Alex dismounted his aero-bike and looked out upon the vast sandy plateau. Situated between the Arabian Sea and the mountainous city of Nishtun in Yemen, the area had been pockmarked by thousands of holes that created a checkerboard pattern.
As he took off his helmet, a brief vision of two young men in tunics appeared to run across the plain. He knew it was just a hallucination and shook his head a few times to ensure he did not slip away into another blackout. After blinking his eyes to clear his vision, he shoved a small stake with a silver ball on its top, known as a subatomic disruptor, into the sandy ground.
They won’t be able see or hear us with this, Alex thought confidently.
Jules staggered off the aero-bike, attempting to regain his footing. Not one for flying and still in pain from his recent injuries, he was glad to be on solid ground. Now dressed in a similar sleek, black aero-bike jumpsuit that Alex provided before their departure, he turned to his companion and asked, “Any of this still look familiar?”
Alex extended his palm and a holographic image appeared from a clear disk in his hand. “I grabbed these specs of the area on the flight over here.”
Jules was impressed. The Masjid project specs were highly classified. Even he, as an executive at The New Reality, would’ve had difficulty acquiring them.
A hologram appeared before them showing a detailed cross-section of the Masjid Project.
“Unfortunately,” Alex said, “this area looks completely different than it appeared three years ago when I buried Albert.”
“Excuses won’t help us find the body my dear boy,” Jules commented. “Tell me what you know.”
“Patience, my friend,” Alex rebutted, keeping his composure. Though he felt like pushing Jules down one of the holes, he understood they were both under stress and Jules was still most likely still dealing with enormous pain.
“As you can see,” Alex said, pointing to the hologram, “there are these X-shaped tunnels that lead directly down into the earth and transverse next to the original multileveled, horizontal-shaped bunker system that had been established in this spot.”
He then gestured both to a large blue oval connected directly to the Aegean Sea that was positioned underneath the vast array of X-shaped tunnels and to the large molten-red river directly below it.
“Let me show you how this whole project will work.” Alex then explained, “The blue colored reservoir at the bottom of the hologram was recently flooded with water from the Aegean. A volley of sequential explosive charges at the bottom of the X-shaped tunnels are set to detonate sometime tomorrow morning, sending water up from the reservoir and directly to the surface.”
At the bottom of each X-shaped tunnel a tiny red dot appeared, followed by a rush of water from the reservoir up through the tunnel and to the surface, creating a small lake after the final explosion.
Jules watched the display. Though he had heard about the project, he had never imagined the enormity of the undertaking.
“Finally,” Alex said, “a small nuclear explosive will detonate below the blue reservoir, incinerating the crust that separates it from the large pool of magma underneath it.”
The hologram then depicted a small explosion followed by the magma quickly rising into the reservoir above it.
“As you know from basic science,” Alex said, “when the magma comes into contact with the water, there will be a chemical reaction, driving the magma through the crust and up to the surface.”
The magma in the hologram then disintegrated the crust weakened by the X-shaped tunnel, and ascended rapidly to the surface, creating a massive magma lake.
Jules fully understood the significance of the project. Not only could energy be directly transformed from the heat of the magma, but also water from the Aegean could be piped in to create a massive steam-powered turbine. Ingenious.
“Though this holographic show piqued my intellectual interest,” Jules said, “it lacked one vital component—the placement of my uncle’s body”.
Alex seemed more exhilarated than annoyed by Jules’ comment. “Take a look at this one tunnel all the way here to the left.”
The hologram image transformed back into the original picture and it then began to zoom in on the tunnel.
Taking advantage of his photographic memory, Alex said, “This exact spot is where I remember burying Albert. If you look closely next to this particular tunnel, you can almost make out parts of the original bunker system. Where the two overlap is where we will find Albert.”
“So where, pray tell, is this golden tunnel,” Jules asked.
“You’re standing next to it,” Alex answered.
Jules turned to the left and saw a large hole with a mining drone situated at its top. There were a number of these robots remaining at the site. Left to be destroyed in the pending magma destruction, they each contained a long cylindrical body with an enormous conical drill attached to their front and four paired mechanical legs along their sides.
Alex walked over to the mining drone and pulled down a door along its side. “We’d better get into this thing before The New Reality’s able to hone in on our flight path.”
Jules joined him at the drone’s side. “An elevator would seem much more apropos at the moment,” he commented. “Don’t you think?”
“All power is out here now except for a few selected areas,” Alex said, climbing into the drone. “And the elevator down this shaft isn’t on the list.” He waved in his direction, “Now less talking and more moving.”
Jules begrudgingly complied.
Alex closed the door behind, leaving them in an expansive yet dark interior. Not meant for human transport, the robot’s only source of light emanated from a small control panel located along its front.
“Hold on,” Alex commented as began to manipulate the control panel with his pocketeer.
The two were then thrown to the side. Jules winced as his ribs smashed against the hard metal surface, sending a shock of intense pain through his body. He would have made a snide comment, but the discomfort took his breath away.
The mining drone began to lumber over and into position next to tunnel. After the initial jolt, the ride proved rather smooth.
The robot then attached its legs to a long conveyor belt at the top of the tunnel that activated upon contact. Driven by the mining drone’s own electrical source, the conveyer did not rely on an external power source to work.
The mining drone descended rapidly, and as they plunged deeper into the earth, the temperature began to rise in their enclosed space.
The heat within the robot’s body became almost unbearable. Even the air seemed too thick to breathe. They gasped, forcing themselves to inhale.
After about two minutes, their decent halted abruptly, sending them flying once again to the side.
Jules attempted to ask if this is where the trip ended but found the air much too heavy to utter even a single syllable.
The inside of the drone went dark as the control panel’s lights unexpectedly turned off. They then heard an eerie squeaking noise as one by one, each of the drone’s legs detached from the conveyor belt.
With the foreboding clank of the last leg detaching, they were sent plunging down the tunnel.
With only one thought on their minds, both Alex and Jules drew the obvious conclusion.
They were discovered.