At the DARPA facility near the banks of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC, Ty peered out the officeโs wide window at the open-concept team room, watching Bishop arguing with two of his colleagues, who were dressed in plain clothes.
โSomethingโs wrong,โ he said, drawing the attention of Richter and his mother, who came to stand beside him at the window.
As if sensing their eyes on him, Bishop turned, stared at them for a long second, then stalked toward his office.
He pushed the door open and exhaled, clearly annoyed. โOkay, settle a debate. Weโre ordering lunch.โ He held up two fingers. โIโm going to give you two choices to make it simple because Iโm sick of arguing about it. Chipotle or Panera?โ
โIโm fine with either,โ Helen said.
โSame,โ Ty muttered, a little surprised that this was the subject of the strenuous debate.
โRichter?โ Bishop asked, hand held out, palm up. โI too am neutral on this decision.โ
โSo if we get Panera,โ Bishop said, โeverybody is going to be happy?โ โWhat is Panera?โ Richter asked. โIs it like pizza?โ
โPanera Bread. You donโt have Panera in Zรผrich?โ โYou only eat bread for lunch?โ
Bishop closed his eyes. โNo, Gerhard, itโs like a cafรฉ. Theyโve got everything: soups, salads, paninis, cold sandwiches, bakery stuffโand thatโs the problem. Bill says itโs like hospital food. They have everything, but nothing is reallyย thatย good, especially if youโve had it a bunchโand we have lately. He keeps saying, โPanera is overpriced hospital food, change my mind.โโ
โWell,โ Helen said slowly, โas someone whose office is on the campus of Georgetown University at the med school and who routinely eats at the university hospital cafeteria next door, I can assure you I am quite comfortable with hospital food.โ
Bishop let his head fall back. โSo youย are sayingย itโs like hospital food?โ โI didnโt say thatโโ
โWhat Iโm not hearing is Chipotle,โ Bishop snapped. โThatโs clearly out.โ
โI can do Chipotle,โ Ty said. โMe too,โ Helen said.
โNo, no,โ Bishop muttered. โI get it. Fineโweโre doing Jersey Mikeโs.
We havenโt had it since last Tuesday, so itโs time.โ With that, Bishop left the three of them in silence.
Richterโs back was turned. He was still staring through the large window when he spoke. โHeโs cracking.โ
โHeโs fine,โ Helen responded.
โWhat he is,โ Richter said slowly, โis ill-suited to the intensity of this new phase of our endeavor.โ
Helen shook her head. โWell, few mortals possess your fortitude, Gerhard. Weโll simply have to make do.โ
โWe must consider the prospect that he may be incapable of seeing this through.โ
โHeโs just stressed,โ Helen said. โDuring times of duress, we take comfort in routines, and it can be even more jarring if those routines are disrupted. His blood sugar might also be low, which triggers the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, causing even more stress and activating the bodyโs fight-or-flight response. It can impact decision-making.โ
Ty massaged his forehead. He was seeing a whole new side of his parents, one that was equally illuminating and trying. โMom, heโs just hangry.โ
โYes, heโs hangry.โ
*
When Bishop returned after lunch, he was indeed in better spirits.
โYou all want to stretch your legs?โ he asked before leading them out of the office and to the elevator.
At basement level four, they exited into a small foyer with white walls, a gray linoleum-tiled floor, and a white drop ceiling. A single door loomed ahead with a biometric hand reader beside it.
Bishop planted his hand there, and the door clicked open, revealing a corridor wider than Ty had expected based on the small foyer. The passage was empty except for three metal rolling carts scattered along it. Each was littered with opened packages with what looked like small mechanical parts and electronic components. A set of closed double doors sealed the opposite end.
Bishop led them down the corridor to a wide window that looked into a clean room where three people were working in space suits hooked up to spiraling hoses that hung from the ceiling. They were crouched over a metal table, examining something through a microscope. With their hands, they were operating a surgical arm that reached down, moving very slightly and flashing a light every few seconds.
Along the far wall, a 3D printer was building something Ty couldnโt see.
To him, the scene looked like a surgical operating room, with the three โdoctorsโ diligently performing surgery on a small object.
โTheyโve decided to build the device?โ Richter said. โYes,โ Bishop replied.
โWhat convinced them?โ Ty asked.
Bishop shrugged. โSame reason we built the atom bomb and got to the moon first. Theyโre scared someone will beat us to itโand what it could mean. Right now, the Covenant might be constructing its own device. The premise weโre operating under is that whoever finishes first will likely control the future.โ
On that point, Ty agreed.
Bishop turned his back to the window and focused on Ty. โIโve asked again if we can show you the schematics for the device.โ
โAsked who?โ
โThe White House. Theyโre managing the entire operation directly. Itโs that important.โ
โSo I assume youโre telling me this because the answer was no.โ โIโm sorry, Ty. Itโs not my call.โ
โThey wouldnโt be building that device without my work.โ
โI know.โ
โThey donโt trust me.โ
Bishop grimaced. โI canโt sayโโ
โIs it because of Penny? Because I dated a Covenant agent? They think I might be one too.โ
โLook, Ty, it is what it is.โ
Richter spoke then, his gaze still on the three suited figures working in the clean room. โWhy are you telling him this now?โ
Ty felt it was a good questionโone that cut right to the heart of the issue. โBecause,โ Bishop said, exhaling, โthey want me to ask you about the
device. Specifically, if thereโs aโฆ code that might activate it.โ
Ty turned that question over in his mind, trying to put his anger aside. He had to admit, the question surprised him. He had assumed the device would be one that they simply turned on. โWhy would they ask that? Is there an interface of some kind on the device?โ
Bishopโs gaze drifted up to the ceiling. โIโll take that as a yes.โ
Bishop let his focus drift back to Ty.
โSo there is an interface. What type? Youโre asking me for a code to operate it, but youโre not even supplying the syntax the code might be in. Or the length. You guys want me in the dark, but you also want me to solve problems I donโt understand. Itโs not fair.โ
โNo,โ Bishop said, โitโs not. Thatโs DC. And, frankly, thatโs what working on classified projects is like sometimes.โ
โWhat is this interface? Youโve got to give me something. Does it select which particles are accelerated?โ
โWe think itโs simply a way to tune the quantum radio.โ
โTune,โ Ty said, thinking. โAs in modulating the horizontal and vertical betatron tunes? You can do that by varying the strength of the quadrupole magnetsโโ
Bishop held up a hand. โNoโitโs nothing like that. Weโre looking for a sequence. An ordered arrangement of a set of symbols.โ
โHow many?โ
โWe donโt know.โ
โHow big is the character set?โ
Bishop chewed his lip. โTwelve.โ โHow do you know itโs a code?โ
โIt follows based on the layout of the interface.โ โYouโve got to let me see it.โ
โI canโt.โ
โThen I canโt help you.โ
โJustโฆ try to think of a code that might activate it. If the Covenant is building their own quantum radioโif we are indeed in a race hereโwe need to be prepared to activate our device first.โ