2023

  Chapter 46

  Colin had a meeting room on the top floor booked. Panoramic view, almost 360 degrees. You could see all the way from the mountains in the East, across the bay to the You Yangs in the South. He sat and waited for the troops to arrive.

  Young, eager. Ian and Xiaoli. Only two years in the service. Their big chance. Colin could sense the excited neurons, the energy. Neat. Alert. Standard issue. Like bloody robots.

  He began.

  “I don’t need to stress the urgency here. You are aware of the details of the penetration attack. The sophistication. What you don’t know was how successful it was.”

  There had been a general email. But it didn’t say that.

  “The success of their operation is largely down to one person.”

  A picture of Phil came up on the screen. Together with a smattering of data and related files.

  “What do we know about him?”

  Ian almost jumped out of his chair to lead their presentation.

  “Born Melbourne 1977. Educated Scotch College. Top of his class years 6-12. Scholarship to Melbourne University. First class honours. Dean’s prize.”

  “In short?”

  “Top 1% intelligence.”

  “And yet?”

  “Quirky. Has a taste for the low life. Drinking. Gambling. Turned away from the intellectual life. Worked as a low level manager in a software company.”

  “Until?”

  “Until he was recruited into the Abromowitz group. Recently. In November.”

  “Most important achievement in that capacity?”

  They both looked glum now.

  “Disabling the Maryvale power station. Out of action for two months.”

  Colin turned away from them and stared out at the view. Concentrated on the middle distance. Was that somebody launching a yacht at the beach in St Kilda?

 

  Chapter 47

  Early morning in our campsite at Leongatha. Us and about two thousand others. Staging posts on the trail. If you got caught between campsites it was a problem. Food. Water. All structured now around the bicycle road north. Or for the moment, East. The mountains dictated the path. You had to cross them somewhere, but the later the better.

  There had always been heavier rainfall in the south-east. So water here was less of an issue. North of the divide, there wasn’t enough water to support the pilgrimage. Here you registered with an organisation and they would arrange to have enough food and water for you. All local, all out of the local towns.

  Today’s target is Port Welshpool. Misty. I stood looking out across a sea of tents. The young kids up at first light. Running, chasing through the maze of tent pegs and ropes. In the short period before their parents stirred they had the whole campsite to themselves. A football ground, it used to be. Now full time as a campsite.

  I put on the glasses. Under no circumstances was I to communicate with Max, Alice or Kylie. I had a new mocked up identity that masked everything. No trails for security to follow.

  Phil stirred in the tent. I scanned the digital universe. Somewhere above us now the drones would be searching. Drifting like small birds, swooping and searching. Just for an identification of Phil: from the profile, the walking gait, or even better from an image of his face. Larger drones hovered and launched smaller drones. In the scan view it looked like a swarm of butterflies.

  It weighed on you. Just by being here we were putting these people at risk. Now Phil was stirring. I got the gas cooker going. Here we had to eat for fuel. No food, no pedal pushing, no progress.

  “Drones.” I said.

  “Of course.”

  “What are our chances?”

  “Wrong question. Ask yourself how to make their task harder.”

  “How?”

  “Stick close to the group. Don’t give the drones a target.”

  “Sounds like security through obscurity.”

  “Works for a while.”

  “Of course there is always Plan B.”

  “Don’t bullshit. There is no Plan B.”

  Then there were the scattered ground sensors. The same dust we used. Tags that picked up any transmission in a ten meter radius and relayed it. We couldn’t see them. Only scan for them. Like a ritual, the scanner.

  Without a starting point they had a long human trail to sift through. It was going to take them a while.

 

  Chapter 48

  Colin stared at the view as if it was the first time he had seen it. When was the first time? At the interview, fifteen years ago. He had been so young and eager. Even more than these two, he thought. Now it was like a forced march across a desert. But he didn’t like to think of the alternative.

  “So what are our options?” he asked, turning to face Ian and Xiaoli. Ian spoke first.

  “We have re-tasked the drones. Tomorrow they will start detailed searches.”

  Xiaoli chimed in.

  “With detailed analysis we can progressively narrow the search.”

  They are like twins, Colin thought. Do they practice this stuff in a mirror before they come up here?

  “Which might bring us to a 50 kilometre stretch of road, containing about 5000 people.”

  Ian brought up a slide.

  “This is the drone search pattern. In two or three days we are confident of a location.”

  Colin replied.

  “Assuming they don’t take counter measures.”

  The twins looked a bit blank.

  “They are travelling by bicycle.” Xiaoli interjected.

  Colin continued.

  “They have wireless access to the cloud. Full coverage. In all respects they have access to the same computing resources as if they were sitting here. I’m really sick of us underestimating them, playing catchup.”

 

  Chapter 49

  At the lunch stop, Phil was connected. He had the glasses and the gloves on. I could see the tiny movements of his fingers. It was like he was in a trance. So tiny the movements. He was totally lost in it.

  “Searching?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I’m setting up some alerts as well. We will know when the drones are close.”

  “And we will do what?”

  “Exactly.”

  I didn’t like it when Phil was stuck for a plan. It didn’t happen very often.

  Now the crowd was moving again. We were just west of Toora. I could see the wind farm up on the hill. Slowly moving in the slight breeze.

  I could see a rider with a heavily laden bike ahead. Lots of gear. Not your normal gear. It looked like equipment of some sort. What on earth was he going to do with it? I caught up with him.

  “Andrew”

  “Frederick”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what is all that gear?”

  “Electronics. My profession. I need this for my work.”

  “In the new settlements?”

  “Yes.”

  Foresight, I thought. But a very heavy load to carry.

  Later that afternoon we pulled into Port Welshpool. A major stop. So we found ourselves in the midst of thousands putting up the tents. I thought I caught a glimmer of a drone hovering over the beach. I grabbed Phil.

  “Isn’t that a drone over there?”

  “I’ll scan.”

  “Well?”

  “On a broad loop.”

  I looked around. All the people.

  “Just by being here. We put all these people at risk. They could go for the scatter principle.”

  Phil looked straight back at me. That serious look.

  “They need confirmation. They wouldn’t be certain that they had eliminated us.”

  I looked around. Phil looked around also.

  “You want to tell them who we are. Why we are here?”

  “No. But.”

  “Yes. Of course we put them at risk.”

 

  “The objective?” He asked.

  “To arrive north of Orbost. Undetec
ted.”

  “You got us into this.”

  “You’re not going to start on about Kylie.”

  “Ha. Of course.”

  “The only reason I’m here. But why are you here?”

  “I’m here because I want to be here. So are these people. Yes, I know that we can’t tell them everything. What do you think they would say?”

  “I don’t know. That’s what worries me.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you. They would say: Holy Shit, what a prime target. Then they would think a bit. There has to be a way out of the situation we all find ourselves in. We can’t go on this way. We have to break the cycle. You and I are the only thing here that can change that.”

  I stared back. Nothing to say.

  “Now, are we going to cook something, or what?”

  Chapter 50

  Again the tent city collapsed itself. Synchronised almost. One or two would collapse, then the rest followed in a wave. Soon everyone was packed and moving.

  The heat. Even at this time of the morning you could feel it. It was frightening, because it meant the risk of fires. Out here stretched out in the long line, we would be very exposed. From here on it was almost all forest. Dense forest.

  You had to put that out of your mind. The straggling caravan. Riding in a steady rhythm. East.

  Chapter 51

  Colin had all communications on bypass. He could do that for a few minutes. Before somebody overrode the settings. Even the simple things like getting to work were a real struggle now. Elaborate security for the kids. Bugger it if I’m going to come to work with an armed escort, he thought. If it comes to that I’ll just give it away. And do what?

  The morning briefing. The eager twins. Shit.

  “Morning. I trust we are making progress.”

  He was determined to push them.

  “We have a new tack. Psychological analysis. It indicates a strong tendency to take control of a situation. To take responsibility.”

  “Oh, I see. So we should issue an appeal. They should take responsibility for putting my retirement fund in peril?” Colin stared back at them.

  Where do they get them from? Like two eager puppies. Now they were beginning to show signs of being annoyed. Good, he thought.

  “We would like to make use of this profile.”

  “Fine. Whatever. We are out of time.”

  Chapter 52

  I liked to slow down, and ride with the kids. They were determined. In a way they had grown up on bikes, so they were part of a new fitter generation. Today a series of small hills. You could see the next hill only when you got to the top. Always another. As far as you could see the column stretched in both directions. Of course it stretched all the way back to Melbourne, and all the way to north of Brisbane in the direction we were going.

  The butterflies looped across the road. As if they were escorting us. On the flat stretches we bunched tightly together - everyone travelling at the same speed. But on the hills we stretched out in a long straggly line.

  This part of the road was all forest. It had been a park for a very long time, and the vegetation came right up to the edge of the road. Today would be hot, and we would welcome the shade.

  “Magic day.” I said to Phil.

  “Beats the office.”

  “I wonder whether there will ever be an office again?”

  “Sure. This will all be over before you know it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Small country. No friends. Toast.”

  I tried to imagine the wall of lights. It was fading, which I took as a good sign.

  A glint in the sky. Above the column. I knew what it was, even from this distance. The drones would swoop and dive over the column, searching for us. We were riding along a flat stretch, with a hill in front of us. The drone was above the hill. It was stationary. I was transfixed.

  A puff of smoke. A pause. An arc from the drone to the column. The missile found its mark. A muffled explosion. Then another.

  Everyone in the column looked forward, surged forward. The children screamed. I looked across at Phil.

  “Quick. We have to help.”

  Phil stopped. Just stood staring ahead. Not saying anything. Then he turned and looked straight at me.

  “No. No. We can’t. The whole purpose of that strike is to attract us.”

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  I threw the bike to the ground. Stood right next to him. Tears streaming down my face. For I knew that he was right.

  By the time we got to the site of the attack, it was almost cleaned up. Just a few of the lightly wounded waiting. We were careful to stay within the centre of the convoy.

 

  Chapter 53

  That night we had a campfire.

  “Orbost?” I asked.

  How were we going to ride on our own? When we turned north, we would be two figures on our own. Easy for a satellite coming over to zoom in on us. A drone could be over us within a few minutes. A missile not long after.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “No ideas.”

  “Nothing that will work. Half-baked stuff.”

  Now I was really worried. Smartest guy in the room. Always. It was a comforting thing. Here we were, in new territory.

  I guessed Alice, Kylie were already at the camp. Max also. I would have liked to ask them. But we were forbidden. No outward communication at all. So I drifted off to sleep with thoughts of drones buzzing in my head. Swarming. The flash. Then oblivion.

  The mood over breakfast continued. As if we had a sentence hanging over our heads. Setting off into a slight headwind.

  I tried juggling the problem in my mind. Greatest strength as greatest weakness. Random things. Repetitive hacks. Nothing.

  The long line of bicycles was like a moving social club. I caught up to Frederick. Somehow his eccentricity appealed as a comfort.

  “What altitude are we at?” I asked. Knowing that he would have the answer.

  “Only about 350 metres here.”

  “Do we have to climb much today?”

  “Only about 400 metres. Depends how far we go.”

  “I find the small hills tough.”

  “The kids struggle as well.”

  “You mentioned that you used to work in communications. Did you like it?”

  “I had a great job in a lab. I did diagnostic work.”

  “Know much about drones?”

  I was on the edge here. I tried not to put a note of desperation in my voice. Frederick turned round and looked at me. I could see him working it through. Looking across at Phil. Thinking back to the attack.

  We came to a rest stop. In violation of every protocol, I just spilled it all. I explained who Phil and I were, and what we were trying to do. He only asked a few questions. Thoughtful.

  After the rest, I caught up with Phil. Told him what I’d done. He didn’t say anything either. He just looked into the long distance, and then said.

  “Sometimes you just have to take a leap into the dark.”

  In the morning, raindrops on the tent. Not strong rain, but it meant packing up in the rain. Stretching out tarpaulins we tried to catch as much as we could for drinking.

  Now I was thinking only of the end. That I would miss the daily bustle. The long line of refugees. The companionship. Out on our own it was going to be much tougher.

  Chapter 54

  Colin stared across the table at Ian and Xiaoli. They didn’t have to summarise the situation. The urgency.

  “Behavioural modelling?”

  “They didn’t fall for it.”

  “A leak?”

  “No. They just know us well.”

  “Suggestions?” Colin asked.

  “Use a massive mote spray. Grab everything and try an identification.”

  “Send a fake message.”

  “Massive swarm of drones.”

  Desperation was evident.

 

  Chapter 55


  Lakes Entrance. Used to be a holiday spot. I could remember going there as a kid. Now, we came over the hill and looked down on it. At low tide the water on the main street was only about 10 centimetres deep, but at high tide about 70 centimetres. Not much, but enough for the whole town to be abandoned. We had to stay in the hills, cut through and rejoin the highway. Dirt tracks mostly. At least the cover was good.

  Next morning I put on the glasses. You could see the drones swooping. Again and again they came in low.

  I looked across at Frederick. He had a small pistol, like a dart gun. I gave him the glasses, and then watched. Aiming carefully, he fired once and missed. Sat back, took more careful aim upwards. Then I could see one of the drones fall beside the road.

  Catching up, Phil and Frederick had the drone. They had already powered it off. Frederick had a soldering iron. It would take a while.

  “You better go on ahead. We’ll catch you.”

  Orbost is a small place. Used to be mostly timber logging. We rode past the abandoned sawmill. Down the hill, and across a large wooden bridge. Hard to imagine the floods, but you could see the markers and realise that at the highest point they would be just below the bridge itself.

  Here we were at the turning point. I waited for Phil and Frederick. Our direction was north, and up. Lots of up.

 

  Chapter 56

  Like a war room. Colin sitting at the back. Not really directing operations, just sitting. Big screen. Huge screen. About twenty people sitting at smaller screens. Some with glasses on. Visualisations. Fancy analyses going on.

  “That’s a lock on Phil in the top right corner display.” Ian eager to show the results that he finally had. A result.

  Colin replied:

  “Excellent. I want verification. Keep tracking.”

  The red dot on the screen kept moving along the road. Steadily. Only occasional visuals. Tree cover blocked out most of the time.

  “When you have it you know what to do.”

  “Verified?” Colin asked.

  “Not yet complete.”

  Colin stared at the screen. Something was not right.

  “Give me a full frequency analysis of that signal.”

  “Huh. What for?”

  “Just do it.”

  A few moments later the analysis came up. Colin responded.

  “Look at that. You’ve been hacked. It’s totally artificial. Hacked to the road pattern.”