The Enigma Cube by Douglas E. Richards

Author:Douglas E. Richards [Richards, Douglas E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Paragon Press
Published: 2020-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

30

Shen paused for several seconds. “Why am I not hearing a reply?” he continued. “You’re really starting to hurt my feelings. I already know exactly where you are. You understand that, right? Just use the same broadcast frequency you did in the woods, and I’ll pick it up.”

Boyd made sure Sage was continuing to monitor for hostiles, not trusting that Shen had really called off the dogs, and then turned to Kelly. “He’s right. We have no reason not to reply. Let’s find out what we’re up against.”

She nodded.

Boyd ordered Sage to broadcast his voice. “Where are you calling from, Commander Shen?”

“So glad to hear from you, Major,” replied Shen. “I really do treasure our discussions. I’m many, many miles away from your island. But rest assured that I’ve been monitoring you and the esteemed Dr. Connolly this entire time. Colonel Wu only thought he was running the show. In reality, I’m in charge, put there by our president himself.”

“I wouldn’t boast about that,” said Boyd. “Your president isn’t going to be happy with you.”

“On the contrary, Major Boyd. My job was to find out as much as I could about the operation of the cube. And I’ve done that. I set up a scenario in which I couldn’t lose.

“If you cooperated with the colonel, then I would get what I wanted. If you failed to cooperate, the only way you could escape would be to use the cube as a weapon—while I was watching—and I’d also get what I wanted.”

“So you considered Colonel Wu and his people expendable?” said Kelly in disgust.

“Regrettably, yes. But they could not have died more honorably, sacrificing themselves for their country.”

“So this was just another setup?” said Kelly.

“Let’s just say that your actions were a contingency I was prepared for. Did you really think we were so sloppy that we wouldn’t find the supercomputer affixed to the major’s leg? Or fail to remove the comms embedded in your inner ears? We left them in place so that if you weren’t planning to cooperate, you’d feel more comfortable using the cube to escape.”

He paused. “I thought there was a good chance you would find a way to use the cube against us, Dr. Connolly, while pretending to show us how it worked. I’m sorry that I was right. But I did warn the colonel of this possibility. Apparently, he didn’t take me as seriously as he should have.

“But the result of this is that we have more than just a precise record of how you controlled the cube inside our main lab. We also now have a record of how you controlled it to fend off our three attacks on the surface. There are dozens of drones hovering out of your sight, with telescopic cameras trained on your hands, and they picked up your every movement.

“Despite this success,” continued Shen, “I’ve decided no further attacks are necessary. We now know enough to figure out the rest for ourselves. So why risk losing additional men?”

“Your compassion is truly inspiring,” said Kelly.

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