Chapter 3

Frank woke up due to the shock and thud of the airplane landing on a runway in an unknown location.

'Whoa, look at those mountains!' Frank loudly exclaimed waking up his parents in the proces.

The plane was braking while on the runway and slowly came to a stop. To the left of the plane all you could see were mountains and forests. To the right there was a large square building a good ways away and on the runway Frank could see a couple jeeps and people standing around.

'I am guessing they are here to welcome us.' Franks father said.

We then heard some noise from the front of the plane and stood up to see what it was.

We then saw a robot coming out of the cockpit, its movements were oddly fluid.

Buzz 'This way family Sanders, I will be opening the door for you.' said the robot as it headed to one of the exits.

Franks father was the first to get out of the daze of seeing something so futuristic.

Franks father took his carry-on bag and signaled for his wife and son to do the same.

Frank took his backpack and after strapping it to his back he followed his parents towards the front-exit.

As the door opened they were met by a warm evening breeze as the sun was slowly setting behind the mountains in the distance.

The stairs were still being moved to accomodate their descent giving them apt time to observe their surroundings.

As the airstair got into position the robot as if it was sensing it said: 'Have a nice day and watch your step.'

'Thanks' Franks said almost out of reflex.

'You're welcome' the robot replied startling Frank somewhat.

Frank and his family went down the stairs and were met by a man in a scientists robe followed closely by a military escort.

'Hey Bertho, long time no see my friends.' said the scientist.

'Hello Jacob, fancy meeting you here. Are you the owner of this place?' Bertho asked.

'No, I am like you. A scientist whom they needed for their projects.'

'Then I am guessing we are working on some sort of AI?'

'Almost correct, this is however not the time nor the place for us to have this talk. Please follow me and I will show you your temporary dwellings.'

'So we can leave once the project is done?' Franks mother asked.

'That is correct; this is in fact my third time being... invited.' Jacob said.

We then started following Jacob while the military personel walked up behind us.

Except for our footsteps and those of the people near us we heard absolutely nothing. No birds or people or traffic. It was very eerie.

'So how long have you been here, Jacob?' Franks father asked.

'I myself have been here for a mere 3 months and because we are still getting nowhere with the project they called you in and several others who will be arriving shortly.'

'Interesting, must be something big if even you need help with it. Who else is coming?'

'John Debbs, Anne Dijkman, Christopher Burns and some others whom I don't remember the names of. Just can not remember those asian names for some reason.'

'Same here, and all of them are also coming over with their families?'

'As much as possible. My wife is here too. She'd like to meet you and your family.'

'So have you done this before too Bertho?' asked Franks mother Tara.

'I have once but it was only for a month that time.' Franks father Bertho answered.

'Why had you not told me about it?'

'I could not risk it, you. These people are everywhere. You saw what they can do. They are everywhere and there is no hiding from them.' Bertho said with a strong somewhat shaky voice.

In the distance Frank saw someone he knew.

'Ella....' Frank said while staring towards one of the jeeps where she was seated in looking back at him.

'Someone you know?' Jacob said as he saw Franks gaze.

'Yes, she is from my school... I think.'

'For me it was a barman at a shop I used to frequent.' Jacob replied; 'What about you Bertho? Who was your first scout?'

'I would rather not talk about it...' Bertho replied

We then reached a large jeep. Jacob jumped in the back first followed by Franks father who then helped his wife and son up the back of the jeep while two soldiers went to the front and two more stayed behind making sure we were in the vehicle. Their looks were stern and showed they showed no emotion whatsoever.

The engine was then turned on and the jeep closely followed by a second smaller jeep.

Frank looked back at the small jeep following them seeing that Ella sat shotgun. When she saw Frank looking at her she avoided his gaze looking away.

'So where did they bring us to this time Jack?' asked Franks father.

'According to the constellations that I've seen I would say we are in Korea, probably North Korea.'

'Wow, then this is one strange top-secret building that we are going to be working in.'

'Definately, who knows what strings they had to pull to get this going. It also seems that parts of the building were made a long time ago, probably twenty to thirty years ago while the newer parts are from the last year or two.' Jack said.

The jeeps then left the clearing and entered the forested area following a dirt track. There were some trees that confirmed that they were in Asia as they didn't grow in America.

After a couple minute drive; 'Welcome to your new home.' Jack said.

The building was nothing more than a huge square, the dirt road then turned into a concrete road that slowly descended below ground. After a while the jeeps slowed down and stopped. The soldiers in the front reported to the guards that had stopped us and handed over some paper work.

'This is where we get off.' Jack said as he stood up.

After Jack jumped out of the jeep he gave a hand to help Frank and his mother and he did the same to Franks father jokingly.

A guard signaled for us to follow and so we did. Looking back Frank saw that Ella was still sitting and hadn't come out of the jeep.

Soon Frank had to look in front again following along with a thoughtful look.

The guard led them through a side-door. They then entered a hall with 4 doors, 2 on either side.

The guard opened the door to the first to the left which we then entered.

This too was a hall with another door at the very end of it.

'Frank you stand here, Bertho you here and Tara here.' Jack said as he showed us dots on the floor that we were supposed to stand on.

'Now face the wall to your right; hold up your hand with your thumbs facing forward.'

So we did and as we did the entire wall flashed. Recovering from the daze we belatedly realized that the wall was now a giant screen showing our house.

'What is this? Is this our house?' Tara asked.

'Yes it is; you can now each pick 10 items right after you put on these.' Jack took 3 vizors and gave them to each of us.

Then as soon as we put them on, faced the screen and thought of what we wanted to bring we could see the screen changing to each of the items we thought of. Soon enough Frank had chosen 9 of his favorite books and the apple tree then he heard.

'Do you confirm Frank Sanders?'

'Yes' Frank replied.

'Quick one aren't you' Jack asked as he came over to get the vizor back.

Moments later Franks father was also done picking stuff and only Franks mother seemed indecisive.

'So do these vizors have anything to do with what we are going to be working on?'

'Yes indeed, this was one of the products that came from our research as a byproduct.'

'Interesting...' Franks father said.

Frank didn't know what to do and just wandered around the room occasionally glancing at the screen to see what his mother was looking at.

She was browsing through various dresses and kitchen appliances at the same time as her part of the wall turned into a split screen.

'Whoa mom can think of multiple things at the same time.' Frank loudly exclaimed.

'Seems all three of you are pretty good at this.' Jack said after seeing what Frank had seen on the wall.

Franks mother then finnaly decided to pick a pair of her favorite shoes as her final choice.

Jack then went and took the final vizor and put all three of them in a compartiment to the right of the door at the end of the hallway.

Bzzz the door then unlocked after which Jack opened it. This way please.

Frank and his family then walked through the door and saw a desk with another guard sitting behind it with 3 forms spread out on his desk facing towards Frank and his family. There were also three pens and three chairs.

'See you on the other side.' Jack said as he closed the door.