The Ohso Project: The Recruit, Jeff Thomason [books for 5 year olds to read themselves txt] 📗

out of the doorways and up and down the hall.

“Where are we?”

“The Ohso Project,” Mrs. Lorraine answered.

“I’ve never heard of that. Where is it?”

“I would be surprised if you had. It’s nearly 25,000 light years from Earth, as the comet flies.”

Drew looked at her with an upraised eyebrow. “No, seriously, where are we?”

“We are 25,000 light years from Earth at the Ohso Project.”

He studied her face carefully. “You’re not joking, are you?”
“No, I’m not.”

“How did we get here? 25,000 light years is a lot of distance to cover.”

“And you don’t think we just moved really fast?”

“Well, we could have, but doesn’t the theory of relativity tell us as you increase speed you also increase mass so you can never exceed the speed of light because you would gain infinite mass? And we’d have to exceed it by about 25 million times to get here so quickly.”

“It does say that, but it turns out that isn’t exactly true. Once you reach light speed, you do gain infinite mass, but instead of that being a limitation it is actually an empowerment. With infinite mass you can manipulate the fundamental forces of the universe and break the so called ‘laws of physics’. Traveling from one point in the universe to another becomes a simple matter. That archway accelerated every particle in our bodies to the speed of light and then here we are.”

“That’s pretty scary having that kind of power.”

“That’s why we don’t tell anyone about it. It’d be too easy to abuse. Just imagine what a government would do with it.”

Drew shuddered. “But how can you keep such a marvelous discovery a secret? It seems the incentive to share would be too great.”

“First, we don’t tell anyone about it who isn’t associated with the Project. Second, only a chosen few in the project understand the details well enough to use them. Third, the idea is contrary to currently understood principles of science and would be regarded by anyone who accidentally learned of it as science heresy.”

“So, what is the Ohso Project, and what are we doing here?”
“This is where we all work. I’ve arranged to change your first period social science class to work study. You’ll go to the library each morning with the other club members and come here to work. You’ll be paid very generously, of course. Plus we spend our two hour weekly meeting here and occasionally work Saturdays.”

Drew considered this. “What will I be doing exactly?”

“Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

They walked towards the grand stairway.

“So I’ll be working for you?”

“Oh, no. I’m merely the liaison with the high school. There is a council of 12 men who oversee the entire project, but they are very busy. You won’t see much of them.”

They came to an intricately carved staircase. Drew lifted one foot and started to set it down on the first step when he felt his entire body lift off the ground. He floated to the top of the stairway.

“What was that?”

“A more efficient escalator. Here at the Ohso Project, we’ve collected the brightest minds from around the galaxy to work in various groups on various projects. One of those groups specializes in gravity. That was one of their many contributions. The lower floor is the Hallway.” She pointed to the endless row of doors. “It connects the Project with every point in the Milky Way Galaxy. These upper floors are where we work. You’ve been invited to join the History Group.”

“History? Bah. That’s boring.”

She smiled. “Not the way we do it.”

She led him into a large room lined with shelves stretching from floor to the 40’ ceiling. The only breaks were two windows reaching halfway down the wall that let in ample light.

“Pick a book off the shelf.”

“Does it matter which one?”

“Nope. Anyone you like will be fine.”

He reached for one nearby and pulled it out. It wasn’t a book, at least not the normal paper kind. It appeared to be a sheet of thick glass. Auckland, New Zealand: 2001-2002 was written in glowing letters across the front. He instinctively ran his hand over the words. They vanished revealing a city map. He noticed a timeline at the bottom of the map instead of a legend. He zoomed in to a street corner and slid the timeline over. A video played showing a souvenir shop at night. Nothing was happening. He slid the timeline forward several hours. Now the street was bustling with life. People walked in the shop with their holiday money and left carrying a bag filled with expensive souvenirs to impress their friends at home. He instinctively used two fingers and scrolled to the clothes store next door. He zoomed in the window and saw one shopper obtaining a shirt using a ‘five-fingered discount’.

“So is this actual footage of Auckland? Or is it some sort of recreation?”

“These slates contain actual recordings of events.”

“How did you get the footage?”

“As you know, we don’t directly observe the world around us. For example, we don’t actually see people or events take place. What we see is the light reflected off people and places. That light continues to travel forever thru the universe. We capture and record it on these slates.”

“But if we’re really 25,000 light years away from Earth, the light from this event wouldn’t have reached us yet. So how was it recorded?”

“I was wondering if you would notice that. We have observatories stationed throughout the galaxy record events from all angles and then transmit the information to us. That’s why you were able to scroll around in the movie and see what was happening around the shop.”

“That is so amazing. Really, really cool.”

“I told you the way we did History wasn’t boring.”

“So am I going to help with the recording?”

“No, that’s all automated and only a small part of what we do. No, what we have for you requires a higher level of thinking. Are you aware that three people can witness the same event but give you three completely different versions of what happened?”

“Yes.”

“People interpret the world around them thru the filters of their own biases and experiences. That can cause a lot of problems when it comes to decisions that affect one or more parties’ well being. If you don’t know what actually happened, you can’t make a fair judgment, unless dumb luck steps in which you can’t count on. We have assembled a team of astute observers who see past what they want to see and instead report what really happened. People like yourself that notice the small but important details and realize what they mean.”

“But to what end? That knowledge seems hardly valuable in and of itself.”

“You’re right. Any knowledge by itself is useless; it’s the application of knowledge that gives it its value. Our interpretations are used to settle disputes in trials, arbitrations, mediations, and private confrontations throughout the inhabited systems of the galaxy. Disputes get settled much more quickly and with much less hostility when both sides have complete and accurate information.”

“Why doesn’t anyone on Earth use our services? It would simplify so much.”

“Some groups do, and their disputes are resolved very quickly and to the satisfaction of all parties. They just don’t disclose the details of the settlement.”

“Do they know where the information comes from?”

“They know generally, but we keep the details fuzzy.”

“How do they find out about us?”

“From other clients. We’re strictly referral based.”

“I still find it hard to believe no one suspects this operation exists, not even the conspiracy theorists.”

“Oh, they do. There is a lot of well-documented evidence of our existence and our activities on the Internet. We just make sure it’s posted to the most outlandish of conspiracy theorist websites so no one will take any of it seriously. You’d be amazed how easily it is to hide something in plain sight.”

“But don’t any of the workers here ever talk?”

“We only recruit high school juniors and seniors. Anything they say is written off as a desperate plea for attention or an overactive imagination resulting from playing too many video games.”

“I can see that. But why only juniors and seniors? Wouldn’t it be advantageous to have some university graduate level minds?”

“No. Experience has shown that high school students are smart enough to figure out almost anything, but still open enough to see there are multiple sides to every issue. Once in college, a person is indoctrinated to believe only two sides exist and they must pick one and dogmatically stick to it. University students, ironically, are the least flexible thinkers.”

Drew considered the irony.

“Besides, we don’t approach anyone who won’t accept our offer and keep our confidences.”

“How could you possible know what someone will or will not do? Is there a department that sees the future?”

She laughed. “No, nothing like that. I, and several others like me, can read minds. That’s what makes me such a great recruiter, liaison, and secretary.”

Drew scrunched his face. “Mrs. Lorraine, if you are so talented, why do you waste your time as a high school secretary?”

“Why do you think it’s wasted?”

“Well, you sit in an office all day and type. Hardly anyone even knows your name.”

“True, I don’t receive any of the fame or adoration or respect that certain administrators do, but that doesn’t mean what I do isn’t important or essential or even fulfilling. And I do a lot more than just type. No office or firm could function without a secretary to handle the day-to-day tasks; we are essential to keeping the machinery of business running. And a school is just a big business; it has to maintain attendance, manage finances, handle events, and do a number of other things. Plus it puts me in the perfect position to find such promising students like you.” She smiled.

Drew nodded.

“I sense you have another concern.”

He looked away, then looked back at her. “How am I going to tell my parents? They’ll have to sign my work study authorization, and I’m afraid ‘historian in the center of the universe’ won’t sound legitimate.”

“They’ve already signed it. I obtained their permission before I approached you.”

“And they were all right with me working so far from home?”

“I may have left out a few details. Any other questions?”

“Just one,” he rubbed his hands together, “where do I start?”

Copyright 2011 Jeff Thomason. All rights reserved.
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