—As always, my dear Robert, you are the epitome of clarity. Empty threats aside, my point still holds. This was never something we were going to be able to do without leaving this country. You have to remember—and you should have figured this out when you read my first report—these things were buried three thousand years ago. All those borders you are so worried about flying over, they are nothing but color lines on a map. None of these lines existed three thousand years ago.
—I understand how much more convenient it would have been to dig up these things a couple millennia ago. Somehow, it doesn’t make the idea of violating the airspace of every ally or enemy we have any less insane. Unless, of course, you’re willing to give all the world leaders that map and color-lines speech you just gave me. I’m sure they’d be happy to let us in, if only they knew about the color lines.
—You can mock me as you please. At the end of the day, you will realize that this has to be done. You may not like it—I certainly do not—but it must be done nonetheless.
—Does Dr. Franklin know about this?
—Not yet. I thought you would like to know first.
—About the torso being hollow, or about there being a second team?
—Both.
—You kill me, you know. You didn’t tell her you had put together a second team? I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to hear that one.
—That is not your concern.
—You’re probably right. I want you to tell her—about the torso, that is. You’ll have to tell her about the other team anyway. She’ll be pissed off. I want you to tell her to figure out how this thing works and what it can do. I don’t care if they have to work around the clock, just tell her to do it. Then I want to talk to her. I sure as hell don’t trust you with any of this. Now if—do you hear me—if she tells me she can make it work, then you’ll have the full support of this office. If she says she can’t…Well, let’s impress upon her how it would be in everyone’s best interests that she can.
—You want me to threaten her.
—I want her and everyone involved—that means you too—to understand that the more chips we put on the table, the more difficult it becomes for us to fold.
—So you want me to threaten her.
—You make it sound like I’m ready to kill her.
—Are you?
—No! Why would I do that? I was merely suggesting we could replace her if she doesn’t deliver.
—You do not think she has “delivered” already?
—She has. But if she can’t take us the rest of the way, maybe someone else can. She should be aware of that. I’m not suggesting we replace her now, just that we let her know it’s a possibility. That same reasoning also applies to you.
—It really does not, but I can see why you might think it does.
—What’s that supposed to mean?
—If you had an employee you knew was leaving in six months, just how much responsibility would you be willing to give her?
—I don’t see your point.
—You work for someone who may lose his job after four years, who has to quit after eight. I am merely pointing out there are many things of interest to this nation that require a more long-term commitment.
—I’ll be sure to mention that to the president.
FILE NO. 037
INTERVIEW WITH DR. ROSE FRANKLIN, PH.D.
Location: Underground Complex, Denver, CO
—Definitely a girl! I couldn’t stop grinning when they brought the chest in. Her breasts aren’t that large, given her size, but they’re still bigger than my car. Perky…She must have been the envy of all the giant girl robots back in her day.
—I have not seen it yet.
—Well, you really want to see this. The breastplate and the middle of the abdomen are smooth. I think she’s wearing some type of sleek armor, like the Amazons. Two large turquoise arteries are running down her sides behind large ribs. It’s as if part of her anatomy is exposed. There is a large-scale V-shaped armor piece carved into her back, going all the way to her waist. It’s magnificent, very humbling.
—I appreciate your attention to details. I am not blind to the aesthetics of the device. Some of its parts are indeed striking. You convey your appreciation for this particular piece in a very eloquent manner…
—It’s pieces, plural. The chest and abdomen are separate pieces. They were just joined together when you found them.
—Thank you for correcting me. I was saying that I would prefer if you focused on the functionality of these pieces, plural.
—As I said, you need to see them. You can’t ask about the Sistine Chapel and expect me not to mention the ceiling. The aesthetics aren’t merely a side note, they’re as important as anything else. You can’t look at this thing and not know it was built to intimidate. Anyone who came face-to-face with this thing was meant to be awed and terrified at the same time. Form follows function.
—That the life is recognizable in its expression. That form ever follows function. That is the law.
—Who said that? Was it Frank Lloyd Wright?
—His mentor. I apologize for my previous comment. I should know better than to question your judgment.
—It’s OK. I get a bit carried away. But the torso is magnificent, and very large.
—How large?
—Very large. It’s…big. Roughly the size of a six-story building. We had to relocate.
—Yes, this is an impressive structure. I got lost in the tunnels after they showed me in. It took nearly twenty minutes before a security guard found me and brought me here.
—This place was completely empty before we moved in. Security’s a little thin once you get past the front door.
—What can you tell me about this facility?
—They call it the Ark. We’re right beneath Denver International Airport. It was built at the height of the Cold War as an alternate command center in the event of nuclear war. It also houses living spaces for nearly five thousand people, and it holds the world’s largest underground storage facility.
—It sounds like a description of Cheyenne Mountain.
—Pretty much. Apparently, since Cheyenne Mountain was seen in just about every sci-fi movie you can think of, it would probably be high on a target list and might not withstand a direct hit from modern missiles. They built this facility in the late eighties to be used as a command site and long-term shelter when the Continuity of Government plan is invoked.
We’ve been given access to the storage area. It’s over a hundred thousand square feet with a three-hundred-foot-high ceiling. If we manage to put her back together, she’ll have room to walk around; now that we know she can walk.
—You can give me a tour later. I assume you found the opening.
—Yes, there’s a hatch at the top of her back, right between her shoulder blades. You can barely notice it, but there is a handprint carved into the door that responds to body heat. When you press your hand onto the handprint, the door slides in. Of course, you know all this since your men already went in.
—I sense a bit of frustration in your tone.
—I don’t know if you want to call it frustration, but I was told I was in charge of this project. Then you tell me you had teams searching the Arctic without my knowledge, using my formula. So, no, I’m not entirely happy, and I’m wondering what else you haven’t told me.
—I wanted to let you finish the search on US soil. I suppose I could have told you before. I am telling you now. You are no longer in charge of the search effort. Everything else is your domain.
I want you to focus on making it work. It is much closer to your area of expertise and it is where you have excelled in the past. I hate to have to remind you, but you are not a military strategist. You almost lost your pilot when you hit your first road bump. Believe me, things are going to get very unpleasant once we take this search onto foreign territory.
—Look, I really don’t care if I run the search or not. I just want you to be straight with me. I’ve never asked for anything since we started all of this. I’m asking now. Don’t go behind my back.
—I will keep that in mind. Now tell me about the torso.
—Behind the hatch, there’s a small tunnel, about four feet across that leads to another small door with a similar handprint—it’s made of a material I can’t identify. This one leads to a spherical chamber, about nine meters wide. That’s about thirty feet.