The Rocket
Chapter 4 Part 4
The working robot, carrying the case with the ammonium nitrate with utmost care, went down the stairs and through the turnstiles. There were no employees or pa.s.sengers in the station. An automatic cargo train stopped at the quiet platform. All of the cargo s.p.a.ce was filled with organic plastic, old tires, and other garbage; all the things that contain acrylic resin and synthetic rubber.
The robot put down the case. The train began to move slowly. Gradually, it began to gain speed. On the surface, Dingo drove the land rover behind it. Next to him sat Angela with a compa.s.s on her wrist computer and was checking the old map. From time to time, she glanced at the computer standing on the dashboard on which the beacon signal flashed. The antenna on the car received a signal, determining the position of the transmitter.
And yet, the signal range was only 600 meters, so if the target begins to gain speed, it will not be easy to track it. The signal began to be interrupted. Fortunately, the target was heading by a railway route. Before everything turned into ruins, detailed maps and routes were made. As long as there was a feeble signal, they could have guessed where to go.
However the subway was a real web, so the map didn’t show where the transitions in between the routes were. And there was nothing to do about this.
“Go faster. The signal is getting weak.”
“As if I could.”
The target was moving on a train that had no obstacles in its way while they had to drive through a ruined city. Dingo steered as he could, continuing to squeeze the gas pedal.
“Looks like he’s taking the route out of town. I think we need to go to the north.”
“Got it.”
The land rover left the ruined city. Sunlight was flooding the desert.
“It looks like he hasn’t noticed the beacon yet.”
Dingo nodded.
“That means the person didn’t check the suitcase. It is most likely that the train is controlled by a robot too. On one hand, it’s incredible, on the other – it’s stupid.”
“He’s even collecting materials without any personal intervention, the robots do everything…”
“To do something like this with the current level of technology is a real miracle. If he can do these things, maybe he’s magical. For example, to penetrate Deva and not leave a trace behind.”
Angela frowned.
“But then how come we managed to find him so easily?”
“I believe he only tracks satellite communication systems and does not check ground radio communications.”
“But that’s not so stupid, right?”
“Well yes.”
Dingo smiled in confusion. What is this organization and what is it trying to achieve? The closer they got, the more mysterious things became. Looking at the old map, Angela said, “There is a territory that belongs to the government. There are no more stations. I think he’s heading there.”
There were no more states. After the nano-catastrophe and the collapse of the human race, humanity moved to Deva, and the countries simply disappeared. So now, these lands were the properties of a non-existent state.
“What is there?”
“It says that the land is in public ownership. Somewhat like a city.”
The old maps just had the buildings marked. But there was neither the name of the city nor the name of any other objects.
“A huge military base…”
“But it must be abandoned.”
“Mhm.”
“But if this isn’t the government, then someone else could have used this base.” They slowly approached the city blurred in a haze.
Edited by: Akshaythedon