NOVEL WEB Chapter 47 : Black Box
Chapter XLVII : Black Box
Latemorn of Primoris, Ninth Day of Autumnmoon
Cedric felt rested and alert, though he spent more time sleeping than he had wanted. After his spat with William, he collapsed in bed and spent an entire day in recovery. He woke the following morn to find a simple breakfast of oatmeal and berries waiting for him on the end table. Erik had been thoughtful, bless his heart; though by the time Cedric found it, it was cold. Nevertheless, he was starved. He scarfed it down.
As he bathed and freshened up, he thought about how to concoct a compelling reason to advance his appointment with Richard. Completing a design milestones was significant to the program and its staff, but not enough to demand the king’s attention. Richard was no doubt busy with his incipient war, and Cedric needed something big to justify the king’s time. He figured a visit to the hangar might provide him with inspiration.
On most morns, Cedric worked from his office. His foreman, a burly young lad named Connor, delivered daily reports at highsun regarding construction progress. Cedric glanced at the clock in his foyer. Just enough time to meet his foreman in the hangar directly, if he hurried. Based on the current state of the program, an inspection was warranted. As long as he found a single defect—which ought to be plentiful in the early stages—he could exaggerate the impact and invent a reason to escalate to the king.
Cedric gathered his latest schematics and inspection materials, and he headed out. Once again, he crossed through the capital’s main courtyard, only to find it shockingly deserted. Restaurants and taverns were closed, administrators no longer carried out business—even Royals were missing from their posts. He wondered if the kingdom had once again invoked lockdown protocols, just like the day he had stumbled upon Rosa in the Archives.
They were supposed to be rare events to deal with extraordinary circumstances. A second time in one week was unheard of. Certainly, if Richard was preparing for war and wanted his administration all in one place, a lockdown was one way to do it. However, the protocols evacuated the entire capital, directing all personnel to the Substratum. And at a time when insurgents were supposedly planning an attack, leaving the capital empty and unguarded was probably a bad idea. Since Cedric planned to cross through Angkor’s underground facility on his way to the hangar, at least he’d see for himself.
Sure enough, the Substratum’s tunnels teemed with people. Cedric had never seen it so busy, even in the latter years of The War. Clearly, the kingdom was singularly focused on the new war effort, but packing so many in one place still seemed excessive. He couldn’t help but feel intimidated as he made his way through security. The room appeared to be in disarray, with hundreds of individuals flowing through. But as soon as he entered, he quickly became the center of attention. The heads of every person simultaneously swiveled in his direction, as if the crowd behaved as a single organism.
His hands shook as he presented his credentials to the soldiers at the checkpoint. He was a senior member of Richard’s cabinet, but they treated him like an unwelcome visitor. He had never met these men before, but they should have known him. Even so, they scrutinized his every move, chilling him to the core with their penetrating gaze. They even provided him with an escort, something he’d never been given before.
The escort shadowed his every move, making sure he didn’t deviate from his intended path. The kingdom might have been worried about insurgents, but the abundance of caution in this case seemed absurd. He wondered if the rest of his staff were monitored as closely.
“Excuse me … Sir. If I might inquire …?”
The escort didn’t respond. He didn’t even react or indicate that he heard the question.
The Craftsman tried again. “I can appreciate today’s security measures. Certainly, we can never be too careful, given the presence of the king today. But, isn’t the lockdown creating a security threat on the surface? I saw unmanned posts on my way here. Aren’t you worried about attacks up there?”
Again, no response. Cedric gave up and walked the rest of the way in silence. Something felt wrong. Military men weren’t known to be chatty, but this guy acted like he was in a trance, like one of those automated sentries used by scholars. Then again, perhaps he just disliked being told how to do his job. Cedric could relate to that.
At last, he reached hangar, only to face another large crowd, this one also far exceeding his expectations. The work staff for Zounds seemed to have tripled since his last visit. Craftsmen and artisans bustled about, including many faces he didn’t recognize. The pounding, grating, and buzzing of heavy machinery echoed throughout the cavern. As he scanned the sea of strangers, he heard Connor’s East Angkorian accent barely above the din.
“Mista Curtis!”
He turned and met his foreman’s gaze. “Yes, Connor.”
“Mista Curtis. I must’a missed ya earlier. I stopped by your office this morn, but yah must have stepped away.”
Cedric was careful to avoid any mention of his overnight detention.
“No, I’ve been, uh … busy with some important matters.” He cleared his throat. “But forget all that. I’m here now, and we must work quickly to make up for lost time. The design was supposed to have been moved to the next phase already, so we’re behind schedule. Before we begin, could you please explain all this commotion?”
Connor shouted above the noise. “Ya mean the new workers, Sir?”
“Yes, all this.” He rolled his hands in reference to the multitudinous workers rambling about the hangar. “I didn’t request this many technicians.”
The foreman raised his brows. “The contractors came a few days ago. We were told they were needed to speed up schedule. To be honest, I’m surprised ya didn’t know.”
Cedric frowned. He thought he’d been clear with the palace that all decisions must go through him, first. “Who gave the orders?”
Connor stepped back. “I don’t recall the chap’s name, but he had all the right papers. Includin’ the king’s seal. I had no reason to question.”
Cedric shook his head and sighed. Once again, someone was meddling with his design, but he didn’t want to take out his frustration on his poor foreman. “I don’t suppose I can blame King Richard for wanting the prototype finished quickly, but some things just can’t be rushed. And it does no good to go over my head.”
Connor cast his eyes downward. He looked tired and overworked, and Cedric didn’t want to abuse him further.
“Oh, I don’t hold you responsible, Connor. You had no way of knowing.” He put on a confident smile. “Just leave it to me. In the meantime, let’s focus on the report.”
The foreman looked grateful. “Yes, Sir.” He took a deep breath. “We’ve completed the second phase of construction. The outer hull is finished, and the structural beams and inner hull are scheduled for later this week. We’ve balanced the weight using some o’ the lighter materials you suggested. Pending inspection, we’ll shift to major subsystems, including fuel, power, air, and exhaust. No major flaws have been identified. Everyone’s been working real hard. With war brewing, we all have good reason, eh?”
Cedric was surprised. “That’s excellent news. No flaws, you say?”
His foreman smiled. “None, Sir. Your design is impeccable. That’s the reason we’ve made such rapid progress.”
Cedric tried to hide his frown. Of all the times to score a perfect record. “Well, we’ll see about that. I’ve come prepared for an inspection. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get started.”
Connor didn’t even bat an eye. “Yes, Sir! Should I send everyone on break?”
Cedric nodded. “Yes, please do.”
Connor put his thumb and forefinger to his mouth and whistled. He gave the workers a few moments to finish their work before sending them to lunch. It was a bit early, but the men had their meals already prepared. They gathered at a set of tables in the front of the cavern.
After the room quieted, Connor took Cedric aside and spoke in a low voice. “Since you didn’t know about the contractors, I should probably inform you o’ some other changes we’ve been asked to make.”
Cedric perked up. Any other time, he’d be outraged if anyone attempted to bypass his direct consent. However, he still needed a reason to justify meeting with the king, and the unintended consequences of introducing new changes could be exactly what he needed.
“Tell me about these changes …?”
Connor bit his lip as he confessed the details.
“Well … design changes were made t’ accommodate the addition of certain black boxes.”
Cedric’s gasped. The term referred to design elements whose functions were kept hidden from those who implemented them. Except, Cedric was Zounds’ creator, and he had to be intimately familiar with all functions, lest they impact the specifications. Anything introduced late in the program would risk design integrity. Something as simple as a weight imbalance could easily cause the whole ship to crash.
Besides, no new functions were necessary. Zounds was already more technologically advanced than anything that came before it. Cedric wondered what the fools from the palace could even hope to achieve. More firepower? New weaponry? A way to increase speed or maneuverability? Only those steeped in arrogance could think they could improve upon what he had already conceived!
Connor continued. “We received the modified schematics yesterday, so I assumed you had already signed off on them. We don’t know what these devices are supposed to do, but they came with dimensions, weight, and placement on the craft. They don’t appear to have any adverse effects, at least none that we’ve identified. By the by, we were told to let the new contractors complete the installation. Not our own men.”
Cedric’s blood boiled. He was ready to accept new hires, and he always had the sneaky suspicion that one of Richard’s opportunists would sneak in some design enhancements. But adding mystery functions, and using private contractors to install them in secret … it was an outrage!
“This is outrageous!” He hollered, almost forgetting that he had come to the hangar looking for something worthy of a discussion with Richard.
Connor raised his hands defensively. “Believe me, I’d ‘ave spoken up sooner, but I had no reason to suspect that you were kept in the dark. Who do ya think is responsible?”
The Craftsman fumed. “I don’t know, but I intend to find out!” Indeed, the discovery was just what he needed. “In the meantime, continue your work. There might yet be a reasonable explanation.”
Connor looked relieved. “Well said, Sir. I’ll fetch the new schematics, and we can review the changes together.”
“Good.” He took a few deep breaths to calm down. “Take these in the meantime.” He handed Connor the armful of papers he was carrying.
Now that he had the right excuse, all he needed was Richard’s attention. The usual channels were no good. Even with the new intel, Richard was surrounded by military men who would turn him away, regardless. The whole kingdom behaved strangely, and Cedric needed to think bigger to get the face time he required. Maybe … if he was lucky enough to run into Richard directly—perhaps by passing him in the hallway between meetings—he might have a chance to innocently raise his concerns.
He needed to think. The good news was that he had already made it into the Substratum. No doubt he’d work out the rest of his plan during his audit with Connor.