was recorded from scales set into the floor.” He patted a telescopic object jutting close to the mirror. “This is an optical sensor that recorded your retina pattern and compared it to the digitized pattern that Chief Zolley sent over with your clearance. In addition, an ultrasound was made to see what you carried on your person. If we suspect that you aren’t who you’re supposed to be, the room seals off” and we send in an armed team to drag you out and really question you.”
McGriffin whistled. “I’ll say. No wonder you call this the wringer.”
“We normally serve seven-day shifts at Alpha Base, so we have to go through the wringer only once a week. And except for a team that patrols outside Alpha Base, no one enters or leaves during the week. Actually, it’s a lot faster than having guards strip-search us, like TSA would do at any airport.”
Leaving the vestibule, they reached an outside door. Sunshine flooded through the window, heating the floor where the light fell.
McGriffin hesitated before going outside.
“Go ahead, Major. Once you passed through the wringer, you were officially inside Alpha Base.” He opened the door for McGriffin. As they stepped outside, Fellows pointed out a heavily guarded gate. Barbed and razor wire covered the entrance. A tunnel of empty space two hundred feet deep, fifty feet high, and one hundred feet across was carved into the wire.
“That’s the only other way to get in or out of Alpha Base. We only use it when we’re moving nuclear weapons. When it’s open, Alpha Base is put on alert.”
McGriffin squinted at the gate to where the four fences came together. At the intersection, razor wire rose in an intricate three-dimensional mesh. The tunnel was large enough to accommodate the flatbeds carrying nuclear weapons. The gates on either side of the tunnel were never open simultaneously.
McGriffin picked out a few of the other landmarks. A low building marked alpha base command post/red room stood next to two other buildings: enlisted barracks and officers’ quarters. The enlisted barracks were ten times bigger than the officers’ quarters. That made sense—there should be at least a ten-to-one ratio of enlisted to officer here.
Fellows tugged on McGriffin’s elbow. “I’ll take you on a quick tour of the area before we go to the command post.”
They climbed into a jeep marked command section. As McGriffin buckled in, Fellows reached down and flipped a switch. “IFF—Identification Friend or Foe,” he explained. “We track every object within a radius of five miles of Alpha Base on radar unless they have one of these IFF devices. That’s classified confidential, by the way, Major. If we didn’t have the IFF’s, we’d be going crazy tracking all of the security vehicles.”
“So you were able to track my car?”
“That’s one advantage to working out here. We can’t be caught in a surprise inspection. We always have plenty of warning for anything that comes our way. A computer automatically masks out any blips from an IFF source, effectively making the image invisible to radar.”
As they started off, McGriffin shook his head. “It’s nice that you have IFF’s that work. They’re different from the ones I’ve used when flying; I wouldn’t use one of our IFF’s in this place if you paid me.”
“How’s that?” yelled Fellows.
McGriffin leaned toward Fellows so the lieutenant could hear him over the engine. “I have an Army buddy who works in a Hawk unit—you know, the ones that provide anti-air support for the ground troops? They’re supposed to use the IFFs to tell the good guys from the bad guys in a war. Well, this guy says they’re so unreliable, they’re going to go ahead and shoot at anything that flies over their Hawk sites.”
“So what do you pilots think about that?”
“That’s why I’m a trash hauler and not a fighter pilot—I don’t worry about it.”
Fellows patted the IFF. “Well, these are
McGriffin whistled. “I’ll say. No wonder you call this the wringer.”
“We normally serve seven-day shifts at Alpha Base, so we have to go through the wringer only once a week. And except for a team that patrols outside Alpha Base, no one enters or leaves during the week. Actually, it’s a lot faster than having guards strip-search us, like TSA would do at any airport.”
Leaving the vestibule, they reached an outside door. Sunshine flooded through the window, heating the floor where the light fell.
McGriffin hesitated before going outside.
“Go ahead, Major. Once you passed through the wringer, you were officially inside Alpha Base.” He opened the door for McGriffin. As they stepped outside, Fellows pointed out a heavily guarded gate. Barbed and razor wire covered the entrance. A tunnel of empty space two hundred feet deep, fifty feet high, and one hundred feet across was carved into the wire.
“That’s the only other way to get in or out of Alpha Base. We only use it when we’re moving nuclear weapons. When it’s open, Alpha Base is put on alert.”
McGriffin squinted at the gate to where the four fences came together. At the intersection, razor wire rose in an intricate three-dimensional mesh. The tunnel was large enough to accommodate the flatbeds carrying nuclear weapons. The gates on either side of the tunnel were never open simultaneously.
McGriffin picked out a few of the other landmarks. A low building marked alpha base command post/red room stood next to two other buildings: enlisted barracks and officers’ quarters. The enlisted barracks were ten times bigger than the officers’ quarters. That made sense—there should be at least a ten-to-one ratio of enlisted to officer here.
Fellows tugged on McGriffin’s elbow. “I’ll take you on a quick tour of the area before we go to the command post.”
They climbed into a jeep marked command section. As McGriffin buckled in, Fellows reached down and flipped a switch. “IFF—Identification Friend or Foe,” he explained. “We track every object within a radius of five miles of Alpha Base on radar unless they have one of these IFF devices. That’s classified confidential, by the way, Major. If we didn’t have the IFF’s, we’d be going crazy tracking all of the security vehicles.”
“So you were able to track my car?”
“That’s one advantage to working out here. We can’t be caught in a surprise inspection. We always have plenty of warning for anything that comes our way. A computer automatically masks out any blips from an IFF source, effectively making the image invisible to radar.”
As they started off, McGriffin shook his head. “It’s nice that you have IFF’s that work. They’re different from the ones I’ve used when flying; I wouldn’t use one of our IFF’s in this place if you paid me.”
“How’s that?” yelled Fellows.
McGriffin leaned toward Fellows so the lieutenant could hear him over the engine. “I have an Army buddy who works in a Hawk unit—you know, the ones that provide anti-air support for the ground troops? They’re supposed to use the IFFs to tell the good guys from the bad guys in a war. Well, this guy says they’re so unreliable, they’re going to go ahead and shoot at anything that flies over their Hawk sites.”
“So what do you pilots think about that?”
“That’s why I’m a trash hauler and not a fighter pilot—I don’t worry about it.”
Fellows patted the IFF. “Well, these are
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