Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)(60)

—You have been here for nearly two weeks if I am not mistaken. What have you been doing with your time if you do not spend it here?

—I’m learning to surf! Well, I’m trying to learn to surf. I’m horrible at it, but it’s so…much…fun! I know I can’t, but I keep thinking it might be a lot easier with my knees flipped. You should come! I’m easy to spot, I’m the glowing white guy with really bad sunburns.

—I…Is it really necessary for me to state that I do not surf? Can we talk about work?

—Sure!

—What do you think of the new base?

—I’m sure you know a lot more about this place than I do. Like I said, I’ve only been here twice. I thought our room in Denver was impressive, but this thing is completely insane. Do you know we’re almost a mile deep underground?

The door behind us leads to a large room roughly the size of the one we trained in, back in Denver. There are also half a dozen laboratories on this floor, and a huge bay—I mean gigantic—that leads into the Atlantic. I’ve only been on this floor, though, I don’t know what else there is.

—There is only one floor. There is also a twenty-thousand-square-foot machine shop, medical facilities, crew quarters, and a power plant.

—Can I ask a stupid question?

—No. You cannot.

—Then, can I ask a really smart question?

—As you wish.

—How do we get the robot out of here? The only door I’ve seen that might be large enough leads straight into the ocean.

—Once assembled, the device cannot leave this facility on the ground. She must be disassembled and hoisted to the surface near the shore. There, we can load the pieces onto cargo ships. She does, however, fit into the sea-lock chamber, so, in theory, she could simply walk her way out of the ocean along the more moderate slopes of the coastline.

—You think she can work underwater? That’d be cool.

—We do not know. I certainly intend to find out. And, yes, it would.

—Who runs this place? Is this an American base?

—Not quite. These facilities belong to a consortium of four nations: Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as four corporations: two from Germany, one from the United States, and one from Japan.

—That seems like a completely random list of countries. Did you pick the names out of a hat?

—Russia had to be involved in some manner. The situation was simply too volatile after two of their officers were shot during one of our missions.

—We shot two Russian officers?

—We did not shoot anyone. Tuvan peasants did…It is a long story. Suffice it to say that any attempt by the United States to keep the robot would have had catastrophic consequences. I had to offer Moscow some assurances. Unfortunately, they do not have the financial resources necessary to fund a project of this magnitude. The Emirates did. Japan was an acceptable partner for both of them, and South Korea is the most obvious client for our product. Our private partners bring specific technologies to the table.

—Did you just say “our product”?

—Our goal is to provide close-range defensive capabilities for member nations.

—How about offensive capabilities?

—No. It is part of our charter. It can only be used to defend against an enemy strike or invasion, never as an offensive weapon, and never against another consortium member.

—I’m sorry, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. You can do that? Just grab the robot and say you own it?

—It is open to interpretation. Ownership could perhaps be contested. We do, however, own over seven thousand patents on the technology. It would be legally perilous for anyone else to use it.

—What do the private companies get out of it?

—The cost of membership is…significant. As more nations join our group, those who provided seed funding could enjoy a considerable return on their investment.

—So we went from the greatest discovery in history, for the betterment of all mankind, blah blah blah, to a weapon for profit? Is that it?

—I will concede that this situation is far from what I had envisioned, but it is one that allows us to continue our research and avoid a global conflict.

—What’s it called?

—What is what called?

—The consortium. Oh, that’d be a good name, just that: “The Consortium…”

—It does not have a name at this point. It is a numbered International Business Company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

—How romantic. You didn’t want to call it the Themis Consortium? It’s got a good ring to it.

—I have not shared information pertaining to her history or identity with anyone else at this time.

—Why?

—I have my reasons. However, I do admit that a numbered company is less than ideal from a motivational point of view. Perhaps you can suggest a good name for our group. I would like our personnel to feel a certain sense of belonging. Given the security restrictions and personal life limitations that come with working in our facility, strengthening morale will be of the essence.

—Well, if you don’t want to use Themis…She’s a daughter of Gaia and Uranus. You’re not dealing with teenagers, but I would still avoid having Uranus in the name. Gaia’s not bad. The Gaia Consortium.