After the Wave

Chapter 13
Year 2064

Chapter Description: It has been 50 years since the Wave, and the USAF intercepts an ominous message.

Chapter XIII: Year 2064

A sheet of plasma paper is slammed down onto Master Sergeant Gutierrez’s desk.

“Excuse me,” MSgt. Gutierrez says, looking annoyed. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to call you back.” He squeezes his right earlobe to disconnect the call and looks up at his rude subordinate, who salutes Gutierrez above a stark-gray face pulsing with fear. “What is your major malfunction, Tech Sergeant Manning?”

“Master Sergeant Gutierrez, sir!” Peter replies. “There is something you need to see! Now! Sir!”

“As you were. Christ.” Gutierrez sighs. “Do you realize I was on a call with the DoD?”

“You’ll want to see this, sir.”

Gutierrez scans the plasma paper. It appears to be entirely blank-- transparent, even.

“Sooo... what is it I’m looking at?”

“It’s not what you’re looking at,” TSgt. Manning replies. “It’s what you need to hear.” Manning walks over to the plasma reader, capable of converting one yottabyte of sound data per sheet into the crispest, most understandable audio on the planet, and slides it into the slot. The machine hums to life.

... *fzzzt* ... *fzzzt* ... *fzzzt* hhhnnngsbnnn *fzzzt* lllnnngnnnuuufff *fzzzt* nnndeeegurrraaavstvsthstiiime *fzzzt* yeeewwwkinnnaht *fzzzt* krrreeepaaauuuhhh *fzzzt* ... ... ...

Then, silence.

Gutierrez looks at Manning. Then he looks at the machine. Then he looks at Manning.

“You know, Tech Sergeant, our facility has an outstanding psychiatric--”

“No. Sir, with all due respect, let me explain. We traced the source of the transmission.”

“And?”

“Ninety degrees south.”

Gutierrez blinks. “The Geographic South Pole. Amunsden-Scott.”

Manning nods. “Ogoljen itself.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Gutierrez scoffs, though concern is beginning to creep into his face, as well. “There hasn’t been a living soul anywhere near that complex since November 2014. Nobody even knows what it looks like today.”

“There’s more, sir,” Manning continues. The TSgt. brings the plasma paper back over to the machine, but fiddles with a few settings. Interference filter on. Speed at 200%. And in goes the paper.

Iiit’s beeen lonnng enooouuugh. Diiig graaaves this tiiime. Yooou cannot preeepaaarrre.

“Son of a bitch,” Gutierrez spits. “There’s something organic down there. What the fuck can live at the South Pole for 50 years?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“What was the exact date of the Wave?”

“November 16th, 2014.”

“And here we are... November 13th, exactly 50 years later, and there’s not a goddamned thing we can do about it.”

“Not exactly, sir,” says Manning. “Get in touch with POTUS and ask her to authorize decisive military action -- air forces and ground troops -- against the facility. No human eye or satellite has seen it in half a century, sir, which leads me to believe that we’ll know it when we do see it.”

Gutierrez laughs despite himself. “Antarctica has been demilitarized since 1961.”

“Please, sir, at least let her tell you that herself,” Manning pleads. “She was around for the first Wave. She knows it’s global. And this time, lives could be lost.”

Gutierrez shrugs and squeezes his earlobe. “Alright, if you insist... Yes, may I speak with President Zimmerman, please? Thank you.” The Master Sergeant speaks with her for a scant two minutes before hanging up the phone. Peter Manning’s heart drops into his stomach.

“She’s assembling the Joint Chiefs, you lucky son of a bitch,” Gutierrez says with an incredulous smile. “So go get packed, kid.”

coming up tomorrow, Monday the 5th... the conclusion of "After the Wave."