Felix begrudgingly returned to the large briefing room, setting his bag back in its original position, then finding his place back in the corner of the room. Time passed as he eyed the clock. Slowly, people filtered in.
Farmers, office personnel, and medical professionals. As each person entered, Felix felt more removed. What interested him most was how bland the entire scene was. It was like a gathering at the DMV. Was he the odd one out? He felt anticipation, but the environment communicated a bureaucratic Tuesday.
A few other service members entered, acknowledged Felix in a curt nod, then took their seats at random throughout the room. The clock read 1945hrs. The duffle bags stayed untouched, only a few missing.
The main doors opened, and He heard the familiar sound of oxford heals on concrete. A short procession of military and civilian uppers entered the room, walked to the center of the far wall and organized themselves with General West in the center. He noticed that Kimberly and the civilian tech guy were among the participants.
“Let me start by thanking you all for coming.” West began. “As some of you are aware, we are preparing for the possibilities of threats to humanity as a whole, and really appreciate each of you for responding to the call. At the moment, we have introduced technologies that might safeguard the future of humanity, but that requires input. The input of humanity. As you look to your left and right, you might discover an assortment of personal and experience. That is our goal. We wish to learn from each of you. Through careful study and trial, we may be able to create a more complete record of humanity. Some of you bring the knowledge of society, some of medicines, some of design, and some of force. But, all of you bring something vital; a willingness to act. Truth be told, our current climate is less than optimal, and we have a change to change that for the better. Not to distract from the moral implications, but I understand you time is very important. Successful completion of this study comes with what I believe is a motivating compensation. It is important that each of you be true and genuine. And not only will you help us all, but you and your families might prosper and be more secure in the knowledge that civilization has options. I have brought for each of you a package.”
One of the entourage, a Lieutenant, wheeled in a cart of file folders, barely a few sheets of paper each. It took several moments of name calling and handing out before Felix heard his name. “Here, Sir!”, Felix exclaimed. General West locked eyes and nodded solemnly but respectfully. The distribution continued until each attendee had their folders. When an individual did not announce their presence, a Staff Sargeant found their duffle bag and removed it.
“Now, if each of you will open your folders, you will find an NDA, that’s a non-disclosure agreement that means what we are to discuss here today should not be shared outside of this room. I understand you may have a lot of question, and I hope to be able to answer them, but it is imperative that we share enough information for you to be able to make an informed decision. No more. There will be ample time in the coming days and months for you to fully understand our objective, but for now, there is a reasonable threat to security by oversharing.”, West elaborated.
Several people stood and exited the room; folders left on tables. Their duffle bags were summarily removed.
“I appreciate their willingness to at least entertain a visit, and we are all less in their absence. If you could all sign, I might continue”, the General stood silent, waiting.
Felix looked at the page. It essentially said sensitive information might be shared through the course of this meeting and subsequent training, and that sharing of this information could be damaging and would be treated as “Treason!”. Felix hesitated. Treason? That’s a bit dramatic, but then, he had dealt with a lot of sensitive information. He looked around the room seeing the random assortment of humanity signing without preamble. Did they not understand the implication? Or was he missing something? Looking back at the page, realizing that he has no problem keeping military secrets, he picked up the included pen, and signed.
The Staff Seargent took his rounds collecting the folders, inspecting each as he went. At Felix, he nodded in solidarity, and continued his rounds. Felix wondered at the individual courtesies.
Once all of the folders were collected, the General pressed on. “Right, straight to it. We hope to amass a collection of living data, which might give us options in the event of a major event.” He paused for effect, but no one seemed to buff at the thought. “We are not completely sold on how to accomplish this task, or how this technology might be deployed. We’re not even certain it will work. But what we do know is that we have to try. Without a record of the human conscious experience, in all of its forms, we are one extinction level event from a reset. We have come too far, and endured to much as a species to allow that to happen. I am not saying that there is an immediate threat of that magnitude, but history tells us that we have been lucky. We won’t be lucky forever. Now we must be prepared. My colleagues here are cultivating a way to study and document every aspect of the human condition. Storing it in the form of data. You all know that the internet and data centers are a thing. Well, cat pictures aren’t going to save the day” a low chuckled passed through the room. “What we need is a backup. Every plant, past and present, every animal and fossil, and as many human volunteers as we can muster. Obviously, this would amount to a substantial amount of information, so we have concocted a series of tests and exercises in each of your respective fields that might help to isolate a few candidates for each skill and personality type. I understand that this is not conclusive, but we are trying our best and look forward to your feedback. I think we have a shot here, folks. If you would be willing to help, we could really make something meaningful” General west surrendered the floor.
“If you are still willing to participate, a plane leaves from tis location at 2100hrs. That’s 9pm to some. On the tables in front of me are bags. There is a bag for each of you. We hope that you would take your bags to the shower areas, do what you need to ready yourselves, and change into the provided attire. Any additional materials that you might need will be provided, and we hope to see you in the hanger soon.” He pointed at the door that led to the aircraft hangar.
Half of the attendees stood eagerly, the other half didn’t move at first. Felix was intrigued. He moved to the front of the room where General West was standing, and reported in.
“At ease Airman, we’re past that wouldn’t you say?”
“Sir?”, Felix replied in confusion at the suspension of military decorum.
“Listen Felix, are you going to get on that plane? We could really use you.”, West pushed.
“What is this, sir?” Felix tried to rationalize.
“Exactly what I said, Airman Cassion.” West answered, somewhat mocking the persistence of formal titles. “We need people, of all types, and you are a unique type. It’s just science, son. But you have to make your own call. Are you going to let all of these folks go ahead without you?”.
That was a low blow, but it landed all the same. Felix knew the General was psyoping him, but truth was truth. These were just everyday civilians, willing to venture into the unknown. Who would have their back? He turned to look at the masses, knowing he had already decided.
“Thank you, General.” Felix returned the salute out of habit.
General West didn’t.
By the time Felix realized that, he was already walking toward the showers, his duffel bag over one shoulder.
