Thera (11 page)
The impromptu meeting was a little chaotic. Everyone was talking at the same time when the captain entered and took control. “Where do we stand Al?”
“The mountain is venting on the back side, and there is lava flowing down the north face. It’s only a small stream so far. Here, I’ll show you the video.”
They gathered around Al’s pad and watched the video feed from the Watcher. What they saw was alarming. When it was over the captain asked, “Tiro—can we speak with you?”
Almost immediately, the hologram materialized next to the captain. “May I be of assistance Captain?”
Even though he expected it, the sudden appearance of the alien made him step back. “Yes, Tiro. Has the prediction changed in the control room?”
“The readings currently indicate a fifty percent chance of an event happening within the next three months.”
“Does the event we just had count?”
Tiro hesitated; gathering data. He eventually answered, “This event is only a minor release of pressure. Under the volcano, the lava is still building. I believe this venting may buy you more time, but the mountain is going to erupt, and when it does it will cause a cataclysmic explosion that will destroy the island.”
Tobias Effinger, captain of the Excalibur, mayor of Camelot, and now the leader tasked with the welfare of all who inhabited the island, made some quick decisions.
“We need to find a way to get off the island,” he said. “The risk of staying here grows by the day. Because of the time constraints, I think we must explore the option of finding somewhere to send the population to on this planet. If there is anywhere else to go, then we can figure out how to move everybody.”
Al said, “None of the boats on the island are capable of a long sea voyage, Captain. They are designed for local fishing. Nor do we have enough of them for everyone.”
Tiro interrupted, “You would only need one boat. In storage is a portable transport pad. It is of a different design from the facility teleporters, and can be used to transfer materials and people anywhere on the planet. If you find an alternate site, and can get the pad to that location, the population could be evacuated relatively quickly.”
The captain ran different scenarios through his head, and none of them sounded promising. He was glad for another option. “That is good news Tiro and gives us a chance. Al, I need you to speed up your search with the Watcher. Edward will concentrate on producing a working version of the propulsion system we can install in a boat, presuming you are successful.”
He thought for a moment and then turned to Chris, “Chris, you find the biggest boat on the island, and prepare it for a long voyage. You will need to figure out how to install the engine, and make the ship seaworthy. Then I need Elizabeth and Tammy to gather and stock it with all the supplies a voyage might require. As you know, our time is limited, so these are priorities we need to accomplish in a hurry.”
The day wore on, and the lava flowing from the peak of the mountain slowed to a trickle. The smoke thinned, and the cloud overhead began to dissipate. Vision Peak was resting again; building its energy for another day.
At midday, the captain addressed the citizens of Atlantis. They were frightened, and the result was an entirely rational fear of the immediate future. The mountain they lived beside for centuries was now angry, and some were beginning to blame their troubles on the arrival of the strangers. The captain decided to head off the rumors and give them some answers.
He had a microphone and loudspeakers set up outside the main entrance of the outpost and called for everyone to come and listen. When the crowd filled the space before him, he gave his address with the smoking mountain as a backdrop.
The people before him had all suffered terrible hardships in the past few years, each of them having survived individual tragedies of their own. After the volcanoes little show, it appeared they were again being tested and were rightfully frightened. Three different civilizations thrown together by circumstance had wound up on a doomed island—with no place to go. But he could not tell them that.
“What happened this morning was the mountain readjusting itself to the island. It is a natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with angry gods or spirits. The mountain that you call Vision Peak is a live volcano and has been for a long time. It appears the worst is over. However, for safety’s sake, I think it wise to begin making preparations to move away from the base of the mountain.”
The silence when he paused did not last, and the noise of many people with concerns erupted from the open area. One man, in particular, was louder than the rest, and above them all, he yelled, “It is because of you and your people that this has happened. Now you want us to leave our temple?”
The captain knew the old adage, ‘There is one in every crowd’, but his question was one that probably haunted all of the islanders. He needed to give them a reason to trust him.
“We will not abandon the mountain, or the facility buried inside. Anyone who wishes will be allowed inside to witness or help with the activities taking place. I know this will not be easy on any of us, but staying close to this volcano is too dangerous. We have two working vehicles that can pull your carts and ferry people and material, so I am proposing we relocate as many as possible away from the bottom of Vision Peak—and that we do it soon.”
The next two days it rained, preventing him from deploying the drone, so he spent his time helping the others prepare for what they hoped would be a historic journey.
The boat from Al’s dream was the biggest vessel on the island. It stretched forty feet from bow to stern but only fourteen feet wide. It had a shallow V-shaped hull formed from planks of wood liberated from native timber, and a wooden deck with a one-man pilothouse in the center.
A fourteen-foot mast with a triangular sail was the sole means of power, besides the four oar slots nailed to the rails. Too big to be called a boat, and too small to be a ship, it was meant for journeys no further than a few miles out to sea. With some improvements, it might take them where they needed to go.
Chris procured the craft from the reluctant owner by telling him they would build him another one, and it would be self-propelled. The idea of a boat that moved without wind or oar was too tempting to pass up.
The young engineer started by recruiting help from the native fishermen and pulling the older but sound craft from the water; placing it into a homemade saddle. Then he started cleaning. Al came to see how Chris was doing and ask if he needed help.
The decision made the night before limited the crew of the vessel. If they found land, Chris, Kira, and Al would make the journey. There would be limited space on the boat after loading the teleporter components and necessary supplies. The fewer people that made up the exploration party also meant less to lose.
When Al first saw it, walking down the beach to the dry-dock, the faded white boat appeared small and tired against the massive ocean behind it. It was old, and it appeared like it had not been out of the water in years.
Chris was scrubbing ambitiously on a particularly dirty patch when Al walked up and asked, “We are taking this out to sea?”
Chris laughed and straightened up. “It’s not as bad as it looks. There is room down below to stow the transporter, with room left over for us. It will be a little crowded, but we’ll be able to sleep below decks if we want.”
“It just looks so fragile—and small. It may be a long voyage, and we’ll need supplies to travel inland once we get there. Is there room for all that?”
“We’re going to add a bin to the pilot house.”
“Still, it looks awfully small.”
Al climbed the ladder and stepped on deck, looking around. The fishing boat looked well used and aged by the sea. The smell of rotting fish permeated the air.
The hatch leading below was open, and he bent over to peer inside. Narrow steps led down, lit by a beam of sunshine that pierced the dark interior. It was empty now, much like it was in his dream. If it were possible—there would be chills running down his back.
The realistic dreams that recurred frightened him. Since he woke on the Excalibur and started his life as Al Clark, the most vivid dreams sometimes came true. This time, he intended to be prepared. He remembered the boat flipping, and asked, “What do you think of some pontoons or something? They might give it more stability.”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. We could put webbing between the outriggers and the boat. It might be a good place to sleep in good weather, and we could store more supplies. I’ll have to find something long, and lightweight that floats.”
Once he planted the idea, Al wanted to move on. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. What other improvements did you have in mind?”
“I’m going to recoat the hull with a protective polymer that will seal and strengthen it. When Edward finishes the drive unit, I believe this thing will be able to fly through the water.”
“What if we get lost? We’ll lose contact with the island in an hour, and it is a small island in a large ocean.”
“I thought of that. I’m going to set up a transmitter with a homing beacon we can pick up on our data pads.”
“Kind of like a lighthouse?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way—but yes.”
They both knew the voyage needed to be one way. If it became necessary to use the beacon to find their way home, they would be returning because they had failed.
On the second day of rain, he began by helping Elizabeth and Tammy decide what supplies would be necessary, and what would wind up just getting in the way. He wanted to make sure they loaded the boat correctly, but Elizabeth did not seem to appreciate his assistance.
“How many days of supplies are you using in your figures?” asked Al.
Elizabeth said, “A year,” and smiled innocently.
“You’re messing with me…aren’t you?”
“We won’t know until we find some place to go. So a year would be playing it safe.”
“Liz.”
“All right. We figured two weeks for the consumables. Then we have to add all the other stuff you might need.”
Tammy joked, “We
are
going to pack a year’s worth of our homemade energy bars, just to be sure.”
“You don’t have that many left, and if I have to eat those for a year, I’ll go completely mad.”
Elizabeth laughed, and Tammy almost choked on the bar she was eating.
They started a list and discussed the necessity of each issue. The critical items they decided to have on-board included: a medical kit, climbing gear for three, two tents and bedding for when they reach land, flashlights, mess kits, a portable shower, and spare clothes. The list grew as the morning wore on, and Al had to remind them of their limited space.
Elizabeth appeared offended and gave him a look of exasperation, “I know you can only take what is necessary, but there will be a few things you might wish you had. Those are the items I am concentrating on now. Why don’t you run along and let us women take care of this?”
They were both intelligent women, and he had full confidence they could figure out what was necessary, and what might come in handy. Al gave her the look husbands give their wives when they know they had already lost the argument. Then he smiled and said, “I can see when I’m not wanted. Maybe I’ll go to the outpost and see how Doctor Florida is doing.”
The two women, with grins on their faces, shook their heads up and down.
Al found Edward in the fabrication shop at the mountain facility, with complicated assemblies on the machine screens, and printed schematics scattered over the work tables. Edward was not the only one vying for time on the printers and replicators, so he waited his turn depending on priority. Because most people were not aware of the dire prediction for the volcano, he could not say how important his project was.
Edward knew, so he divided his time between research, fabrication and testing. He and Tiro were discussing one of the components for the nautical drive when Al walked in. “Problems Ed?” he asked.
“No, no. I am just trying to understand how this thing works, and Tiro is attempting to explain. He tells me that little box in the middle of the unit sucks the oxygen out of the water and forces it out the nozzle in the rear. I have never seen anything like it.”
The quarter scale prototype was laying on a bench in front of Al, and he made an observation. “It looks like a snake that swallowed a box.”
“I guess it does at that, but it is a beautiful rendition of the idea. You place one end of the pipe through the bow and the other end out the stern. Water goes in and is forced out the back at substantially higher pressures—and it uses almost no power.”
“Have you seen the boat? It’s not that big, but I’ll bet it’s heavy. Do you think this thing will push it?”
“I went down to see it last night. It’s not that heavy while it’s in the water. I believe this little unit will power the boat quite nicely. How fast I don’t know, but I can tell you it will be quicker than that tiny sail.”
“You saw that? Yeah, I agree. I wouldn’t want to sail it across the ocean.”
Tiro added, “This nautical drive unit was in the final stages when my people left. It was designed to be easy to operate, easy to maintain, highly efficient, and to replace the native sails. Its simplicity makes it easier for the residents to transition to motorized propulsion.”
“If your people designed it, I am sure it will work,” replied Al. He turned back to Edward and asked, “When do you think this contraption will be ready to install?”
“Oh, I have a lot of work still to do. Probably two weeks or so.”
“It will take Chris at least that long to get the boat ready. I hope we have the time.”
Once again the gray hologram spoke, “After the pre-eruption, the prediction devices ceased to function. Now there is no way to predict when the next event will occur.”
Edward noticed his phrasing, “Pre-eruption, Tiro?”
“Yes. The latest event was a precursor. I assure you, there is a major eruption coming. As I just stated, it is now only a matter of when.”
On the third day, Al was rewarded with good weather. He set up his table and chair on the beach, programmed the drone, and sent it out over the ocean to the West. The last direction untried. There were a few high clouds, but not enough to affect the solar cells charging the power unit, and visibility was good. He watched its progress on his monitor for a while, and then settled back; relaxing in his chair.
Sleep was something they all needed, and Al pushed himself more than most. It did not take long before the rhythm of the waves and the warm breeze brushing his face lulled him to sleep. His body went to rest mode, and his mind followed.
He was again in the bowels of the flailing boat, being thrown back and forth while flashes of lightning pierced the dark interior changing it into a kaleidoscope of black and white images. The wind outside howled as if attacking the struggling craft, and was reinforced by the crash of the waves against the sides. Back and forth the tiny ship rocked, the battering getting stronger with each oscillation.
From somewhere out of the maelstrom a slow beep began, at first barely audible, it gradually overpowered the fury of the storm outside. When he thought it could become no louder, his eyes flew open, and sitting on the table was his data pad with an alarm beeping every second, like an old-fashioned clock. The Watcher had registered an anomaly, and the monitor displayed a bump on the horizon.
According to the readings sent by the Watcher, the aberration was still seventy miles away, and Al had to make a decision. It was now past noon, and if he allowed the drone to continue, it would not have time to return before dark.
He instructed it to keep going at thirty miles an hour, its most efficient speed, thinking he could land the craft and wait until the next day to have it return. He watched as the bump in the distance slowly became larger, and late in the afternoon, a rugged coastline came into view. The drone flew on, and in time he could make out a strip of beach, shadowed by steep cliffs that rose one hundred feet to a tall forest above. He had done it. He had found land.
The drone climbed, and flew over the forest of giant trees, some reaching as high as two hundred feet, and it seemingly went on forever. Mile after mile of green treetops formed a canopy high off the ground, with very few open areas. There was not a sign of civilization. The land appeared pristine and unmarred by the hand of man. There were small animals in the canopy, jumping from branch to branch in play or the constant search for food.
Six miles inland the landscape changed, becoming hillier and more colorful. The jumbo forest gave way to gentle hills and golden meadows, with an occasional stand of more normal sized trees. A slow moving river wound its way down from the mountains to the West. Al yelled and pumped his fist when the river fell down a waterfall to a clear blue lake surrounded by a strip of sand and a grove of lush leafy trees. It was a picture perfect representation of paradise.
He worked the Watcher in ever increasing circles from the lake until dark and then using the sensors he checked for significant heat signatures and movement. He found nothing to concern him. When the power cell was about exhausted, he landed the drone and put it into stand-by mode. In the morning, he planned on more exploration.
Panning the area, before he shut the drone down, he took one last quick look around. What he saw was a tranquil, beautiful place, waiting for habitation—the perfect place to escape from the isle of Atlantis.