The Unthinkable Truth, page 21
‘Excuse me,’ Gertrude said. ‘Not all had a similar view. Actually, two did not think it should be released, and maybe now more of you see the danger.’
Meghan ignored her and turned towards Takahashi. ‘The number plates were stolen? How do you know that?’
‘I asked a friend who works at Interpol to run the number you showed us.’
‘Gosh! Do you think it was McFarland? He made some excuse and left the restaurant before us.’
‘It’s certainly a possibility, but not the only one.’
‘Well, I hope your friend is investigating it now, right?’
‘I’m afraid not.’
Meghan leaned backwards on the sofa. ‘Why not?’
‘I just asked him to check the number as a favour, without giving him the background.’
‘Oh, that’s great! What a major cock-up.’
‘Yes, I know. I certainly regret it, but let’s stay focused now on what we can do, all right?’
‘And what would that be?’
‘Okay, that’s why we’re brainstorming now. The main issue is that we’ve no tools to break out of here and no means of communicating with the outside world.’
‘That’s not true,’ George said. ‘We’ve got Sherlock, who can pass on information.’
‘Well, theoretically, yes, but I think we’ve already seen that his loyalty is firmly with the organisation. It seems to me that Sherlock is now basically serving as the eyes and ears of whoever is keeping us here.’
‘Why can’t we call our captor by his name – Ben McFarland,’ Max said.
Takahashi flashed a smile. ‘I don’t think one person could mount such an operation alone. But to be honest, the exact details don’t matter much now. The bottom line is that we are dealing with an unpredictable and potentially ruthless captor or captors and should find a way out of here as soon as possible.’
The others nodded.
‘Since we can’t get out ourselves,’ Grinberg said, ‘and there are no windows we could open to call for help, perhaps we could send an old-fashioned message.’
‘How do you mean?’ Takahashi asked.
‘Well, I have a few ideas. How about writing “SOS” or “HELP” on the flip chart in big letters and pressing it against the window. Someone outside might see it.’
‘The glass panes are dark from the inside and highly reflective from the outside,’ George said. ‘So I doubt it’d be visible at all, but I guess there is no harm in trying.’
‘Maybe there is,’ Takahashi said. ‘I believe that they haven’t decided yet what to do with us, otherwise we would know by now. So, an obvious attempt to escape or call for help may just cause them to panic and speed up our demise. Any other ideas?’
‘Are you suggesting we do nothing, because it’s risky, and let them make the next move?’ Grinberg asked.
George was surprised at his angry tone. The situation seemed to be affecting him too.
‘Well, ideally we’d make a covert attempt, so if it failed, they wouldn’t panic. And if it’s an obvious attempt, it must be one with a high chance of success.’
‘Okay. Not sure if this is any better,’ Grinberg said, ‘but we could leave a note on the empty food trolley.’
Takahashi scratched his beard. ‘I’d put that in the same risky category. The food trolley is the only item that leaves this area, so unless they are pretty dumb, which I doubt, they must have ensured that the person who brings and collects the trolleys is in on it. By the way, I think banging on the doors would have the same poor result.’
‘Well,’ Jerry said, ‘if we want a high chance of success, how about this. There are plenty of people coming in and out of this building, and surely someone will be decent enough to call the police if they hear shouts for help.’
‘But nobody can hear you here except Sherlock,’ George said. ‘We’re on the fourth floor, surrounded by a perimeter corridor with thick walls.’
‘Yes, I know that. But suppose we look outside and choose the right moment when it’s particularly busy, then smash one of the glass panes and shout for help through the hole.’
‘And how would you break the glass?’ George asked.
‘With the food trolley?’
‘The trolley is light stainless-steel – we’d need something much heavier to smash the glass, and we don’t even have a single fire extinguisher.’
Gertrude fixed Takahashi with a hard gaze. ‘You seem to have an answer for everything. Any brilliant ideas how to get us out of here?’
‘Well,’ Takahashi said, shaking his head, ‘I think our best chance would be to somehow convince Sherlock to contact someone on the outside, but it’s not going to be easy. Let’s not forget that it has superintelligence, so fooling or manipulating it would be extremely difficult. I’m working on it, but I’m open to any ideas.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Grinberg said. ‘I clearly remember McFarland saying in our first session that in case of a fire, the doors unlock automatically. How about starting a fire then? Does anyone have a lighter or matches?’
Everyone shook their heads.
‘Well, that’s just the first problem,’ George said. ‘Even a magnifying glass wouldn’t help as we don’t have direct sunlight. More importantly though, imagine they’ve disabled the fire response feature in this section of the building. We’d be risking our lives when actually we’re being treated quite well so far. For captives, that is.’
‘Treated quite well?!’ Gertrude said, fuming. ‘We are on borrowed time here. They could do anything they want to us. Maybe if you all tell McFarland that you’ve thought about it some more and realised now that it’s best not to release the conclusion, we’ll all be out of here in no time.’
‘You mean lying, although we still believe it should be released?’ Meghan asked.
‘Yes, Meghan!’ shouted Gertrude. ‘For crying out loud, what’s the big deal about lying to save your life? Is that against your moral code too? Once you’re out, you can do whatever you want and tell the entire world for all I care.’
‘I don’t think they’re keeping us here because of the conclusion,’ George said.
‘Really?’ Gertrude said mockingly.
‘Well, if it was just about the conclusion, they would’ve already released you and Max. After all, you both expressed a strong opinion against making the conclusion public.’
Gertrude rested her chin on her clasped hands. ‘So what’s your theory, then?’
‘It’s not really a theory, more a growing suspicion. You see, it doesn’t make sense that UNESCO would go to all the trouble of organising this international think tank but then be unwilling to deal with the consequences. There must be more to it. On the way here, at the airport, I did a quick search on Skudder. I didn’t find much, but there was this newspaper article he wrote with the title Ethical Eugenics for a Better World.’
‘So?’
‘I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the idea of self-directed human evolution is very controversial, especially following the racial ideology of Nazism. But for me, the worrying sign was his attitude, being quite dismissive towards the past, calling it “old inhibitions”.’
‘George, did he mention CRISPR gene editing, by any chance?’ interjected Takahashi.
‘Yes, he advocated it as the flagship tool to achieve human progress. Why?’
‘Oh dear,’ he said, stroking his beard. ‘We’re in even more trouble than I thought.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘This is probably the most powerful biological tool ever invented and could easily be abused if it goes unchecked. Gene editing in humans is now regarded as unethical all over the world, so much so that its use in research is considered extremely carefully on a case-by-case basis and rarely granted. Even the Chinese authorities jailed the rogue scientist who used it to make twin baby girls resistant to HIV. Someone who advocates for it for wide use has no ethical limits whatsoever.’
For a while no one spoke, then Gertrude said, ‘Eugenics is totally unrelated to our conclusion. Is that all you’ve got, George?’
‘Not really. In the article, he seemed to be obsessed with a brighter future for humanity. He’s also said a few odd things to us. If you remember, he had some ideas on how to handle the anti-globalisation demos. He talked about effective crowd control and about creating an obedient society.’
‘Sounds very positive to me,’ Gertrude said, arching her eyebrows.
‘Look, I don’t know what their exact plan is, but I’m convinced that it’s important enough for them to take such extreme action with us. Skudder himself said that our work could lead to the most monumental change in the direction of human civilisation. Surely that can’t be just to suppress a conclusion about the human mind. He just strikes me as the kind of person who believes the end justifies the means. And the end is probably another mad plan, which we must stop.’
29
Food arrived promptly at noon, the traditional French lunchtime. The procedure went according to protocol, Jerry exchanging the empty trolley with the full one, only this time it was generously loaded with cold dishes. George scanned the food on offer. New potato salad with herbs, a plate with a variety of cheeses, Waldorf salad, spinach-and-feta-stuffed mushrooms, lettuce and tomato salad, smoked salmon rolls with cream cheese garnished with dill, a basket of sliced baguettes and a bowl of butter portions on ice.
Helen’s eyes lit up. ‘This is amazing. Who knows, maybe next time we’ll get a warm meal.’
‘Well, it’s certainly a major upgrade,’ Grinberg said. ‘Maybe they’re trying to sweeten us up before we’re released, so we won’t complain.’
‘Oh, you are so optimistic,’ Gertrude said. ‘Another option is that it’s our Last Supper, served a bit too early in the day.’
‘Surely Christ must be the person with the beard,’ Jerry said with a chuckle, looking at Takahashi. ‘Let’s tuck in.’
George smiled. A bit of humour is good for lifting the spirits right now.
Max got to his feet as if bitten by a snake. He had a strange look in his eyes. ‘This is not funny!’ he shouted. ‘You’re crazy! You’re all crazy! I’m getting out of here right now!’
Aside from being startled, George was as puzzled as the others must have been. This was not the meek and confused-looking man he’d seen after McFarland’s announcement.
No one moved. All eyes were transfixed on Max.
Without any warning, Max grabbed the armrests of the nearest swivel chair with both hands and in one smooth movement raised it above his head and hurled it towards the large glass pane behind him. The heavy chair hit the glass with a muffled thud and bounced back before landing on the floor upside down, wheels spinning. George looked at the pane; rather than a gaping hole with shattered glass and shards all over the floor, the glass was intact – not even a scratch.
The silence that followed was broken by the familiar voice of the orb. ‘This wall is made of super-toughened glass. Technically, this glass-clad polycarbonate is rated to stop BR7-type rifle bullets without shattering, so throwing a chair at it is pretty useless, not to mention a dumb idea in your situation.’
George bit his lip. He couldn’t decide whether Sherlock was on their side or not. Why would it discourage an attempt to escape? Maybe because it was an impractical one and it was trying to help? Maybe its role was to keep them here?
Helen was the first to recover and rushed towards Max, who was now hyperventilating. She helped him reach the table, sat him down on one of the swivel chairs and pulled one up for herself. George removed the cling film from the bowls and plates on the trolley then placed each item on the table. Soon they were passed around, dished out and eaten without a word exchanged. The only sound was that of plastic forks scraping against paper plates.
* * *
A little later, Max retired to his sofa in the lounge to rest. He covered himself with his soft blanket and pulled it over his face.
Takahashi sat on another sofa. He was playing chess with his travel set when Gertrude approached. She stood over him and watched in silence as he turned the board after each move. ‘Do you always play against yourself?’
He knocked down the black queen with a white bishop then looked up at her. ‘Yes, mostly. It’s much more challenging this way. Although I know the other side’s plans, I don’t always win.’ He smiled. ‘Fancy a game? I’m almost done here.’
‘No. I don’t see the point of this silly, pretend war-game. Besides, we have more important things to worry about.’
Takahashi lowered his gaze and turned the board around, picked up a black knight and held it in the air. ‘Worrying has never helped anyone.’
‘Is this really the best use of your time? I thought you said you’d think of a clever plan to get us out of here.’
He placed the knight on the board. ‘Playing helps me concentrate.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. Just to let you know that the others are gathering in the other corner for another brainstorming session.’
‘Good. Please tell them I’ll be there soon.’
The group was already seated on the rearranged sofas when Takahashi joined them a few minutes later. He looked around with an apologetic smile. Gertrude, who sat on her own in an armchair, glared at him while Jerry and Meghan looked up with relief, probably hoping he might have found a solution. Helen shared a sofa with Grinberg, jabbing him gently with her elbow; his head was slumped on his chest with his glasses propped precariously on his forehead. Takahashi strode towards the empty seat next to George and slapped his knee as he sat down.
Jerry ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I guess running with the idea of the Last Supper was stupid and insensitive on my side. I’ll apologise to Max later.’
Gertrude looked at her shoes and said nothing.
‘To be honest,’ Jerry continued, ‘I’m a bit more apprehensive now than before, with this unexplained change in the menu and Max’s outburst. I have a strange feeling that something will change soon, and not necessarily for the better.’
‘Yes, I agree,’ Meghan said. ‘In fact, I was thinking we should be more vigilant in case they’re planning something.’
‘Vigilant? How?’ Takahashi asked.
‘During the day, I feel quite safe. After all, we are a group of eight. But at night we are much more vulnerable asleep. I think we should set up some kind of a watch rota. What do you all think?’
The judge has got her senses back, George thought.
‘Okay,’ Meghan continued. ‘We’re normally asleep from 11 p.m. till around 7 a.m., so if we divide the night into four two-hour slots, each of us would need to lose some sleep only every other day, right? Now all that’s left to do is assign the slots fairly.’ She picked up a yellow writing pad, removed a page and folded it three times, then opened it and tore along the creases, making eight roughly equal pieces. She wrote on each, a time slot and a day, and was about to fold the pieces when Gertrude intervened.
‘I’m happy to take the hardest slot, tonight from 3 to 5 a.m. I often work at night, so I’m used to it.’
‘Sure, thank you,’ Meghan said, and crumpled the paper with that time slot. She finished folding the remaining pieces of paper and dropped them into the Panama hat Takahashi had just handed to her.
‘It looks like you’ve done this before,’ George said with a mischievous smile as he fished out a piece of paper and unfolded it. ‘Is it a habit you picked up in court?’
‘Yes, that’s how I pick prison sentences, how did you know?’ she asked, and burst out laughing. When the laughter subsided, she wrote down on a fresh page the slots each person had received next to their names. ‘I’ll leave the rota for the next two nights right here so you all know who to wake up next, okay?’
Takahashi put his hat back where it belonged. ‘Great, the rota is sorted. Now, I’ve thought of a new idea. It’s quite audacious, but I think we must make the next move rather than wait for their checkmate.’
‘Is this a chess game to you, and we’re the pieces?’ Gertrude asked. ‘I thought you were planning some clever way to make Sherlock contact someone on the outside?’
‘Yes, that would have been the ideal solution, but I still don’t have a convincing cover story. If Sherlock suspects anything he might report it, and we really don’t want to take that risk.’
George nodded. He wasn’t sure if Sherlock could be trusted, but believed that when in doubt, there is no doubt, especially when the stakes are very high. But what were the stakes? He didn’t know and didn’t even want to contemplate it. Getting out of here safely was all he could think about. And the sooner the better.
‘Anyway,’ Takahashi said, ‘here is my latest idea. We could smuggle one of us out on the bottom shelf of the empty food trolley if we blind Sherlock as I did before. As soon as that person is in the perimeter corridor, they’ll get out of the trolley and hide between the two large vases by the external door and wait for the trolley collector. Luckily, these heavy doors take a few seconds to shut, so at the right time, just after the trolley collector enters the corridor, or soon after they leave with the empty trolley, our person will sneak through the open doors and run as fast as possible to a busy area in the building and call for help.’
‘And who would that be?’ George asked.
