Logan took his seat in front of the control room monitor with a full mug of coffee. It was a luxury item he obtained from Stanislav, brought in on the automated transports. Fresh imported coffee beans. He took a sip and clicked on Jody: “I’m ready to boost the water flow significantly. I’d like to double the current volume.”
“Did you find another buyer?”
“Not yet, but I want to continue filling the aquifer with the surplus we’re not using. Store as much underground as possible.”
“A logical pursuit,” said Jody. “Data I’ve gathered indicates worsening drought conditions in the upper basins, and the upstream authority is decreasing the volume of water entering the mainline at the headgate. Internet reporting indicates they’re also planning a significant increase in what they charge New Cali.”
“Do you still have the probability of detection at zero for increasing our flow?”
“By the Network Management System, yes, but if the total volume through the mainline falls far enough, organic users in New Cali may begin to notice low water pressure and ultimately dry lines.”
“How close are we to that scenario if you double our current flow?”
“It’s not imminent. The volume we’re taking is still only a fraction of what’s flowing through the mainline.”
“Even if we double it?”
“Yes.”
“Are there any other current detection dangers?”
“The only present threat is a person who is aware of the scheme, or becomes aware of the scheme, relating the information to the authorities in New Cali. I can’t put a probability factor on that because it’s an unknown variable.”
“All right, let’s increase the flow through the branch line then.”
“I’m adjusting the valve settings. Give me a few seconds…Okay, success, the flow has been doubled.”
Logan was apprehensive about his partner’s plan to help grubs escape from the Stacks, but his sense of right and wrong told him he should go along with it. Sam had accompanied Myles on another trip to the habitat levels, and they’d talked to others about it. Most of the workers were keen on the prospect of leaving. Few had tried to escape in the past because no one had been there to help them, and they had nowhere viable to go. They were afraid they’d be caught and punished if they tried to walk away on their own, but now Myles had given them hope. A way out of the cult’s nightmare.
Myles thought they should start with five on the next delivery trip, and Logan agreed. They went through the typical procedure, Myles gave the service department control of the fleet, and the pair settled into a guest suite after collecting their payment from Colleague Mother Waverly. Sam met Myles at the suite, and they walked down to the grub habitat levels. Sam would be one of the first to go and he’d selected four more based on their skills and enthusiasm though many more of the workers wanted to be part of the initial bunch…But they needed to test the plan with a smaller group first, and Myles assured the others that they could take more in the future.
Led by Myles, disguised in a grub uniform, they went down the fire stairs to the expansive underground garages where the water trucks were parked. The group carefully walked to the end of the line, keeping an eye out for security guards. Myles began unlocking cabs and allowing one worker at a time to climb inside each transport as they went. Though they were fully automated SDVs, the trucks had small cabins for riders. The cabins had a fold down computer table, a seat and a compact bed, plenty of room to comfortably duck down and hide.
Sam was the last of the five to board one of the trucks, and before he climbed into the cab, he whispered: “Thank you, Myles,” and held out his hand.
Myles shook his hand and winked at him. “Better get moving before someone comes along.”
The next morning, the convoy left the Eden Stacks at sunrise with their hidden riders undetected. They passed the wrecked dust biker sedan on the pass. No highway maintenance crews patrolled the roads in the federal bureaucracy, so it was likely the debris would remain there untouched indefinitely. The journey across the desert was uneventful, and they arrived at the farm in the late afternoon.
Myles helped Harmony prepare a huge meal with grilled chicken, baked potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. Logan and Sam pushed two tables together end to end to accommodate the group. It was a euphoric moment for the five former grubs when they sat down to eat.
“Everything looks so good,” said Lucy Ranaudo as she took a chair next to Harmony.
“Homegrown and homemade,” said Myles. “Not only does it taste good, but it’s much better for your health than those damn wafers they were giving you in the Stacks.”
Logan could see tears in Kai Tanaka’s eyes as he bit into a tender morsel of chicken breast. How long had it been since the refugees had enjoyed a home cooked meal? Logan’s apprehension was melting away fast, and he felt like they had done the right thing.
“So, when can we start work on the new farm?” said Lev Brubach as he passed a serving bowl filled with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and onions to Sawyer de La Cruz.
“The first thing we’ll need to do is build a fenceline around the perimeter,” said Myles. “We can start on that tomorrow morning.”
“How far is it from here?” said Lucy.
“Less than a mile,” said Harmony. “And you can all stay here until we get the houses cleaned up. We have plenty of room.”
“No one will care about us taking over the property?” said Sawyer.
“Nope,” responded Myles. “There’s no one left to care about anything. It’s been empty for years.”
They began work on the new farm the next morning. Myles had selected another golf course within sight of the cupola to develop. He’d ordered extra drones and swarm ejectors through Stanislav for security. The ever-present danger of malicious raids from dust bikers—or worse—was a chief concern. So, their first job was erecting a fenceline and installing swarm ejectors to keep the commandeered property safe.
Next, they worked on recovering a pod of abandoned houses close to the center. Jody turned on the water and the electricity, and they shoveled and swept the accumulated dust away from the neighborhood. The twelve houses were large, luxury residences that would provide plenty of room for the next wave of refugees.
The former owners didn’t leave much behind when they fled the valley, so Myles dealt with local scavengers to furnish the houses. The crew was led by Hank Hodgett. An older man, he was a cab driver before the collapse. His much younger common-law wife, May Pham, was Vietnamese, and his chief lieutenant, Jamir Walker, was a former casino bouncer. They scoured the forsaken city for merchandise that had been left behind. Furniture, appliances, electronics—anything of value that still worked and could be traded or sold. They traveled the deserted streets and boulevards in an armored personnel carrier that Hodgett had found at an abandoned military base. Stanislav Latsko was one of their best customers, and he’d supplied the trio with laser pistols that they used to fend off dust bikers. The scavenger crew’s depot was a fortified former strip mall not far from Myles and Harmony’s farm.
The scavengers brought a delivery of furniture to a house that Sam, Lucy, and Lev were refurbishing. Jamir was behind the wheel of the armored battle bus, and he parked in front of the house. They’d brought a flatbed trailer with a full load concealed under a tarp. May Pham approached the refugees while Hodgett and Jamir began removing tie-downs from the furnishings.
“Myles said I should ask for Sam,” said May.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m May.”
“Pleased to meet you.” He wiped his hands on a rag and then reached out to shake her hand.
“We brought a load of furniture. Very nice stuff, from a retailer’s abandoned warehouse.”
“Thank you, May. We’ll help you carry it in.”
The six of them set to work furnishing the large-sized house. Hodgett had good communication skills from his days as a cab driver, and he initiated conversation with the refugees as they worked: “So, you’re starting another farm,” he said to Sam as they set a sofa down in the living room.
“Yup.”
“That’s a challenging project in the desert, especially with how dry it’s been.”
“Myles said we’ll have plenty of irrigation water.”
“Surprising, because not too long ago the wells were drying up, and then like magic, they came back up to pressure. Plenty of water now, right May?”
“Yes, Hank. Enough for bathing and laundry.”
“I asked Logan about it, and he said an earthquake may have tapped into a new water source. Like maybe a fissure was created by the rocks moving and it opened up a channel to an additional aquifer we’ve never used before.”
“It’s what you call divine intervention,” said Jamir. “God is looking out for us.”
“I suppose,” responded Hodgett. “I’m no scientist so I don’t have a clue, but it’s damn nice having running water again.”
Work on the new property consumed a significant amount of Myles and Harmony’s resources, but they were convinced it would pay off big when they brought it online. They dreamed of creating a town center too. A place where shops could be opened and perhaps a doctor’s office and an optician.
Within a week, the refugees began grading the new property’s soil with excavation equipment Myles had borrowed from a storage yard. The same place where he’d found the water trucks. The new age pioneers laid irrigation lines and connected them to the water system. Myles told them it was well water. The diversion scheme was kept secret. Everything seemed to be falling into place, and Myles thought the time had come to liberate more grubs from the Stacks.