Jessica rubbed her temples. Her research wasn’t getting anywhere.
“Hey,” said Sam. He rubbed her shoulders. “Late night, huh?”
“I can’t find anything on Hector’s sister. It’s like she doesn’t exist.”
“You will, babe.”
“Just wish I had a DNA sample.”
The door behind them opened. Sam’s hands quickly abandoned her shoulders as he stepped off to the side. Greg Sims, one of the station operatives and research specialists, entered. He paused, awkwardly.
“I, ah, sent you the info you asked for. Didn’t get much. It started to self erase when we tried to decrypt it.”
Jessica offered her thanks. When Greg left Sam gave her a guilty look, which made her smile. She playfully punched him in the shoulder before checking the message from Greg on her datapad:
“Exodus Project…data extracted…measures in place for full…”
“Exodus Project?” Jessica whispered. She performed a quick search. Only one finding appeared, and it was misspelled, Excodus Project. Jessica frowned. “This video is twenty-eight years old.”
She adjusted the monitor for Sam. An International News Network clip began to play:
A middle-aged journalist in a sharp suit smirked at the viewers. He leaned over the news desk as a headline ran across the top of the screen: Salvation…or Pork Barrel Spending?
“Welcome back, folks,” he said. “Here on the Seamus O’Reilly Show we like to be relevant and timely. That’s why today we’re talking about building a spaceship. No, don’t turn the channel, I’m serious, and not just another barge or shuttle to take us back and forth from the moon. I’m talking about a spaceship that we can use to colonize another planet. And guess what…we’re going to use your taxes to do it. What do you think, Oliver? Think this is a good idea?”
Oliver, a young man with a short beard, sat beside Seamus. “Look, this is yet another ludicrous move by our genius government.”
“They’re just rumors, though, right? I mean, we’re not really doing this, are we?”
“Some Union leaders seem to think so!” said Oliver. “Instead of talking about the water shortages in Eastern Europe or the impending ice age or the possibility of the Ryker virus spreading across North America, we’re talking about building a portable planet.”
“So, we’re going to abandon Earth instead of fixing Earth’s problems? Who is this guy, this Dr. Jacob Widmer? Is he even a real doctor?”
Oliver chuckles. “I don’t know, but he’s the one who’s behind all this. Here’s a quote from him: ‘Our world can only house so many people. We need to colonize another planet. The Exodus Project will take us there. It’s that simple.’”
“He said that?”
“He did. He even released a 3D model.”
“Let’s show that to the people.”
A 3D wireframe model without much detail appeared on the screen and began to rotate. One thing was obvious—it was gigantic.
“This is it? This is gonna take us to Pluto or wherever?” said Seamus. “How much would this thing cost?”
“Well, we weren’t able to find much, and Dr. Widmer refused our interview, so I’m not sure, but it looks like it’s easily in the trillions.”
“Trillions? Did you just say trillions?” Seamus’s eyebrows rose. “And who’s paying for this? Taxpayers? Now, Oliver, you’re a real doctor, right?”
“I am, yes,” Oliver smiles.
“What do you think about this idea? Do we need to colonize another planet?”
“Not at all. There are too many other good ideas out there.”
“Like what?”
“Regenerative recycling, population control…” Oliver said. “We can improve in a lot of areas before we abandon our homeworld.”
The camera focused in on Seamus’s face. “You’re too rational, Dr. Ramirez. Way too rational. You’ll never get elected to office. When are they going to start building this thing?”
“Nobody knows. It’s flying pretty low under the radar. Someone doesn’t want us knowing about it. But, estimates are that it would take as long as thirty years to complete this thing.”
Seamus shook his head. “Thirty years? My grandkids will be paying taxes on this thing!”
The clip ended. A black screen stared back at Jessica and Sam. Jessica stood. “The colonel needs to see this.”
I’m all caught up now, and I’m loving it!