Steve Alten - Vostok

“Agrarian societies replace hunter-gatherers with farmers, stone tools with metallurgy, chaos with the rule of law. Chiefdoms and kingdoms are absorbed into geopolitical systems. Geographical territories are defined and redefined, with empires rising and falling as the world seeks equilibrium. Market-driven economies empower democracies over autocracies, with the availability of energy determining population levels, wealth, and military might .

“It is at this stage that every intelligent species either succeeds or succumbs to its own weaknesses. Technology is the great equalizer. As it evolves, global communication and information challenge the elite, the majority demanding freedom and an equitable share of a better life. The institutions in power either raise the standard of living among the masses or seek violent means to preserve the status quo. What’s at stake is the future of the species .

“Equality is the key to survival, Zachary. It leads to free-market globalism and new energy systems that eventually unite the entire planet. Energy, both physical and spiritual, is what ultimately transforms a Type-0 civilization like yours into a Type-1 civilization. It is at this point that the dangers of splitting the atom are replaced by the threat of extinction. Cataclysms like asteroid strikes, caldera eruptions, lethal viruses, and ice ages induced by climate change will either unite a species or destroy it.”

“Assuming we survive these challenges, what then?”

“Unity is what defines a Type-1 civilization. Societies thrive using clean, renewable energy. Type-2 civilizations are those which terraform other worlds within their solar system. Type-3 civilizations — the highest level attainable for third-dimension physical beings — have mastered zero-point energy and faster-than-light travel, uniting them with the community of intelligent beings in their galaxy .

“What prevents a Type-0 civilization like yours from evolving and ultimately surviving is the resistance by institutions to turning their power over to the people. When economic tribalism dominates the political system, civilization reverts to a system of fiefdoms. Contempt divides the masses, and conflicts result in war and a deeper divide. When the first potential extinction event arises, the stagnating Type-0 civilization will always perish.”

“And what is my role in this equation?”

She slid me around, slipping her tongue in my mouth. “Colonel Vacendak and his MJ-12 brethren are convinced the space-time portal you accessed in Vostok will give them access to zero-point energy, a technology reserved for Type-3 civilizations. You must pretend to assist the Colonel—”

“Susan, I’m not going back in that subglacial icebox. No way.”

“You have to. The future of your species is at stake. It’s the reason the Grays are here, the reason the trans-dimensional being sought you out.” She gripped my face, staring hard into my eyes. “Unless you act, your people and every air-breathing being on your planet will perish.”

Over the next twelve hours, I managed two meals, dedicated a few hour-sessions in the weight room working my atrophied muscles into shape, and spent a restless night curled in bed next to Susan.

Who was she? What was she? Frankly, I didn’t care if she called herself a Nordic. It wasn’t like she had two heads. What bothered me more was that our relationship had been strategic, not emotional. She had baited me into loving her to satisfy her species’ agenda, and that meant I couldn’t trust her.

They came for us at six in the morning.

Two armed security men escorted us up to the third floor to a chamber the size of a middle school gym. Members of the team that were being flown out to Antarctica waited in line to receive shots and collect their Extreme Weather Gear, most of the crewmen already dressed in nylon Bio Suits.

Dr. Stewart pulled us out of line and led us into a private room. We were handed dressing gowns and asked to strip down for our pre-flight exams. The “booster shot” into my right buttock administered the requisite biochip and tracer into my bloodstream.

We dressed in nylon navy-blue Bio Suits and boots, selected our breakfast from a buffet line, and ate. When we finished, our armed escorts took us down to Level 16.

Susan reached for my hand as we stepped off the elevator. There’s a Gray on this floor. You’ll feel it reading your mind. Don’t think about last night; focus on a distant memory .

We entered a small room with porous steel walls that exuded an electromagnetic current that caused my hair to dance away from my scalp. Two chairs sporting wrist and ankle couplings were bolted to the white tile floor, facing dark glass that spanned most of the front wall.

Colonel Vacendak directed me to occupy the chair on the left, Susan the one on the right. I sat upright, wincing as my limbs were secured in place.

“My apologies, but this pre-flight pep talk could get emotional. Captain, are you carrying a firearm?”

The senior security guard nodded.

“I’m going to ask Dr. Wallace five questions. At the first wrong answer or his refusal to respond, you will shoot Ms. McWhite in the head.”

The guard methodically removed his gun from its holster, coldly chambered a round, and then pressed the barrel to Susan’s left temple.

I felt a wave of hot blood rushing to my face. “What’s your problem, arse? Weren’t you hugged as a child?”

“Question one: Dr. Wallace, is Susan McWhite able to communicate telepathically with you?”

I glanced at Susan, who was staring intently at the dark glass. “Yes.”

A green light flashed on from behind the glass for just a blink.

Colonel Vacendak nodded. “So far, so good. Question two: Is Susan McWhite a Nordic?”

I felt myself shaking. “How the fuck would I know a Nordic from a human?”

A long moment passed before the green light flashed again.

“Your answer is deceptive, but accepted. Question three: Can I trust Susan McWhite once our team has gained access to the interdimensional portal?”

I stared at our reflections, registering a strange sensation inside my head that felt like icy fingers probing the crevices of my brain. I hesitated, knowing a truthful answer would condemn Susan as much as a lie.

And then another thought occurred to me, one that altered my interpretation of the question. Maybe the bitch is setting me up again .

I looked at Susan. “Yes, you can trust her.”

The light flashed green.

Susan exhaled.

Colonel Vacendak’s eyebrows raised. “Question four: Can I trust you once we’re in Lake Vostok?”

I turned to face him. “No.”

I didn’t bother looking for the light.

“So far, you’ve been truthful, confirming things I already knew. And, by telling me that I can trust Susan, you’ve told me that you don’t trust Susan. By now, you must have considered her role in the theft of the Vostok units from your warehouse safe?”

I closed my eyes. “I trusted you, Susan. I loved you! How could you set me up like that?”

“I’m sorry, Zach. But there are things in play that you can’t see. If it means anything, I do care about you.”

“Stay out of my head!”

The Colonel was watching us, smiling. “A lover’s telepathic quarrel? If only we humans could handle them the same way. One day, perhaps, assuming we can survive what lies ahead. And that, after all, is the point of this mission, is it not? To see what catastrophe lies in wait for us, the very survival of an entire species hanging in the balance.