Terranovus

The Army Base was surreal. Protected with a dozen twenty foot electrically charged fences, several hundred surveillance cameras and armed soldiers, the base was impenetrable.

“Yeah, it’s a bit over the top,” agreed Dad as he greeted me outside the visitor’s entrance. The base was located at the foot of the mountains behind Primus, half situated in the mountain and the other half overlooking the city on a small cliff. The building itself was completely made of cold hard steel. It echoed none of Primus’s high-end, sleek and modern designs.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” I asked as we approached the entrance.

“Definitely,” said Dad, “I checked with my boss first thing.”

I nodded and eyed the soldiers guarding the entrance. They looked at me wearily and eyed my school uniform. I remembered Dad said Hyun sometimes visited.

“School bag please,” one of the soldiers ordered. I passed it to them and they placed it on the x-ray scanner. On the screen behind them, I watched orange and blue outlines of my tablet, lunch box and gym clothes appear.

“Stand here please,” another soldier ordered. She pointed at a spot in front of the full body scanner. My dad and I moved forward and I watched Dad enter first. He stood under the head of the machine and kept his hands up in the air. An electronic arm whirled into action and I watched it reach out and circle around Dad.

“Paul McKinley F9364.3,” said the machine in a soft female voice I recognised to be Iris’s.

“Next,” said the soldier. I walked through and did the same. Though I had clothes on, I suddenly felt naked watching the electronic arm scan me.

“Tabitha McKinley J8479.4.”

“Clear,” the soldier said and motioned for me to move forward. On the other side, my Dad grabbed my school bag that had passed clearance and we walked away. I waited until we were out of earshot.

“Your colleagues seem lovely,” I said cheerfully. In the corner of my eye, I saw dad suppressing a smile.

“I’ll give you a brief tour first, then I’ll show you my office,” said Dad and we turned left down another corridor.

I felt my heart pumping with excitement. This was it. I was about to undercover secrets for the resistance.

Hang on there Tommy, I thought to myself.

The tour began in the science laboratories. There, my dad explained the world’s best scientists were working hard analysing samples of the island and discovering ways to perhaps trigger lava eruptions in other volcanoes lying dormant in the ocean. The thought of more Terranovuses excited me yet made me nervous at the same time. Would the Army use this for their elite as well or share it with the commoners? As we walked past a second lab, I peered through the window and watched botanists analyse soil samples and discuss vegetable growth rates. My thoughts turned to the real carrot Tommy tried once.

“New research shows organic vegetables is actually healthier than artificial food,” said Dad, “apparently for centuries the Government lied to us in the hope it would decrease the population.” I turned to my dad horrified.

Next, Dad showed me the IT division. It was a great large room filled with computers and systems that tracked and controlled everything in Terranovus. The trams, the streetlights, the electronic billboards and even Iris. I shivered at the thought an employee was able to watch me undress in my room, I pointed this out to dad.

“That’s against the rules,” he said, “only an executive order from Sergeant Majors or above can permit it.”

The next section of the base was my dad’s favourite - his division. He explained he was one of five Senior Engineers and they were responsible for overseeing the entire mechanical production of the Army’s equipment and products. He swiped his security pass against a card reader which flashed green and a frosted glass door slid open to reveal a massive underground warehouse. We stepped through and I stared amazed. Humans and machines moved around, tinkering with jet planes, 4x4s, drones, radars and even weapons.

“What’s with the missiles?” I asked surprised.

“They’re just for precaution,” explained Dad and he waved at one of his colleagues who made their way over to us. My dad introduced me and as they talked about a new piece of technology that had just flown in, I let my eyes wander over the warehouse. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, it looked nearly identical to my dad’s old work.

Soon after, Dad bid farewell to his colleague and took me to see his office. It was near the mechanical warehouse and was adjacent to the staff kitchen. Perfectly location to unlimited cookies, my dad joked.

“So what do you think?” asked Dad proudly as he opened his office door.

“It’s nice,” I forced myself to say, whilst taking in the steel desk crammed into the small concrete room.

“I know it’s not much, but at my old job I didn’t even have an office,” said Dad and he walked over to his chair and sat on it proudly. I nodded agreeing and sat on the edge of his desk.

“That’s true,” I said and stared at the only personal item he had in the room - a photograph of mum and I at the ball.

“How was school today?” asked Dad. I studied my fingernails and dug some dirt out from underneath them, all the while debating if I should tell him what had I uncovered at school today.

“It was okay,” I began, “I found out Ziller, the 2nd city of Terranovus, is hosting a competition for the design kids in my school to design a transportation hub.”

“That’s great! Did you tell all the other kids you came first in your Sector in graphic communications?”

“Dad,” I groaned and rolled my eyes.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. We turned and saw two Army officials in uniform looking serious, one glance at their ranks told me they were my dad’s bosses.

“Mr McKinley, can we please speak with you for a moment please?” the tallest asked, he glanced at me then added, “alone.”

Dad stood up and quickly straighten his shirt.

“Of course,” he said and turned to me, “Tilly dear would you mind stepping out for a moment? Perhaps to the staff kitchen? I’ll come fetch you after we’re finished.”

“Okay,” I said and walked around the men, dragging my school bag behind me. I watched them walk into Dad’s tiny office and shut the door behind them. I stood still for a moment and listened, only for my hopes to shatter - it was soundproof.

With a sigh, I turned around defeated and made my way to the staff kitchen. I was half tempted to disobey my dad and go exploring instead but I remembered the soldiers back at the entrance. I don’t think the “I got lost” story would work on them.

The staff kitchen room was brightly light and fitted with a fully equipped kitchen (including the cookie jar my dad had mentioned which I helped myself to) and many tables and chairs for employees to eat their lunch at. Fortunately, at nearly five o’clock the room was empty so I plopped myself down on a small table behind the door and pulled my tablet out of the bag and stared at it in dismay.

So far all I knew was artificial food was bad for you and scientists were researching ways to trigger dormant volcanoes, would that be enough to please the resistance? Just then I heard footsteps in the corridor outside and two men chatting.

“Fancy a cuppa?” one asked.

“Sure,” replied the other. Immediately I opened my English homework on my tablet and flipped to a random question. The two men walked in and I watched them in the corner of my eye make their way to the tea bag selection. One was really tall and wearing a suit and the other was wearing white overalls. They had their back to me and hadn’t realised I was there yet.

“How were the conditions out there? Any better?” the taller one asked.

“Nah mate, we’re behind schedule. The radiation treatment isn’t working and the clean up is taking longer than we thought.”

“Ah, bugger. That’s a shame.”

“It’s the soil you see. All nutrients are gone, beyond the point of recovery. We’ve got a fresh shipment coming in tomorrow.”

I remained still in the corner of the room with my head down and focused on my homework. It was a miracle they hadn’t realised I was in the room with them yet.

The men had now chosen their teabag of choice and were pulling mugs out of the kitchen cupboards.

“Yeah, anyway, how’s that new guy going? McKin-something?” asked the man wearing the white overalls.

“Not too bad. He seems alright. Old mate Joe says he was a respected worker back at the Sectors, let’s just hope he’s tough enough for what’s out there, eh?” the taller one sniggered. He turned around and froze as he saw me studying in the corner. He nudged his friend and pointed at me. I pretended not to notice and kept my gaze down and on my homework, all the while hoping the colour of my cheeks weren’t changing to a bright guilty red.

“Hey Tilly- oh, hey guys,” my Dad said as he walked into the room. I looked up and decided to act surprised to find other men in the room too.

“Oh, hey Dad,” I said. The men’s mouths dropped.

“You ready to go home?” Dad asked.

“Yeah,” I replied and I shoved my tablet back into my backpack and hoisted the bag onto my shoulder. I joined Dad and bid farewell to the mortified men with a cheery smile on my face.

“What are you smiling for?” asked Dad as we walked away.

“Nothing,” I replied casually but inside jumping in joy. Now I had something real to tell the resistance. Radioactive volcanoes? Surely that wasn’t a thing?

“Do you want more of a tour? I’m not sure what else you’re allowed to see though...” said Dad.

“No, I’m good,” I said happily, “what did your bosses want?”

“Oh, they were just checking in to see how I was doing, being only my second day and all,” he replied. I glanced at him curiously and saw he wasn’t looking at me in the eye.

“I didn’t get you in trouble being here, did I?” I asked. He shook his head.

“No, don’t be silly. Nothing to with that,” he said. We arrived at security where once again they scanned my bag, this time to make sure I hadn’t stolen anything, and the scanner confirmed our identities.

We quietly walked down the pathway to the Army Base tram stop and as we did so I gazed out at the sun setting above the ocean. Admittedly, Terranovus was extremely beautiful.

We passed through the last security gate and stepped to the side to allow a dirty 4x4 filled with men in white overalls to pass. I watched it drive to the base and through to the staff entrance.

“Where had that vehicle been?” I asked Dad. He glanced at it and remained silent, as though deep in thought. “Dad?” I asked again. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

“To the part of the island that hasn’t been revived yet,” he explained.

“Are you okay?” I asked concerned.

“Yeah,” he said, and his face split into a grin, “I just suddenly had a vision of your mother’s cooking waiting for us in all of its glory. She messaged me she was cooking stir-fry. Last one to the tram stop does the dishes!” My mouth dropped opened gobsmacked as he set off at a sprint. Despite my dad’s age, he was still pretty fit.

“Hey! That’s unfair!” I called out and chased after him.