Читать книгу Lost in Space - Joaquim Augusto Ferreira Barbosa de Melo - Страница 10

Interception

At the airport the arrival of several members of the Government and advisors was expected at any time. On the runway there were clear signs that the commercial aircraft, flight 367 to New York, was about to depart. Two light vehicles with security personnel were already by the access ladder, awaiting the departure of the members of the Government. The first class of that flight was reserved exclusively for the governmental entourage. The remaining passengers travelling in tourist class were waiting in their seats for the start of protocol procedures and take-off. The flight crew, more worried than usual, was making the last arrangements for everything work perfectly. Shortly thereafter, a disused movement near the main entrance of the departures building, made suspicion of the approximation of the entourage. In fact, a few hundred metres away, police scouts opened the way to the passage of several luxury and high-capacity cars, which followed them. Minutes later, within the main building of the airport, about two dozen passengers, escorted by security guards, were walking in an accelerated pace through corridors and passageways towards the boarding gate. Completed the formalities of boarding control, the special passengers were routed to the inside of a bus that awaited them to transport them to the plane. Once on board the aircraft, the Commander initiated the protocol for take-off, followed by the security procedures performed by the flight attendants. Shortly thereafter, an increase in the noise of the reactors announced that the aircraft began to leave the secondary runway heading to the main one. The first moments were experienced by the passengers and crew in silence, as if it were a liturgical act, perhaps because the senses warned them to the dangers of such manoeuvre. Gradually the plane was acquiring speed until in a final effort freed itself from firm ground to give wings to the wide space of the infinite sky that embraced it. In a few seconds the air giant, defying gravity, started climbing, climbing, and gradually positioning itself on what would be its most constant route in the next few hours. On board, a light signal indicated to the passengers that they could now relax and circulate. The information did not go unnoticed to the restless Cristina, an eight-year-old girl, who soon found reason to convince her parents, Marcelo and Margarida, that she had to leave her seat.

-I’m going to Mário! -said Cristina, with a decisive voice.

The father, a county Judge, who once more harnessed the judicial holidays for another exit with his wife, this time up to New York, nodded in concordance. It was the third trip they were doing abroad since they got married and the first one after Cristina’s birth. This time they were travelling in the company of another couple, their neighbours, Alberto and Paula, who were accompanied by their eight-year-old son, Mário. An on-board signal alerted the passengers to the availability of a video playing on the small screens on the backs of the seats. Almost simultaneously, through the corridors, the hostesses started distributing a snack and beverage service. This time it was up to the little Mario to bring to her friend Cristina a small offer from his parents, Alberto and Paula - a mini mermaid who opened her eyes whenever someone squeezed her. Cristina, with that little object, was happy and having fun showing it to the other passengers, followed closely by Mário. Even the flight attendants were now requested to look at that object in Cristina’s hands and to whom they returned a wide smile of sympathy.

-What’s your little friend’s name? - asked one of the flight attendants.

Cristina didn’t expect that question, so she just smiled. But the flight attendant wanting to induce a response, added:

- Hmm! I know! You’re still thinking about the best date for baptism! Isn’t it!? When you decide, don’t forget to invite us! - said the flight attendant, with a wide smile. In that gesture, Cristina felt a strong sympathy, so she came out of her silence.

-What’s your name? - Said Cristina, curious.

- Florbela. What about you?

-Cristina! – Replied timidly.

Among them was established an empathy that would last.

The flight attendants had not yet lifted the trays, and little Mário was already in the aisle, signalling to Cristina to accompany him. Cristina’s mother run her hand through Mário›s hair, in a gesture of affection, which was soon seized by him.

-Can Cristina come with me?

Cristina didn’t wait for her mother’s response to sneak out and disappear in a rush with her friend.

Not far away, Nuno, an eleven-year-old boy, naughty enough, was making a tremendous effort to keep sitting beside his parents, with whom he travelled. For him it was an inaugural flight, so the impulse to trickery was curbed by the constant recommendations of his mother, Esmeralda, a Secondary School teacher and married to a wealthy merchant named Antunes. The Antunes family had regular vacations in Algarve, where they had acquired an apartment for this purpose. This time, Antunes was attracted to an important international fair in New York, at the suggestion of a regular frequenter friend of those events, thereby changing his quiet holiday town for the city that never sleeps.

Cristina and Mário find out the plane had a higher floor. At first, they tiptoed carefully, taking risks climbing, step by step, not realizing that access was forbidden to them. With a little luck, they managed to reach the top of the stairs, without the attendant personnel finding them. Once they got there, they decided to keep going. A little ahead, in a space that appeared to them to be a great living room, two gentlemen sitting in armchairs were cheerfully chatting, looking occasionally at some papers they held in their hands. One of those gentlemen noticed that there was someone nearby, looked at Mário and Cristina with a displeasured expression, pushing a button without telling them a single word. Coincidentally or not, moments later appeared in the hallway a flight attendant in an accelerated pace, saying:

- Where do you think you’re going?! Come on, give me your hands! I have to take you to your parents.

The two, caught in their trickery, simply obeyed without resistance, returning with the flight attendant to the staircase, which they had just climbed up. On the lower floor they came across Felisbela, which Cristina had previously met. The flight attendants exchanged brief words with each other and in the end, Felisbela, winked at Cristina - that gesture left her a little calmer. When they arrived at Mário’s parents’ seats, the hostess, with a smile, added:

-You’re going to keep your parents’ company, all right?

Mário, displeased, obeyed, doing a farewell nod to his friend Cristina. He kept looking at her as she walked away, by the hand of the flight attendant, to meet her parents. Cristina’s mother, realizing her daughter’s arrival commented:

-Is there something wrong?

The flight attendant, in a gesture of sympathy, gave the understanding that everything remained in the best of the worlds.

No more than a few moments had gone by when Nuno arranged an exit to the toilet. From a young age he realized that his mother, despite austere and disciplined, was permissive to certain arguments, particularly those of a physiological nature. Thus, over the years, he was collecting arguments that allowed him to obtain from his mother authorization for a desired freedom, using them according to his conveniences and circumstances. Whenever he travelled by plane those arguments worked perfectly. Thanks to this expedient, Nuno not only managed to get close to the kids, but, in a short time, to stand out as a mentor of strategies to the group. Thus, the pesky ones: Nuno, Cristina and Mário, made the corridors of the airplane a new playground, for great embarrassment of the flight attendants who at cost sought to maintain calm, serenity and smiles, desirable to the function.

The movement of the three did not go unnoticed to another girl, Iris, nine years old, third daughter of Pedro and Ana, university professors in their forties. Since their youth, they visit New York regularly, their favourite city, perhaps because they met there, still as PhD students. Pedro is today an expert in nuclear physics and Ana a researcher linked to the chemistry of hydrocarbons. They devote many hours to their professional careers, in multiple tasks, and they have very little time for the family. Iris and her siblings have been accustomed to the absence of their parents, although these seek to compensate them in other ways. This time the elder sons stayed with their cousins, while Iris, for the first time, had to part with her brothers for a few days. That would bring her a little more dissatisfaction and restlessness than usual. Witnessing the three kids, on the corridor, handed over to their games, Iris, became even more anxious. She looked at her mother with insistence, as if asking for permission to leave her seat and join them, however, all this went unnoticed to her mother. After several attempts, Iris ended up deciding to leave the seat, winning against any resistance from her parents. Better done than said. Taking advantage of a moment of greater attention from her mother in reading a book she had in her hands, she slowly forced her out of the seat, sneaking out shortly after (she was able to achieve the bold feat before her mother’s passivity and her father’s drowsiness). A few minutes later, Iris broke free from that almost prison. As soon as she saw herself in the hallway, she ran to join the other kids. These, surprised by the intrusion, momentarily stopped their play to meet the newcomer. Iris, feeling she owed a presentation, said a little hastily:

-Hi, my name is Iris! Can I play with you?

-Hello! – The others answered in unison.

After the initial silence and resistance had been overcome, Cristina took the initiative.

-Come on!

Shortly thereafter, the three of them took off down the hall in a rampant rush in the company of Iris. They had walked no more than twenty metres when they stopped in front of the staircase that Mário and Cristina knew well.

Cristina sat down on the first step, followed, in her gesture, by Mário who whispered something into her ear. She answered with an affirmative nod. Moments after the two arose and began to ascend the staircase, with the care of who wants to keep silent at all costs. Nuno and Iris, without understanding what was going on, decided to follow them too. At the top of the stairs, Mário and Cristina suddenly stopped, looking at the room that was in front of them, this time empty, so they decided to investigate. As they approached, they heard voices on the other side becoming sharper. When Mário was preparing to enter the room, a voice, already known to him, blocked his way.

-Hello! Where do you think you’re going?! - Said the flight attendant, Florbela.

Surprised by that slim and smiling figure, the kids fell silent, awaiting the outcome of a sentence.

-Once again, we will have to return to your parents (this time the flight attendant sought to soften the reasons for the forced return). Soon a meal will be served, we can’t be late! - The hostess justified, taking the hands of Iris and Cristina and giving Mário and Nuno a signal to follow her.

In the face of the flight attendant’s initiative, the pesky kids had no choice but to return to their relatives once again.

Not far away, in the cockpit, the Commander and his companions went through moments of great perplexity and anguish! Without the crew realizing it, the plane had ceased to be controlled by the flight personnel for a good ten minutes. Communications with land were the first to fall, to the Commander’s great embarrassment who, at the time, was on the plane’s command. And, thinking it to be a terrorist act, he immediately blocked the access door for security reasons.

The aircraft of that flight 367 was a giant of the air, not only by the wingspan, number of passengers, and autonomy, but mainly for its high technology. It had very sophisticated navigation and security systems, having undergone tight performance and quality tests.

When the airplane was left without communications, the Commander performed the procedures associated with the reestablishment of the connections, trying to ascertain the origin causes. In the first tests, with malfunctions research, the results were confusing «operational equipment». When moments later were repeated tests, the results were even more disappointing «not available in the selected option». They had not solved that problem, and another one fell on them. When they operated any command of the plane, whatever the command, the plane did not respond to the instructions given. These findings, first by the Commander and then by the Immediate, produced an increased tension. When they tried in other ways to get the plane to respond to the given instructions, they could not get more than a caption in their screens «operating equipment». The possibility of admitting that it was a terrorist act further confused the situation.

The Commander, an experienced pilot and with many hours of flight, had associated characteristics that made him the most empowered of the company: he was a systems engineer; he had a PhD in aeronautics; he worked for twelve years with the manufacturer in the production of planes and was one of the people responsible for the Development Office of the aircraft that he now flew. He knew, like no one else, the device inside and out. He was present in the main tests carried out throughout the production of that prototype and from which a series production was expected. Perhaps that is why the President of the Airline, who bought two dozen of those aircraft, accepted the challenge posed by the manufacturer - to accept the engineer as the main pilot of that aircraft for two years. With the proposal, all the parties involved won. The fleet pilot won because he earned two salaries (one from airline and one from manufacturer). The manufacturer won, because he had, through his best engineer, a real-time knowledge of the responsiveness of the new apparatus. Finally, airline won, because, with that pilot it could give training to the rest of the company, so that in the future, everyone would be able to fly the new planes.

The Commander, when faced with the aftermath of those unpleasant events, first admitted the possibility of terrorist hands, yet he did not know among all manufacturers anyone who was able to produce such devastating effects on security and at the same time could master the device without damaging the onboard systems. That inconsistency, for the first time, drew its logical capacity to the brink of chaos.

On land, the news of the loss of communications between the control tower and the airplane, exposed human frailty to cover extreme situations. When the plane stopped communicating it also ceased to be visible on air traffic control monitors. Being a last-generation apparatus prepared for the greatest challenges, it all represented a difficult puzzle to understand.

Shortly after the disappearance of the aircraft, the Presidents of the Airline and Manufacturer were informed. And it wasn’t until some time later that the media began to spread the news, which quickly spread across the globe. Leading figures in international politics made themselves available, to take part, with the means deemed necessary, in the search to begin in the area. The President of the United States of America (USA) himself stated in communiqué that he regretted the occurrence - his Administration in collaboration with the Portuguese Authorities, were developing every effort to find the aircraft. Given the proximity to the USA coast of the famous “Triangle B” where the apparatus went missing, the Air Force was requested to intervene. Thus, the coverage of the area where the device was supposed to have disappeared was made by extensive means of recognition: by satellite; by air; by sea, forming together an almost perfect traceability. With the passing of hours, days and weeks, the enigma increased complexity among public opinion, reflected in all the organs of social media. For some, the giant of the air had crashed into the waters of the ocean without leaving a trace. For others, the plane was hijacked by terrorists that at any time would claim the attack. For others, still, it had been abducted by occult forces that for many years had claimed lives in what was one of the greatest oceanic mysteries on the planet. The news has spread throughout the civilised world, not only because of the strange circumstances surrounding the disappearance of many human lives, but also because members of the Government of the country, including the Finance Minister, were on board, who was speaking at the United Nations headquarters. When days later the major international terrorist organisations began to bring in information that they had nothing to do with the disappearance of the aircraft, the whole world was suspended. With the use of sophisticated means of search, particularly submarines, to detect signs of the black boxes, the vast oceanic area was scouted, and, despite all, nothing was found. With the reach of the time limit in which the boxes emit signals, hopes began to be reduced, so, some time later, the searches were interrupted. The unusual once again marked presence in that area. The plane thus joined the strange disappearances of the past that the press made record and memory. The silence of the television commentators on the subject came to the main stations with an inexorable sentence of the outcome of the inexplicable! In the air were the anguish of relatives and friends of the missing passengers and the interrogations of billions of people who watched the images and news of the fateful disappearance!

Somewhere in space, the passengers on the plane didn’t notice anything. Everything was in the apparent normality, even on the backs of the seats the audio and video systems functioned by passenger selection. The internet and mobile phones were not available, but that was a safety and normal flight condition. However, one situation marked a small difference for the most attentive - at some point the hatches no longer had visibility to the exterior of the plane. The passengers who were close to it noticed this change, but, at first, they gave no importance, «another procedure decided by one of the crew», they thought. But the reality was quite different! For those in the cockpit knowledge was instantaneous (reflected in the impressions exchanged between the Commander and the Immediate).

- What is this, Commander?

-A blink of an eye of the airplane that thinks that already can be autonomous!

- Seriously?!

-I don’t like it at all!

For the rest of the crew, outside the cockpit, the situation was quite different. Minutes after the Commander locked the door connecting the cabin to the passenger space, the flight attendant Florbela made an attempted access that was denied to her by the security system. In the first few moments she did not give any greater meaning to the situation, as the security system had incorporated conditions of refusal in particular flight conditions. About ten minutes later, Florbela tried again, noting, however, that the system’s response repeated the message «unauthorized access». The initial reaction was to use the personal communications equipment to get in touch with the Commander, by the way, her personal friend. However, with surprise, she also verified that this was not working. At first, she thought “it’s a malfunction” so she went to the fixed communications station that was close to her, to get in touch with the cockpit, but what was not his surprise when she saw that it was inoperative. That circumstance aroused personal concern and discomfort, for the first time she had realized that this giant was not that efficient at all! Not satisfied, she went to a colleague, expressing her displeasure.

-Candida, can you borrow your intercom? Mine stopped working – Said Florbela, in an outburst.

-Of course! When you don’t need it, give it back, if you please! – replied Candida, moving away immediately to answer a passenger’s call.

The biggest surprise came when Florbela, trying to activate the colleague’s equipment, found that it was also inoperative. She thought the obvious «a malfunction in central» and, in displeasure, exclaimed to herself «this is not going well today! » A colleague, who was some distance away, signalled her to help her collect the meal trays, served earlier. In the next half hour Florbela and her colleagues had their hands full with work, between trays and tidying of never-ending objects: dishes; glasses; bottles and lots of waste. When that task was finally finished, Florbela was feeling a little tired, so she did not immediately resume the attempt to speak to the Commander (what she had to say was not so urgent). In the next few minutes, she sought to make small make-up touch-ups, followed by the task of providing passengers with tax-free articles: perfumes; miniatures and other souvenirs, suggested by the company’s marketing.

The day before, Florbela and her friends spent pleasant moments in the company of the Commander and his friends, in one of the most frequented nightclubs in the city. Those moments of relaxation allowed her to meet the most popular pilot of the moment in the Airline. The Commander, although he no longer has the handsomeness of a young man, as he was already in his forties, is a charming and elegant gentleman with whom all the stewardess feels pleasure in having for company.

When Florbela finally finished her duties and headed for the cockpit, the Commander was coming in the opposite direction, so she took the opportunity to talk to him.

-Is it possible to take two minutes of your attention?

Not only did the Commander not respond, he moved on without any gesture. The hard expression on his face intrigued Florbela, prompting her to wonder «what is happening for him to have this attitude? » If it is certain that in any airline the function of Commander recommends that you keep, in flight, distance in relationships with the rest of the crew personnel (by separation of laser moments from those of service), it is no less true that Florbela did not recognise in the Commander that face of sphinx - «something very serious must be happening», she thought. Minutes later, when she came across her sister, Anabela, she commented on the situation, having obtained a laconic response:

-Don’t worry about it. That’ll pass!

For Florbela, she always thought that her sister has a light attitude towards life, perhaps because she’s younger or because she finds in that way of being the most pleasant side of living. At a young age, she occasionally complained to her mother that her sister was «an irresponsible person» to which she invariably got the answer: «Do not worry! Happiness can be found in many ways».

Most of the time, Florbela did not understand what her mother meant by all that, so she simply shrugged and moved on to next concern.

When the Commander ceased to have a response in the airplane’s commands, he went through increasingly disturbing findings, until the aircraft hatches closed without him activating this command. Since then, the plane has been behaving in a truly autonomous way. It appeared as something or someone had taken over the plane and flew it to his pleasure! The most terrible moments experienced by the Commander and Immediate were when the gauges on the device turned off and the engines began to slow down until they were completely stopped. Incredible as it seemed to them, the ventilation and lighting kept in operation. By this time the Commander, by confirming what was going on in the passenger area, verified, to his amazement, that the cockpit access door could be triggered manually and, to his greatest surprise, noticed that the other side, life was proceeding in apparent normalcy. In the face of that surreal picture he thought, «I can only be living a nightmare». Astonished, he wanted to make sure of reality. He walked a few dozen metres along the central space, and as everything seemed normal to him, before anyone noticed his livid face, he returned to the cockpit. He closed the door again and, without being able to utter a single word, leaned against the bulkhead (briefly immobilized and almost petrified), clinging to his thoughts «How is all this possible? » - in the cockpit he couldn’t see anything outside the plane, the engines had been stopped for several minutes, all the manometers were off and without feeling any loss of altitude!

Some time later, without anyone noticing, through the air vents all over the unit, an odourless and colourless gas began to come out, leading to the drowsiness of the crew and passengers. They went into a deep sleep and so remained until after a long time, they woke up. The Commander and the Immediate were the first to come out of that state of drowsiness and, to their astonishment, they noticed a message recorded on one of the monitors: «Welcome to Beta 2 Station. You are going to stay with us for a while. We’ll do anything to make you feel comfortable. Follow our instructions; have a nice stay! ».This message, which appeared in the cockpit, was also reproduced on all monitors on the back of passenger seats. The Commander had not yet finished reading the strange message when the hatches opened up and he could see on the other side an enormous space in front of them. At some distance there were strange shapes of construction, some sort of buildings, which circumvented what appeared to be an airport. In the passenger zone the surprise has also reached the most attentive and already awaken passengers. The message on the monitors and the scenario visible through the hatches left everyone speechless and in deep silence, while their thoughts were traversed by many and varied questions. Even among the most travelled passengers, no one remembered ever seeing images like those. The flight attendants, caught by surprise, as much as the passengers, looked at each other in astonishment. Anabela, in an unreflective impulse, went to the cockpit, in an accelerated step, in an attempt to warn the Commander to what was going on, but when she opened the door, she realized an even more cruel and terrifying reality. And in a suffocated voice she didn’t contain the expression:

-My God, what is this!

The Commander turned towards Anabela and not yet recovered of the last emotions, stared flight attendant’s face, remaining silent.

Moments later...

New messages appeared on the monitors: «You are our guests from this moment on. We’re finalising the reception conditions. Stand by quietly in your seats. We’ll be brief ».

The messages reproduced on the screens induced shivers in most passengers, either because they were not accustomed to the unexpected, or because they were walking on unknown and possibly dangerous terrain. The heavy silence has settled for a long time...