Return to Earth

Chapter 26

It was easier to access the information than Kierst believed possible considering the difference in technology, but they did seem to have it all. The problem with having access to everything in their database, both classified and unrestricted, was they had access to the entire database going back to even before the flare hit. There was too much information to be able to make sense of anything.

Kierst tried to do a simple search for Nostos, which brought back millions of files covering everything from mythology to restaurants that used to exist. There was no way to sort it by age to find out about the attack, which must've come from the current Cascadian government, but Win was working on a way to do far more than just sort by age. Whatever programs they used to store the information was about to get a Martian upgrade to set aside anything irrelevant in the searches.

The drone had been sent to a location given by Boyd to show where they should've gone to find far more people there complete with farms. They all realized the satellites were absolutely worthless. There was no need to inform anyone on Mars, since the scientists could never believe the fault lied with anything they did. Those on Earth would be recalled due to the perceived incompetence and Mars would be allowed to die in a matter of generations.

If they had access, they could make the simple correction. All they needed to do was remove the Martian atmosphere and replace it with Earth. The satellites were never designed for the right conditions, but the scientists jealously guarded everything out of arrogant belief no one could do their jobs.

The only real solution was to build drones with the right specifications to align themselves with the satellites without Mars ever discovering they were there. It would take time, but none would let on to anyone at Mars about what they were doing. Everything was riding on them succeeding, which became more personal with just how incompetent the geniuses were.

Other drones were almost ready, but they weren't designed for what they needed. One drone served as a good prototype for the others that would remain on Earth. All the flaws, at least the ones they had discovered, had been corrected. Victor made it clear he wanted to help any way he could, but he lacked the knowledge necessary to be of any real assistance, which didn't stop him from being of use in other areas of construction.

Boyd had been freed from isolation and no longer needed a guard. He was given his own quarters and was more than a little grateful for the showers and trimmer. Unlike Victor, whose hair remained long, Boyd took on a similar style as those at the Nostos.

Everything except the patrols had resumed, which left enough free time for Kierst to contemplate what Dune had told him about hating God. He didn't want to admit that he was wrong about God's existence, since it would bring about other questions he didn't want to contemplate. Dune would answer anything he asked, but didn't want to think about anything else. It was difficult enough to come to grasps with being so wrong, the last thing he wanted was to have more thrown at him.

Everyone was busy doing something except Kierst and Boyd, who he saw walking within the walls. It had become a daily habit with the fallen president and wondered if he was walking for any specific reason. Kierst thought of it as needless walks not going anywhere, but he was determined to do something that didn't require him to think about Dune's words.

Kierst walked up to Boyd without saying a word and easily matched the slow pace, which caused Boyd to speak in a pleasant tone. "Looks like something's on your mind, Kierst. Is there something you want to talk about or ask me?"