“Mr. Eller. Doctor Yurris. Nice to see you both,” he said, sliding into the booth without waiting to be asked.
“General. Good evening,” Lynn said.
“I would like to talk to you when you get a chance, Mr. Eller,” the general said.
“Certainly. As soon as we finish, I will be more than happy to look you up. Any idea where you will be?”
“I think I will hang around here until you finish. I’ll go get something to drink while I wait,” he said.
“Don’t bother General,” Lynn said, “I need to get back to work anyway. Mr. Eller, thank you for sitting with me at dinner. It was much more pleasant than eating alone,” she said standing.
The General got to his feet and Raymond stood as well.
“My pleasure. I hope to run into you again sometime,” he said.
He watched as she walked out of the cafeteria before sitting back down. He had so much more he wanted to tell her but it would have to wait for a more appropriate time.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” the general said smiling.
“Just some small talk.”
“She is quite a looker.”
“She seems very nice,” was all that he would say. “Now, you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes. I understand you’re leaving us tomorrow. Back to the grind in Washington. I was just wondering what your initial impressions are now that you have had some time to look around.”
“I hardly know where to start. What goes on out here is really beyond comprehension in many ways. The technology, the implications, the potential, and on and on. I guess I could sum it up by saying that I am seeing the possibilities for the future. What happens is still in doubt. I am guardedly optimistic.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean by that.”
“I mean that we have a chance to use all of this incredible technology, but how it is used is still a concern. We can either make Earth a better place or I think we have the potential to destroy it. It’s up to man to decide the outcome,” Raymond said.
“Very insightful. I’m just a poor dumb military man. Do you have any particular concerns?”
“Anytime we have access to new material such as Element-115, it could mean that the potential to build a bigger, more powerful weapon could be considered at some point. That is my major concern,” he said, looking directly at the general.
“I see. I doubt that it could happen without a great deal of discussion and all the political maneuvering that goes on before such a decision is made,” the general replied.
“No maneuvering went on when the atomic bomb was built. The President said do it, and it was done.”
“Yes, but that was back in 1943. Times have changed. Now they fight over who gets to build it and in what state. The environmental groups stick their noses in. For Christ sakes, even the crazy animal activists want a say. It might hurt some rat or cockroach. It isn’t the same today.”
“But the potential remains, nevertheless. I can’t predict the future. I wish I had a crystal ball sometimes, but I don’t.”
“Don’t we all? Is there anything else I can do for you before you leave?”
“Did anyone admit to taking out my windshield?”
“Not a word. I haven’t pursued it to be truthful. No harm, no foul. So, when do you intend to come back and see us again?”
“I haven’t a clue. I suppose it will be up to the President.”
“Well, have a safe trip and if you need anything, just let me know,” the general said getting up.
“Thank for the use of the officer’s housing.”
“No problem at all,” he said and walked off.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
The plane landed on runway 32R and taxied to the Jane Terminal. It was the same landing strip that was used to bring in the workforce from Vegas on the Boeing 737s. It only took a few minutes for the pilot to file his flight plan, check on weather and have the plane’s tanks topped off with AvGas. Within an hour they were headed back to Washington.
Eller was asleep when the plane landed and was startled awake by the attendant
“Sorry to wake you sir, but we are here,” he said.
“Thank you. I dozed off,” he said wiping his face and stretching. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was shining but people were still bundled up in coats.
“There is a helicopter waiting for you. The President had it sent.”
“That’s very considerate. I guess I shouldn’t keep him waiting. I’ll need to get my bags.”
“They are being loaded right this moment.”
“Oh. Well then, I’ll just be off. Thank the pilots for the smooth flight,” he said.
He boarded the helicopter and was whisked away to the White House in a matter of minutes. He certainly didn’t have to wait for anything today.
“Raymond. Come in, come in. My, you did get a tan. I thought you were just kidding,” the President said, shaking his hand.
“It’s hard not to out there. Just going from one building to another or taking a short ride. That is brutal country,” he replied.
“Well, you seem in good spirits and healthy. So, what can I have them bring you? Coke, juice?”
“I’ll just stick with water,” Raymond said. What he really wanted was something substantial to eat.
“So, how is our good general?”
“Devious. I think you were dead right to have someone, or I guess I should say, me, keep an eye on him.”
Raymond spent the next two hours filling him in on the projects going on and their status.
“This Su-12, do they have an initial test date yet?”
“No sir. Lockheed will release it to them and then they run it through the development stages.”
“But they can do like they did last time, actually take it into space?”
“Yes sir. I think that would be part of the process.”
“I see. What about the rumors of a weapon?”
“I personally believe it exists or is being developed. And a Dr. Gimbel is in charge. That is the code name assigned to him. I don’t know his real name. I believe the work is going on in a level that isn’t supposed to exist. There are a great many rumors about a weapon being developed on Level-10, which according to Devin, doesn’t exist.”
“Do you have any proof to back this up?”
“Not really. Just the rumors and when I went down to Level–9, the facility was empty, but it was easy to see that something had been going on. I tried the whole time to locate this Dr. Gimbel and he never surfaced until one of the last days I was there. He didn’t stop to talk; he was late to a meeting. I never saw him again but I asked around. No one seemed to know where he had gone.”
“So, it may be nothing at all. Just talk by a bunch of cooped up scientists with time on their hands,” the President said.
“That could well be, but my gut tells me that something else is going on.”
“It’s hard to call someone on the carpet on just a gut feeling. I don’t doubt you’re right, but we need to know more.”
“Just one other thing. The security force for the base is not our military. They take their orders from the general but they are from the outside.”
“Outside? On a military base? That’s interesting. So then they don’t technically fall under the jurisdiction of the Commander-in-Chief. Who do they work for, other than taking orders from the general?
“I don’t know but I intend to find out.”
“Yes. That would be useful.”
“Another small item. I found this paper with the words ‘THE HUMP’ and 5725 on it. It was on Level-9. I think it refers to a topographical location at Groom Lake. I don’t know what it means yet, but I think I need to keep probing that as well,” Raymond said, showing him the piece of paper he had found.