blue ocean. Only a few dozen

feet above the water, Clarence detected the

approaching ground and reenergized the drivemodule while continuing their fall for six feet.

Then it slowed them to a gentler 10 miles per hour

and they sank controlled beneath the waves.

Because they had been falling when the drive againpowered up, the environment inside Clarence kept

its relative gravity situation. They experienced no

weight inside the ceramic bubble. No one knewwhy this was a byproduct of their drive principles,

they just knew it worked.

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They sank to a few dozen feet below the

waves and then leveled off. To anyone watchingthem from the air or monitoring their flight on a

radar scope, they would appear to simply crash and

then vanish as they hit the water. And since they

moved without engine noise, they could sneak upon sonar nets without being heard.

Josh whispered, Now what?Lenny answered, Now we wait.

Josh whispered again, Wait for what?

Lennys answer surprised Josh as he toounbuckled from his restraints, For them to send out

divers and find us drowned. Get everyone out of

their seats and floating through the air as if they are

dead. Theyll look in the windows and see us andassume were all dead. They wont notice that there

is no water in the cabin, which would be clearanyway. All lights and electronic displays need tobe shut off to make it look like they shorted out in

the water.

Josh whispered back, Theyll try to hoistClarence back out of the water and up onto their

deck.

Lenny replied in a whisper, But the drive is

still energized, holding us here no matter how muchlift they put on the cables. They wont want to

damage the rest of the ship so theyll leave us here

after a while and go to the island. This is just tostall them to give our people the time they need to

make ready for the navys landing.

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In three minutes flat they were ready for the

show to begin. They saw out the window thesurface of the water becoming very disturbed, most

likely from the wind generated by a helicopter

hovering over their position. In a few more minutes

they saw lights shining in the front lenses. Lennykept his eyes open, but focused on a bolt on the

floor. They wouldnt see his eyes moving anyway.A quick glance around the windows and they would

assume that the seal had failed on impact and the

crew hadnt had time to get out before all their airwas gone.

It took measurable control of their bodies

not to flinch when one diver banged a few times on

the front lenses. He was looking for reactions butnot one person in the ceramic bubble responded.

The lights left the windows and Lenny had a chanceto whisper to his companions, You guys are doinggood. A few more minutes and we can be on our

way.

A loud clanking sound came as a chain setfell across the shell. Some rubbing sounds as the

divers linked it together and they braced for the next

events. They heard the chain slipping on the

ceramic, but the ocean surface got no closer. Theywaited and waited and waited silently more until a

dark shape loomed in the distance. It was the keel

of the carrier.The massive ship turned to the side to barely

miss hitting Clarence. Lenny sighed as he knew

that the carrier would crush them like egg shell if

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they had collided. When the carrier stopped

moving, they waited a few more minutes and thenheard some more sounds from the chain net that

surrounded Clarences shell. They were leveraging

the power of the carrier to try to lift Clarence out of

the water. But after a few torturous minutes of thechain grinding against the ceramic Josh noticed the

water line on the carriers hull dipping below thesurface.

Wow, whispered Josh.

Lenny whispered back from where hefloated near him, I know, right?

But their depth stayed the same no matter

what the navy tried. They were lucky that the

seamen assumed Clarence was just too heavy andreleased the chain net from around them.

The divers all retreated to their helicopterand the carrier slowly began to move away fromClarence. They assumed that the navy believed

they could come back and pick up the shell later,

after they had taken the island.Josh found his way to Lenny and whispered,

Your plan worked. Lets hope we gave Hank the

time they needed to make ready to entertain guests.

Lenny nodded and then found his way downto the lower level. He whispered, The coast is

clear, but they may still be listening to us. Keep

noises at a minimum.All nodded and then began to quietly secure

the equipment that had floated up from the floor.

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Dr. Winston asked before Lenny left them, How is

it done?Lenny answered truthfully, Really, we have

no idea. We noticed on our first flight into space

that we still had the same gravity that we had on the

ground. Not until months later did we discover thatwe could sustain a weightless condition also.

And that maneuver, the Triton Orbit.Whats that about?

Dr Winston, as an astronomer you should

already know that of all the planets and moons inour solar system Triton is the only one to orbit

backwards in relation to the rest.

I didnt claim to know everything, he said

as Lenny again left him.For minutes they floated in silence, hoping

that they could gain enough distance from thecarrier to have any of their movements gounnoticed, but also to be able to do as they planned.

They knew that cautious military sonar operators

would keep listening for any signs of danger. Andthey knew that if there were any automated systems

listening to the sonar readings, they would be

alerted immediately to dangers, no matter the

direction or assumed state of the ceramic ball as thehumans saw it.

For minutes they spoke only in whispers to

keep their chances of being overheard to aminimum, but what they didnt plan on was a visit

from another mammal outside of Clarences skin.

The large gray swimmer closed on them, but

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curiously paused a dozen feet away. It looked like a

humpback or blue whale, but they couldnt tell fromthat distance. The point was that it was massive.

And it seemed to be watching them as intently as

they were watching it.

Josh felt the need to move Clarence, but hedidnt want to harm the whale, not certainly

knowing if simply moving near it would hurt it. Atlast, the whale moved off and disappeared in the

murky blue, assumedly continuing on its migration.

They didnt know that their island in fact rested sonear a whale migratory path. Though they didnt

have time to investigate it further right then, Lenny

decided that he would safely try to do so at some

other time.

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8Lenny keyed up the link with their island.

He hoped the ship would continue on and not detecttheir communications. At once a call came in. It

was the voice of DaNell, their dispatch operator,Repeat. This is island control calling Clarence.Do you copy?

Lenny keyed his mic, This is Clarence. I

read you five by five. No casualties. Prepare for abeach and air assault. Incoming US Navy aircraft

carrier. Make no efforts to obstruct the landing

soldiers. Cooperate but do not open the mountain.

Well be there shortly. Clarence clear.Lenny piloted them under the water for

miles until they reached their safe harbor. The

tunnel into the mountain remained open. Once theywere in, the doors locked on the sea-side. The bay-

side doors opened and the water from the lock

chamber rushed into the vents in the floor on the

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other side. Clarence flew gracefully to his cradle

and set down gently on the springed pads that hecalled his bed. But Lenny didnt shut down the

drive module yet. He thought he might need it still

to sustain the weightlessness within the shell. They

did, however, take the time to plug in their batteriesto the long power cord near the pads.

Josh helped Dr. Winston down the ladderonce he had been unbelted from his seat. He looked

a little dizzy from the weightlessness they had

experienced. But that wasnt anything with whichto be concerned, it would pass quickly.

Out of the craft the crew and passengers

climbed quickly. They had a job to do and not

much time to play around. The engineers ran totheir areas of work and began to collect the things

they might need. Lenny pulled his phone from hispocket and dialed control.Please tell me they havent landed yet.

DaNell replied over the line, Theyre

holding position thirteen miles out. As of yet therehave been no communications from them, nor any

launches of boats or aircraft.

Thanks, said Lenny and he hung up his

phone.In the supply warehouse, several decks

down from the highest level in the subterranean

fortress, he found the section marked for adhesivestorage and sighed relief. They had stocked up on

the expanding foam in industrial canisters, just in

case of water leaks through the stone walls that

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surrounded their submarine cavern. There looked to

be enough for their purposes. He began to loadcases of the large canisters onto a pallet for

transport. When he had cleaned their supply from

the floor he lifted the load with a pallet jack and

pushed the heavy stack out into a hall.The freight elevator lifted him to the launch

bay and before he could get the rolling load movingagain, his phone rang. This is Lenny.

DaNells voice came on the line, This is

control. Several small barges have launched fromthe carrier and are making their way toward the

eastern beach. Be advised also that magnified

optics have registered deck activity on the carrier as

we speak.Acknowledged, said Lenny. Keep me

informed.He put his phone away and started the palletjack rolling toward Clarence. Another few people

were working at removing the drive module from

their cargo hauler Starla. It was positioned abovethe payload container, housed in an armored casing,

which they were actively dismantling with drills

and wrenches.

Lenny called to them, It doesnt have tolook pretty, just dont damage it.

A machinist brought in some dive tanks

from storage on the next level down. He wheeledthem in a little trolley, because they too were heavy

in large numbers. Josh went to work as soon as he

had climbed out of Clarence. He was trying to

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make an adapter fitting that would allow the

contents of the smaller canisters of foam to betransferred into the larger dive tanks.

An announcement over the intercom let

them all know their time was running out. Naval

choppers have landed on the island. Do not resisttheir commands.

Everyone redoubled their speed assemblingtheir makeshift equipment. Lenny called, No time

to transfer the foam, just band the canisters together

to the skeleton of the drive module. And make surethat battery is charged.

Yes, sir, said the workers in unison.

Lenny pulled Josh aside and spoke to him.

"When the canisters are all in place and bandedtogether, wrap them with det-cord. Set the

detonator for a remote activated timer. Make surethe navigation computer is shielded against both thedet-cord and the foam, and that we can pilot the

module from here as long as its within range.

Josh nodded and ran to retrieve theirexplosive supplies. Lenny then ran from the bay to

the personnel elevators and pushed the button for

the control center. The ride was short but

agonizing. Once in the command center, he found aplace to sit and wait. He watched the screens

showing them the activity on the surface.

The sight wasnt pretty. Most of the peopleon the island were being rounded up at gunpoint

and congregated at a central location. The

schoolhouse served as the temporary jail. Lenny

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again felt relief that none of his residents were

fighting the soldiers. The last thing he needed rightthen was a complicated situation.

DaNell spoke to Lenny softly, Can you

guarantee the safety of those people?

Lenny opened his mouth to speak, but sheinterrupted him by asking more sternly, Can you

GUARANTEE the safety of my family?Lenny carefully answered, Were doing

what we can. As long as they are not hostile, they

will be treated well.DaNell nodded and turned back to the

computer screen before her. Lenny silently hoped

he was right. He was playing a dangerous game of

chess with a lot of lives.

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9Lenny found that his mind had begun to

wander as it was called briskly back to the subject at

hand. A call came in on a service line from theschoolhouse. I hope I am talking to Leonardo

Hatching from Alabama. My name is BrigadierGeneral Samuel Kastora. I am here to commandeeryour control center and any equipment I feel

necessary to the mission Ive been given, which is

to protect our planet from doom by meteor. If youcomply with my orders, I give you my word that we

will leave you and your citizens peacefully once we

have accomplished our mission. You have ten

minutes to comply.The line went dead as Lenny watched by

security camera the uniformed man put the phone

back down. But within seconds, a marine in combatattire stood in front of the camera and worked his

hands out of its view. The screen then showed a

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simple message that the camera no longer

functioned.Lenny wrote on a sheet of paper, one

security camera. He was making a list of items to

bill the Navy for replacing.

He keyed his intercom control and spoke onthe general announcement channel, Message to the

commander of the invading military forces. Youhave trespassed upon privately owned United States

soil. If you cease and desist now, I will overlook

the illegal treatment of our people and theintentional damage to our property. You are

working outside the rights of your position and are

asked to leave now peacefully before a permanent

entry is made in your service record. And FYI, if itstrikes the earth, it isn't called a meteor, it's called a

meteorite.DaNell spoke softly, Dont anger them.They may have permission to do this.

Before Lenny could reassure her, the phone

line spoke again, I have landed on this island byorder of the Commander in Chief, and as such I am

within my authority to take this island and its

residents and properties into custody by force. I ask

you to surrender your post peacefully, though youand I both know I have the men and tools to take it

aggressively. We have more than enough firepower

to breach your defenses violently, but we wish aquiet and orderly handoff of command.

Lenny doubted the intentions of his

adversary, but he also had to think of his friends and

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family. He keyed his mic and spoke, I will allow

you to use our equipment and facilities for yourpurposes on the condition that you remove all your

armed soldiers from the schoolhouse and simply

guard it from the outside. You will gain no honor

by holding unarmed civilian men, women andchildren at gunpoint. And FYI, if you had asked

nicely, I would have worked with you gladly.DaNell again mildly chastised her boss,

Better than the last one, but still antagonistic.

Make the situation better, not worse.My apologies, said Lenny, but Im trying

to do just that. Maybe next invasion you can handle

the communication.

DaNell spoke, I might just take you up onthat one, if this ever happens again.

The general called in again, as they sawfrom an outside view that soldiers were exiting theschoolhouse, Ill make my men guard the outside

of the schoolhouse, but if your civilians try anything

Ill take them all aboard my carrier and hold them inreal jail cells.

Thank you General Kastora, said Lenny.

My people and I will open the door and be waiting

for you at the access tunnel to this fortress. We havenearly finished refitting a module of our design to

approach the meteor with a payload. Well be

bringing it up with us. The access port to thisfortress is due west of the schoolhouse half a mile.

We await your appearance.

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DaNell spoke when Lenny had set his mic

down on the table, Do you really think hell honoryour agreement?

Lenny shrugged, It doesnt matter anyway.

Im just stalling him so that our engineers can finish

their tasks. With luck we should have an officialapology from Washington by dinnertime.

DaNell spoke, Sometimes I dont like thegames you play, but you always seem to have the

whole thing planned out. One of these days your

luck will run out, and when it does, I hope Im notthere to see it.

I hope Im not there either, said Lenny as

he left the command center.

Up flights of stairs he raced to the launchbay. The freight elevator had the ability to lift

equipment and personnel all the way to ground levelthrough the opening of a heavy cement cover overthe elevator shaft. But once it lifted to the surface,

security protocols cut off power to the controls on

the lift platform itself. Lowering the platform againcould only be done from the command center. And

since Lenny neglected to mention any other access

points into the fortress, he doubted that the soldiers

would find their way inside.In the launch bay, Lenny found that his team

had finished their task. The object they had

assembled looked very unprofessional, but it didntneed to look good, just work good. Josh

approached him as he neared the assembly.

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Handing Lenny a small black case, Josh

spoke, The guys wired this up to set off the timeron the foam poppers. But we still need to set the

timer to a specific delay. Was there a number you

had in mind?

Lenny thought a few seconds and thenanswered, Set it for five minutes. And then can we

fly it remotely?An engineer answered, It uses the same

tech we normally use. Small memory for a few

programmed maneuvers plus remote access fromeither here or from Clarences control board. We

figured it would be easier to get into place if you

were up there with it. Besides, the satellite link has

a limited range anyway.Good, said Lenny. Now, were going to

turn it over to the Navy and explain it to them.Maybe seeing this theyll let us launch it and thenjust leave.

Josh asked softly, Do you really believe

that?Lenny quietly replied, Given that theyre

one of the several branches of military that defend

our nation from threats, I certainly hope they dont

give up that easy. Would you want them defendingyour freedom if thats how they operated?

Josh shook his head a few times, Not in this

universe. So, cellmates then?No way, said Lenny. You snore too

loud.

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10Slowly the freight elevator reached the top

level, ground level on the island. Upon it rested the

modified drive module, Clarence, a few otherworthless bits of technology and equipment, and

Lenny and Josh and a few engineers. They foundwhen they reached the surface that a party awaitedthem. About a dozen well-armed marines waited

patiently for the lift to stop before they raised the

business ends of their rifles to bear on the peoplestanding on the lift.

Josh piloted Clarence, as they still retained

the weightless environment within its hull. When

they reached the top, Josh made no attempt toescape in the likely bullet-proof submarine. In fact

he did the opposite. He popped the top hatch and

tossed a rope ladder down the side of the shellinviting any who wanted a ride to climb aboard.

A few soldiers climbed the ladder quickly

and could soon be seen through the sapphire lenses.

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Lenny recognized the person in charge and spoke to

him in a nonthreatening way. Weve finishedbuilding what we think will help get rid of the

asteroid in space before it hits Earth. If youll let us

launch it-

The General interrupted, Can that ball bepiloted by one of my men?

Lenny answered respectfully, With just aminute of training from Josh.

Do it, said the grizzled officer.

Lenny put the two-way to his mouth, as theshell was too thick to translate much spoken noise,

Josh, show the soldiers how to fly Clarence.

The General then spoke, as if for the first

time recognizing that Lenny was the person incharge, Im taking over this operation.

Lenny felt a few hands gripping his arms,intending to lead them from that place. He walkedwhere they led him, not fighting or giving them any

reason to use any force against him or those loyal to

him.As they made their way from the clearing

Lenny heard several of the people talking at the lift,

Im trying, but the control isnt responding.

Another soldier spoke, Are you sure youredoing it right?

The directions are plainly marked here.

Nothing works. I think they cut the power to thecontrols. I know I would.

Well, open it up, then. Get this lift working

and fast.

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Lenny smiled. He knew they wouldnt be

able to use those controls anytime soon. Theseparation relay that disconnected that panel from

the rest of the network was located down in the

command center. Nothing they tried from ground

level would do them any good.Through the cleared terrain they walked and

Lenny realized only too late that the General had nointention to uphold his end of the deal. They led

him to a waiting helicopter and up into its side. One

soldier bound his hands with zip-ties while anotherstrapped his body down tightly for transport. The

chopper lifted from the fertile island dirt and

pointed its nose toward the sea.

Looking around him he saw a few other menand women he recognized. They looked at him

frightened, not knowing what to expect. Lennytried to put on his most brave expression, hoping itwould reassure his friends. But in the back of his

mind he had a feeling that his expression would do

little to help alleviate their fears. They were beingferried by helicopter, bound at the wrists, toward

unjust imprisonment in international waters.

Lenny tried to prepare himself for what

would follow. They would use extreme methods tointerview him, working their hardest to get the

secrets from him that they felt they needed. They

would keep him from sleeping, giving him food andwater only to keep him from passing out. They

would shout at him and threaten him with all

manner of punishments and horrible things.

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He knew they couldnt hurt him, but then

again, his was a special case. Hed have no lawyerassigned to him, would probably never again see the

light of day. Theyd threaten him with harming his

friends, anything they could do to get his lips

moving. But he knew that no matter what they said,no matter how they lied to him, promised him riches

and glory and prison cells and torture, the worldwould be better off if he kept his mouth shut. He

hoped his friends knew this also. But would his

team and the engineers that knew his secrets alsohave the fortitude that he wanted to show? Only

time would tell.

The helicopter touched down on the deck of

the carrier and immediately Lenny received a hoodover his head. They helped him roughly climb out

of the side and walked him across the windypavement. The hood he knew would keep him frombeing able to find his way out of the ship should he

escape his captors, but he had no intention of

running.Through hallways and doorways they

marched him, on what would most likely be a very

circuitous route to his destination. Every few

seconds they told him to step over a doorwaycasement. A few times he climbed down steep

ladders and twice he climbed up sets to higher

levels. It all washed together for Lenny as theytraveled. He had no longer any idea which way he

headed as they kept him moving and turning often.

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When at last they found a place for him to

sit, they told him so, Theres a chair behind you.Sit down.

Lenny bent his knees, but found no pad

behind his legs. He fell a foot and a half to the hard

floor, bruising his thigh as he landed to the side. Heheard a few men laughing at him as they stood

around his body. Someone began to rifle throughhis pants pockets, removing anything they could

find. Another set of hands unlaced his shoes and

briskly removed them from his feet. His socks soonfollowed.

Then his pants were taken down his legs and

his t-shirt cut from his shoulders. They left his

wrists bound so the shirt had to come off in a morecreative way. Thankfully they left him his

underwear, but it was of little comfort on the coldfloor. The hood remained on his head and the tieson his sore wrists as the people left him alone. A

heavy door closed and squeaky locks slid into place.

Taking the opportunity to remove the hood gavehim no joy. He sat presumably alone in pitch

blackness. Not even a crack of light around the

door to his cell let him know which way he had

entered.Startling him a voice came out of the

darkness, but it was just an intercom, Youll find a

jumpsuit near you on the floor. You may put it onif you want.

Lenny groped around the floor looking for

fabric and found it after a minute. He worked it in

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his hands until he had an idea of the arrangement of

its bits. It had buttons on its chest seam. Lennyclosed his eyes realizing that a way to shock him

would be to suddenly turn on lights around him and

mess with his vision. He closed his eyes tightly, not

wanting to give his captors any more concessionsthan they had already taken.

Out of habit, he felt for the stitch lines in thefabric of his new clothing. He felt the direction of

the pattern and noticed that they had given him the

jumpsuit turned inside out. Probably something thathappened in laundering it. He pulled the legs and

arms the right way and then started to slide his legs

into the lower section. But his hands were still

bound, making it impossible to get his arms into thesleeves of the suit.

Lenny buttoned the front seam as far as hecould and then took the sleeves of his attire and tiedthem around his waist. Not an easy thing to do with

no sight and fettered hands but he managed just the

same. His next priority became finding the door tohis cell. He felt along the walls for a while before

he found that he was in a room no more than ten

feet on the edge. The doorway sat centered on one

wall. Lenny found a corner to sit in, to the side ofthe doorway. There he would wait.

He knew a little about these things from his

studies in school. He knew they werent allowed tohurt him legally, they couldnt deprive him of life-

sustaining requirements such as food and water.

But they could keep him awake for days, lying to

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him about everything under the sun. They could

confuse him and try bribery and forms of neuro-programming such as punishing incorrect answers

and rewarding correct ones. They would try to trip

him up, get him to doubt his memory. But in the

end, Lenny knew, he would win. Good always wonin the end, didnt it?

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11Youll find a jumpsuit on the floor near

you, said the speaker in the darkness.

Red found it quickly and then put it on.Thankfully the soldiers had removed the ties from

her wrists before leaving her alone and almostcompletely disrobed. She fumbled with the buttonson the seam, but in less than a minute she felt more

modest. The suit was larger than her body, and

baggy. Obviously they had never had any prisonersher size.

Rolling the leg cuffs helped her not trip over

her own feet, but the cold floor seemed to be an

unfair trade. With her back against the wall, shedidnt know which one, she sang a song in her head.

Distantly she began to hear other noises. One

sounded like footsteps outside the door. Anothernoise she became aware of sounded like a small

computer fan with a noisy bearing.

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She also heard a soft tick with a moderately

regular tempo. Just about five seconds of gappassed between each tick, it held constant. It could

have been the sound of water dripping, or linear

expansion of metals due to temperature change.

But then again, it could have been from a speaker,produced electronically either on purpose or on

accident.Red found herself with her eyes closed, but

with no real reason to open them again she kept her

eyelids down. After all, what was there to see?

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12Josh heard nothing in the darkened room.

His wrists hurt him, but he kept this informationfrom anyone who could hear him. He knew if it

were he designing the cells, hed have included a

night vision camera to still be able to watch theactions he would take in the dark. Such simple

security measures were probably not outside the

imagination of the designers of the cell in which he

found himself. So, knowing he was at that momentlikely b