Chapter Nineteen

THERMOGRAPHIC DETECTION REPORT

WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED PERSON(S) DETECTED ON WESTERN APPROACH TO FACILITY…NEGATIVE…ADVANCE WARNING SYSTEM OVERRIDEN…LOG-IN DETAILS CLASSISFIED…REASON FOR NO ACTION STATUS: CLASSIFIED…

'There it is,' said the Keeper, peering over a sandy ridge, looking down into the valley below, at the sprawling industrial complex spreading out far into the distance, 'the Facility, in all its glory.'

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, the sheer size of the compound, the numbers of gleaming buildings, high-rise towers and glass-topped domes, smoking industrial chimneys, the drilling platforms spitting angry orange flames, the constant hum, whir and chug of heavy-duty plant and generators, the high fences enclosing stretches of lush green woodland. It was like a panoramic view of a vast utopian cityscape, the kind I'd only seen on a computer monitor before.