Siena was conceptualised by the then Commander-in-Chief Viers and Prime Minister Shooter sixty seven years ago. It was the time when the budget for military research was increased exponentially, in line with the country's vision of turning into a superpower in the next twenty years. Many projects were funded across the board, some of them known publicly, some so secret that few even within the military and the government were aware. These were the black projects. All that was known was the rumour that there were something called the black projects. And since a lot of money, and ambition, was involved, there was a need to keep record. Thus was born, Siena.
Siena was the highest tier black project. There was never more than a handful of people who knew Siena existed.
Vesper was walking around in such a Siena, like it was his backyard. He began with searching for the dimensional rift project. The project was described very different in Siena. The dimensional rift project was kickstarted after the discovery of the phenomenon that was titled the rift. From military perspective, the rift presented a glorious opportunity. A new world. New resources. A wholly new solution to all problems. The dimensional rift project was a mostly theoretical project and an umbrella covering many projects, some just as big and others smaller.
Probe was a project for building non-manned probes to be sent through the rift to the other side. The primary goal being information gathering, with the secondary goals of initiating contact and integrating into the other side.
Datalink was about designing long range communication with high speed and high volume data transfer capability.
Blue Grass was about studying natural vegetation on the other side, with the primary goal of evolving research into new foods on our side.
Steel was about designing bio-suits on a whole new model, primarily for supporting the wave of investigators.
— There's a lot. How much do you understand?
Vesper didn't answer immediately. He recognised a few projects along with their true purpose that was very different from what was in the documents. Probes were what were called Helios in the war. They made up the first wave of attacks, and even more importantly, provided impeccable cover and support to the more lethal forces. He recognised Steel, the bio-suits. The designs in the document were obviously of the first couple of generations. In the war, the soldiers were dressed in much more powerful suits, that bore unmistakable resemblance, and they were referred to as armour. The most terrifying of all, was the Blue Grass. In the war, they called it the blue rain. Tiny blue spores were sprinkled over areas dense with population. The blue rain fell and liquefied everyone that came into contact with it. Forty seven percent of the population was lost to the blue rain. The blue rain was the true start of the war.
— Damn. That's terrifying. And horrible. Was that how you began?
"Yeah," he said, smiling sadly in reminiscence. "Before, we were all kids. Normal kids. Protected from the harsh war headed our way. Went to school. Complained about homework and punishments teachers gave us. Fought over who won in ball games. Boys fought over girls. Girls fought over boys. Dreamed of what we would be after growing up. Doctors. Engineers. Bankers. Bakers. Professional gamers. Writers. We dreamed of our first kiss. The first taste of beer. The first puff of cigarettes. That morning, we were complaining about the sudden math test. Suddenly, the sky turned black, as if covered by rain clouds. There was no sound, no noise. The blue rain fell with no preceding announcement. Many went out, out of curiosity. We weren't allowed to, because we hadn't completed the test. Still, those sitting next to the windows, stuck their heads out, to get a closer look. Then came hell. The school was filled with deafening screams. Teachers, students, boys and girls, were screaming as they melted. In our classroom, right next to us, our friends, grumbling in complaint a minute ago, were gone. Then came the silence. Louder than the screams, more deafening and much more terrifying. Seventeen of us survived in our class, twenty three others in the rest of the school. Our math teacher, Ms Shuri, tried saving a girl, and was gone too. Not even a hundred survived in all of the town. The town population was forty nine thousand, before the blue rain. That was my beginning. My initiation to the war."
— I'm sorry.
"Why? That's a past that isn't anymore. This is why the war must be stopped. Our beautiful life cannot be ruined again."
— Agreed. You recognise some. What about the others?
"We'll understand after some studying."
— Sure, we will. But it might take forever. We need help.
He agreed. He could certainly use help. And it was only a matter of waiting. Tonight, he would have help. Tonight, he would be rekindling old friendships.
"Brunar. What do you think about him?"
— Hmm. I don't know.
"I know. Right?"
— Feels so weird.
"You know what's weirder? That I can't bring myself to think about how weird it must be for him."
— Oh come on. You have better words than those.
"Screw that. He knows. Don't know how much. But he knows."
— And that, I think, is the most important. That he knows. Makes us truly friends.
He stopped as he saw Mia poke her head through the door pushed open just enough. Their eyes met. She broke into a wide grin. Squeezed a hand in, with which she waved. He smiled back. She rushed over, practically hopping.
"What are you reading?" She asked.
"How are you here?" He asked back.
"Missed you. Class isn't the same without you. I'm supposed to be with my best friend."
"Mr Prasad let you?"
"I do what I want," she said simply.
He nodded in agreement. That was definitely how it should be.
— We do what we want. Rings true. Sounds.
Vesper understood, even if the sentence was incomplete. It sounded near.
He saw her looking into the screens, and he moved to make space for her. She sat by him, and took over. Her eyes darted across the screens faster than his, and they were glowing so much brighter. As he looked on, his smile morphed into shock and then into delight. As she read, she reorganised the screens, each with a project document. And it wasn't random. She was clearly forming a picture. He could see that much, even if he couldn't entirely see the picture.
"Interesting," she said, as she laid the dimensional rift project on the top. "Just a little more, and it would be complete."
"What do you mean?"
She looked at him with a grin, demanding praise.
"You're very good," he praised.
She was pleased.
"What do you mean?" He asked again.
"Well," she said slowly. "The dimensional rift project is like the umbrella under which the other projects are. But, if you look close, the thread connecting them all is missing. How do I put it, um, the why. Why all of this. That's missing."
"The motive?"
"Yeah, that's it. The motive. Maybe there's another project which clarifies everything. Show me the dump."
"The database, you mean," he corrected.
"Database. Dump. Same thing. Show me."
— Show her. She knows what she's doing.
He was surprised. He only had the knowledge. So, how could he be so sure about Mia?
"Sure," he said, and pulled up the screen with Siena.
"Great," she said, almost uninterestedly. And looked into Siena.