SWNOVELS Chapter The Sighting
The Sighting
Block 7,914,420
Today Han would test and validate the node in Mehran, Iran. It was node #16. He was 48 days into his mission. He was looking forward to getting back home soon. He decided to save work on the puzzle when he got back home. He’d have more freedom, time, and energy to devote to it. He just wanted to stay focused and get the job done with node validation.
The installation crew made better time that he has; all nodes have been updated and appear to be functioning well. There had been no issues with backward compatibility during node installation, which was a good sign for the completion of node validation. The one variable he was still anxious about was the consensus protocol, but he was sure it wouldn’t be a problem. He was going to have to wait and see.
Of all the node sites, this was his least favorite. The Mehran node was on the western frontier of southern SO-Land. On any given day, the thick acrid smoke and radiation fall out could shift and find its way here. The radiation levels by this time had reduced significantly from the Event, but Han still didn’t like the idea of getting more than his fair share. For some reason, it never bothered the few communities out here. The SO-Land Circles out in these parts were usually at 45 and below. It was the same in the northern SO-Lands as well, typically remote and less desirable places had the lowest Circle scores.
When Han Tech started constructing and deploying the nodes nearly thirty years ago, Han wanted to make sure this node and the others near radiation fields were shielded. So, in addition to the standard node center design, the nodes were encased in an extra 3 feet of concrete with a triple lead lining.
Most of these reinforced node structures were on the western frontier of SO-Land.
Because of the less-than-desirable conditions here on the frontier, Han stayed in a hotel in Khorramabad and flew into the node center.
The only redeeming part of being in Iran for Han was that he liked the different teas he had access to. For his usual breakfast preparation, he reviewed technical notes. By this time in the mission, though, he had memorized the testing protocol. But he decided to have chai this morning instead of black tea. It was a nice treat for him.
He left the hotel a little earlier than usual to cover the flight time to Mehran.
He could see the shamal across the western frontier on the descent into Mehran. Today was going to be one of those days when the smoke and likely radiation would be a little heavier than usual. However, he’d only be exposed briefly, stepping from the AAPD to the node center. So he wasn’t overly concerned.
The AAPD lands on the south side of the node center. It’s about a ten-meter walk from the AAPD to the node center door. However, due to the change in the wind, the AAPD hatch will open and close before the node center door opens, and the node door will open just as Han approaches.
The AAPD hatch opens, and Han can feel the wind swirling around him. As he begins walking to the node center, he surveys the distant western frontier over his left side and stops in his tracks.
“What is that?”
He puts his satchel down and reaches inside to grab his glasses to enhance his vision. But they don’t help. Instead, the glasses seem to create more of a blur effect than anything else.
“That’s strange?” Han thinks to himself, “Maybe it’s the radiation.”
He takes the glasses off and puts them in his upper right pocket. He keeps looking and sees something, so he squints and cups his hands around his eyes like binoculars. The wind is shifting the smoke around, but he sees a domed structure with what appears to be a crescent moon on top. It comes in and out of view because of the swirling smoke and sand, but he seems pretty sure.
“What is that?” He thinks as he picks up the satchel and walks to the node door. While intrigued, he wanted to spend only a little bit of time out in the environment here in Mehran. So he walks to the node door. It opens, and keeping with his new protocol, he steps to the right and sits at the desk to begin testing the node.
He can’t get it done soon enough. He wants to get home to shower and decontaminate. No matter the risk, he just gets freaked out here in Mehran. It’s probably the barren terrain and the winds that bother him the most. The other locations near radiation fields, mainly up in the Northern SO-Lands, aren’t barren and don’t have these unpredictable shifting winds.
He finishes his work and exits the node center. He’d almost forgotten about the early morning sighting. As he walks towards the AAPD, he looks to his right and sees absolutely nothing but blowing sand and gray and black smoke - what he’s seen every other time he’s been here.
“Damn!” He thinks to himself.
He enters the AAPD and makes his way back to Khorramabad. As he opens the hotel door, a plastic bag is flattened out in the room’s foyer. He steps inside the bag and places the satchel down to the left. He reaches for some decontamination wipes, entirely wipes down the satchel’s outer surface, wipes his glasses off, and places them on the small half table at the entrance. He removes his shoes while staying inside the plastic bag, takes his socks, underwear, pants, and shirt off, and drops them in the bag. He then steps out of the bag and pulls the drawstring to cinch the bag. Standing naked in the foyer, he opens the door to the hotel room and places the bag in the hallway.
“AI, pick up the bag and burn!”
“Very well.”
He closes the door and promptly walks to the bathroom. The shower is already on. He steps inside and washes his body. For good measure, he lathers up three times. He knows none of this is essential; he doesn’t like to take any chances. He knows his AAPD will be thoroughly decontaminated before he leaves tomorrow.
He dries off and puts on his bathrobe. His thoughts go back to what he saw in the desert. He wants to draw what he saw but thinks, “Damn, left that piece of luggage in the AAPD!”
“AI, retrieve bag number three for me from the AAPD!”
“Very well.”
A few moments later, AI announces that the bag is at the door.
Han walks to the door with his bathrobe flowing like a cape around his naked body. He opens the door and bends down to get the bag. He takes it into the room and opens it up to retrieve his notebook and pencil. Bending slightly over the bed, he opens it to the next blank page and lays it down on the bedspread. On the left side, he sees his last inscription: Estados libres de América El Salvador. On the right page, he sketches what he recalls. A domed structure with a straight shaft tilting about fifteen degrees off the vertical: there were two or three ball structures along the post, and then jutting from the top, there was what appeared to be a crescent moon or circle. Given the distance, sand, and smoke, he wasn’t quite sure, so he sketched two versions.
He then writes, distance??? 600 meters???
“That’s interesting; I’ve never seen any architecture like that. Symbols or ornaments are never used in SO-Land architecture. I wonder what cultures before SO-Lands were like?” He thinks.
He closes the notebook and places it back into the bag.
“Now I have two puzzles. I can’t imagine they are related. They come from two different regions from SO-Land, well, outside of SO-Land but on opposite sides of the world.”
“Twelve more days, and I get to see Lǎopó and the kids.”