Cargo Cult (53 page)
Authors: Graham Storrs
Tags: #aliens, #australia, #machine intelligence, #comedy scifi adventure
It helped with the publicity for
the books that Marcus had been awarded a medal for bravery by the
Queensland Government for his many selfless acts of courage in
saving the busload of senior citizens under his care. In addition,
the luxury coach company that employed him gave him a job as their
“Goodwill Ambassador”, freeing up his time for further literary
malfeasance.
For the military personnel caught
up in the Vinggan visit, life went on much as usual. The
reconstruction of Amberley Air Force Base kept Braby and his staff
busy. The general didn't bother him again for weeks. Only Major
Lester Totterdell found that his time with the
Pappathenfranfinghellians had changed his life forever
since, to the amazement of everyone who knew her, Corporal Emily
Brownlowe still thought Totterdell was “lovely” even after the
concussion had passed. Their whirlwind romance and marriage was the
talk of the base for all of five minutes.
It was in the week that Sam's photo
appeared on the cover of Time magazine, that Australia's Prime
Minister, Catherine Hood, and her Defence Minister, Jessica Tuck,
received General Treasure in the Cabinet Room in Parliament House.
The greetings were informal and friendly. Neither of the two
politicians referred to the weeks of “personal time” the general
had taken after the Amberley incident, nor the psych evaluation
lying on the PM's desk which showed him at last fit to resume his
duties.
“I thought it was about time we
showed you this, Nicky,” the PM said, leading the Head of the ADF
towards a section of the room's wood-panelled walls.
“It's been a secret known only to
the PM and the Defence Minister since the country was founded,”
said Jessie. “But recent events have led us to re-evaluate that
policy.”
“I don't like surprises,
Catherine,” the general said. The PM gave him a tight smile and
pressed a concealed button on the wall. A section of panelling slid
back to reveal a metal lift door, which also slid open. They got
into the lift. There were only two buttons on the control panel.
The PM pressed the one marked “Down”, spoke a security code, let
the lift scan her iris, her face, and the palm of her hand, and the
doors closed.
“You've got a secret lift to the
basement of Parliament House?” the general asked. “Er, thanks for
letting me in on it.”
“Have you ever wondered why they
chose to build Australia's capital city just here, Nicky?” the PM
asked. “I mean, it's a bloody stupid place, really. Inconvenient
for everywhere and freezing cold in the winter.”
“Maybe the people who built it
liked skiing,” the general said, uncomfortably aware that the
elevator ride was taking a very long time.
“Constitutional history not your
favourite subject at school then, I'm guessing,” the PM said.
“Well, you are about to find out why this is the one and only place
they could have built Canberra.”
The lift came to a halt and the
doors opened. There was a short corridor ahead with another door at
the far end. A robot gun turret was mounted at either side of the
far door, each turret with four large-calibre machine guns. They
all pointed directly at the three people in the lift.
“Please identify yourselves,” said
a calm, female voice. “For your own safety, please do not step
forward of the yellow line.”
The PM went to a small podium and
repeated her performance with the lift scanners. The general eyed
the broad yellow line two paces away that crossed the corridor on
floor, walls and ceiling. The Defence Minister went through the
security routine. “Your turn, Nicky,” she said, handing him a small
card with a security code printed on it. He went to the podium and
spoke it aloud, then offered eye, face and hand in turn for the
biometric scans.
There was a short but unsettling
delay before the voice said, “Thank you. You may proceed.”
They walked in silence along the
corridor, the robot guns tracking them all the way. When they
reached the end, the door opened for them automatically. They
stepped through into an enormous, rough-hewn cave lit by arc lamps
on tall stands. It was as big as the inside of the Opera House but
there was nothing in all that great space except another door at
the far end: a single, circular door twenty metres in diameter.
“Well I'll be...” The general took
a couple of steps towards it. The door appeared to be a single
piece of polished metal with alien characters carved around its
edge and a massive, complex locking mechanism at its centre.
“At least we know what must be
inside it now,” said the PM.
“Inside it?” The general was too
stunned to think clearly yet.
The Defence Minister said,
“Seismographic and radar surveys show this is the entrance to a
cube almost three thousand metres on each edge.”
“And that's a very big box,” said
the PM.
The general's composure was
returning. “And you think it is the treasure thing the Vinggans
wanted?”
“Don't you?”
“The Mechazoid Hoard,” said the
Defence Minister in a dreamy voice. “We've had no idea at all what
might be in there until now. It's completely impenetrable. Maybe we
should redouble our efforts to find out, considering.”
The general looked at her.
“Considering that we now know what's out there in the rest of the
galaxy.”
“We need weapons,” said the Defence
Minister.
“Or, at least, something to bargain
with,” said the PM.
Together they stared at the huge,
silver door, none of them realising just how urgent the need to
open it would soon become.
Contents
Chapter 22: Fomenting Rebellion
Chapter 26: Out of the Frying Pan
Chapter 28: Stealing, Fighting,
Haggling
Chapter 31: The Mechazoid Hoard
Chapter 33: All Roads Lead to Earth
Chapter 34: And Then to Amberley
Chapter 37: Talking to the Treasure
Chapter 40: Convergence (Remix)
Author
Graham
Storrs
is
a
science
fiction
writer
living
in
Queensland,
Australia.
A
former
research
scientist,
IT
consultant
and
award-winning
software
designer,
he
now
lives
and
writes
in
a
quiet
corner
of
the
Australian
bush
with
his
wife,
Christine,
an
Airedale
terrier
called
Bertie, and a
Tonkinese cat called Minsky.
His
writing
credits
include
three
children's
science
books,
and
a
great
many
magazine
articles,
academic
papers
and
book
chapters.
Since
turning
his
attention
to
writing
fiction
he
has
had
short
stories
published
in
a
wide
range
of
magazines
and
anthologies.
Cargo
Cult
is his fourth
novel.
Other Books
By Graham Storrs
Graham's
début
novel,
Timesplash
, a
near-future, time travel thriller, was a best-seller. It is now
published by Pan Macmillan (Momentum), as is the Aurealis Award
shortlisted sequel,
True
Path.
A third novel in the
Timesplash series is in production.
Heaven is a Place on Earth,
Graham's third novel, takes place in a near future
dominated by augmented reality and virtual reality technologies,
with all the opportunities for deception they bring.
Contact the Author
Graham is always happy to hear from readers, so don't be
shy. And if you enjoyed this book, a review on
your favourite book retail or review site, or
your own blog would be greatly appreciated.
Follow
Graham
Storrs
on
his
blog:
http://grahamstorrs.cantalibre.com
and
on
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/graywave
For
details of all Graham's novels and short stories, visit
http://www.grahamstorrs.com/
