Chapter 2 #2
I managed to go through several inquiries from potential students, making notes in the margins. Then the plane banked, and I looked up as Floyd returned to his seat.
“This is my stop,” he stated. “You’ll be the next stop. I’ve arranged for somebody to meet you and take you to the base. It should take a few hours to get all your credentials into the system, and I’ll be in on a later flight. Then I’ll introduce you to your team this afternoon.”
“Got it.”
He disappeared, and a moment later the noise inside the plane ramped up as additional pallets were loaded. Forklifts beeped and soldiers shouted to each other; bangs as loads were set in place.
It made me glad that I’d been running late and everything had been loaded when I arrived.
The crews worked quickly, and we were on our way again within half an hour.
I managed to get through the rest of the student inquiries before we landed and had a couple of promising prospects to contact.
The din started again as soon as the door opened, and I made sure all my stuff was secure so that I could exit as quickly as possible.
“Doctor Wallace?”
I turned to see a uniformed soldier standing at attention. “That’s me.”
“I’ve been ordered to escort you to the base.”
I nodded and watched as he grabbed my suitcase and the Faraday bag with my electronics. Then I slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed him out to an SUV.
A minute of maneuvering around forklifts and box trucks, then we were on a freshly-paved road leading away from the airfield. Tall trees lined either side.
Combined with the greenery and the humidity, I guessed that we were somewhere in the southeastern US, but there was no way I could pinpoint it better than that.
“How long until we get there?” I asked.
“Only a few minutes,” the soldier replied.
As promised, we took a turn only a couple minutes later and stopped at a run-down-looking guard shack.
The soldier held out his ID to the guard, then motioned to me. “You should have paperwork?”
I blinked, then scrambled to find the folder of paperwork I’d shoved in my backpack. I pulled it free and breathed a sigh of relief when the document giving me access to the base was on top.
The guard studied the paper, nodded, handed it back, and waved us through.
Trees continued to line the road as the soldier drove, then, as if coming out of a tunnel, they opened up to reveal a base teeming with activity.
Crews surrounded every building within sight, clearly updating and renovating older structures.
Other plots had been cleared, and foundations for new buildings were taking shape.
“Welcome to Fort Marcel,” the soldier said.
“For Marcel?” I asked.
He chuckled. “That’s the informal name, for now. They’re pushing for the official name change with the reinstatement, but Congress can take a while.”
I thought about the name for a minute. “Who’s Marcel?”
“Oh…” he thought for several seconds. “Air Force Major Jesse Marcel was the first military officer to investigate the Roswell incident.”
“So this is an Air Force Base?”
He shook his head. “No, the Army is in charge, but given the nature… and that eventually we expect all branches here…”
He trailed off, and in the mirror I could see the expression of a man wondering if he’d said too much.
I smiled. “You’re safe. I don’t know all the details, but I know enough.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m used to escorting higher-ups, so I wasn't sure.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
He laughed. “That’s the truth.”
We rounded a three-floor red brick building, then he stopped at the entrance. He grabbed my bags and opened the door.
“The pass office is this way,” he stated as he started toward the building.
I followed him inside and shivered as I acclimated to the air conditioning.
It was unnervingly quiet, only our footsteps bouncing off the steel-gray walls.
He turned into the first door and set my bags in front of another soldier.
“Colonel Smith should arrive by the time you’re set,” the soldier said. “I’ll leave you here, and they can assist with any questions.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
“You’re welcome, Sir,” he stated, then strode back out.
I was glad that I’d kept out the paperwork Floyd had given me, as a soldier was already eyeing my bags suspiciously.
I walked over to where another soldier had stood behind his desk and held out the folder. “Colonel Smith said that this is my paperwork.”
“Thank you, Sir,” he replied, then motioned to a chair. “Have a seat.”
I sat, then turned to the one who’d been staring at my bags. “If you’re here to inspect my things, go ahead. I expect it’ll happen sooner or later anyway.”
He glanced over at the man with my paperwork.
An exasperated sigh came from behind me. “Go ahead.”
He nodded and reached for my suitcase.
I turned back to face the man with my paperwork.
“It’s not as if this is holding him up,” he muttered.
“Not a lot of people coming in?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
One of my eyebrows went up, but I decided not to push.
Silence mostly fell inside the office, the man in front of me typing as he cross-referenced my paperwork with files on his computer, and the occasional rustle as the man going through my bags moved clothing aside.
The man with my stuff finished first. “Ok if I take him down to tech to unlock his devices for them?”
The one at the desk waved his hand. “Go ahead.”
I stood, turned, and saw him pick up the Faraday bag.
“This way,” he declared.
I followed him out into the hallway. Our footsteps echoed off the austere walls as we passed closed doors and empty offices.
“Is it always so quiet?” I asked. “Where is everybody?”
He chuckled. “Quietest post I’ve ever worked. I’ve been told there will be more people, but they haven’t told us when.”
He turned into a room where several soldiers sat at computers.
“I need a personal electronics check,” he said.
One of the soldiers stood, walked over, and explained their process. I needed to give them access to my devices so they could run a full security check and ensure all location services were disabled. Then he explained that my devices would be secured and could only be used in a designated location.
It was annoying, but not completely unexpected. I provided my passwords, then followed the first soldier back to the pass office.
My paperwork had apparently checked out as things progressed quickly.
Form after form was given to me to sign: non-disclosure agreements, the agreement about my trial term and extending my time, compensation—including a card I could use at the commissary, vending, and other areas on base that needed money— and so many more I lost track.
I was photographed and given an ID card.
Then another soldier was called to escort me to the visitor quarters.
I was asked to remain there until Floyd arrived, then I was left alone.
The quiet was disconcerting. I’d never been on a military base, but the movies always portrayed them as places of constant activity. However, I’d only seen a relative handful of soldiers.
The pallets filling the plane started to make more sense.
I unpacked—a task that took only a few minutes to complete—then decided to see what was around.
My room was small, but functional. There was the bed, a small seating slash entertainment area, a kitchenette, and a private bathroom.
The color palette was warmer than other areas I’d seen, relying on reds and browns to give it a homey feel.
The artwork on the walls was generic, but it was clear they’d meant the place to be welcoming to those not in the service.
The rest of the building was equally decorated to feel inviting.
There was a small gym in a brightly-lit room painted with white and sky blue paint, as well as a small common area decorated in lighter earth-tones.
I found the laundry room tucked in a corner, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted a vending machine with my favorite soda.
I was about halfway back to my room when I spotted Floyd walking down the hall.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” he said.
I glanced at my watch and saw that it was early afternoon, then I realized I had no idea what time it actually was. How many time zones had I changed?
“No problem,” I replied, then. “But… what time is it?”
He blinked, then smiled. “Half past two.”
My face heated slightly. “Thanks. I didn’t think about it earlier.”
“Not a problem,” he laughed as I fell in beside him. “Time moves differently here anyway.”
“Huh? How so?”
“Not actually different,” he clarified. “Just that isolation changes your perception of time.”
“I see.” I paused. “So where are we headed?”
“The medical complex.”
“Medical?”
“It’s where we’ve got your team until we can get a new building constructed. We’ve been in discussion with our… guests… about their needs. So it’s on hold while we finalize plans. Luckily, there is no lack of work to be done.”
“Really? It seems quiet.”
“That’s here. This section of the base will be our intake once things get moving. But deeper in, we’ve got crews working around the clock renovating and building. Eventually, this will be home to thousands of people.”
“Thousands?”
“Yes, unless something goes wrong.”
We exited and continued walking toward another red brick building in the complex.
Floyd pointed as we walked. “You might have some construction noise soon. We’ll be building additional dormitories over there, and barracks closer to the admin building.”
“Barracks?”
He stopped walking. “We… I…” he paused, then sighed. “I think it’ll make more sense once you meet everybody and learn what we’re doing here.”
“Ummm… ok,” I replied as he started walking again.
The medical building wasn’t as quiet as the administration building, but it was far from bustling. The inside was less austere, though, with brighter lighting and white walls.
We wound past patient and various exam rooms until we reached a section that seemed out of the way.
“This is where you will be working,” he said as we paused outside a door. “Major Ben Klein is the officer in charge. The lab is the best we could do in this old building. The front part is the computer area, and the wet lab is separated by a glass partition.”
“The equipment is good though, right?”
He chuckled. “We had to buy ‘off-the-rack’ so nothing is as fancy as if we’d had the time to requisition something unique, but I think you’ll find it adequate.”
He poked his head into the room. “Major Klein? A moment, please?”
A fit man wearing a lab coat over his camo uniform stepped out. “Yes, sir?”
“This is Doctor Eugene Wallace,” Floyd stated. “He’s the civilian geneticist we’ve brought in.”
Major Klein turned and smiled. His blond hair was cut short to Army standards, but his smile and blue eyes expressed excitement. “Doctor Wallace! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
I smiled and accepted his hand as he held it out. “Thank you. Nice to meet you, too.”
He gave me a nervous chuckle. “Sorry. I may have been overly excited. I read your paper about the impact of wartime conditions on human reproductive genetics and found it fascinating.”
I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck.
“Thanks, though part of me thinks I might have weighted external factors like chemicals and lack of necessities a bit too high and discounted emotional trauma. We know mental strain can have a bigger impact than we expect. But it’s easier to correlate genetic changes to external conditions rather than feelings. ”
“Either way, you’re sure to find others here who have read your research and are interested in it.”
I shrugged. “Makes sense. Especially for that particular study.”
Major Klein laughed. “It does hold particular interest for us.”
Floyd cleared his throat. “Gentlemen?”
“Oh, sorry, Sir,” Major Klein said. “I got carried away.”
Floyd huffed. “Well then, it seems the two of you will have no issues working together.”
I chuckled. “I think we’ll be ok.”
“I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team then.” He pushed open the door and held it for me.
The lab was on the smaller side, but as he described.
Long, low tables made two rows in the middle of the room, computer workstations running into each other.
Gray counters lined the walls, filled with printers and assorted other items. On the far end, a glass partition separated the space from a wet lab filled with gleaming new equipment and glassware.
“Gentlemen,” Floyd’s voice boomed as he stepped in behind me. “Allow me to introduce Doctor Eugene Wallace.”
Several men turned, stood from their workstations, and started to approach.
“Doctor Wallace,” came a smooth and lilting voice to my left. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
I turned to shake the man’s hand, and froze.
“I am Eashai,” said a man who was most definitely pale blue.