Both Clay and Caesare raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
“Sir?”
“What I’m about to say may come as a surprise. Yet it’s something on which Defense Secretary Miller and I both agree. And that is the decision to form a new classified team, composed of the members in this room. A team that reports exclusively to Secretary Miller and myself, and no one else.”
Silence fell over the room as everyone looked back and forth, curiously.
“Sir, I don’t understand,” said Clay. “Why form a team when the mission is over?”
Langford chuckled. “And what makes you think things are over?”
“Uh, well, the hidden vault is gone, sir. We recovered the last of Wei’s infused bacteria, and Alison has found the new source of plants. It seems to me we’re largely done. Except for finding Wei’s daughter.”
Langford glanced at Clay. “I have to admit, I had a similar thought. Until these three decided to enlighten me.” He turned again to face Neely, Wil, and DeeAnn. “Mr. Borger, perhaps you would like to start?”
Borger slowly nodded and stepped forward, clearing his voice. “Uh… well, it kinda has to do with Alison’s discovery near Trinidad. You see, the vault that was on top of the mountain in Guyana had to have been built… by someone. Someone who traveled here.” He nodded to Caesare. “I explained to Steve a few weeks ago that coming here to do that likely meant it was a one-way trip. Primarily due to distance, speed, and the amount of energy needed.” Borger inhaled and looked around the room. “So when you couple that with all the material involved, it’s likely they needed something to make the journey. Like a ship. And that seems to be exactly what Alison has discovered. Which leads us back to the vault.”
Caesare furrowed his brow. “The vault was destroyed, Wil.”
“I know. But I’ve been thinking.” He took another deep breath. “See, if it were me… and I had to travel all that way… I wouldn’t just build one.”
“What?”
“I said I wouldn’t build just one.”
“But what does that mean?” Caesare asked.
Borger replied with a hint of excitement. “So, think about it. Whoever it was had to travel an awful long way. Remember, Palin and his people can create portals, but there’s a catch. Distance. He explained that the farther the distance, the greater the energy required, becoming exponential. So at a certain distance, the resources available to create enough energy would be exhausted, which is exactly what was happening to them. He told us they were running out.”
Caesare nodded. “So if whoever built that vault traveled by ship…”
“It means they were likely coming from much further away, from a distance they simply couldn’t create a portal from. This is part of why I think it was a one-way trip. But here’s the thing, if they did travel all that way to create a safe place for their DNA, it means they’d have to be sure it would survive, right?”
“Right.”
“Which also means it would have to be on a planet with a climate compatible with their own DNA…”
Clay stared at Borger. “So you’re talking about redundancy.”
“Exactly! If they came all this way, why would they build just one vault?”
Borger continued, faster. “Our planet is covered in tectonic plates which affect everything, including things like volcanos, storms, and tsunamis. You name it. The conditions are constantly changing. So they had to build their vault where it would be safe.”
“But given enough time, nothing is safe,” Clay replied.
“That’s right! Which means you’d need redundancy. Another, in case one was lost. A backup.”
“Or a Plan B.”
Borger smiled at Caesare. “A Plan B.”
“But we’re just theorizing at this point.”
“Not necessarily,” replied Borger. “Think about us humans. We build redundancy into almost everything around us, especially our technology. Even a simple DVD disk arranges data in a way that protects it against damage like scratches. It’s called Reed-Solomon and the code is used in a host of other technologies. Like memory sticks. Or electrical circuits. Even our cars all carry a spare tire. Life is unpredictable, and if we know that, then whoever built that vault did too. And it was supposed to be here for a long time.”
“Okay,” Caesare said. “So the argument then changes from could they have built another to… did they?”
This time, Borger didn’t reply. Instead he turned to the admiral, who in turn looked to Neely. “Commander Lawton?”
With arms folded, she stepped forward. “There’s something else.” She smiled at Alison. “A little more than a week ago, when Ali told me about what had happened at her lab with that young girl, we took blood samples from Dirk and Sally. What we’ve noticed has to do with a number of genetic markers that are common between humans and dolphins when it comes to brain makeup.
“In fact, a paper published a few years ago by a researcher at the Center of Molecular Medicine has identified a commonality among certain large-brained animals called the big brain trio. The similarities strongly suggest a convergent evolution among three very specific animals: dolphins, humans, and gorillas. Similarities in brain size and functionality are more than evident when you image them.
“In other words, a long time ago, something appears to have caused our three brains to evolve in a very similar way. Not exactly the same, but similar.”
“You mean some kind of intervention.” Caesare leaned back again in his chair.
“That’s right,” smiled Neely. “And given the genetic influence of what we found, both in Guyana and now under the water near Trinidad, this substance could very well be the catalyst responsible for our similar brain evolution.”
“Hold on,” interjected Clay. “If what’s in the water really did influence the development of a dolphin’s brain, it doesn’t necessarily mean it affected either gorillas or humans. The other two-thirds of the big brain trio.”
Now DeeAnn stepped forward. “You’re right. It wouldn’t explain why our brains developed very similarly.” She turned to Borger. “Unless…”
“Unless there is a second vault,” Borger added.
Clay and Caesare looked at each other. “And where would that be?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “But if someone came here to build not just one, but two vaults, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t put them next to each other. In fact, I suspect they would put them as far away from one another as possible.” Borger smiled. “Maybe even on another continent.”
“There’s only seven,” said DeeAnn. “And one of them, we already know, is where gorillas and humans originated.”
“Africa!” whispered Alison.
DeeAnn nodded. “Africa.”
The room grew quiet. Finally Langford spoke to Clay. “As you can see, John, it’s not over. Not only do we have a ship to dissect and a bacterium sample to study, but it seems we may also have a second vault to find.”
Secretary Miller spoke up in a deep voice. “Hence the need for a very small and very secret team.”
Caesare looked at Miller. “Who else would know about this team?”
“No one. Just the admiral and I. There would be no official records and no official funding. Whatever you need, we will find a way to provide it. Which shouldn’t be hard given what a mess our current budget is.”
“True,” Langford replied. “Fortunately, the federal budget is designed for hiding things.”
Caesare looked dubious. “If only you two know about this team, what happens when the two of you… retire?”