You, Me, We Are All Mistakes

7. SIR, THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH!

CHAPTER 7
SIR, THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH!

No business meeting should last more than thirty minutes. At 3.28pm on that 1st September 1983 back in a shadowy room two hundred feet beneath the Dark Peak, Cha finished his presentation and replaced the laser pointer. The AI in the room lighting detected this sequence and gently faded up the brightness, whilst rolling the screen microfabric back into its ceiling recess.

Cha closed his GlasSlate® phablet.  He stood below the intricately carved owl on the wooden panel wall and, feeling his blood pressure and heart rate sink back, he silently directed a thin smile at his colleagues convened around the conference table and remotely via the video conference displays hanging to his left. Zen lay in the corner.

It had gone very well, and as the surround sound faded back to normal voice levels, he started to detect slight but appreciative nods ripple round the room and across the world. Dex'2O was present and first to speak.

"Love it Cha. Star Bucks! Bucks for stars. What a perfect choice. Such an appropriate name! And this target is very different, even though it also starts in Seattle it's great for our diversity, and hence protects the Directorate."

"Thank you, Dex. I'm glad you liked it. It is ready to go, and as Emm estimated, just two Progressionaries are needed on the surface to begin with. So minimal intervention. It will put us in a great position for The Quit."

"Yes, and for me that's the best bit. We're leaving those mistakes to the past. And one of our finest men in software... Bill... did I get his new name right..."

"Yes."

"...good, Bill is in Seattle already and firing on all cylinders with his own genius software venture. So will he be briefed?"

"Of course."

"Great. Well, it gets my approval Cha."

"Excellent. That's good to hear Dex. If we can get it passed swiftly by the full Directorate, it should hopefully tie in nicely with our next steps relating to SETI and the Duke Kramer subject."

"Have we heard anything further about him?"

"Not yet, he's completely gone. But we were always expecting that. The clear message was to wait."

"Understood Cha."

Dex paused to narrow his eyes and lower his voice, confirming his sincerity.

"Given the radical nature of your first plan, can I ask what you are proposing to follow-up with... as your second global intervention?"

"Sorry Dex, do you mind waiting until the weekend, just as we'd planned." Cha flashed a warm smile to his colleague and across all those present in the room and remote. "Emm and I are finalizing the numbers on that particular coup."

"As you wish," affirmed Dex.

"Thank you. Speaking of which... Emm, let's crack on."

Cha held a hand out towards the door and his female colleague took the cue, rising to join him and leave. As she passed, she brushed a hand over Cha's shoulder. He went to exit, paused and turned back towards the room and its conference screens.

"I can assure you all, our second intervention is also going to be just as radical, and just as big."

***

As ominous clouds stirred above the Peak District, far, far beneath through the vast mass of rock, Zen lay under the desk and Cha retook a seat in his office. He unfolded his GlasSlate® phablet and one half of his transparent screen instantly clouded to display the remaining agenda of the day. The live news ticker scrolled the latest UFO sightings in the local area, and although not overly concerned, it was continued coverage they needed to minimize. There had been no further update from SETI. The timeline for The Quit remained on schedule.