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| Tsv-05-100 Alternatives Chapter 1: Knight to king's Base 4.5 Chapter 2: What Reality is this? Chapter 3: The Hisorian Way Chapter 4: Fresh Air and Exercise Chapter 5: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 6: Point Man Put to the Test Chapter 7: The VR and the Videodrome Chapter 8: The Tem-Space Variant Returns Chapter 9: The Amazing R-Wing Chapter 10: The Lunaside Vacation Chapter 11: The Lunaside Hiso-Courts |
Tem-Space
Variant 5:
Alternatives
10. The Lunaside Vacation It was a great relief to be safe at Lunaside after that near-dead experience in the cold vacuum of space. Lunaside was a huge biosphere, half underground and partly inside a mountain. It was an ultra-modern city with apartment complexes, stores, restaurants, and work-shops. There were also many tall trees and plants scattered about, and a parkway green with a railway-line running through it. Lisa and Madkro relaxed on the balcony, having drinks and studying the Luna-side map. Now and then, Lisa would point out across the way to something in the distance, familiarizing them with the many different sites. "If we have to see Rem," she said, "we should start with Longray. He's the director; he'll know where to find Rem." "So where's Longray?" Madkro said. "His office is in sector blue," she said, "about 700 meters away. We can take the railway through the parkway. It's the most direct route, unless we walk along the promenade." "Might as well walk," Madkro said, "and see the sites. We can take the railway back." "Good idea," she said. "I'll see if Senzo and Kyra want to go with us." She left him sitting on the balcony, marveling at the spectacles of the great Lunaside biosphere. When she returned, she handed him a small porto-com cell-phone. "It's Longray's office," she said. "They called us." He accepted the cell-phone and spoke. "Mr. Madkro," a man's voice said, "this is Longray. I don't want to inconvenience you, but I think perhaps we should get together for a chat." "Actually," Madkro admitted, "we were planning to visit you today, at your office." "Do you have transportation?" Longray said. "No? Well, let me send a cab. How is 1 hour from now sound?" "1 hour is fine," Madkro said, and seconds later, handed the phone back to Lisa. "We've got an appointment with Longray," he said. "In 1 hour. Any idea why he'd request us?" "Probably has to do with the sabotage," she said. "Longray's not dumb. He probably knows a lot more about it than we do." An hour later, they drove in the backseat of an electric cab, followed closely behind by Senzo and Kyra, in another cab. The driver took it slow, and they enjoyed the many sites about the city. As they drove along the promenade, the stores and shops were to the right and the parkway was to the left. Lunaside had a live-in population of 1,000, and people were scattered about sparsely, much like a city of Earth. Due to the lower gravity, there were things that the Earth did not have, such as small zeppelin cabs and buses, air-lift platforms for official use, and jet-paks for limited use in the parkways or for official use anywhere. 20 minutes later, they arrived at a large pyramid, which was connected to the biosphere dome at the very top. They joined Senzo and Kyra at the base of the pyramid, and looked up. There was an elevator waiting at the base, just 20 meters away. It was attached to a track on the exterior of the pyramid, which went all the way to the top. They walked to the elevator, stepped inside, and sat down. "Longray's office," Lisa said, as the door closed, and they started moving up the side of the pyramid. The elevator took them almost all the way to the top, but stopped on the level just before it. "Level 14," a female voice said, and the doors opened. Inside a large lobby, on level 14, a woman walked to them and greeted them. "I will take you to Mr. Longray," she said, and they followed her across the lobby, turned left, and walked 20 meters to the end of a hallway. She touched a keypad at the side of a door, it slid open, and she stepped inside. Longray was standing behind a large desk, by an open set of doors leading to a balcony. He stepped around the desk and greeted them as they entered the large chamber. "Greetings people," he said, looking at each of them one after another. "This must be Lisa," he said, reaching out a hand. "Congratulations to the both of you and to all of you for the Hiso. Mak, long time no see." Madkro tried to recall when he saw Longray last, but when he did so, he realized it was in another reality. Then he recalled how close the parallel was, and decided to play it by ear. He introduced Senzo and Kyra, and they all sat down in comfortable seats about a low coffee-table. "So, it was sabotage," Longray said seriously. "Looks that way," Madkro agreed. "Do you have any idea why anyone would do such a thing?" "Only one, the most obvious," Longray admitted. "The Con-Reps?" Lisa said. "Of course," Longray agreed. "But why go to such extremes?" Madkro said. Longray looked at him and nodded briefly with the thought. "You're all very lucky to be alive," he said. "I think I should caution you further, while you're here. There are Con-Rep agents and spies about. They may try something again." "It's all crazy," Kyra said. "I mean, the Con-Reps have been known to play dirty more than a few times, but they've never tried to kill anyone before." "I think I have the answers you need," Longray said, and sighed with a measure of frustration. "In 2002, 2 strangers appeared at Lunaside. They appear to be aliens from another planet. They claimed to be from the planet we call Mars." "Martians?" Senzo said, with shock. "Martians," Longray admitted. "Of course, there was no way we could scan them to prove it, so we have not ruled out some kind of deception. While they may claim to be aliens, it is possible they are humans who have had surgical alterations. The differences are mostly in the facial area, and could have been faked "I don't understand," Lisa said. "Why would they fake being Martians?" "To do exactly what they did," he explained. "If they are Martians, then they have more right to Mars than we do." "What does this have to do with the Con-Reps?" Madkro said. "Not long after they appeared they met with some Con-Reps," he explained. "The Con-Reps claimed to represent Earth. Then 2 days later, the Con-Reps and the 2 aliens disappeared. When I tried to locate them, I was given the run-around and a lot of misleads. 6 months later, I received this from one of our R-wing captains." He opened up a magazine on the coffee-table, picked up a large envelope, opened it, and pulled out a black and white photograph. He handed it to Madkro. It was an orbital picture of a lunar setting, with some kind of structure, composed of 2 squares and a circle. "What is it?" Madkro said, and handed it to Lisa. "Some kind of secret base," Longray said. "It wasn't there before the aliens showed, and Lunaside has no information about it. In other words, it's secret, and whoever built it wants it to stay a secret. Now, put it all together, and tell me who's behind it." "The Con-Reps?" Lisa said. "This is why," Longray said, "they're opposed to the Lunaside deal. You see, the secret base is not complete. If they lose the funding they've been using on it, it can post-pone the completion and set them back." "Why haven't you informed Central CQ?" Senzo said. "Central CQ," he said, "has been in the hands of the Con-Reps for the past 10 years. I tried to reason with them, but they insisted I was wrong. They wouldn't listen. I had to stop pressing it after an attempt was made to kill me." "But Central CQ," Kyra said, "will be in our hands next month." "Exactly," he agreed. "That's why I'm so glad to see you. Now maybe we can do something." |
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