“Remember my telling you that I was looking into The Pleasant Belief Foundation?”
“Yes. What’s going on with them?”
“Several government departments are starting to complain, or are getting complaints, that the foundation may actually be gaining traction in their efforts to slow down consumption. That’s a problem since our whole economic system is built on growth and doesn’t handle reduction well.”
“What can we do about it?”
“We’re not going to do anything except gather data and report accurate information. I thought of going into their computer network and seeing what they’re up to.”
“Sounds reasonable. What did you find?”
“That’s the problem. Go to your computer and type in Pleasant Belief Foundation, and tell me what you see.”
He returned to his workstation, entered the name, and studied the results.
“Hey, this can’t be right. There are only about a hundred pages of information and no vampire icons. There should be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of pages.”
She smiled. “Well, well—there’s a brain behind those blue eyes after all. The only way that what you see can be possible is if they’ve completely isolated their company’s computer network from the Internet. Something pretty much unheard of these days. This is raising a big warning alarm for me, and I think they must be hiding something.”
“Maybe, or maybe they just want a really secure network.”
She made an impatient sound. “It would cost a great deal extra to run this way. Most of the employees would still need access to the Internet so they would have to double up on network costs. But that’s not all. I’ve also heard through reliable sources in the Department of Wildlife that the philanthropist running the foundation is working on getting super strict zoning around a large piece of land that the foundation owns up in the northwest—something like the security at Area 51. No one would get access or even be able to fly over it.”
“That does sound suspicious.”
“And he’s working on similar deals with at least three other countries. He’s calling them wildlife preserves, which sounds good on the surface, but I think there’s much more behind it. Then there’s the whole CURE thing. I keep thinking there has to be a link between them and the foundation. They’re both fighting for the same cause and started up at roughly the same time.”
“So how are you going to find out more about them? Do you have a plan?” He swung his chair away from his computer and leaned his arms on the desk.
“Yes, and this is where you come in. I’ve already checked, and their headquarters has very good security around it. But one of their projects, called The Colonies, is open to the public, and I think you should go there for a few days.”
“Me? Really? What for?”
“Like I said, it’s important for us to know the truth. If we can’t get information on the colonies or on the rest of the foundation from the Internet, then we’ll have to do it the old-fashion way and actually see it in person.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Oh, and one more thing. If it’s possible, and only if there’s little or no risk, maybe you could install a piece of hardware into one of their computers. One that’s tied to the company’s network. Somehow they’ve blocked our search engine, but with a bit of hardware on the inside, we should be able to get in there.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” he asked. “This sounds like more of a job for a different agency than ours.”
“I said only if it’s easy to do. If not, you’re right, there’s another division that’ll take care of it. As for the legality . . .” She shrugged her shoulders. “We have divisions that will take care of that too.”
Spencer sat back in his chair and felt somewhat dazed. What have I gotten myself into?
5 - Planning
Mikhail waved Richard into his office and pointed to a chair in a corner grouping of furniture “I’ve just read that the Mars mission confirmed the rumor it’s on track for doubling the manned missions this year by having two, a few days apart. Is that due to more funding from your foundation? I didn’t see any reference to it in the press release.”
“You know I like to keep under the radar, but yes, an added completion bonus was all that was needed there,” Richard said as he sat down. “With the successful landing and operation of the habitat, greenhouse, and supply modules, I thought it would be a good idea.”
“But why? There will be another open launch window in two years.”
“Because with the growing political instability and eco-terrorism threats, there’s no certainty of there being more missions, and I want to make sure they’ll have a chance from the moment they set foot there. That’s why I tripled the habitat and other modules sent a few years ago and then doubled the number of humans for this year. I’ve also worked with the director of the program and convinced him to include a few extra things as well in this year’s launches.”
“Such as?”
“Some of the technology that we’ve been developing for the villages here on Earth. I think they’ll be particularly useful to the team on Mars; after all, they’re like any one of the villages we’re building here, but on a smaller scale. I have also sent hundreds of genetic samples from the residents of our villages. The Mars team will be able to use them to achieve the diversity in the population they will need if no other ships are sent.”
“Well, hopefully you didn’t impose your stupid rule about riddles on their computers,” Mikhail said, referring to a quirk insisted upon by Richard, not only for his foundation staff but throughout his corporations. Every workstation was protected not only by a password, but the user also had to answer a riddle. There had been more than one occasion on an afternoon when an employee left the office infuriated by an inability to access their station because the riddle couldn’t be solved.
Richard laughed. “I can’t promise that. My company, my rules—and I love puzzles. Do you think that the name of the foundation or our virus, are random name choices? Each is an anagram, and pertinent too. That’s why I’m so passionate about this whole project. The challenge of getting us to a sustainable level with the planet is the ultimate puzzle.”
Mikhail shook his head. “You’re right. And you’re the boss, but I think we’re doing more than puzzle solving here. On the subject of Mars—even with all the help you’re providing the mission, will they stand a chance? Look at how much we’re doing for the villages here. On Mars, they’re going to have to fight every day just to have enough air and food.”
Richard nodded silently before he answered. “I never said it would be easy. They’ll certainly need a portion of good luck, but who knows, Mars may have a secret or two of its own that’ll help them out. Let me change the subject for the moment. How are you doing at spending my money here on Earth?”
Mikhail smiled. “I have to admit I’ve never worked on a project without a budget before and it’s taking some getting used to, but it does get results. Even the strange request of yours for the structures that will time release three “surprises” for future generations of the villages to discover is on schedule.”
“That’s great news. I’ll have to go and take a look.”
“I’ve also finalized the land deals for all four village sites. Now, instead of just being long-term government leases, they’ll all be designated as wildlife sanctuaries with no access, including from overhead air traffic. By the way, thanks for your help with the Asia site. I’m not sure what you did, but they’ve been very cooperative lately.”
“The dictator in that country needed a favor, and I made a few phone calls. Kind of like the way you get things done sometimes here. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Touché!” Mikhail said, laughing. “The size of the plots is perfect—about fifty miles square with our village and other construction roughly in the center of each. I had to concede to allowing inspections by government officials if they see any unusual activity from
their satellites, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Impressive.”
“Anything is possible, Richard, with sufficient bribes to get things moving. And then, of course, annual future payments with some additional persuasion.”
“You don’t need to know my secrets, and I don’t want to know yours. How about the construction work on the village sites themselves?”
“The major construction activities, the town center, fabrication hub, and greenhouses are near completion at all sites.” He said as he wondered about the kind of secrets a man like Richard would have. “I already sent you the plans from the environmental engineers on the design for the remaining buildings and village infrastructures.”
“They’ve done a good job. Hopefully, nothing big has been missed.”
“No, they have the big stuff figured out. The design of the clan huts, Air Chair, water-and-power systems all looked good to me. We’re far enough along that I think we can start construction now. There’ll be things they haven’t thought of, but isn’t that the point of this whole exercise—to find what it’s going to take?”
“Exactly!” Richard said. “I agree, let’s keep this construction momentum going at all four villages. How about the initial residents? Are they all at the sites?”
“They are. We’ve set up temporary trailers and kitchen facilities for the first six months, or until there’s enough infrastructure built to live in. There are roughly three hundred residents at each site plus some five hundred additional people to handle most of the construction. More than enough to get things done on schedule.”
“How about Virtuesh?”
Mikhail unrolled several plan drawings and spread them across his desk. “I wanted to talk to you about that. I think we’ve got the details sorted out for the storage, vaccine, and dispersal, but Olivia, the lead scientist, is scheduled to leave the project soon. It would be a big asset to have her onsite at the nearby village, Percipience, to finalize things. Are you okay with that?”
“Of course!” Richard agreed. “We have time—the virus would only be used after a major collapse anyway, so let’s take the time to do it right. Move ahead if she’s willing to go.”
“I’ll do my best to convince her.”
“How about the pituitary gland research?”
“I still think this is one area where you’re completely wasting your money. Telepathy, telekinesis, or any other paranormal powers don’t exist, and throwing money at enhancing a small gland to make them happen will lead to nothing. But I’m a good soldier and I’ve found the best researchers and am giving them whatever they ask for. They’ve made some progress at enhancing the activity levels in the gland, but without a real end goal, it’s hard to say when they’ll be done.”
“I appreciate your honesty, Mikhail. You’ll have to continue to trust me. I’m convinced beyond a doubt that these abilities exist. I have to admit I’m guessing on the pituitary gland being the center of it all, but I’m willing to take a risk. If I’m wrong, then I’ll let nature find the answer through evolution with the genetic pairing plan I have for the villages.”
“Why are you so convinced that these abilities exist?”
“There are a multitude of cases reported from reputable people. The issue has been that the events are not repeatable. But what has me convinced is the traits and behavior in animals that can’t be explained by modern science. For instance, animals sensing that their owners are coming home, their innate sense of direction, and so many examples of their premonitions. I think our bigger brains and higher cognitive powers override these natural abilities that most other animals appear to have.”
“I still don’t get it,” Mikhail admitted. “I guess we’ll see where this leads, though.”
“We will! It sounds like things are going well here; I wish I could say the same for the public side of the foundation.”
“What’s going wrong there?” Mikhail asked showing concern.
“We’re getting a lot of opposition from corporations and governments as we try to get the foundation’s message out to the people. Nobody likes the negative-growth message. Take, for example, the Work-From-Home Initiative that I’ve tried to get traction on at several levels of government.”
Mikhail raised his eyebrows. “What’s that all about?”
“Simple really—provide incentives for companies to enforce a full-time or near full-time work-from-home policy. There are so many jobs and even whole companies that could be run this way.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea—what’s wrong with it?”
“Not too much. There would be fewer cars on the road, less gas used, less infrastructure on highways, less time wasted on commuting, less office space, more family time. The list goes on and on. Nonetheless, in all but a few places, I’ve run into well-funded lobby groups from real-estate developers, car manufacturers, and even from restaurants that have made enough noise to stop it.”
Mikhail nodded his understanding. “In other words, good for pollution, good for natural resource consumption, and good for society, but all trumped by economics and profit.”
“That’s the way almost everything works. I’m getting lots of pressure to fund research on new vaccines, support better farming techniques, conservation, recycling, and clean water. All of which, if you look at the big picture, supports the economic engine and exasperates the real issues by increasing the population.”
“But those things don’t sound that bad. Most of the green-earth foundations and rich individuals I know are supporting these activities.”
“That’s the difference between them and me,” Richard said, poking the air in emphasis. “We have the same end goal of living in harmony with this planet. But they believe that conservation and increasing food production will prevent us from living beyond our means. Then somehow, we’ll all glide into sustainability.” He rose and got ready to leave. “I, on the other hand, believe that we’re already living way past our means and that there’ll soon be a rude adjustment. Then after that, just maybe, stability will be reached. It’s the adjustment period and the time directly afterward that I’m preparing for.”
Mikhail escorted Richard to the door and they shook hands. That adjustment period may come sooner than you think. Mikhail thought as he walked back to his desk.
6 - Commitment
Diane wondered if she was at the right place as she looked at the large, unmarked building. It was early evening, and she had driven for several days to reach the address on the Virtuesh job website. She stopped her RV at the edge of the road and looked at the building. What she saw was not what she had expected. There were armed security guards at the front gate, several visible security cameras, and a chain-link fence with razor wire surrounding the structure. A searchlight regularly circled the grounds around the building. It appeared more like a prison than a non-profit foundation headquarters.
She pulled away to find a place to park. Luckily, a nearby road led to the ocean, and though likely illegal, she parked her RV anyhow using some trees to keep it hidden from the main highway.
She felt tired and looked at the clock. 8:22—too early to go to bed. She decided to go for a walk on the beach.
As she strode along the shore, she remembered summer vacations with her family and the fun she had with her brother on similar beaches. A warm glow filled her and made her feel as if he were beside her. She walked for several hours, unwilling to relinquish the mood. It was past midnight before she returned to her RV.
Her late bedtime combined with the fresh ocean breeze resulted in her sleeping in much later than intended and it was nearly noon by the time she approached the headquarters building again. It didn’t look any less foreboding in daylight. She fought the urge to turn around and continued to the main gate where she was stopped by a guard.
“Are you looking for directions?” he asked.
“No, I came to find out more about the jobs posted on the Internet.” She held up a printed copy of the V
irtuesh web page.
The guard examined it for a moment then asked her to pull over to the side while he headed to the guard shack.
********************
Olivia sat in the reception area outside Mikhail’s office hoping that she was making the right decision. She had been unable to focus on work since her discussion with Mikhail as her thoughts always drifted back to her friend’s murder and the obvious questions. If she left the foundation, would she meet with the same fate? Could Mikhail afford to let her leave with the knowledge that she had? After much internal debate, she determined that her best course of action was to stay close to the virus and allow herself to stay under Mikhail’s surveillance. This may not solve anything, but it would buy time to figure out a better plan.
The large double doors to the office opened and Mikhail came out to greet her.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Please come in.”
She had never been in his office before but was not surprised by its opulence given that no expense seemed to be spared on this project. He shut the doors and motioned to one of the leather chairs in front of his desk.
“Have you thought about your future with Pleasant Belief?” he asked, as he sat down in the chair opposite hers.
“Yes, I have, and I think I’d be most useful on the construction crew for Percipience. I could also train residents in handling and creating both Virtuesh and its vaccine.”
“Excellent!”
“I considered being a resident but I just don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment. There are so many places that I want to see, and I frankly think I’d die if I couldn’t buy new clothes and eat in restaurants.”
He laughed, “I can understand that and I’m very pleased you’ll be on the team for a while longer. The site is a few hundred miles away, and I was planning a trip there in a week. You can come up then if you wish.”
The phone on his desk buzzed, and he rose to pick up the receiver. “Put him through,” he said, after a short pause.
She fidgeted as he moved to the other side of the desk. He stood listening for a few minutes then opened several programs on his computer and stared intently at the screen.