This week...and Chapter 2

The Drone Keeper

Oct 22, 2021

I'm impatiently awaiting edits for The Long Goodbye from Dr. Vonda and I am on a trip today! Hope everyone but Australia is enjoying the cooler weather. Australia, hope you're enjoying the warmer weather. And...just Australia...I have good news coming for you soon.

Here are the updates:

The Long Goodbye - Graham's Resolution, Book 7
Progress Report - The Drone Keeper - Chapter 2
Progress Report - In the Meantime
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Chapter 2

The bright white lights looked like the overhead beams he’d once seen at a baseball game when he was a kid. Even approaching the field from the road felt as if he was walking into a stadium and found himself anticipating a whiff of beer and sausages soon. Instead, he saw a short man in cadet blue overalls and a white hard hat standing in the middle of several raised beds, some crop lush and green growing all around him. And oddly, there was something like bird netting enclosing the crops, but Steven wasn’t sure if the mesh was to keep something out or something in. He might ask that question if he ever got the audience he was trying for, for days. Instead, he’d decided to take an evening stroll and meet them for himself.

“Hello,” Steve yelled, but the man did not turn around. Then finally, Steve realized he was moving oddly. The guy began swaying his blocky hips one way and then the other in an odd gyration. Finally, his right arm raised above his head, and he twirled it around in the open air keeping an awkward rhythm with his lower half.

“What…sir, can you hear me?” Steve said a little louder with his hands cupping his mouth.

The movement ceased abruptly, and then the little man turned around, pulling something from his right ear with his right hand, and with his left hand, he held a meter.

“Oh, I guess you didn’t hear me. I’m…Steve from the observatory…down the road…I thought we could meet since we’re neighbors?”

But the man stood there, his mouth a straight line, not unlike those Lego men his nephew once played with when he was young. Blocky and poignantly unemotional.

Steve was pointing behind him…indicating the position he’d come from, but then, the mood had yet to change, and he wasn’t sure if he should just walk away or…maybe try again?

Deciding instead to split hairs, he said, “Well, I see you’re working. Perhaps I should come back another time?” he turned, his hands buried deep in his jacket pockets.

Then he heard, “Kevin, my name’s Robert Kevin.”

Steve turned around again, his eyebrows raised because he could swear the voice he just heard did not come from the stocky man in the blue overalls and white hard hat before him. Instead, he was convinced someone else had said those words. A man with the voice box of a giant. So he looked around, staring but trying not to be too obvious about it.

“Do you want to come in?” Robert Kevin said.

“I…sure. I can’t stay long….”

“The net opens up over there,” Kevin said.

Steve nodded and pulled the black netting back at a Velcroed edge and slipped inside. Then, without warning, something gassy that smelled suspiciously like raspberries but wasn’t raspberries at all sprayed his shoes and lower legs.

“It’s decontaminate. It triggers every time someone enters. To keep any viruses or molds away.”

“Ah,” Steve managed and confirmed that indeed, the voice was coming from Kevin’s mouth, though it was still challenging to get used to and more so, he wasn’t sure why it bothered him.

“You’re the new guy down the road at the old observatory. We were wondering when they’d utilize that space. So much wasted there.”

With his hands remaining in his pockets, Steve followed Kevin when he waved him through the beds of growing things. “Yes, we’ve finally settled in. And you…how uh, long have you been here?”

“Oh, only a few years now. So you’re the Drone Keeper,” Kevin said and lifted one corner of his mouth when he said it.

With a chuckle, Steve said, “Yes…that’s my job. They keep me busy.”

With a little more animation than before, Kevin said, “I can see why. But, tell me, are they going to fix up the old place? I got to take a tour of the facility about six months ago, and it’s in pretty bad shape. The tiles were falling in…ruble everywhere.”

Steve nodded. He knew Kevin’s concern precisely. “Yes, actually, it’s mostly restored. We’re still awaiting approval for some repairs. The missing shield glass, however, works in our favor. Living quarters are sufficient. The rest is delivered as I’m sure it is the same for you these days?

“Of course…everything’s delivered by the company.”

“Tell me, I’m curious, what is the netting for?”

Kevin looked beyond him and then back and said, “Birds. We can’t have them carting off secret crops.”

Steve tilted his head one way as if he didn’t understand the joke.

Kevin suddenly laughed then, “Come on, follow me. I’ve got a few coveted beverages in the back. Shh…don’t tell anyone.”

They left the outside enclosure and headed into what looked like a lab. The lights flicked on before them and off as they walked farther along. They went through and down another hallway where Steve saw the glow of what looked like the ambient blue light of a computer screen. Still, when they rounded the corner, he saw that it was actually a tank of water embedded into the side of the wall. The blue light cast waves against the far wall.

“What is this? It’s beautiful.”

“Aquatic experiments. Of course, I’m under NDA’s as you likely are and can’t share all the exciting research,” he said with raised amber eyebrows.

It was true for Steve as well. So much going on and nary a soul to tell.

Steve only nodded.

Kevin put something cold in his hand that stung, and Steve said, “Seriously? Beer? Where’d did they get the hops?”

Kevin tilted his head to one side and shrugged his shoulder, “It’s simulated, but it still tastes great. I have QD rations, so I’ve been saving them up for occasions like this.”

Steve marveled at the cold steam pouring out the top of the bottle. “Smells like beer.”

“Well, let’s toast to neighbors. May we get along in this lonely world without fencing.” They tapped the metal bottoms together and took a swig.

Ignoring the double entendre, Steve focused on the cold faux beer. Too hard to enjoy the first sip, but Steve smiled anyway like it was perfect. He leaned against the counter as the metal stung the inside of his hand. “Is this the dining facility or a lab?” Steve said, looking around.

“It’s ah, both,” Kevin said and began closing screens on the wall in a rush.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t….”

Kevin made a noise, “Ahh…best to shut those down anyway. No need to startle the gods.”

“The gods…yeah, that’s one way of putting it,” and to change direction, Steve asked, “So you’ve been here for…?”

“Five years now.” He nodded.

“That’s a long time for deployment? Do you take vacations?”

Steve made a laugh shaking his head, and took another chug of beer. It was a joke. No one took vacations. “I was supposed to transfer out about six months ago, but my replacement needs a replacement.” He said with raised eyebrows. “So I’m here indefinitely. I don’t mind it, though. You know? Not too many people around. The company is good. You can’t beat that. It could be a lot worse. We could be there.”

Steve looked out the window at the place Kevin pointed. The simulated world. He nodded, his mouth a straight line.

He tried to keep his opinions to himself. And when it came to the new world, he was indifferent.

“I know we’re not supposed to talk about it,” Kevin said. “It’s okay.” He took another swig.

“No. I don’t have a problem talking about it. It’s controversial.” This time Steve took a sip of the frosty brew. It didn’t taste any better the second time.

“So since I brought it up. Are you…going?”

This conversation just went from inappropriate to dangerous. Steve looked around and put his beer on the counter that he wasn’t sure was either a kitchen or a lab, and it did make a difference.

“I really can’t say.”

“Hey, don’t worry. We can change the subject. Take your beer, come on. I can show you what I’m working on,” Kevin waved him through to another room, moving his beer in a circle as they went.

“Mostly what I do here, I can talk about. We’re regenerating lost plant species. Like the broad beans, you saw coming in. And these little guys are carrots.”

“But…don’t they need bee pollinators?”

“They do, but we’re able to simulate some of that action. But, honestly, it’s not going well, even with recent advances. It’s like, we’ve studied them all these years and reenacted the exact same pattern, and still, we get poor results. Half an acre takes off great, and yet the other half is a total crop failure. I don’t know what they’re thinking. You can’t build a world on half-ass results. But they factor in their loss percentage.”

Steve ignored that last part and took another swig of his beer, and this time he thought it tasted better than the last time.

“So, what are you working on that you can share? You gotta give a little too, mate.”

Steve nodded. “Well, I’m sure you can guess most of my job. I receive the orders and complete the tasks. That’s pretty much the bulk of it. Nothing too exciting.”

“A lot of package deliveries, huh?”

Steve laughed. His shoulders went up and down an odd number. A smile on his face. He knew how to fake it. “Something like that.”

They each took another swig but kept their eyes on one another.

“Any ah, new projects?”

“Ah…it’s more of a hobby, actually.”

“Yeah?”

“This area…there used to be an ocean here a long, long time ago, but not so long ago there were a lot of bats in this area too.”

“Those were the mammal bird-like creatures, right. Kind of creepy.”

“Yeah, something like that. They were cool, though. Mammals flying through the air.”

“Wasn’t it more like controlled falling? They didn’t actually fly.”

“They did. They actually flew. You’re thinking of flying squirrels,” he smiled. “I’ve studied bats because of the drones and used some techniques they used. For instance, bats used echolocation to determine distance, speed, and direction to hunt for prey. They ate their weight in insects and other pests every day.”

“But carried rabies,” Kevin pointed a finger.

Nodding. “Only about ten percent.”

“What happened to them? What wiped them out?”

“Same story, different species. They had sensitive colonies. One bat infected with a virus, and the whole colony died off. No one really knows. But I honestly think it’s just evolution. You know?”

“So, what does that have to do with your hobbies?”

“Oh, yeah. I get sidetracked. I think a few of them might still be around. I haven’t seen clear signs, but the habitat here indicates it’s possible. You haven’t seen any signs of life?”

He was laughing under his breath as he took another sip. “You’re kidding me, right? I can’t even find cactus in the cliffs. This place is dead, just like the rest of it.” He pointed again at the new world in the window. “It’s what they’re after, right? Only we don’t get a ticket.”

Steve knew the beer took down some inhabitations. He waved his hand and nodded briskly.

Kevin shook his head and waved him away. “They’re not…they’re not concerned about us. So…we can say whatever the hell we want to say,” his voice becoming louder with each word.

“Well, I think I should get going,” Steve said and began walking back to the kitchen.

“So wait, you should really be careful walking around here by yourself. I’m serious. It could get dangerous. There’s hardly any light anymore. And we don’t really know what’s out there. Don’t be a stranger. Come back again!” he’d yelled as Steve kept walking.

He’d waved goodbye but didn’t turn around. He’d only drank half the beer but felt the effects too much as he neared the crop room, bright lights, and the odd bird netting enclosure. Stopping for a second, he looked around and remembered the exact spot where the Velcro door was hidden. It was best not to ask questions. He still could not get out of his mind why there was bird netting surrounding the place. But as the gravel crunched under his shoes and he walked from the light into the dark, he realized…the net wasn’t for birds exactly…but perhaps something else with wings.

The Drone Keeper

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