THEY — Chapter 12 — Deep
This is chapter 12 of my book “THEY”. If you are finding it for the first time, please begin with Chapter 1 (or check the INDEX )! When you’re done, check out more of my stories on my MEDIUM profile: Caralynn Scott — Medium
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CHAPTER 12 — Deep
Navlin stood before a small group huddled at the end of an abandoned tunnel deep beneath the city.
Napthal had navigated their way to this spot on foot through a maze of twists and turns with only the light of a burning torch to light their way. Unused for centuries, it was one of the few places that ARI could not reach, and where ARI did not reach, no one else could watch. Even if anyone had seen them enter through the basement of the tube control station, they would not have been able to find their way to where they were now without having known exactly which turns to take and when. And there had been many turns. Navlin speculated maybe two dozen straight, left, or right turns. Each junction with four paths, including the one they had come by, meant there were over seventeen hundred possible paths that could have been taken. It would take days to search them all. Nobody would find them down here — at least not quickly.
Another thought gnawed at the back of Navlin’s mind as they made their way through the labyrinth; would they ever find their way out again? They were down here because they needed to know more about what was happening to Jennic, but if they could never find their way out again, what good was that to the child? They had already weighed the risks and determined that the possible rewards were greater than the possible losses and had decided to trust Napthal when they invited them into the depths, but they had not made up their mind yet about this “network”.
As they turned the last corner, it was obvious they had arrived.
The meeting place was nestled in a cul-de-sac at the end of the subterranean maze, a small round table stood there. Around the edge, four lamps hung from the walls to provide light. Several chairs were scattered around the table and the space. Ancient maps of the tunnels hung loosely from the walls, and two intelligent looking people stood staring at them as they entered.
Napthal quickly did a round of introductions, though the names really didn’t matter, because the new pair’s names were not their real names. They had to be called by something though. “Navlin, this is Digit and Digger. Digit is a programmer — well hacker, actually. One of the best, and Digger knows these tunnels like the back of their hand. Between the two of them, they can get us almost anywhere, from anywhere we choose.”
“Why do they know our real names if we are only privy to false ones for them?” Navlin asked, concerned that they may have placed themselves in a compromising position.
“You are part of the government Navlin. Your face is known to almost everyone. Digit and Digger would have recognized you instantly even if we had given you a pseudonym. And me? Well, I don’t mind them knowing. I have nothing to loose. It’s as simple as that. These two, however, don’t need to share their names. They have tasks they perform well, and as long as they continue to perform those tasks well, we don’t need to know their names. They have proven their loyalty and for that we grant them some anonymity. It is harder to confess to knowing someone when you don’t know their real name.”
Navlin considered this for a moment. Even if it did make them nervous, they could understand the logic. Not wasting any more time, Navlin jumped right to the heart of the conversation, “So, how does this ‘network’ thing work?”
Digger spoke first. “Generally, we are made up of cells of about four people. Each person is part of another cell of four people. That way, nobody knows more than eight to ten people in the network. We are all either related to or are close to someone who the Enfos have taken to the facility to be ‘corrected’. They are treated pretty well there, but what follows is what scares us… And that’s not the half of it. It’s not just what they are doing to our families, it’s what they are doing to the broader population by pushing their views and not allowing us to think differently from them. The Network can’t stand up and protect them in public — we would be shut down instantly — but in secret, that’s where we can plan and act in ways that will get our point across…” Digger drifted off as if contemplating something too dark for them to speak aloud.
“So, you are a terrorist organization then?” Navlin jabbed.
“Far from it!” Napthal threw in, “We are here to protect life, not to take it. We are here to find as peaceful a way as possible to make a change from within and to save those we love. That’s why you are here! We rebel against the status quo, but we do not want to harm anyone.” The other two smiled and nodded in agreement.
This information, Navlin had learned already, but they were building trust, listening intently to build a connection strong enough to ask more difficult questions. “How do you communicate with each other?”
Digit piped up this time, “Mostly by word of mouth, but on some occasions, we may use older, more archaic methods of communication; short wave radio with scramblers, off-line back net networks routed through sympathetic nodes, that sort of thing.”
“So, who coordinates it all? Who is in charge?”
Digit rubbed their chin like it was a mystery they had been pondering a lot themselves, or perhaps they were wondering if they should share what they knew. “Nobody really knows for sure. We aren’t even sure there is a leader, but we receive and pass information quickly and we know the organization is real. It feels coordinated, even if we don’t know who is coordinating everything. Things happen, and we see evidence to tell us what we are doing is effective.”
“Aren’t you afraid you might be being played by someone trying to root you out?”
“Yeah, we thought of that. I have ways of tapping into the chatter.” Digit continued, ”That’s been one of my talents the Network has benefitted from. I pass on a lot of information myself, and what we hear jives with everything that I know from what I gather on the wires.”
Now, apart from wanting to protect Jennic, Navlin had another pressing concern that related to their own position. How these rebels answered this question would provide the information they were actually seeking, “What is Aklavar’s interest in all of this? Aren’t they more interested in their space program than wasting time on this?”
“Hah!” exclaimed Digger, but Navlin had not yet seen the humour in their question, “It’s a ruse. They want you to believe that’s the big project — their legacy. When in reality, they are running the Enfos. Aklavar is the one calling the shots with those misinformed drones. Not in public, mind you, no, they are much more subtle than that. I don’t think there are even that many people who work closely with Aklavar who know all of what is going on. Did you even know they and the Enfos were connected?”
“No, I did not.” Navlin admitted, “But this all sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.”
Digit was all over this, “Oh, it’s no conspiracy theory, I can tell you that. I know firsthand that it’s true. I’ve listened to Aklavar when they thought they could be candid. I know that Aklavar’s network is almost as covert as our own. I have heard them talking to the Enfos, and I have heard some terrible things in those conversations.”
Navlin looked at Napthal with a furrowed brow. “And how long have you known about all of this?”
“Oh, I have had my suspicions for quite a few orbits. Running a convention center, you hear things nobody thinks you hear, but it is only in the last few decas that I have had this inside contact — only since Xania was taken and Digit found and recruited me. We also know there are members of the Network scattered through Aklavar’s organization, though of course we do not know who they are. Probably people like yourself who have been recruited by other cells and who feed information and do tasks just as we all do. Navlin, we are all working together to protect our children, our future children, and our friends, from this insidious mess.”
Navlin took a moment to let all of this settle. If their instincts were wrong, they could find themselves in a lot of trouble. The least of their worries would be loosing their position in the government. The worst possible outcome would be much worse; something happening to Jennic. But if they stood by and did nothing, if something were to happen to Jennic, they would never be able to live with themselves. And for Jennic’s sake, that was a risk worth taking. Besides, they had already implicated themselves just by being in this tunnel. It was all in now, or all out, and out was hardly an option.
Navlin looked at each of the others in the room, Digit, Digger, and Napthal, then paused for a moment before simply saying, “I’m in. What next?”
