Core Beliefs - Chapter 57 - Charley and Charlie and Paradise.

Core Beliefs – Chapter 57 - Charley and Charlie and Paradise

All their gear had been moved into the new tunnels. Charley and Charlie had an anti-matter power supply, satellite communication equipment, an inflatable boat with a motor, scuba gear with a refill compressor, a matter converter that could be programmed to make gas, water, oil, and almost anything they needed, except food, and the toolbox.

They also had the island all to themselves and planned to take full advantage of their alone time. It would be a month before a boat picked them up and deposited the next work crew.

Later that same week, Charley started the toolbox, tunneling out a new set of rooms. This phase required a more complex configuration, and the work would be slower. It took almost a week to complete the four-room unit. Charley had planned the space to be the prototype for living quarters. He and Charlie would have a chance to see how well the space functioned. They knew that to establish a long-term residence on the islands, the facilities had to be right.

On March 18th, Charlie watched a ship motor into the caldera. A scuba charter loaded with divers.

“We need to stay out of sight,” Charley said.

“Shouldn’t we tell them the islands are private property?” Charlie asked.

“We can’t prove it. They would probably think we were jerking them around; the most important thing is for no one to have a clue what we’re doing here.”

“If they’re just diving,” Charlie nodded, “then it’s no big deal.”

They grabbed snacks from a storage locker and climbed to the top of the cliff, giving them a premium view of the caldera. The charter had two large inflatables with outboard motors. One already bobbed on the surface near the smallest of the islands, snorkelers splashing along the shoreline reefs. The other raft pulled away from the boat toward the big island. Charley and Charlie watched it drop anchor fifty feet offshore.

“It’s about a hundred feet deep there,” Charley said.

“I know, I was with you,” Charlie giggled.

Charley pulled Charlie flat on the rock.

“Oh! You romantic devil,” she whispered, “I shouldn’t let you take such advantage of me.”

“Not you,” he said, “on the boat, someone with binoculars is sweeping the island. Let’s get back to the cave and get the radio gear. We need to let Chris know what’s going on.”

***

Early the following morning, some divers boarded a raft to come ashore.

That night, Charley and Charlie crept to the lagoon and hid their inflatable boat beneath foliage. They retreated to the cave and cleared all signs of human habitation, carrying everything back into the newly formed tunnels and rooms. In the dark, Charley climbed to the island peak and contacted the silo by satellite radio, advising them of the circumstances.

“We agree, Charley,” Chris said. “Hide out until the divers leave.”

It became apparent that the new visitors planned to stay several days and were frequently ashore, exploring the island.

The next day, Charlie heard voices on the cliff above the cave. That night, Charley again contacted the silo.

“I’m sending you a program file to load into the toolbox,” Suchet said. “Matt is most concerned about this turn of events. No one anticipated that we would encounter a threat of discovery so soon.”

It took an hour to download the file via satellite phone signal into Charley’s computer.

Charlie manually shut down the toolbox. Doug had rigged it with an override that used a simple garage door opener. They used the laptop’s wireless connection to reprogram the machine.

Once loaded, they positioned it in the passageway, facing out towards the cave. Charley activated the toolbox and retreated to the first room, where Charlie waited. As they peered down the passageway, they could see the unit forming a seal over the entrance, closing it.

Anyone entering the cave would only see a lava-like formation, and only a trained geologist would give it a second look.

The following day, they heard voices in the cave. The six-inch thick rock cover allowed a good bit of sound through. The voices, in French, rebounded for almost half an hour. Charlie understood most of what they said. In three more days, they would be heading to another dive spot about sixty miles away.

***

Even though the rooms were lit brightly and the air was fresh and comfortable, there was something unnatural about not being able to step into the sun or see the stars at night.

Charlie made notes to share with the others.

***

Four days later, Charley used the toolbox to open the passageway. They climbed the cliff, and Charley spotted the dive boat to the west, about ten miles out, and headed away. They advised the silo that the island was clear and were resuming operations.

Chris came on the phone, “Change in plans. I’m sending a new program.”

“Roger,” Charley said.

“Listen,” Chris said. “There’re going to be some complicated instructions involved. You two need to be careful. This is pretty wild stuff we’re asking you to do.”

It took three twenty-hour days, but on Sunday, March 26th, Charley pushed a newly completed door into the closed position and locked it in place. In the cave, Charlie examined the surface. She felt sure that even trained eyes would be hard-pressed to identify it as an opening. Titanium formed most of the body of the door and the hinges.

Getting the toolbox to form the small hardware had been a nightmare. They failed a dozen times to get the holes for the pins right. It took a dozen more efforts to get the pins close enough to fit.

“Remind me never to try using this thing for removing splinters.” Charlie chuckled.

“Yep, I need to design a machine shop for the complex,” Charley replied.

They celebrated with their own little party for two on the beach, making love in the waves.

April 3rd, a small ship pulled into the caldera. This boat was expected. It carried the relief crew and more equipment.

Charlie and Charley met the new arrivals on the beach. Clarence Chambers, his wife Hazel, and their son Carl stepped from the small launch. Carl’s eyes rounded wide with wonder as he surveyed the tropical paradise. Clarence and his wife were both 34 years old, and Carl was fourteen. It had been a rough trip with flight delays and bad weather, but the boat ride out had made up for it.

Carl chomped at the bit to start crawling over the island, but Clarence admonished him that they had work to do.

It took the rest of the day to ferry the materials to the gravel bar and to access the path to the cave. This shipment included a four-wheeler and a trailer. They proved invaluable in getting things to the cave.

Carl proved to be a workhorse, helping to get everything up the hillside. They had bedding, air mattresses, flat-pack furniture that needed assembly, and materials for lighting, electrical, and plumbing in the tunnels and rooms.

Charley and Charlie spent the following day giving tours and going over every aspect of the facility.

Clarence had brought a new laptop computer. Charley identified the next set of rooms and passageways and showed the new team the procedure for uploading and downloading programs into the toolbox.

A second toolbox came with the boat, allowing them to tackle multiple areas simultaneously.

That night, they gathered on the beach. Charlie and Charley related everything they could about the physical and psychological aspects of being alone on the island.

“Taking time to play and explore is vital,” Charlie said. “It’s the fun that helps fight boredom and keeps you fit.”

***

The next morning, the lovers stood on the deck, gazing over the rail, watching their paradise shrink as they headed back to civilization.

“I really hope they don’t get too lonely,” Charlie said.

“Did you get lonely?” Charley asked.

“Only when I wasn’t in your arms.”