Chapter 3

3.1. Day 2 at Area 51

James woke up. With no windows in the room he couldn't tell if it was day or night.

"What time is it?" he asked his roomate Peter.

"Computer, state the time!" Peter gave the voice command.

"It's 7.30 a.m," the computer voice said.

James looked at Peter surprisingly.

"Yes, we have a communications system built into the wall," he started explaining to James, "they use it to communicate with us and give us orders. We can also ask routine questions like what time it is, the whereabouts of other recruits with the same Security clearance etc. We can even listen to the satellite radio so we can keep up to date with news in the outside world."

"Why would they let us know what's going on in the outside world?" James inquired.

"We have to be up to date with developments in the outside world in case we go on away missions to the surface," Peter replied.

"Away missions? You mean we actually get a chance to go back outside?" James brightened up.

"Yes, but it's temporary and you can't use your real identity," Peter answered.

"When do you think I'll get my chance?" James asked.

"That's up to the Junior Supervisor. He's in charge of the recruits on Level 1-3. He'll asign you tasks and missions. In fact you have your first meeting with him at 2 p.m today."

" What's he like? Should I be nervous?" James asked.

"Let's just say he's not a big talker... But don't worry, you should be fine. We have about 6 hours untill your meeting with him begins so I might as well show you the ins and outs of Level 1."

James liked the idea. Peter turned towards the door and gave the command: "Computer, this is Peter Thorn, open the door. Authorization code - AlphaCharlie 559."

3.2. A tour of Level 1

The door opened. It was the first time in 2 days James had left the room he was held in since he was transported from the office building in Pheonix, Arizona to the underground base at Area 51. How exactly he ended up in here was unknown to him as he was uncouscious due to the pill he had to ingest.

They strolled down the 12 ft wide corridor. James noticed there were other living quarters similar to his and Peter's. Peter had explained to James all new recruits were paired up with a Security Level 2 operative who mentored them.

Peter was James's guide and mentor and was in charge of bringing him up to speed on how things operate on the base. He had control over James's movements and whereabouts for the time being.

"How big is this place?" James asked Peter.

"Level 1 is located 1mile underneath the surface and measures 3 miles in length, 2 miles in width and anywhere from 8-20 feet in height." Peter answered.

A couple of minutes later they came across a section with several large swimming pools filled with either regular chlorinated water or sea water. "This is where we come to relax on our R&R (rest and recuperation) time."

They left the pool section and started passing through another corridor. They saw a man walking towards them in a hurry.

Peter seemed to know him well as he greeted him: "Hey Tucker, what's the hurry, are they sending you on a mission?

Tucker responded: "Yes, they're sending me on a mission to P-343."

"I see, good luck! This is the new recruit James by the way, my new roomate," Peter pointed towards James.

"Nice to meet you," Tucker said to James as he shook his hand.

"We'll have to catch up later Peter, I really have to go," Tucker told Peter as he ran off in a hurry.

"What did he mean by P-343? Is that some kind of code word for a city?" James inquired.

"No, it's a planet in the Alpha Centauri solar system approximately 4 light years away from Earth." Peter explained.

"Did you just say planet?" James asked in complete astonishment.

"Yes," Peter replied slightly amused.

*"Are you telling me they have spaceships capable of interstellar travel on this base?" James continued with great interest.

"They have several spaceships; some reverse engineered from a saucer that crashed in Roswell in 1947, some are loaned from other alien species. And they're even working on building a few of their own spaceships from scratch."

"Which one will Tucker be flying with?" James asked while being blown away by all this information.

"He won't be travelling by spaceship. They have other means of travel as well," Peter said.

"What do you mean other means of travel...?" James was perplexed.

"I can't tell you anymore than that. You'll find out soon enough," Peter had concluded.

James and Peter had come across another section by this time. It was a state of the art fitness center that streched for half a mile. It had all kinds of equipment for physical exercise, even some James had never seen before. There were several men exercising on those machines.

"This is where we come to excercise. We are required to keep a certain level of physical fitness. They have us do regular monthly physical endurance evaluations." Peter said.

Peter showed him around the various excercise machines, introduced him to a couple of recruits and friends and then quickly left. They had walked through another corridor for a few minutes. Peter looked excited as they reachead a giant door and opened it.

3.2.1. The holodeck

"This, James is a huge state of the art holodeck. It's possible to simulate every place on Earth here as well as every other planet this Secret project has been to and has mapped," Peter spoke with a passionate voice, "however we are only limited to planets our security clearance allows us to simulate.

"Sounds fantastic. Can we try it out?" James asked with great enthusiasm.

"Sure. But since you're a mere recruit I can only show you Earth. Name the place you want to see!" Peter instucted him.

"How about Hawaii?" James suggested.

"Computer, initiate a simulation of a random beach in Hawaii!"

Suddenly a landscape of a beach in Hawaii began to emerge. But it didn't feel real yet. Phase 1 had introduced the visual part of the simulation.

In Phase 2 the molecules began to change their physical structure in order to simulate the feeling of standing on a sandy beach, the smell of sea salt in the air, the sound of ocean waves and a light breeze. It began to add a real life feeling to the simulated reality.

And it was shockingly real as James had come to realize. The pleasant surroundings put James at ease for the first time since his life changed upside down.

"Come sit down on the sand and relax for a while." Peter invited James.

They sat down and chilled for another half an hour before they excited the holodeck and left for the mess hall to get some lunch. It was 13.00h. James had begun to think what was to come next as he mentally prepared to meet the Supervisor.

...to be continued.

To read previous chapters follow links below:
Chapter 1Chapter 2

Image source: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4