– If you'd be so kind, I'll give you so much information that you'll think this whole thing is child's play. You know what "baby talk" means?
– Yes, I understood your expression," Peter said quietly and guiltily.
He then took Rutra to all the departments the guest wanted to see, showed him the secret plan of the complex, the working and mothballed part, and the EO compartment, which was full of long-lasting food.
– Do you think it's for nothing? – The scientist asked Rutru, which puzzled him, even made him a little nervous.
Trying not to show his bewilderment over why this question was being asked of him, Rutra tried to answer the "educated layman."
– Anything can happen. Back when I was in the service, back in '91, I witnessed how meat labeled "1960" was used for food. So there's nothing surprising about stockpiling. Why don't you tell me where I can find the subject of my interest?
– I understood from the inquiry that there was a precedent of interference on dual frequencies, the source of which could not be determined. According to the intelligence – it seems to be on the territory of the USA, but according to the military – all deny their involvement, as proof they allowed to create a joint commission of inquiry, in which we, people of science, must first make a joint analysis.
– Almost there. I need to report back: is this possible or is it an unidentified failure of the receiving system?
– I understand the collision of the American and Russian satellites was because of this.
– I too think an unknown signal changed his course.
Rutra was lying, it wasn't true, but the reason was very reliable.
– If you can, get permission to search Raven Rock," Peter suggested.
– Thanks, I'll give it a try. If you're all set, let me go.
– No, you can't do that. You've been here all day, you need to rest, you need to eat.
"That wouldn't be bad," Ruthra thought. He had forgotten that he hadn't eaten.
– Eating is fine, but I'll rest at the hotel.
They went to the cafeteria for a snack, then over a cup of coffee Peter talked about the oligarchs who don't think about the development of basic science, about the government that goes along with them, that no one takes a possible nuclear catastrophe seriously. "Just like in Russia," Rutra thought, thanked him, and headed back.
He was met in the airport dungeons and escorted to a rest area. He contacted Hent and told him what he had been offered to look for at Raven Rock. The status and clearance level of the man who'd suggested it determined the importance of his words, just as it made it clear that he probably had good reason to pretend to be a naive idealist.
In the morning, the authorization was approved, and Rutra traveled in the capsule to the site. The capsule traveled as usual at "crazy" speed, stopping and turning around several times. Ruthra could hardly stand it, it was a long and exhausting journey, and finally he reached Raven Rock. There he was met, also by the military.
This complex, located on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland, has many names, such as The Rock, SiteRT, NMCC-R, ANMCC, AJCC. The popular nickname is "the spare Pentagon." The fact is that SiteRT must accommodate all 3,000 employees of the "pentagon" in case of danger.
The Rock houses DISA's (Defense Information Systems Agency) computer operations center and the operations centers of the major branches of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. The complex is also used as an alternate government bunker. It was a more serious organization, only the resolution of a very powerful top-secret department, with the strange acronym WWW, allowed Rutra to check all the bays he wanted. The military had the same attitude everywhere, in Russia and in the United States. They perceived very negatively the presence of an outsider on their territory, especially a person unknown to the structures.
No one was available for a heart-to-heart talk, as at NORAD. The complex is inaccessible to the public, and the security level is so high that conspiracy theorists speculate about other purposes for the facility. A popular rumor among them is that a 157 kilometer long tunnel leads from Site R to the Pentagon. If they knew where the tunnels stretch to and for what distances. Rutra had traveled through one of them and was now wondering how to survive the even greater distance to Area-51.
Since according to the legend Rutra was a scientist, a double agent, who was supposed to "find out" weaknesses in the Pentagon's technology regarding Russian developments, he had access everywhere. There was a certain power component in his face, because they themselves told in detail, with the provision of documents, all the possibilities of technology. The instruction "from above" was clearly given – to provide all the data according to the subject of the search.
The officer accompanying him, who was reserved and frankly stated that he did not trust anyone from the USSR and its allies, answered questions in detail and provided access to departments of interest. While showing and telling, as a "true American military man," he constantly emphasized that U.S. weapons were superior to Russian weapons and the technology was the best in the world.
– I understand, but at the moment I'm interested in more scientific terms," Rutra tried to dissuade him. – I get money for this from your management. I assure you, Russia is not dormant, it has a lot of interesting things to offer.
The officer took this statement almost as a personal insult. He straightened up and replied with a haughty look:
– The U.S. military expects to maintain its technological advantage over Russia and China through developments in robotics and artificial intelligence systems. For example, your Armata tank is planned to become unmanned in the future.
Rutra did not want to enter into any more controversy because he knew where the "wind was blowing from," as the officer later confirmed.
– The First Deputy Defense Minister is in charge of promoting such projects in the Pentagon. He has repeatedly expressed concern about high-tech developments by Russia and China. In his opinion, the Russian army is "preparing to fight on a robotic battlefield." "We must improve our strategic decisions in an era of competition between major powers," he told us on a personal visit to the complex.
All this was proudly "reported" by a military man.
– We are ruling out the creation of "killer robots" for the time being. Autonomous weapons can be used only for defense purposes: for example, a missile battery can react to incoming missiles by itself. At the same time, we are focusing on creating systems that will allow the military to make faster and more accurate decisions. In particular, the Pentagon is planning to strengthen a supercomputer that could analyze gigabytes of data and record not only the movement of enemy forces, even a soldier or a ballistic missile, but also receive, process, modify and send back a remote control signal. We need that to reorient the missile's course. This is much simpler and more reliable than developing an echeloned missile defense system, with a lot of political scandals, with location on the territory of other countries and no guaranteed effectiveness.
– You know, I've always been surprised by the arrogant arrogance of your military and politicians, but now I am very grateful.
– Why?
– I will tell you this if you explain to me how you are going to decode the code of the missile's control cipher at a distance where you intend to place the receiving and transmitting device? Otherwise, with all due respect, I perceive your story as another praise of yourself, not personally, but in general, as the armed forces.
– I told you, we will upgrade the supercomputer and link it to the Livermore and Oak Ridge. They'll run simultaneously in parallel and serial mode. In any encryption code there is a limit to the sequence, if you make it extremely "heavy", then you yourself will not be able to operate the missile quickly. We are interested in the first few minutes, otherwise there is no point, because beyond that they will be out of your territory. Although, in principle, we are also considering the second phase of flight, in order to redirect them on a different course. The most important thing for us is that they do not fly towards the United States. It will not be a big deal if they explode in the air over deserted or sparsely populated areas of the globe.
– It's better to channel them into the ocean.
– No. In that case, the coasts of the U.S. and allies would be subject to a massive tsunami.
– Oh yes, how could I forget, you can fly over Africa, your ancestors wiped them out, 200 million of them. Of course, it's no big deal, and the Japanese are not used to it, it's not your fault, it's evil Russia that's so bad.
– I don't understand you – are you asserting or asking? We are proceeding from the concept of national security, and the ancestors were not ours, if I understand you correctly.
– Yeah, that's what I'm saying, strictly for national security purposes. So you want to catch the control signal at launch, decode it, send it back to the rocket with the altered course data?
– Yes. The receiving and transmitting device can be located anywhere, even in space. The main thing is reliable operational communication with the supercomputer.
– Is there something like this already?
– No, I said it's planned.
– Are you sure?
– Absolutely. The Livermore facility has just started developing this program, and the Pentagon has not yet been upgraded, the computers are not in circuit. And the transmitting facility itself is also being tested elsewhere.
– Where?
Next he said a word that Rutra's brain translated as "fairyland."
– Where is it? – He asked.
– Sorry, that's what we call it, it's the code name for Area-51.
– If that's the case, thank you very much, I have to get over there.
– We can provide you with a rest room.
– No, if I may, I'll eat in your dining room and shower wherever possible, and spend the night in Denver.
– All right, come with me.
An hour later Ruthra was in the capsule, and six hours later the capsule brought him to Denver. The speed made him dizzy and his body ached. Ruthra took a bath, had a light snack, and went to bed. He scanned Raven Rock completely, for the most part-it was a large hotel with headquarters. If there was an object of his search somewhere, it certainly wasn't there. With these thoughts, he fell asleep. He dreamed of the sea, with the town and villages in front of him, the kind of view he had grown accustomed to since childhood, wanting to admire again and again.
In the morning, he visited his escorts, who were enjoying themselves by combining a game of chess with exercise in the gym. To their distress, Ruthra had ordered the room and the entire compartment to be sealed off from the outside world and heavily guarded. They handed him a pass, which was a combination of two items – a paper-and-plastic one and a special display bracelet.
– This was passed on to you.
– What's that?
– Said the pass is for the next facility.
– Yeah? There was nothing on the previous ones.
– They explained this by the special status of the facility. At the bottom of the pass are marked the different sectors to which its holder can have access. In the lower left corner, it's marked S4. These three sectors are DS, ETL, WX.
Something interesting must be there. "Strange," Ruthra thought. – Hent said no passes were needed; the one who would be escorting has all the passes he can get.
– Don't worry, guys, one more object, and we'll splash in the water, maybe "splash" inside as well, loosen up our bones… or have them loosened by the local masseuses. I've known such specialists here in the old days, I think America is no worse now, just have the money.
– We have to have money too," said the younger colonel.
– All right, I'm on my way. Wait for me.
Two hours later he was at the famous Area-51. The capsule stopped at a station labeled S4. This was not Area-51, though it technically belonged to it. It was an even more classified location about fifteen miles south of Area-51; the place was called S4.
Area S4 is located near the dried-up Papoose Lake. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a landfill. No one had met Rutra. A voice came from the speakers. An automaton, a computer, was talking to Rutra. It invited him to the decontamination unit. "How familiar this is to me," thought Rutra. The procedure was the same – his clothes were taken away by the automaton and given a white colored jumpsuit with the S4-R breastplate. The computer asked him about his state of health and invited him to a special chair, in front of which a scoreboard displayed body condition readings – temperature, pressure, and some purely medical ones. At the end of the procedure, the robot gave the result. Everything was normal.
– You may proceed to the elevator," the computer said in a male voice in American English.
– Where's the elevator?
– Walk straight down the corridor without turning around. Stay calm and attentive and stay focused.
Ruthra realized the meaning of the last words as soon as the door of the corridor entrance opened. The corridor was completely mirrored. All four sides consisted of mirrors. As soon as Ruthra entered, he was confused about where to look. Everywhere was him. Realizing he had to go forward, Ruthra adjusted, adapted his vision, and walked until he reached the outline of the outline of the elevator entrance, where he entered. Afterward, the computer asked:
– Are you ready?
Rutra replied:
– I'm ready.
The elevator closed, went down. In the elevator, because of the limited space, his eyes seemed to be everywhere. It was very unusual, mystically terrifying when he moved his head. Therefore, Rutra tried to stand still. A strange sensation was present – the presence of an intruder. Suddenly, the "frozen" image began to change. Although he was almost frozen, the space began to move, the mirrored reflections changing their contour. Ruthra couldn't tell what was happening. To his right, the mirror began to transform, and as if from behind the horizon, something resembling a human face appeared. It was something unimaginable: along with Rutra's eyes, someone else's eyes began to "run" through the space. What happened in the next second was controlled only by his subconscious. Rutra's hand reflexively, instantly, lightning-fast struck the area where the eyes had come from. The crunch of glass and pain restored reality.
– What are you doing? – I heard behind me.
Ruthra turned around sharply and, not quite figuring it out, threw another punch at the area where the body was distorted.
– Aye-aye, calm down, what are you doing, stop it!
Shouted someone in front of him, at the same time the mirror along with the "eyes" began to fall down.
– Guards, guards! – someone shouted.
Ruthra was confused, unable to unequivocally determine what was going on, though he realized it was someone nearby speaking, someone to whom the other pair of eyes belonged.
– Who are you, where are you! – shouted Ruthra.
– I'm here," said the ghost. – Why are you fighting?
Ruthra finally realized that the one who spoke was wearing a jumpsuit completely mirrored – with a mirrored hood and mask over his face. Only the eyes were visible.
– What is this, why are you dressed like that, couldn't you say hello, show me what you are? – Ruthra asked with reproach in his voice.
– I said hello, you didn't answer, I thought you didn't think it was necessary to talk, so I turned to the wall, closed my eyes, I'm getting dizzy here. You can see through the mask enough.
– What do you mean you said hello? I didn't hear anything.
– No way. You're not from around here?
– You don't know?
– I don't know. I was told to meet a very important person from Section 51.
– Okay. How did you say hello to me that I didn't hear?
– Like, just like everyone else. Silently. What, did you guys have your chips out in the department?
"Wow," Ruthra thought. – What's new to us is apparently commonplace here, though everyone on the range is probably chipped.
– I see what this is about. Didn't they tell you who I am and where I'm from?
– No. They said to take it to the supervisor.
– I see your point, sorry, it's a mismatch in organizations, I can't communicate like that.
– Uh-oh, I get it. You're from a different neighborhood. Since you're here, I guess I didn't give away any secrets.
– No, I'm aware of that.
– All right, let's go.
The elevator stopped, they got out, the attendant pressed on an area of the wall, then a glowing line of blue light "stretched" across the walls. It was as if it was inside a mirror, not reflected from the others.
– Let's follow it," the attendant said and walked forward.
