Free Fall

Forty-Six

Hyattsville, Maryland

Seth opened another can of “Shark’s Blood” energy drink, took a big gulp and belched before he resumed working.

Ensconced at his desk amid his high-powered laptops, he looked over the material piled around him-studies, drawings and manuals. He glanced at Veyda, who was on the sofa across the room. She was still undecided on what action they’d take against Kate Page for her failings.

For now, Veyda was working on her laptop, nodding her head while listening to music. Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over”-he could hear it leaking from her earphones.

Seth smiled and went back to a document he knew well, a United States federal report released in 2015 by the Government Accountability Office that pointed to weaknesses in air traffic control systems. The study suggested there was a small possibility that commercial jetliners may be vulnerable to having their computer systems hacked and hijacked remotely. Other experts disagreed with the findings.

The entire issue was currently a subject of some debate.

Seth considered the report rudimentary, but continued examining it as he worked. Seth examined the telecommunications infrastructure and the satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast System, which used Global Positioning. He paused, swallowed more Shark’s Blood, then studied the report on the En Route Communications Gateway and the Traffic Flow Management Infrastructure.

Full of holes, like Swiss cheese. I’ve seen gaming systems that were better designed.

A notification alert sounded on two of his laptops. The distinct tone signaled that a Kate Page story had just been posted online. Seth glanced at Veyda. The alert would override her music. He began reading:

A potential puzzle piece has emerged in the mystery surrounding the horrific crash of a jetliner at London’s Heathrow airport and the near-tragic incident experienced by a New York-bound commuter plane.

Seth continued reading then shot Veyda another glance; she’d pulled out her earphones and was digesting the story. When he came to the first reference to Zarathustra he said, “There it is, babe.”

Veyda’s face lit up with the beginnings of a smile that soon vanished. “What’s this?” She repeated parts of the story aloud.

“‘It’s not possible to hack into a system and take remote control of a commercial airliner.’ Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Fifteen corpses in London say otherwise!”

“I don’t get it,” Seth said.

“And listen. ‘In the end you’ll find the boasts and wild claims made in the cryptic messages stem from a troubled and fantasy-driven mind. It’s a sad fact that disturbed individuals who have such delusions create this sort of widespread, groundless fear.’”

Veyda clenched her jaw and lifted her head to the ceiling.

“This is so insulting, Seth. Kate Page held so much promise. This is not what we instructed her to do!”

Seth took a moment and read the story a second time.

“I’m concerned,” he said. “There’s something about the article, a subtext at play.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t help thinking that there’s more to this story, that maybe they’re getting close to us.”

“No. If they were close, a SWAT team would be kicking down the door. They’re clueless, Seth. Remember, we’re dealing with the unevolved, linear thinking of ordinary people. As extraordinary people, we have the authority to punish Kate Page.”

“What do you want to do?” Seth’s keyboard clicked as he worked. “We could steal her identity, drain her bank account, create a blood test with traces of heroin and cocaine and send it to her employer anonymously. We could anonymously report her to police for child abuse.”

Veyda gave his options a moment of consideration.

“They’re good but rather mundane. They lack artistry. What I’m thinking of is bigger. We have to make an example of her.”

Veyda concentrated on her laptop, shaking her head bitterly.

“Those worms. They have the audacity to say I have a fantasy-driven mind, that I’m delusional. Don’t they know that we’re extraordinary people, that we’re elevating humankind? They owe us reverence!”

Veyda made a few keystrokes and their hundred-inch flat-screen TV came to life, displaying footage of the fiery Heathrow crash, then screaming passengers being tossed about on the EastCloud flight.

“We’ll show them something the world will never forget.”