Equestrian Alliance: Project Oblivion

The ride aboard the ProteC high speed transport plane was uneventful enough, although surprising. Chris had not expected Jeff to fly with them, let alone wearing the casual cargo pants, pistol, boots, and polo shirt of a ProteC Security member.

"Don't you have a full size executive jet with leather seats and a Jacuzzi or something?" Chris had asked.

"Of course. But I only use it for showing off when I need to impress somebody," Jeff had replied. "This little plane is a lot faster anyway. And yes, I notice you are curious about my outfit. I actually don't like wearing suits unless I have to. And I love steel toed boots."

Jeff's easy-going, humorous attitude was a natural catalyst for Chris's team, and the jokes and stories kept them entertained, making the flight seem far shorter than it actually was.

It was still morning when they landed on the coastline at the ProteC facility's on-campus air strip.

"How does it work with us having these pistols? Isn't this a foreign country?" Chris said.

Jeff laughed. "I do what I want. And I strongly advise everyone on this installation to carry a personal weapon at all times, even if they don't like to. There's more than just rabbits out in the jungle, and our fence line is often not respected by the wildlife."

The door opened with a blast of heat and humidity, and they exited to the tarmac and got into a waiting van with ProteC stenciled on the side.

"You see why I said bring some shorts!" Jeff exclaimed gleefully. "It's hot as all get out down here!"

"Friggin nice man," Sanchez said. "I love the heat."

"It's like Hell," Hamilton said, less enthusiastically.

"You'll learn to love it. So here we are, ProteC Ecuador," Jeff continued. "This installation is off the map. Not many people know it's here at all. We do on occasion supply services to the local government, with the agreement that they pretty much do not interfere with us for any reason. On this installation, I am basically a king."

McAllister chuckled. "That doesn't sound like such a bad thing."

Jeff's voice became more serious. "Well, it also means that maintaining security is a major concern. We have a large contingent of personnel, and enough hardware, including armored vehicles, to declare war on a small nation... and win. There are technologies here that we very much do not want to fall into the wrong hands."

"So what exactly did you want us to do?" Chris asked.

"I want you to take charge of contingency response security. I want you to be the guy who organizes forces to take on an immediate threat. I have managers down here, I have squads, I have armaments and munitions. But I want you guys to take command as lead squad. I need some leaders who think about whacking the enemy, not just paperwork and economics. So day to day, you'll have full access to poke around the armory, vehicle depot, and other places, asking questions and making sure things look up to snuff. And when the shit hits the fan, you guys are gonna tell the others what they need to do to protect this facility."

The van stopped outside of an enormous building that looked like a giant hotel. Jeff opened the door with evident pride. "Our stop, guys. Check this place out." He disembarked and the others followed him out into the blazing sun, blocked to an extent by the overhead awning the van had parked under. They grabbed their bags and walked under towards the glass double doors that led into the towering building.

As the doors opened, Chris was greeted by the view of a large waterfall. The interior looked like a fancy resort hotel, complete with an indoor park atrium, pond, waterfall, and numerous levels leading up to a massive skylight that bathed the interior in natural sun.

McAllister gaped. "Wow. Swanky."

Jeff grinned. "I know right? With the vast amount of money this company has gathered through the years, I refuse to allow my employees to live in poor conditions. Muzzle not the ox that treads the grain, etc etc. Especially out here. Building this place cost a lot less than in America. It's encouraged me to put a lot of research facilities in... ahem, less fortunate countries. But really, I'm not kidding. Standard of living in ProteC facilities is excellent. Even the janitorial staff here has private apartments."

He pointed downwards.

"The research facilities are mostly several hundred feet below the ground, for safety and security."

"The Project is down there, then?" Chris asked.

"Oh, not at all. The full scale version of Project Oblivion had to be on the surface, something to do with resonant frequencies causing system failure inside a closed space. Dr. Hardy and his team know more about that part than I do. I'll take you to meet Dr. Hardy soon."

"Fascinating. Who is Dr. Hardy?"

"Garry Hardy is the lead physicist at this facility. He leads Project Oblivion as well as several other smaller projects and about a million of his own experiments."

"Sounds like an interesting guy."

"He's been here for many years. He's... well, you'll see. But first we're gonna get you guys hooked up with a place to crash."

Jeff led them to the reception counter in the lobby.

McAllister looked around in awe. "This place seriously kicks ass."

The counter was nestled next to a path under a large tree, a waterfall behind it and a bridge over an in-floor stream nearby.

"Need four rooms, please," Jeff said to the smartly dressed counter attendant. "Also AR glasses and wristbands issued."

"Certainly Mr. Peterson." She reached behind the counter, then placed a box of black wristbands and wraparound transparent glasses on it.

Chris picked up the wristband and strapped it to his left wrist. It came on with a glow of holographics. He then placed the glasses over his eyes. They immediately activated a brief personalization program, after which context-sensitive information appeared. He looked the attendant, who now had a name tag floating near her head. So did Jeff. So did the rest of his team as they put on bands and glasses. Everywhere he looked, helpful data floated in his vision, connected to objects.

The attendant smiled. "Your rooms are ready, your bands will grant access. Please wear your band at any time you leave your room. It contains access codes and identification data that will both allow you to open doors or use equipment you are authorized to use. It will also confirm your identity to security systems in the event of an emergency." She paused. "And in the event of an emergency, you definitely want the security system to recognize you. It is programmed to utilize defenses up to and including lethal force."

Chris thanked the girl at the counter, and gave Jeff a thumbs-up. "Nice setup. You're definitely going to have to tell me more about the security system."

"Well, we have automated gun turrets in some areas, as well as drones and land-based robotics, many with mounted weapons."

Sanchez whistled. "I'm impressed."

Jeff spoke a dramatic voice. "We spared NO expense."

"Do you have a T-Rex?"

"I wish. Wouldn't that be a blast?" Jeff sighed in mock sadness. "Instead, all I've got is a lot of cutting-edge research programs, robots, a lot of money, private islands... Life is so hard sometimes."

"Yeah, sure sounds like it."

They both laughed.

"Let's take the elevator." Jeff pressed the button on a glass elevator, and stepped inside. As it rose up to his floor, they got a good view of the entire massive central courtyard. The sunlight filtering in through the transparent roof illuminated the trees and waterways in it as if it were a hidden grotto.

"It's like rising above a forest," Hamilton observed.

"Yep, but this is just the lodging. Research section isn't so... flamboyant."

The elevator stopped on one of the upper floors and they disembarked.. The hall had doors to rooms on one side, and a railing opening to the courtyard on the other. The sound of the waterfalls below was a pleasant murmur as they walked along the open hallway.

"All your rooms are in a row here. Door locks are coded to your wrist band or biometrics," Jeff said, waving at the first door. A holographic interface appeared. "Put your hand on that."

Chris tapped the green circle, and the door unlocked. He opened it and the lights came on in the room beyond as he entered. Jeff pointed the other three men down the hall. "Grab any of those rooms. Order doesn't matter." Jeff followed Chris into his room while the other three men went to drop their gear.

The living room beyond the outer door was medium size, featuring couch facing a large screen, a small kitchen separated by a counter, a door leading to a bedroom, another leading to a bathroom, and a sliding door opening onto a balcony on the exterior of the building.

"Well what do you think?" Jeff asked Chris.

"Nice. Very nice indeed. I wish I had worked here years ago. You should see some of the places I've stayed while on the road!"

"Ha. Well, remember the time we were in Afghanistan with NATO?"

"How could I forget. I remember trying to sleep while the smoke from the garbage burn pit blew over our tent until we all gagged."

"Thems were the days, eh?"

"You're telling me! Nothing like the feeling of waking up with a mouthful of sand!"

"Well," Jeff swept his arms around. "I can't offer you a mouthful of sand, but I imagine you can make do with this."

"Thanks. You know, I'm really glad for this opportunity. Really glad to be here."

"And I'm glad you're here." Jeff clapped him on the back. "Want to meet the main guy on Project Oblivion?"

"You're damn right I do!"

***

Jeff led Chris's team to a double door at the end of the courtyard in the lodging building. The sign above read "LOWER LEVEL ACCESS - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."

"The research facility is this way."

"It's in the same building as lodging?"

"Well, sort of. See, since the primary purpose of this facility is research, it makes sense for the living personnel accommodations to be close to the labs and other facilities. It's not technically IN this building, but rather spread out below it. And under others as well. There's a tunnel system connecting the underground facilities. On the surface we have some fabrication and production buildings, mostly robotic. Scan your hand at the gate."

Chris reached out towards a glowing panel on the metal turnstile blocking the hallway in front of him. It glowed for a moment, scanning his hand and checking his wrist band. Then it beeped and he pushed through the turnstile. It locked immediately after he passed through in such a way that only one person could be admitted at a time. Jeff scanned through right behind him and they waited for the others, then proceeded down the hallway mostly empty hallway, their footsteps echoing off the coated white concrete. Small cleaning robots skittered along close to the floor, looking for dirt and deftly avoided them as they walked. Soon they arrived at another door, leading to a room containing multiple elevators.

Jeff pressed the button for one. "By the way, none of these elevators or doors work if you don't have a wristband. And again, the defense systems will try to identify you biometrically in an emergency, but keep your wristband on. You don't want to take chances with these machines, trust me."

"Have you had any... accidents?"

"There have been accidents, yes. Fatalities even. This is an industrial facility. But so far, none related to the security system. During orientation, we let everyone get a good view of a security drone test fire exercise. I have yet to see anyone do anything to sample their response capabilities."

The elevator arrived, and they stepped in. Chris saw the options for several underground floors as Jeff selected one from the interface. His stomach lurched as the elevator took off down the shaft. Jeff turned to face him and leaned comfortably against the elevator wall.

"Down the rabbit hole we go. Dr. Hardy's lab is below us. He does the somewhat less hazardous experiments here. We have several large underground facilities located away from housing where the really dangerous stuff is tested."

The elevator doors opened, and Jeff led them down another concrete hallway, lit from overhead and continued on for an indeterminate distance with metal doors embedded in the wall at intervals. As they looked around, the AR glasses placed signs on the doors.

As they approached one of the doors set in the wall, Jeff turned to the others. "This is his lab. No doubt he is engaged in serious last-minute calculations with his staff before we test the Gate." Jeff pressed a button and the door slid open quietly.

A large room spread out before them, filled with tables and test equipment. None of it was being used at the moment because the entire research staff was sitting near the front of the room before a big screen watching "Night of the Living Dead."

"Sure looks like hard work to me. Where do I sign up for this gig?" McAllister commented.

"Ah! Greetings!" A tall man in a lab coat got up off the lab stool he had been sitting on and walked over. He looked to be in his late thirties, his manner confident and his expression open and cheerful.

"Hello Doctor," Jeff replied. "I was just telling these guys how hard you work."

"When you love your job, it's like play all the time," Dr. Hardy replied, unperturbed. "Does anyone want popcorn?"

"Maybe later. Actually, sure. That sounds good," Jeff replied.

"Salt and butter?" Dr. Hardy asked as he scooped a popcorn from a bowl on one of the lab tables.

"Is there any other way?" Jeff replied.

The doctor returned quickly with several cups of popcorn and passed them out.

"I must say, this place is a bit different from what I had envisioned," Chris commented as he put the white puffy crunchiness into his mouth.

"We work in a cave with no windows," Dr. Hardy replied. "I try to keep my staff as happy as possible."

"Speaking of which," Jeff said, "Would you care to tell these gentlemen here about what you and your staff do when you aren't sitting around watching movies?"

"I assume you're talking about Project Oblivion."

Chris set his popcorn down on a nearby counter. "Yes indeed. We are here to oversee security."

Dr. Hardy folded his arms.

"Well, to tell the truth, the name of Project Oblivion is a description of what we are doing."

Sanchez grunted. "Oblivion. Nothingness. Emptiness. Not what I'd call a good advertisement for a product, unless it's a laxative maybe."

"I'd think in that case a name like Project Evacuation would be a better choice," McAllister commented in a thoughtful tone. "Or maybe Project Whirlpool."

Dr. Hardy waved his hand dismissively. "Oh fine. Evidently the meaning isn't as obvious as I'd thought. I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, my people skills are somewhat lacking, okay?"

"I think Project Oblivion sounds pretty damn cool," Hamilton said.

"Ah! A man of good taste!" Dr. Hardy gave a thumbs-up. "Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. Geometry teaches us that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In actuality, the truth is that the shortest distance between two points is irrelevant because you are already there. Our universe is a point singularity. Within, it contains what our limited science believes to be infinite three dimensional space. However, on the outside, it has no dimensions."

Chris looked puzzled. "No dimensions? How can an object like that exist at all?"

Dr. Hardy smiled indulgently. "That's where the name Project Oblivion comes from. The fact that our universe should not exist when externally it takes up no dimensions. As for how we are here inside a zero-dimensional object, I don't understand it myself. If anyone tells you that they DO understand it, they are probably lying. Regardless, the point I am trying to make is that every part of space is constantly in contact with every other part on higher dimensional planes."

Chris started to open his mouth, but Dr. Hardy held up a hand again. "We do not have to fully understand every principle in nature in order to use it. All we are trying to do is find exploits that work. Hell, we don't fully understand how light works, yet we see with it every day!"

Chris nodded "And build light emitting devices too. Good point. Let's continue."

"Okay. So. Anyway. What our device does is create a sympathetic spacial anomaly at two remote locations. When the anomalies synchronize, they become essentially the same area of space-time. Once this is accomplished, we have a teleportation gateway. Objects pass from one location across the anomaly and arrive at the destination."

Hamilton bit his lip. "So it's like a transporter from Star Trek?"

Dr. Hardy paused. "Well, it's a little more like a really fancy Stargate."

"And you can actually transport objects with it? Not just a beam of photons or some crap?"

Dr. Hardy laughed.

"Why yes we can. See this pen here?" He pulled a ball-point pen from his pocket and held it up. "This thing has gone across my lab more than once."

McAllister chuckled. "You mean to tell me if I stuck my manhood in that thing, I could technically claim to have the longest dick on Earth?"

Dr. Hardy narrowed his eyes. "You can claim whatever you want, the ladies are still gonna be disappointed by your immaturity."

Before McAllister could think of a reply, Chris interjected. "I distinctly remember Jeff saying that being in an enclosed space caused some problem with the technology."

"True enough," Dr. Hardy agreed. "But only with a larger size gate. The small ones we used down here work when surrounded by water spray tanks. It's no joke. This is real enough. And we are ready to move on to the next phase. Up till now, the largest thing we have teleported is a mouse."

"Uh, did it live?"

Dr. Hardy smiled broadly. "See for yourself!" He thumbed at a cage behind him. Sure enough, there was a mouse merrily running on a wheel.

"He's been through oh, fifty or sixty times. None the worse for wear." He got up and dropped a treat in the glass mouse cage. "We have the large device ready for testing, now."

"How big is it?" Hamilton wondered.

Dr. Hardy turned around. "Large enough to drive a semi truck through. It connects to another gate on Isla del Lamento, several hundred miles offshore."

"I don't think I can believe it until I see it."

"You will." Jeff said. "I'm taking you guys to the Oblivion Gate now."