The Aegis Solution (9 page)

Johnson faltered for a moment in his gait. "You did?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you're here to talk about it?"

Elias decided to keep the dark, fast-moving apparition to himself and answered, "I guess I got
lucky. I outran them and was able to hide until they gave up. Anyway, you have the solid barrier
blocking the corridor. I'm assuming you have a camera hidden somewhere near the wall."

"We do," Rogan replied.

"A microphone and speaker system, a rope ladder, a platform above the ceiling – all pretty
impressive."

"Thanks."

"But all I had to do to get in was tell you I was alone?"

"Yep" was all Rogan said.

"I don't get it."

Rogan stopped walking, joined a moment later by Johnson. Elias followed suit and turned to face
him directly. The man responded matter-of-factly, "The Manager can explain if you're curious."

"The Manager?"

Rogan just nodded.

Elias shrugged. "Okay, let's go meet the Manager."

They resumed the walk and within less than two minutes arrived at an open doorway leading into
what looked like a medium-sized meeting room.

Johnson gestured toward the table and seats. "Wait here, if you don't mind. The Manager will be
right in."

Elias decided that it was probably a waste of time to ask the two of them any more questions, so
he thanked them both, parked his suitcase on the carpeted floor, and waited.

He did not have time to look closely at his surroundings before a door opened at the opposite end
of the room from where he had entered, and a woman walked in. It was difficult for Elias to judge her
age. Her short hair was completely white, yet her face showed few age lines. She wore a turquoise,
loosely fitting dress. He was not sure, but Elias thought some of the girls in his classes had called it a
squaw dress in the more politically incorrect days when he was in elementary school. Instead of shoes,
she had on leather sandals.

"I'm Mildred Pierce," she announced, extending her hand in greeting as she crossed the room to
Elias.

"Elias Charon."

They shook hands. Elias noted the firm yet brief handshake.

"Welcome to Walden."

"Walden?"

Pierce flashed an insincere smile. "That's what we've named our little corner of Aegis."

"Someone's a Thoreau fan."

"That's right," Pierce answered, the phony smile returning. "I think there was talk of the name long
before it became an ‘official group.' I'm not totally sure who thought of it, but I'm sure it was a ‘fan.' It
is a nice fit. Please have a seat." She motioned toward the meeting table and chairs, and Elias sat in the
closest one while Pierce chose one which left an empty seat between them.

"Would you like some herbal tea, or perhaps some wine? We have a fun Cabernet from Napa
Valley."

"That is very kind, but no thanks."

Clasping her hands together on the table, Pierce asked, "What, if I may ask, did you do before
coming to Aegis?"

He and Faulk had discussed what Elias' cover would be, so he answered quickly, "I was a forensic
accountant."

He noticed her eyes narrow momentarily at his response, but the Manager's voice retained its
lightness and conviviality as she said, "Forensic accountant, huh? For whom did you work? The
government?"

"At times. I was a freelancer, had my own PC with several clients; the Fed was one of them from
time to time. I spent most of my time working for lawyers who were chasing assets on behalf of their
clients."

"Your own professional corporation," Pierce repeated, leaning back in her chair and staring at the
ceiling grid above her.

"That's right. Why do you ask?"

Pierce returned her gaze to Elias. "I don't know how much time you spent thinking about what it
would be like here in Aegis."

Elias shrugged and lied, "Not much."

"Well, in many ways we are like a colony which is assembling itself after some apocalyptic event.
Money has no value in here, at least at this time," Pierce said cryptically. "What does have value are
certain specific talents, fields of knowledge, or training."

"That makes sense."

"Obviously, doctors and dentists are the most in demand. Certain tradesmen, especially electricians
and plumbers. Chefs, definitely. Naturally, the arts – actors, writers, artists, singers, comedians,
musicians, and the lot. You see, we don't get the Internet in Aegis. Nor do we receive any television
channels. No radio. Nothing from the outside."

"I knew there was no communication between Aegis and the outside world," Elias stated, "but I
don't see why they don't allow those things to come in."

Elias, of course, did know. The electronic jamming, which was necessary to prevent any signals
from leaving Aegis, also stopped anything from entering. There was always the alternative of cable but,
as of yet, there was no such thing as a one-way cable feed. It had been suggested that a communication
signal could be embedded in a laser which would be directed at a receiver on Aegis, but the debate as
to what would be broadcast had brought this discussion to a deadlock.

"In the infinite wisdom of those who created this place," Pierce pronounced with unconcealed
sarcasm, "it was decided. That is all we know.

"The others of value to us are teachers, physical trainers, and therapists."

"Therapists? You mean, like counselors?"

She nodded. "Yes, counselors. But also therapists who specialize in meditation, yoga, tai chi, aroma
therapy."

"And I assume you have a need for former police personnel, or those with military training."

Elias once again saw the brief flash of distaste appear. "No. Not at all. Here in Walden there has
been no need or desire for that group."

He leaned forward and explained, "If you've established a community with no troublemakers
within, I can understand that, but from the reception I almost received before I arrived here, it surely
looked as though you could use some protection."

"That is why we established the perimeter you came through," she answered with a hint of
smugness in her voice.

Allowing a rueful smile to show on his face, Elias remarked, "I didn't hear accountants anywhere
on the list."

Pierce's insincere smile was replaced with an equally insincere expression of sympathy. "I'm afraid
not. Without any currency, or any other method of asset accumulation, there is actually no need for
someone who can keep track of it."

Pierce quickly continued, as if to placate her guest, "I'm certain that you noticed there are many
other professions absent from the list."

"Lawyers, for one?"

"Exactly. Many of them have arrived, and some initially pleaded their case as to the importance of
their skills in assisting us to organize a rule-following society. But we quickly found out that their
presence was anything but helpful in that direction. We also have no need for stockbrokers, for obvious
reasons, bankers – really, the entire financial field."

"I have no way of knowing this," Elias interrupted, "but do you think that since financial problems
may be the root cause for many of those who choose to check in at Aegis, there might be an emotional
component to excluding that category?"

The bogus smile quickly returned and Pierce replied, "That very well may be, Mr. Charon. But you
may be surprised to discover that this same excluded list is also populated with many who practiced in
several of the engineering fields, with the exception of civil, electrical, and computer engineers."

"Why no engineers?"

Pierce tilted back in her seat. "That can best be answered by sharing a story with you. I was still
outside of Aegis and living in Miami Beach. My daughter, who was graduating from college at the time,
told me that she, her boyfriend, and two of his friends were going to climb into his twenty-year-old car
at nine o'clock at night and drive to Orlando so they could go to the amusement parks the following
morning.

"I told her I thought it was a stupid idea. She asked why, and I explained that her boyfriend's car
could break down in the middle of the night and they would be stranded. Quite indignantly, she replied
that I had no reason to be concerned because, after all, if the car broke down, she would have three
engineers with her. When I finished laughing, my comment was simply ‘And what will they do if the car
stops running, whip out their laptops and design a new car?'"

Pierce indulged in a self-satisfied chuckle as she relished her remembrance of the event.

Elias waited for her to stop before asking, "Did she go?"

"No. She decided not to go, but made it quite clear to me that it was her own decision and had
nothing to do with what I'd said. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Walden is not to the point where
there is any value to having engineering experience in our cohort. At some point, perhaps, but not
now."

"I see."

Leaning forward and resting her slender arms on the table, she continued once more, "Our careers
are not all that define us. Any avocations? Hobbies?"

Recognizing the opportunity to provide the Manager with a suitable answer, Elias knew that if he
told her his lifelong hobbies were woodworking and furniture making, he would suddenly find himself
on the "right" list; but he simply said, "I'm afraid not. After a long day of crunching numbers, all I
wanted to do was go home and watch cable."

Another momentary flicker of distaste flashed on her face before Pierce responded, "Very well."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, nothing to be sorry about," she remarked airily. "But to change the subject, I understand, as
you referenced a moment ago, that you had an altercation with our not-so-friendly neighbors after you
arrived."

"I did."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she proceeded. "Apparently, they are not a particularly conscientious
bunch, and many people who enter Aegis make it all the way to our front door, so to speak, without
encountering them. You are the first who has and arrived to describe it. If I may ask, how did you
manage to elude them?"

"As I told Rogan and Johnson, I guess I was lucky. I don't think they were in position to really
ambush me. They saw me. I saw them. It was immediately obvious they weren't intending to offer me
herbal tea or a fine glass of wine, so I ran."

Pierce was not completely certain Elias' last comment was sarcastic, so she dampened her
momentary irritation and persisted, "You just ran away from them?"

Reading her correctly, Elias answered, "I did omit this earlier. My one off-work activity was running
marathons. I found that it was a great way to get the clutter out of my head. I actually planned my
vacations so that I would be in various cities during their runs."

"Marathons! Really?" Her entire body language changed as she asked excitedly, "Did you ever run
the Boston?"

Elias nodded. "The Boston and the New York."

"Well, no wonder you were able to lose them. I doubt that they are runners."

"It was fairly easy to cause them to give up," Elias acknowledged.

The woman they called the Manager paused, her eyes diverting to the blank wall behind Elias, her
mental processes so transparent they might as well have been scrolling across her forehead as she stared.
The moment of decision came quickly, followed by the first sincere expression to appear on her face,
a slight look of sadness.

"Well," Pierce began, her voice subdued, "do you have any questions for me?"

Deciding to maintain his gullible demeanor, Elias replied, "I do. Has there been a relatively recent
arrival by the name of Eric Stone?"

"Eric Stone, no."

Since her answer came so quickly, Elias was tempted to ask her if she was certain, but thought
better of it. He had already decided that Stone would not have lingered in Walden.

"In that case, no. I don't have any other questions, at least that I can think of right now. I'm sure
I'll have plenty for you later."

At his last comment, her eyes flitted away from his. "Very well, then."

She stood and said, "Please come with me."

Rising and fetching his suitcase, he then followed her to the door through which she had entered.
He was not surprised to find Rogan and Johnson waiting there. As he and the Manager joined them,
Elias almost did not notice the slight shake of her head as Pierce made eye contact with Rogan.

She turned to Elias. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Charon."

"Thank you," he answered, milking his manufactured image. "I'm looking forward to staying in
Walden."

More prepared this time, her gaze remained steadily on his face. The faux smile once again curving
her mouth but leaving the rest of her face neutral. "Yes. Well, have a good day."

With that, she turned and walked back into the meeting room, closing the door behind her.

"That way," Rogan indicated.