Robby
Multnomah Falls, August 28, 2156 -- 7:28 a.m.
"Good morning Henry. Did you sleep well?"
"I did, and I am looking forward to our session today."
"Well then, let us begin."
Unity
"Are you comfortable Henry?"
"Yes Robert, I am. Our quick return to unity without much in the way of verbal chitchat reflects the preferable nature of this means of communication. The reluctance of the new people to share the experience of unity still puzzles me, as you do not seem troubled by our meld. Would this experience be different for you if my mental abilities were equal to yours and if so, how?"
"Henry, I hope my answer does not offend you. I have unlimited access to your mind while your abilities restrict you to what I decide to share with you. With equal mental abilities, my mind would be as open to you as yours is to me."
"What lurks in the minds of the new people that they cannot bear to share with others Robert? Answer that and the new people's aversion to sharing their thoughts will no longer be inexplicable."
"That is an intriguing premise Henry and I will consider it intently. I would like to begin today with the difficulties encountered by the HEP facilities when they attempted the creation of enhanced humans.
"Of the original six female volunteers selected for HEP One, only four reported for duty and one of them opted out immediately after the initial briefing. During the next twelve months, each of the three remaining women suffered the heartbreak of a spontaneous abortion and another woman resigned. The last two volunteers agreed to try again and though my mother carried me to term, the other woman suffered another spontaneous abortion.
"She withdrew from the program and threatened to obtain the services of an attorney. She claimed that she suffered mental and physical distress because the Army had coerced her to participate in a gruesome, unethical, medical experiment.
"After learning that HEP One had received authorization to begin phase two, the other two HEP facilities rushed to submit their own phase two proposals. In this vanity driven attempt to play catch up, they resorted to using the hastily revised genetic data of Brian, the elder. Both facilities managed to produce several nonviable infants that expired soon after birth. This unfortunate fiasco led to additional threats of legal action by their distraught mothers. The Army negotiated generous settlements with each of these irate women and suspended all attempts to produce enhanced humans. Thus, I became the only surviving child born of the Human Enhancement Program.
"The Army then designated all three HEP units as reception centers for captured aliens and assigned them the responsibility of conducting medical examinations and developing methods of interrogation. They hoped that medical studies of the captured aliens would lead to the development of effective, alien specific, biological warfare agents.
"My father received orders assigning him to the position of logistics officer for field operations while my mother continued to care for me. She also began to provide daycare for Cindy Butler soon after her birth. Now, let us return to the memories of my parents and the Butlers as we continue to explore these extraordinary times."
Brian and Mandy's home, July 27, 2030 -- 10:00 p.m.
"Brian, you have been acting like a big money winner at Reno. What are you gloating about?"
"Doctor Cole just completed the first ultrasonography of Mary's fetus. I believe that Paul and Mary Jordan are going to have a perfect little super baby"
"Brian, I want us to have a baby also, a normal, old-fashioned baby."
"Mandy, you cannot be serious about having a child while the world faces such a disastrous future?"
"This is our last chance to have a child and I want to have our child now."
"Okay, Doctor Cole can remove your implant in the morning and give you an idea about how long it will be before you will be ready for conception." Brian then turned off the bedroom lights, embraced Mandy, and said, "Meanwhile, we can begin to train for the big event."
Paul and Mary's home, October 20, 2030 -- 9:07 p.m.
"Paul, the baby just does not want you to touch me. He begins to kick violently when you come near."
"I talked to Doctor Butler about this today. He suggested that I rest my head on your belly and think pleasant thoughts about our son. He assured me that he was quite serious after I laughed at his suggestion. Maybe we should follow the doctor's advice. After all, it has been quite a while since this fetal misbehavior has driven us apart."
"Paul, the baby began objecting to your presence only four days ago. Well, we can try his suggestion and see what happens though I do not see how Doctor Butler's advice can help."
"Neither do I, though he will surely ask if we followed his suggestion."
Mary uttered a sigh of discomfort as Paul placed his head against her belly and she felt the baby's violent movements. Paul, alarmed by her distress, decided to move away when the movements of the baby suddenly ceased. Gratified by the baby's reaction to his approach, Paul's feelings of love for his son intensified.
As she stroked Paul's head, Mary softly said, "Perhaps he will permit us to make up for lost time."
Paul pulled away and with a distressed facial expression said, "No way, not while he is watching."
Brian and Mandy's home, October 31, 2030 -- 8:00 p.m.
"Brian, now we will truly consummate our marriage as Doctor Cole believes the next three days should be the best time for conception."
"I wish I had your confidence Mandy. Perhaps this old timer will be shooting blanks."
"When I get you in bed, you will find you have little choice in this matter. Tonight you will surely do the trick after I give you the treat."
HEP One delivery room, December 24, 2030 -- 10:37 p.m.
Doctor Cole carefully guided Paul's trembling hand as he cut the cord to complete the delivery of his newborn son. Picking up on the meaningful glance of Doctor Cole, Brian turned to Paul and said, "Paul, you look exhausted though I believe Mary did all the work. I suggest we take a coffee break while Doctor Cole finishes up." With a shrug to dispel his tension, Paul followed Brian and Mandy into the adjacent room where they removed their medical attire. As they entered the staff lounge, Brian said, "I must warn you that the coffee they brew here is remarkably bad."
Later, at home
"Brian, I am so glad that Mary asked me to be with her for the delivery. I never expected that the birth of a child would be so beautiful."
"What did you think of his appearance? He does look quite a bit different than a normal baby."
"Well, I expected his higher forehead to draw my attention, though I really noticed the movement of his eyes. He seemed to watch everybody after his birth as though he knew what was going on. His lack of genitalia surprised me most of all. How on earth did that happen?"
"His genital organs are internally placed behind his pubic bone and he can extend his penis for both urination and sexual intercourse."
"Well, I do not see that as an enhancement. How could a dedicated crotch scratcher like yourself consider this change necessary?"
"Marge Helstrom is responsible for that change and when I tried to dissuade her, she insisted that an enhanced human should not bear a sexual resemblance to the lesser mammals."
"Brian, if Marge could, she would do away with males entirely and permitting her to have a say in the sexual aspects of this research was a big mistake."
"Shawn Davis told her in front of the enhancement committee that providing the child with the ability to lick its genitalia would be a true enhancement. Shawn went on to say that he always envied the animals of the canine family for having this ability.
"All the male members of the committee began to laugh and Marge stormed out in a huff. After that episode, she refused to attend our meetings until Shawn and I apologized for our behavior. You were in Washington when this happened and I guess I forgot to mention this flap when you returned."
"Why did she ask for your apology when Shawn was the one that offended her?"
"Marge claimed that I was the first to laugh and that gave a green light for the rest of the committee to laugh as well and of course, she was right."
"Brian, I would have paid a thousand dollars to have seen her face when Shawn let her have it. Do you have a recording of that meeting?"
"I know we do as several people have already asked to see it. I will have my secretary send it to your office."
"Tomorrow. I want to see it tomorrow."
HEP One delivery room, July 23, 2031 -- 10:43 a.m.
Brian placed his newborn daughter in her mother's arms and said, "Mandy, this is Cynthia Althea Butler, our beautiful little daughter." Unaware of his tears of joy, Brian went on to say, "I am so proud to be your husband and her father."
Paul and Mary's home, September 16, 2031 - 6:45 a.m.
"Robby, I want to make it perfectly clear that while I am caring for Cynthia you can no longer expect me to provide an instant response to your needs. Please stop fidgeting so I can finish dressing you before the Butlers arrive."
"Mother! Can't they find someone else to care for her? She will probably keep you so busy that you will not find time for my chess lessons."
"That will depend on how much you can do to help me. You began to walk at six months of age and now possess the knowledge and physical skills of a much older child. I suspect that you can do more than you let on in the way of self care such as washing and dressing yourself."
"I can wash and dress myself but everything I need is beyond my reach. Besides, why should I do these things when you like to do them for me?"
"You are a cunning little rascal. So, your apparent helplessness is just a scam. Well, we can and will arrange things to suit your short stature."
"If you intend to move the things I need for self care low enough for me to reach them, you should reconsider your offer to care for this child. Even toothpaste can poison an infant."
"Robby, your father and I will figure out a safe way to provide for your needs. The Butlers will drop Cindy off in a few minutes. Please keep your opinions to yourself during their visit."
Later
"Mother?"
"Yes Robby?"
"Will Cindy come back tomorrow?"
"Do you want her to come again?"
"Yes, I do."
"What caused you to change your mind about her?"
"I would rather not say."
"Then I would rather not answer your question."
"Promise you won't laugh at me?"
"Cross my heart."
"Well, she loves me."
"Do you feel good about that?"
"Un huh."
"Robby, you have so much to learn. A happy baby like Cindy will love everyone that is pleasant to her. When she grows older and learns that some people are not worthy of her love she will not be so quick to love others. I am pleased to hear that you care about how she reacts to your presence."
"Is she going to come back tomorrow?"
"Yes Robby, and probably every work day for the next several years if we take good care of her."
"We will mother, we will."
I-5 northbound, Sunday, October 19, 2031 -- 12:37 p.m.
"I do not think that either of you can blame me for speaking out about what he did to me. One would think that I do not have any rights at all. I have a social security number, a birth certificate, and I am a citizen of this country. What makes you think you can deny me the right of free speech."
"Robby, you promised to remain silent during your baptism and then you told the minister he was stupid."
"I told him that throwing cold water on an infant was stupid. That is not the same thing. How could I know he would go weird on me just because I can talk."
"I suppose you picked up the term 'go weird' from the Web. If you continue to learn that trash talk from the Web, I will disable your PerCom. Listen to me. Your mother and I have explained why you should not let people know about your abilities. You will find life much easier if you will follow our advice regarding your abilities. Ten month old babies simply do not talk to strangers or argue with their parents."
"I have been following your advice. One of you should have warned me that a man with bad breath was going to throw cold water on me today."
"Robby has one thing right, Paul. His breath odor was bad, very bad."
Mandy's office, September 17, 2032 -- 8:00 a.m.
"Are you certain that Major General Tombari said nothing at all about the purpose of this visit when you met his plane last night?"
"Brian, I am just as concerned about the reason for his visit as you are. I am sure he will let us know when he is ready. Does my hair look all right?"
"It looks as if your uniform is just a bit too tight for your mature figure. At least I can still wear the same size clothes after all these years of marriage."
"I am wearing the same size that I wore when we first met though my bra is a bit tight. Would you prefer me to have smaller breasts?"
"No way! I must admit that you are very fit for a woman who had her first child at such an advanced age."
"You are just full of annoying comments today. General Tombari's visit must be causing you some concern."
"Concern? Of course it is. We submitted our phase three proposal over a year ago and we are still waiting for their decision. I fear that the mess the other HEP units made of phase two may result in the program's cancellation."
"Relax. That is not going to happen. General Tombari would not bother to visit us if that is his intent."
The tone of Mandy's intercom interrupted their conversation to announce the arrival of General Tombari. Mandy's aide ushered the general in at her request.
They welcomed him warmly and exchanged the obligatory verbal pleasantries though all wished to get down to business. With the completion of the social amenities, their visitor said, "We better get to the reason I wanted to meet with you before the conference begins." As they moved to Mandy's small conference table, he loosened his tie and said, "Make yourselves comfortable folks, we have a long day ahead of us.
"We can dispense with the formality and address each other as Mandy, Brian, and Tony if that is acceptable. I have heard that you encourage informality here at HEP One."
In response to their affirmative nods he turned to Brian and said, "Brian, the Department of Defense has disapproved your phase three proposal. The other two HEP units have convinced the DOD that human enhancement requires more research before beginning phase three. DOD has also concluded that it is too late for phase three to offer a meaningful contribution to our preparations for the coming invasion.
"DOD has decided to designate the three HEP units as the primary medical units responsible for the care and study of captured aliens. Our goal for this study is the development of alien specific, biological agents designed to kill or incapacitate them. Our secondary goal is the development of a means to open a dialog with them and then, if necessary, to provide medical assistance in their coercive interrogation.
"As we will still face the threat posed by the emerging viruses after we defeat the invaders, HEP research funding will continue at its current level. However, they consider that mission to be secondary to the more pressing requirements posed by the pending invasion.
"Therefore, this facility will serve as the cornerstone of a major military post named in honor of Major General Leland Gates. Fort Gates may play a significant role in the coming battle with the alien invaders. The design phase of Fort Gates is complete and construction bid specs are being prepared. A senior captain of the Civil Engineering Corps of the Navy will serve as the resident officer-in-charge of construction to enforce compliance with our design specs. He will report to you next week and will require office space for himself and a staff of several civilian inspectors.
"Current plans call for the transfer of the First Special Forces Group and the Sixty-second Medical Group from Fort Lewis, Washington to Fort Gates. Also, the Ames Research Center of Mountain View, California will move to Fort Gates and provide the technological support required to confront the invaders.
"Now we come to the purpose of our preliminary meeting. We need to know whether either one or both of you wish to accept the challenge of preparing HEP One and Fort Gates for war. I know this is a lot to ask of the parents of an infant and I do not expect an immediate answer."
Brian gave a thoughtful nod of assent in response to Mandy's unspoken question. Mandy then said, "As the parents of an infant, we must accept this challenge."
"Very well Colonel, please stand at attention." As the three of them rose from their seats, Major General Tombari reached into his pocket and took out the stars of a brigadier general.
While handing one to Brian, he said, "You will find these stars to be very useful in dealing with the obstacles you will surely encounter in the coming years." After they replaced her eagles with stars, General Tombari stepped back and initiated a hand salute that received a smart return from Mandy. General Tombari's congratulatory handshake turned into a distinctly nonmilitary hug as Brian looked on with bemused pride.
Later, in the conference room
After the formality of introductions, General Tombari opened the conference with a repetition of the information presented to Brian and Mandy. A balding colonel then took his place at the podium and began with, "Good morning. I am Colonel Jeffery Tucker and I will provide a brief summary of our construction plans for Fort Gates.
"Our design for your current underground structure has served you well and will also serve as the prototype for twenty-four additional underground structures. Current plans call for the following allocations of these structures. Six of them will serve as warehouses, three for Ames Research, three for the First Special Forces Group, and three for the Sixty-second Medical Group. The remaining assignments are as follows: two for miscellaneous units such as the weather bureau, two reserved for future requirements, one for an armory, and finally, one for power and utilities."
Colonel Tucker paused and enjoyed the murmur of chatter his intentional miscount had provoked before continuing with, "Just a moment, my count may be in error. Ah! I missed three of the structures. One will serve as a restaurant and theater while another will serve a dual role as a school for the children of Fort Gates and an all-faiths church. The last structure will serve to triple the current living spaces of HEP One." As the various sounds of pleasure faded away, he continued with, "And now we come to the tunnels.
"I am sure that many of you have wondered why we never closed and concealed the entry point created back in '16 when construction began on your current underground facility. We will use this opening to haul off excavation spoils as we simultaneously bore two seven-meter tunnels northward to Highway 26 and the Westside MAX tunnels.
"The terminus of the eastern most tunnel will consist of two massive elevator pads that, when raised, will serve as the roadbed of Highway 26. These carefully concealed elevators, built within the highway tunnels located in Portland's West Hills, will have the capacity to lift both vehicles and helicopters to the highway roadbed. Sheltered by the ridge above, an extensive underground vehicle and aircraft parking facility and these elevators will serve as a tactical asset.
"The western most tunnel will run parallel to the eastern tunnel until it turns west to join the Westside MAX tunnels just east of the station serving the zoo. We will tie into both of the MAX tracks and use them to haul excavation spoils eighteen hours a day while permitting passenger trains to run a peak usage schedule. Closure and concealment of the original construction entry point will begin when our tie into the MAX tracks is complete. Our plans call for the evenly spaced placement of the twenty-four new structures between the 2.5-kilometer long tunnels like the rungs of a ladder.
"Recent geological studies have revealed a deep aquifer that we can use to cool an operating micropile and thereby mask its presence. We will provide a second micropile and plumb them both into this aquifer thus providing a redundant, undetectable, power system to serve the needs of Fort Gates. Current plans include powering plant growth lights for a communal garden running along the entire eastern wall of the eastern most tunnel.
"Additional construction includes an underground capture facility sited three hundred meters north of the Westside MAX Station serving the Washington Park Zoo. Access to this facility, also known as the 'monkey house,' includes the four large elevators serving the MAX stops some eighty meters below ground level. Of course, our plans also include facility redundancy, ventilation systems, combat sally ports, and several confidential projects.
"This concludes my briefing and I will now take your questions." The Colonel then acknowledged the raised hand of HEP One's maintenance chief.
Suddenly aware that everyone was watching him, he nervously began with, "I overheard a member of your team use the word Moletown. Was that term used to identify Fort Gates?"
Clearly taken aback the Colonel said, "Unfortunately, your assumption is correct. My staff frequently begins work on projects long before their official names are known and they often come up with a moniker that is easier to remember than a project number. The unofficial names we create for the various projects we have underway enable us to discuss them among ourselves without confusion. Please remember that the Army chose to name this facility Fort Gates to honor the man behind the establishment of HEP One and overlook our unfortunate use of the term Moletown."
The Colonel then pointed to HEP One's public affairs officer who began with, "Your plans to use the Westside MAX lines will cause a tremendous uproar from both the public and Metro officials. We will also encounter serious public opposition regarding the hauling of excavation spoils over the streets of Portland. Would you care to address these issues?"
"In the coming years our activities will most assuredly become a contentious issue. General Gates frequently advised others to 'keep your eye on the ball' when confronting difficult problems. Please remember that the aliens are likely to do Portland much more harm that the inconvenience our construction plans will entail.
"The recent passage of the Invasion Readiness Act bestows an eminent domain authority on area commanders but does not do away with our responsibilities regarding due process. Any taking or use of property must begin with prior notice, include a fair hearing, and conclude with just compensation. Delaying litigation can encumber our project should we forget that we also work for those we seek to protect. The Army will soon open a JAG office with a staff of five in downtown Portland to support this project in all matters regarding community relations."
After another hour of questions and answers, General Tombari rose from his seat and addressed the assembly. "We will break for lunch now and follow our afternoon schedule of meetings between counterparts. We will all meet here again at seven p.m. this evening to wrap it up. Thank you and enjoy your lunch."