New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 727 Finished Shelter

David was looking at a dug-out cement driveway on the northern shore of Montreal's banks in a wooded part of the quiet burgs. A single road reached out from that driveway, serpentining across the woods until it reached a nearby highway.

His shelter was finally done.

David smiled while walking along the road toward the enormous steel doors that led inside the shelter.

'It took a while, but it's finally done. Now, we can start getting people in who know what is coming. And when the time is right, we can get as many as possible here to stay safe.'

He stopped at the steel doors, looking up at a camera before the doors started grinding open.

When he first conceived the plans, he wanted to have the shelter manned by at least ten guards, whose sole job would be to regulate who came in and who went out.

But Jack had changed that for him. Now, instead of ten guards, the base could run on three, taking shifts, and the rest was managed by an intelligent AI, which had been developed by one of the subsidiary companies Jack owned and vetoed by a local security company.

It allowed for better coverage, as human eyes could only track so many things simultaneously, whereas AI didn't hold such a restriction. This would make the base safer while lowering the cost of security teams by almost three-quarters.

David wasn't too keen about it at first. But he eventually came around when Jack showed him the AI at work in many scenarios.

Since everyone would be forced to register with the shelter, the AI could let anyone registered in at any point without requiring human input. This made a lot of things easier.

Plus, the number of cameras he could install had increased significantly since humans didn't monitor them. His camera coverage was complete and went way further outside the shelter's perimeter, making him aware of anything approaching before it reached the refuge.

Entering his new fiefdom, David walked down the halls, slowly appreciating the quality of the work done. Jack wasn't kidding when he said he would push his workers to work fast and well.

What should have taken at least half a year more and still been a rush job was now complete and up to par with luxury buildings. And all the added features Jack insisted on installing on his tab would be useful in time.

David reached an elevator, which gave access to more secure parts of the facility, and slapped his hand on the biometric reader beside it. After a quick scan, the screen turned green, and the door started sliding open.

"Welcome, David Magnus. Where do you wish to go?" a woman's voice asked.

'Really? A woman? How typical of the old man.'

"Main office," he said, leaning back on the elevator wall.

"Acknowledged. En route to Main Office."

David felt the elevator jolt as it moved away from the platform it had been, and soon enough, the dark walls lit up.

The frosting that covered them disappeared, making way for a view of the inside of the shelter from above. The elevator, or multi-directional platform, was moving toward the center, keeping close to the ceiling, where a sizeable square protrusion stuck out from the top.

The downward view was amazing if one were to stop and admire it.

The shape had remained from the original plans, although the size had grown slightly, following Jack's orders. It looked like a hornet's nest in form, the conical interior shrinking the further down it went.

At the bottom, a large open area, with parks and a few buildings surrounding it, could be seen.

This was a school campus where kids could keep learning, the four buildings being a nursery, a kindergarten and primary school, a high school, and a teachers' facility.

All of them surrounded an enormous park where the kids could play. At first, he hadn't wanted such a waste of space.

But Jack insisted he offered the younger kids a chance at a regular upbringing. If only until they were old enough to fight.

At first, David had insisted it was a waste of time. But after threats from Jack to pull every worker out of the work site, David stepped on his anger and accepted.

Not that he had a choice.

But looking at it from above, he somehow felt content with saying yes. The shelter might be there to protect them from the dangers of the outside once shit hit the fan, but there was no reason to deprive them of at least some form of normality.

As the platform docked to the squarish outcropping, the doors opened to a cozy but minimalistic office. From there, he had access to all the camera feeds and his personal exit to the surface.

He had added this exit in case of immediate danger, where he could pop out without going the long way.

He hoped he would never have to use it, but that was wishful thinking.

Sitting down in a cozy chair behind a lavish oaken desk, the screen on the desk beeped and started flashing. This was a sign of an incoming call.

David already knew who was calling him and almost reflexively refused the incoming call. But he knew that if he did, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

So he pressed the green button on the screen.

"Ahh. Took you long enough. I hope you weren't thinking of skipping my call," Jack's voice came from the integrated speakers.

"The thought never crossed my mind, Jack. What can I do for you?"

"Hah!" Jack laughed.

"I'm having Alex come by my office downtown today. I want to discuss some upcoming events. How about you tag along? Or meet him there, for all I care. But I think you should be present."

David held back a sigh of exasperation, passing his hand through his messy hair.

"Sure. What time?" he asked, trying not to sound pissed.

"Be there around two PM. I'll make sure he isn't late, either. See you later."

The call hung up before David could even acquiesce.

"Urgh. That man is so obnoxious… Oh well. At least I won't be the only one who has to listen to him. I guess that means I can't sleep all day today… I better make something of my morning as well, then."

Opening the internet, David started browsing different news outlets worldwide, looking for specific mentions. At least, his morning wouldn't be wasted with sleep.