The last few weeks had turned me into an annoyed mess. With Clark's retreat from the football-team, I had hoped that his hold on the school would weaken and I might gain a few acquaintances, if not friends. Sadly, it was not to be. I stayed isolated.

On the home-front it was the opposite. Business Barbie was often hanging around in the evening, purportedly to keep me company but somehow I still did not buy it. She was happy to leave me alone as long as she was able to check in with me before I went off to my room. She truly felt more like Jailer Barbie than Business Barbie, only the uniform was missing.

I had managed to find the time to check out a few of Galatea's options for a hideout but sadly, none of them looked promising. Once more, I had sallied forth, looking for the place my dreams could come to fruition. Looking at the map, I realized that it might just be the best solution, based on location. Using roads, I would have to drive almost an hour to get to the closest road-access. If I simply hoofed it, I would probably only take twenty minutes, making my way through the forest.

It was higher on the hillside and further up in the valley, compared to our house and I would have to drive down into New Brunsburg proper and then up the other slope of the hill. I would rather take my chances with a walk in the woods.

It was Saturday, so I could take my time, leaving around noon and coming back in the late afternoon. To prepare, I packed my phone, laptop and a few measuring-tools, just in case I struck gold on my scouting trip. In addition, the combination would allow Galatea to both talk with me and monitor my progress. I stuck in a small headset so she could talk to me and it seemed as if I was on the phone. Making my way through the forest, Galatea guided me to an overlook to check out the perimeter first before going in. When I got there, I was certain that there was something wrong.

There was nothing, no base, no fence, just trees. Some looked truly old, not like they had been planted to hide a base a few decades back. Intrigued, I slowly moved closer, still searching for clues. Finally, Galatea told me to stop as I was at the access point. I looked around and saw nothing but forest. I took another step and suddenly, I tripped forward, almost falling on my face. I managed to catch myself but I was not a happy camper. Normally, I was not that uncoordinated.

Looking what had tripped me up proved that I was quite lucky. I had literally tripped over the access hatch to the bunker I was searching. Freeing it from the detritus that had collected over the years, I saw a round hatch, maybe a meter and a half in diameter. The hatch looked almost like a safe-door from some bank-heist movie, just instead of shimmering silver it was camouflaged to blend into the forest. I had managed to trip over the round handle to open it.

Looking closer, I saw that there were tumblers to lock digits in or I could never get in there. I asked Galatea and she told me a combination to try. After a liberal application of lubricant to allow me to turn the tumblers after long disuse, I was able to move them to the numbers I was given. There was no audible indication that I was right but I doubted that I would get one. They would either work, or they would not.

The wheel was stuck at first but more lubricant helped to the point that I managed to turn it. Once it was turning, it grew easier by the revolution until I heard a clunk and the wheel was at its end.

Lifting the hatch proved easier than I thought but after a moment it became obvious, you would not want to get stuck down there and be unable to lift the hatch. As I lifted, a wave of old, slightly moldy, dry air greeted me. Knowing that I would have no reception down there, I placed my phone down to allow Galatea to maintain the connection. To reach me, I still had the laptop and even that I could place down and use the headset to go further. In the future, I would need some repeaters to get access down there.

The hatch opened access to a shaft down into the mountain. I took out a flashlight and started the climb down before closing the hatch, no use in letting someone else stumble upon this. After a few meters down, there was a small vertical passage, sealed with another vault-style door. Again, I asked Galatea for the code and again, she came through for me and I was able to open it. I climbed further down, into the bones of the earth. I promised her to speak to her as long as I didn't have my phone and it's camera which was her eye.

Below ground, the atmosphere was different. The combination of total silence and stillness felt strange to me. Outside of my small flashlight, everything was dark. Out of curiosity, I clicked off the flashlight for a moment and the darkness swallowed me. I had never been in such a perfect darkness. I felt as if the walls were closing in on me, trying to bury me for daring to intrude here.

I almost panicked and fell before I could light the flashlight again, driving the darkness back. Taking a deep breath, I continued my exploration. When I reached the bottom of the shaft, I set down my laptop to act as a repeater to keep my connection with Galatea active. I could only let her run on my desktop-computer, everything else I owned had not enough computing power.

When I set down the laptop, I continued my patter, explaining the surroundings to Galatea and making sure that we could still communicate. I'd have to admit that I was scared to be alone down there. As I walked, I realized that the bunker looked strange, there were no appliances, no ceiling-lights or anything. Just bare walls and concrete.

After some locked doors, I found a sign saying 'Exit' and followed it. My connection got worse with every step and I knew I'd have to turn back soon. Luckily, I didn't have to turn back before I found an upward ramp, leading towards the surface. Now, I found one of the reasons this base was abandoned. The ramp was blocked by rocks and earth, it looked like a small landslide had fully blocked it off.

Walking back, I looked further and realized that this bunker might have never been finished after something blocked access to it. It was declared abandoned instead of finished. The few markings looked more construction-style than proper military-style. I even found one corridor that ended in natural rock, not the concrete around me. I told Galatea about it and she agreed with me that abandonment before completion was the most likely scenario.

Feeling that it was just what I wanted, I asked her to hide every hint of its existence, no need to have anyone find it. Not that it was likely after all these years. As long as I didn't give it away, my secret lair was secret. I had to laugh at the thought of having a secret lair like a child, just a little more hidden and a lot cooler.

I walked back to the access-ladder and left the bunker, prepared to return with gear to make it mine.

On the way back home, I sorted my priorities. First priority was breathable air. I was sure there was some kind of plan in the original, probably one of the earliest things they had created, even construction-workers want to breathe. I just had to make sure it was still working.

Fortunately, I had a bunch of measuring-devices for the heavy-water separator and my hope, the fusion-reactor. Either of those needed precise measurements or it would be bad. I even had sourced some radiation-detectors, in case my reactor did things I did not predict.

The next thing on the list was electricity. For that, my hopes rested with the fusion-reactor. Fuel for it could be carried in or with a little luck I could tap into a large water-pipe or maybe even a well. I doubted they had made a bunker without a plan to get water to it. And for me, the only fuel I needed was heavy water which I could separate from normal water. In addition, a water-supply would be very convenient for mundane things like showering.

I had a few ideas I wanted to develop that might give me personal strength and all of those would take some time. Sadly, my time was limited now that Jailer-Barbie was checking in on me. I needed to give Galatea some hands and feet to do simple tasks with. She was my brilliant daughter after all, no need that she stayed a no-body. Literally.

A simple robot would be easy to make, some treads to move on, arms, camera, all with electric motors and a battery. I just had to make sure that I had electricity and I was set. And I had to make sure Galatea was down there.

All of those were possible.