The Holo Earth

Chapter 32

Sleepless nights and a long day of fixing bugs, each more critical than the last, had taken a toll on his psyche. And then his fruitless efforts to get rid of Zolok. Of course it was grasping at straws to cry out loud for benevolent Xenumia. Yet he couldn't help but hold out hope that if the Veritas Society had known so much about the Xenumia playbook, maybe, even now, it might not be too late.

The flickering bulb above the back entrance felt like a beacon and the peeling red and black seal on the door was a symbol of resistance.

Descending the narrow staircase, the old LED lights casting their pinprick glow, Liam noticed details he'd missed in his previous time here. The walls weren't just grimy; they were lined with carefully arranged copper mesh – electromagnetic shielding, he realized. The temperature drop as he descended wasn't just basement dampness, but the result of cooling systems humming quietly behind the walls.

The basement headquarters still smelled of old books and that strange herbal scent, but now Liam recognized it as a mix of electronic components and brewing tea. The worn leather couch, the scarred table with its geometric etchings, the monitor displaying swirling patterns – what he'd first dismissed as the trappings of zealots now looked like the workspace of serious researchers operating on a shoestring budget.

Anna, Oliver, and three others sat around the table, their expressions a mix of wariness and weariness. The monitor's swirling vortex pattern, which had seemed like mystical nonsense before, now displayed what he recognized as quantum probability visualizations.

"We've been honest with you from the start," Anna said, adjusting her thick glasses. "We don't have concrete proof of the simulation. Not yet. The aliens are..." she paused, searching for the right words. "They're intelligent beyond our comprehension. They know how to cover their tracks better than any criminal."

"Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands," one of the others added. "Years of searching for bugs to exploit. A way to get rid of them. We were beginning to lose hope."

Oliver leaned forward, his eyes bright with excitement. "But we may have found something. Someone, actually." He gestured to a man who had been quietly observing from the corner of the table. Even seated, his presence commanded attention – muscular frame filling the chair with quiet authority, intricate tattoos tracing down his forearms where he'd rolled up the sleeves of his charcoal-grey shirt. "This is Dr. Jay Rogan. He's a quantum physicist who's been working with us for the past year. And just now, we may have found a way to fight back. Or at least protect ourselves and others."

As Dr. Rogan joined the conversation, Liam found himself studying the man. He didn't fit the stereotype of a quantum physicist, but then again, neither had Aurelio looked like a typical astrophysicist. His head was shaven clean, revealing a taut, bronzed scalp that glistened slightly under the lights. Deep-set green eyes, almost mesmerizing in their intensity, met Liam's with an inquisitive gleam that betrayed both brilliant intellect and ceaseless curiosity. A thick, neatly trimmed beard framed a strong jawline and a nose that hinted at a past beyond academia's halls.

"When the Veritas Society first approached me with their theories, I thought they were mad." His resonant baritone carried a slight Australian accent, filling the room with authority earned through years of research. "But certain anomalies in my research... The nature of certain quantum phenomena. Well, let's say the evidence became harder to ignore."

Anna leaned in, her eyes lighting up with admiration. "Dr. Rogan is no ordinary physicist. His work at the Australian National University revolutionized our understanding of quantum entanglement. Those papers he published on superposition? They laid the groundwork for major breakthroughs in quantum computing." She glanced at him with respect. "But it's what he's developed recently that could change everything."