“You trust him?” asked Tommy.
“I don’t know,” said Jon. “I believe what he says.”
Tommy said nothing else, just opened up his backpack and pulled out a tablet, and plugged in some earbuds.
Guess the conversation is over.
Jon pulled open his own bag and took a tattered paperback out, and read. He picked at his sandwich.
The plane ride passed quickly enough. It almost startled him when Nancy told them they were descending.
“That was fast,” said Jon.
They were on the ground in no time. Jon didn’t know how to feel. A part of him was anxious, a gnawing deep worry that he couldn’t rationalize away. Another was excited. Thrilled. He would get a chance to do science again. To research again, and not in some misbegotten third-rate lab.
The plane landed with a soft thud and taxied for a few minutes before coming to a stop. Nancy was ready with two blindfolds.
“Don’t worry about your things,” she said. “We’ll have someone take them to your quarters. Tommy, do you like your wheelchair?”
“I mean, it’s okay,” he said. “Why?”
“Do you want to keep it? Or would you prefer a new one?” asked Nancy.
Tommy eyed her, thinking. “I’ll keep it, for now.”
“Fair enough,” she said. “Ready for your blindfolds?”
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” said Jon, after exchanging a look with Tommy.
Nancy nodded and handed them over. “No peeking,” she said.
Jon looked at the blindfold. They were more like goggles. He didn’t know how anyone would see out of them.
“Will you be going with us?” asked Jon, straightening the strap of the blindfold.
“No,” said Nancy, with a smile. “You won’t see me again.”
Jon glanced at her and then slipped on the blindfold. “Nice meeting you, then.”
“Good luck,” she said, and within a minute there were hands leading them away, carrying Tommy, placing him in his wheelchair.
It felt cool outside, especially cool for the summer, but Jon didn’t know what that meant. He didn’t bother asking questions, because he knew he wouldn’t get any answers. His guts ached in turmoil. He wanted desperately to rip off the blindfold, to see where they were, but he imagined that would end with him on a trip back to New York.
Or worse.
Jon hadn’t thought about the other side of betraying the secrets of Shaw’s lab, but all those thoughts rolled through his mind in a flood, and his vulnerability was his first thought, of Tommy’s vulnerability, of what would happen if something happened to him now, leaving Tommy alone, but then the chill went away, and the hands guiding him were gone, and a minute passed, and he felt a slight falling sensation.
We’re in an elevator. We’re going down.
Time passed, but he didn’t know how much. How fast were they falling? The lab was underground. But how far? A sudden voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
“You can take off the blindfolds,” said a woman’s voice.
Jon removed his, and he looked to see Tommy do the same.
A young woman stood in front of him. She was blond, with close cropped hair. Petite, just over five feet tall.
“Jon, Tommy,” she said. “I’m Sabrina. Mr. Shaw’s personal assistant.”
They stood in an elevator, and Jon went behind Tommy, pushing him into a small room with carpeted floors and soft beige walls. It looked like a doctor’s office. Another elevator door stood behind Sabrina.
She smiled, extending a hand, first to Jon, and then to Tommy. They both shook it.
“You’re now standing in the FUTURE lab,” she said. “Welcome.”
2
“The Future Lab?” asked Jon.
“Yes,” said Sabrina. “All capitals, FUTURE.”
“What does it stand for?” asked Jon.
Sabrina smiled. “Everyone asks. It doesn’t stand for anything.”
“Then why—”
“Why capitalize?” asked Sabrina. “Because perception is reality, Dr. Matthews. And we’re creating the future here, first and foremost. Follow me.”
She turned without a pause and entered the elevator behind her, the doors opening as she approached. Jon pushed Tommy in. It was all stainless steel, with no discernible buttons. It felt like they were inside a bullet.
The doors closed.
“No buttons?” asked Jon, finally.
“Nadia, request systems level, please,” said Sabrina, and then the tube moved downward. “Nadia is our facility admin.”
“Is she—is she an AI?” asked Jon.
“No,” said a voice from around them. “Just a person.”
“Nadia typically won’t answer,” said Sabrina. “She has a very busy day. And Mr. Shaw doesn’t trust AIs to do anything a human can do.”
“Is she always listening?” asked Jon.
“Usually not,” said Sabrina. “But she is always watching. There are cameras everywhere, aside from private quarters.”
“Creepy,” said Jon.
“You don’t think about it after a while,” said Sabrina.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opposite the ones they came in opened. Sabrina stepped out, and Jon followed with Tommy, stepping out into a field of glass. Glass tiles lined the floor, and dozens of rooms were segmented with frosted glass walls. Hallways criss-crossed back and forth, and a few people hustled about. As someone opened a door, the glass de-frosted, and the room became visible.
“Wow,” said Jon.
“This is the Systems level,” said Sabrina. “Mr. Shaw organized the FUTURE lab around four pillars. Systems, Problem Solving, Energy, and Medicine. Each has their own floor, their own lab.”
They walked down the central hallway, and Jon peered down each cross-secting hallway as they went. They reached a room at the far end of the hall, the doors already open. A bald man of average height sat behind a gray desk, the top of it occupied by three monitors. He looked up as they approached.
“Ah, Sabrina,” he said. “A new arrival.”
“Yes,” she said. “Paul, this is Jon and Tommy. Jon will be working in Medicine. Jon, Tommy, this is Paul Hicks. Admin for the Systems pillar.”
Jon extended his hand, and Paul waved him off.
“Ah, we don’t shake hands,” said Paul. “But it is nice to meet you. You’ll be in Medicine, right?”
“Yes,” said Jon. “I assume, at least.”
“You’re in good hands with Donald,” said Paul. “I’ve got to get back to work. Good luck.” And then he was looking at his screens again, his eyes darting between the different monitors. Sabrina led them back out.
“Can I ask what exactly does Systems pertain to?” asked Jon, as they returned to the elevator.
“It’s complicated,” said Sabrina. “The way it was explained to me is macro to micro examination of how we live and survive. Broadly, across all humanity, how do governments work, how do different systems of cultures interact. Basically, trying to figure out to operate humankind better.”
“That sounds complex,” said Jon. “And Paul is in charge of all that?”
“Sort of,” said Sabrina. “He’s an admin. Not a doctor. He manages the teams here, gets them the resources they need, and tries to keep them focused. He doesn’t do the research work himself. Mr. Shaw thought it was best to keep the labor divided that way. And that is congruent over all four pillars.”
They were back in the elevator, and Energy was next. The labs looked largely the same. The only difference was the blast shielding present around multiple sections of the Energy lab.
They walked in and met with Jordan King, who barely had the time to say hello before he rushed off.