The Drones (Part 2)

My alarms goes off. It does what even alarm does in every movie you've seen or book you've read. It annoys the crap out of me, I hate being woken up this way - a bunch of transistors and a blinking light screaming in your ear ... well its unnatural. I like to just drift into consciousness and snooze for awhile and then get up but today I have early meetings at work so up I jump, yippy.

The first thing I just have to do is jump in the shower, you can't really wake up unless you waste a good ten minutes until super hot water :) It also helps me think and for the work I do, you need to think a lot.

I'm a software engineer most of the time and I spend the other hours of my life working in my lab on some pretty cool stuff. It makes for a very busy life but at least I can mix much of this work between the lab and on site development. Sometime of course I think I spend too much time wondering what I can build next or working on some idea in my lab.

I leave for work as usual in my explorer and as I drive down the road I see a drone glide down towards the front of my vehicle. I like to see them most of the time while I'm outside, it lets me know that everything is working ok. So ... what are drones? Well they are about twice the size of an average hobby jet - very slick, fast and quiet. They are brushed nickel in color and host a variety of interesting technologies.

The drones are powered by a magnetic separation drive - in simple terms it is capable of separating out the hydrogen and oxygen from water, storing and compressing each in separate containers. A small quantity is recombined and essentially burnt in a traditional combustion engine. This creates the electricity needed to run the drone. The actual power of it's main engine comes from a single stage hydrogen thrust system. A small but very powerful fan, similar to what is found on a turbine engine is used to suck air into the front of the drone - the compressed hydrogen is released in a spiral discharge pattern with compressed oxygen. This creates a huge amount of thrust allowing the drones to travel at great speeds.

Each unit also carries a small range of weapons. (duh) The two primary systems are comprised of a traditional 45mm projectile system able to take down air borne threats. The second is an air-to-ground missile system. Each missile is smart and can track targets once released. These units are also able to scan an approximate 100 mile radial cone underneath them. Later on I'll give you details of an instant strike weapon system but it is not carried by these units.

The drones are deployed from low orbit gliders, each capable of storing 50 drones. Since the drones do have a limited supply of fuel they need to return to the glider or self destruct rather than running out of fuel. There is a glider deployed over each major area of the world that either I am in or have family in since as I'll explain below, this is needed for the drones primary function.

I developed the drones almost 15 years ago, the initial models were a lot simpler and only had traditional propeller engines but as I discovered they were not fast enough and so these more advanced units were created. You can think of a drone as a body guard. No matter where I am a drone is high above, scanning, watching and making sure I am always protected. Since I develop some extremely advanced technologies it isn't uncommon in this day and age to be the target of some sinister plot. I also have drones in the skies over all my family, watching them to - it creates a nice sense of security. Should anyone try to attack us the drones will usually detect an impending event - swoop down and destroy any targets. Since there are always gliders in the area, more drones can be deployed as needed and can reach the earth's surface within 45 seconds of release.

They have also been used in certain war times but this to date hasn't been too common. For these events I usually deploy something a little more suited to a real war situation.

I watch the drone just hanging in front of my car, it accelerates and rockets forward. I love watching the vapor trails left behind from it's wing tips as it turns and climbs back into the sky. I wonder if anyone else saw it but no one seems to pay attention. I guess you can't blame them - being stuck in traffic is also my least favorite thing. Next time you're outside look up and maybe you will also seen one :)

The Drones (Part 1)

There is a flash a white light, I still cannot see and my head is spinning. I try and focus but just get glimpses of flashing metal, a tunnel and then its gone. I can feel movement that gradually starts to slow down. As my vision comes into focus I see myself heading for the end of what appears to be some kind of launch tunnel, the kind of construction you'd find in a military base. Just before I slam into the end of this unknown structure I abruptly come to a stop, a field of energy appears around my vessel, just for a second and then I stop, it was a close call - of course I had no idea what was here otherwise I would have taken better precautions and perhaps invested in better shielding technology for this erm I guess you can call it a transport vessel. I'll get to its actual name later. I like to call it my "ship" :)

I look around and access the damage, everything is generally ok - a little smoke which seems to be from the heat generated after entering this tunnel. I shutdown the engines and unbuckle my seatbelt. Stepping up I feel dizzy again ... I have no idea how far I've traveled or the effects on my body so for now I'm hoping this feeling passes.

I move to the bank of my ship and enter the decompression chamber. Walking outside without first checking the environment would be crazy. I open up the control panel located by the air discharge button and enter the commands for external analysis. The results come back almost immediately - this is normal, the things I build are pretty fast :) It is generally air, just like home - of course without knowing exactly where I was, this reading isn't too surprising.

I grab a survival pack, hit the big magic red button and wait for the exit door to open. The door slides easily - another good sign my ship isn't too damaged to return me home. I walk outside and start to make my way toward the front of the tunnel. There is still a fair amount of smoke and damage, my ship wasn't designed to enter this small space and it has done a lot of damage. Sparks and small arcs of electricity spiral around the edges of the ship with each electron path finally discharging to ground. This effect is caused by the excessive energy dissipated during shield use. I grab my flashlight and start walking.

The sound of broken metal grinding under my feet as I walk is almost deafening, I look around making sure I am truly as alone as I feel. I look up and survey the entire structure I appeared inside, a long metallic tunnel probably used to launch or transport some kind of vehicle. As I approach the front of the structure I see a door, standard size - undamaged and it doesn't appear to have any locks or access panels. Right now I'm only wishing one thing, that my drones were here - watching my every move and giving me the confidence to proceed without doubt. They aren't. I'll get into more detail on those later right, now I want to know what is outside, what lies behind this exit.

I open the door and step though, what I see on the other side not only defies belief but is also utterly amazing. It takes me a couple minutes to understand exactly what I am looking at and the consequences of this discovery. As I watch the streams of energy pulsing and moving around the core I now understand what had happened back home, why I started having the visions and why it was so important for me to be here.

What was so important, what could I have found? Let me start back, near the beginning. I would continue right here right now but I need to rest, it was a long trip and I am tied. Of course, I'd like to also talk about my drones - one of my first inventions! So lets all take a break and I'll see you back here shortly.