down the hall and shouted at her over his shoulder. “Destroying the
cities on the outside. Eliminating those that live within. This has never been
necessary. We’re euthanizing these people when there is no need. There has
never been a need. And those that lead us have always known that.”
They turned a corner, and she
could barely hear him again.
“When implemented, with the
technological designs that are up there in the Hideaway right now, the people
on the outside will not have to be moved hardly at all. Millions can be saved.
People can be protected right away. Many may even be totally healed.
“All of our research. All their
creations. Everything has been sent up there. Almost everything needed to save
this dying planet is floating around unused in space on a sleeping ship.
Waiting for someone to bring it down.”
Sirens screamed, and people
again poured at them through the corridors. The flash of explosions danced
about the monitors along the corridor walls. The muffled booming sounds of the
blasts reverberated through the passages.
“And if we leave it up there as
it’s been decided, and the ship does come back…?” Korcheck still screamed at
her over his shoulder despite the crowd moving around them. “It comes back and
it’s not us that retrieved it? Then so be it. Yes. This is the point of this
war. If we lose it, life in our country, for our people, will be changed
forever. Many of our own will die. Yet, somewhere on Earth people will continue
to exist because of it. Someday, somewhere, a new world will grow. It will be
only us, that created and then hoarded these secrets, that will not live to see
it through.
“I’m willing to risk bringing
that ship down. The ship, and only under our control, is really this planet’s
last hope.”
Rone tried to process everything
this man had just said. She reflected on her own debates with people such as
her colleague, Kobus. She had tried everything in her power to convince them of
the same thing she was hearing from the individual she still ran behind.
She also marveled at the fact
that they’d both dedicated their careers, in Korcheck’s case his very life, to
something as intense as the Hideaway Project, and up until now never had the
opportunity to speak.
Her research theories focused on
the physical health and behavioral tendencies of the pilots. His was on the
technology itself. Rone’s work, however, only involved the actions and outcomes
of two people. Korcheck’s involved these same two also, and then the entire
world.
Rone thought it would have been
fascinating to develop her opinions and mold her research alongside this man.
How much more she might have accomplished if only she had been able to share
her hope for the world with someone like Korcheck, a man whose stoic passion
for this project closely rivaled if not surpassed her own.
"This way," Korcheck
grabbed her hard by the arm and jerked her along after him through the crowd.
Rone winced at the slight pain of her joint being strained abruptly from its
socket.
It was too loud for Korcheck to
talk anymore. Continuing to hold her by the arm, he pulled her through the maze
of intersecting hallways.
Descending another two levels of
stairways, they were very close to the ground floor of Science Dome 15. How
close, however, she could not tell.
Not fighting the pain in her
arm, Rone trailed after him, allowing what he had just said sink into her
system. The force of his words in an instant had suddenly grabbed her and shook
her awake. She was now fully aware why she followed him and hurried to match
his pace.
They turned another corner.
Before Rone was entirely around it, Korcheck’s grip on her arm loosened. But,
he did not quite let go.
A man, taller and more than half
the size of Korcheck’s average frame, slammed into him from the other side of
the hall. His large arms smacked hard against the front of Korcheck’s neck and
knocked him violently backwards. With a gasp of surprise
cities on the outside. Eliminating those that live within. This has never been
necessary. We’re euthanizing these people when there is no need. There has
never been a need. And those that lead us have always known that.”
They turned a corner, and she
could barely hear him again.
“When implemented, with the
technological designs that are up there in the Hideaway right now, the people
on the outside will not have to be moved hardly at all. Millions can be saved.
People can be protected right away. Many may even be totally healed.
“All of our research. All their
creations. Everything has been sent up there. Almost everything needed to save
this dying planet is floating around unused in space on a sleeping ship.
Waiting for someone to bring it down.”
Sirens screamed, and people
again poured at them through the corridors. The flash of explosions danced
about the monitors along the corridor walls. The muffled booming sounds of the
blasts reverberated through the passages.
“And if we leave it up there as
it’s been decided, and the ship does come back…?” Korcheck still screamed at
her over his shoulder despite the crowd moving around them. “It comes back and
it’s not us that retrieved it? Then so be it. Yes. This is the point of this
war. If we lose it, life in our country, for our people, will be changed
forever. Many of our own will die. Yet, somewhere on Earth people will continue
to exist because of it. Someday, somewhere, a new world will grow. It will be
only us, that created and then hoarded these secrets, that will not live to see
it through.
“I’m willing to risk bringing
that ship down. The ship, and only under our control, is really this planet’s
last hope.”
Rone tried to process everything
this man had just said. She reflected on her own debates with people such as
her colleague, Kobus. She had tried everything in her power to convince them of
the same thing she was hearing from the individual she still ran behind.
She also marveled at the fact
that they’d both dedicated their careers, in Korcheck’s case his very life, to
something as intense as the Hideaway Project, and up until now never had the
opportunity to speak.
Her research theories focused on
the physical health and behavioral tendencies of the pilots. His was on the
technology itself. Rone’s work, however, only involved the actions and outcomes
of two people. Korcheck’s involved these same two also, and then the entire
world.
Rone thought it would have been
fascinating to develop her opinions and mold her research alongside this man.
How much more she might have accomplished if only she had been able to share
her hope for the world with someone like Korcheck, a man whose stoic passion
for this project closely rivaled if not surpassed her own.
"This way," Korcheck
grabbed her hard by the arm and jerked her along after him through the crowd.
Rone winced at the slight pain of her joint being strained abruptly from its
socket.
It was too loud for Korcheck to
talk anymore. Continuing to hold her by the arm, he pulled her through the maze
of intersecting hallways.
Descending another two levels of
stairways, they were very close to the ground floor of Science Dome 15. How
close, however, she could not tell.
Not fighting the pain in her
arm, Rone trailed after him, allowing what he had just said sink into her
system. The force of his words in an instant had suddenly grabbed her and shook
her awake. She was now fully aware why she followed him and hurried to match
his pace.
They turned another corner.
Before Rone was entirely around it, Korcheck’s grip on her arm loosened. But,
he did not quite let go.
A man, taller and more than half
the size of Korcheck’s average frame, slammed into him from the other side of
the hall. His large arms smacked hard against the front of Korcheck’s neck and
knocked him violently backwards. With a gasp of surprise
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