Giovanni sighed, trying to find the right words to reassure him, but the general went on. “As you know, the position of Keeper is the sum of several roles: you will be a superintendent, an administrator, but first of all an executor.” Another pause, to let the last word hover in the cool of the office, swirl to show all its sides. “I assume you are completely aware of the responsibility you take the moment you step into the Tank. Now, I want to ask you one last question. Just one.”
“Please ask away, general.”
“Aren’t you afraid?”
On the wave of tension, Giovanni felt he could answer immediately, with ardor. But a sudden wavering took on him, slowing down his reactions; he let a handful of seconds pass, then said:
“Absolutely not, General.”
Stevanich stared at him in silence and Giovanni wondered if by any chance he had made a mistake. Could it have been a trick question? The figure of Vlad the Impaler sitting on his throne came back once again, together with the deadly consequences to which a wrong answer led without fail. He found himself evaluating other answers, maybe more appropriate than the one he had chosen. For example, he could have asked what he had to be afraid of; on the other hand he could have given the impression of being a little too bold…
When Stevanich nodded Giovanni realized with relief that his trepidation was unjustified. He felt the sweat chilling on his back.
“All right, Corte. You didn’t answer with too much haste. You hesitated and that gives you honor. I appreciate people like you. The selecting committee did a good job.” He stood up and Giovanni hastily did the same. “Get ready then. Thoroughly study the manual that will be given to you at the administrative office and be at Camp 9’s gate, where the Operating Center’s office is, on January 1st at exactly 7:30. I expect you prove yourself worthy.”
“I won’t disappoint you, general.”
The handshake was short, but vigorous.
“And Corte, one more thing…”
The man remained impassive, but he felt his throat dry down. “Yes, general?”
“It goes without saying that I don’t want any problem on your side. Anything that happens, every obstacle you might meet, solve it before it comes to my attention. We are clear on this, right?”
“All clear, General.”
Crystal.
“Good. Then for now… have a good Christmas.”
“Thank you, General. You too.”
While reaching the exit, Giovanni could almost physically feel Stevanich’s eyes on the back of his head; the absurd idea that the general got rid of the curt but fatherly expression with which he dismissed him, transforming it in an unsettling mask. Not evil, but lacking humanity.
3 – Oath and Assignment
The maws of the elevator opened without making the slightest noise. When Giovanni and his silent escort got inside the cabin- which could contain up to five or six people – their boots produced a sinister noise on the pavement, a plate of knurled metal.
Before one of the two soldier, the thicker one, could insert his ID card in a slot and press the black button on which an upward arrow was engraved, Giovanni turned around to look outside one last time. The greyness of the first morning of the year was haunting the whole landscape as if everything was covered by a thick layer of off-white ash. And when the double sliding doors closed their vertical mandibles an incomprehensible knot of discomfort formed in his guts.
Now it’s really too late to go back, he thought. But why would I?
Steadily looking straight ahead of him he let pride flow into his heart, washing away the layer of apprehension that was trying to envelop him like wet gauze.
As soon as the elevator started moving the two soldiers turned their backs to the entrance. Giovanni did the same, sensing that once at the top other doors would open. After a few seconds, with a quiet clank that echoed down the vertical shaft, the hidden engine stopped and after new maws opened the three were in the Ring.
Stepping out, his escort one step ahead of him, Giovanni quickly looked left and right, where the wide turn of the corridor they were in disappeared both ways into the snow white walls following the building’s shape. Short neon cylinders, placed on the ceiling each a couple of meters away from the following, emitted a pale light that reflected on the linoleum floor’s half-faded green.
They headed right.
A few steps away from the elevator, on the same side, there was an extremely solid-looking metal door with faux wood painting. Reinforced, no doubt. He had accurately studied the simple layout of the building. It was the access to the Keeper’s flat.
They came to a halt. While the leaner soldier was fussing with a set of keys Giovanni started looking around.
A bit further from where they were, on the outer side of the circular corridor, another door with thick dark glass panels drew his attention. A faint glimpse of golden light flickered from a small metal plaque beside the massive steel jamb. A casual observer could mistake it for a second elevator, ma Giovanni knew perfectly well it wasn’t. On the manual it was named access door to the isolation and elimination chamber, a tiny room better know as the Shutter.
Two forceful turns and the lock sprang with a loud noise.
The soldier that had opened the door looked at his comrade, who nodded in return; he then took a finely printed card out of his pocket and turning to face Giovanni he cleared his throat before starting to read. It was time for the assignment speech and the consequent oath.
“In the name of the New Moral Order I assign to you, Giovanni Corte, pro-tempore Keeper, the keys to Camp 9’s Tank…” Giovanni felt like even his heart has stopped to listen. “…so that you may guard it’s whole content until the last day of your mandate. Do you swear to loyally serve the Order and to prove yourself worthy of the task you’ve been called to undertake?”
A peremptory whisper from the other soldier lashed out as quick as a toad’s tongue: “Hand on your heart.”
Giovanni promptly obeyed and solemnly pronounced the first of the three: “I do.”
“Do you swear to take responsibility for every action you may make while doing your job?”
“I do.”
“And finally: do you swear in no way you will divulge any information you may learn while operating inside the tank?”
“I do.”
“Are you aware of the legal consequences that come by breaking an oath to the Order?”
“Yes, I am.” His voice cracked a little and he felt ashamed.
“If that’s so you, Giovanni Corte, from this moment on you officially take on the role of Tank Keeper for the duration of the current solar year.” The soldier handed him the small set of keys and Giovanni grabbed it with a decisiveness.
The soldiers clicked their heels in unison and the sound got lost in the Ring’s curves.
A few moments of uncomfortable silence followed. Giovanni couldn’t remember whether he was supposed to say something or if the short ceremony was actually over. He allowed himself to say a quick: “Thank you.”
The two soldiers exchanged an unintelligible glance, then looked back at Giovanni. Had there been a faint grin in that split second, or was it just the neon light on their faces? Giovanni couldn’t say and he wasn’t all that interested.
The most authoritative looking soldiers – even if judging from the stars on their uniforms the two seemed to be both sergeants – spoke with a neutral voice: “As you know, there are no deliveries on January 1st, so you have all the time you need to get used to the place. Anything you may need, you know the communication procedure.”