CHAPTER ONE
"So, Brains, what is this you've called us down here to demonstrate?"
"Well, Mr. Tracy, I'd like to wait until Gordon and Alan arrive, i-if you don't mind."
"Where are they? Scott?"
"I don't know, Father. I contacted Alan and he said they'd be right down."
"Here we are, guys," Alan said as he and Gordon crossed Thunderbird 2's hangar.
"Right," Brains said. He placed his hand at the corner of a large tarp that was covering his latest invention. Everyone waited expectantly as he began. "A-As you all know, we've been talking about doing some updating to the, uh, Thunderbird craft as well as building new vehicles for rescue situations. I-In light of these undertakings, I thought it might be a good idea if we had a more efficient method for learning to handle these new and changed vehicles."
"Why not just stick to the tried-and-true?" Scott asked. "We've never had trouble testing new machines before."
"Well, uh, that's very true. However, testing new vehicles and modified cockpits in deserted locations gives us no idea of how to handle them in rescue situations. With my latest invention, you will be able to operate all Thunderbird craft and rescue equipment in a variety of scenarios. This will not only alert us to possible problems, but also make you more capable in the field when the time comes for using that particular equipment."
"That's a good idea," Gordon piped up. "Especially for those of us who don't use the equipment as much. That way we're always prepared."
"Agreed," said Jeff. "Let's see this contraption of yours, Brains."
Brains nodded and replied, "Gentlemen, may I present to you VRVS, the Virtual Reality Vehicle Simulator." With that, Brains tugged on the tarp and pulled it away, revealing his newest pride and joy.
The VRVS consisted of two bucket seats side-by-side, housed within a frame that was shaped like an aerodynamic car. Mounted in front of each seat were identical screens that were at the same level any equipment control panel would be located. Brains explained that when a particular virtual reality program was loaded, the screen would take on the "identity" of the control panel for the rescue vehicle in question. In front of the two seats and above the control panel screens was a sixty-inch viewing screen. Hung behind each seat was a set of VR gloves and a pair of VR glasses.
"I call first dibs on the test run!" Alan exclaimed, plopping himself into the seat on the left.
"Me, too!" Gordon said as he took over Seat 2.
Jeff, Scott and Virgil laughed at the younger men's enthusiasm.
"O-Okay, why don't we start out with something simple, like the Mole?"
"Sounds good to me!" Gordon replied.
"All right. VRVS, this is Brains. Load The Mole Simulation Scenario One. Alan, Gordon, go ahead and put on the glasses and gloves," he said as the words 'THE MOLE - SIMULATION SCENARIO 1' appeared on the view screen.
Alan and Gordon did as requested and gasped as the scenario came to life. "Wow!" Alan exclaimed, "It looks like I'm right inside The Mole!"
"This is amazing!" Gordon added. "It's so real!"
"Now why is it the two youngest brothers are trying this out before the two oldest?" Scott asked.
"Doesn't seem quite right," Virgil replied thoughtfully.
"It's because we're quicker than you old farts," Gordon said.
"You better watch it," Alan interjected, "with our luck they'll yank these things off us while we're still inside."
"We might just, at that," Virgil chuckled.
"Everyone, that is something I need to caution you about," Brains said, his expression serious. He paused the simulation program as Gordon and Alan lifted the glasses away from their eyes. "You must never, ever remove the VR glasses while you're inside a simulation. This is the latest in virtual reality technology. It interfaces directly with your brain, which enables you to not only see things, but also hear, touch, smell and feel them as well. It's very realistic. And for these reasons, pulling off the glasses without properly shutting down or pausing the program could potentially cause neurological problems."
Jeff frowned. "Are you sure this is something we should be using? Is it safe?"
Brains nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes, Sir, it's quite safe as long as you follow that one simple rule. Negative neurological effects have only been reported twice in the tests conducted on the first VRVS created in the United States. I have altered their design in a variety of ways and minimized the potential for danger, but I still think it's best to err on the side of caution."
"Okay, Brains, we'll be careful," Scott said. "Now let's see this thing in action."
They spent the rest of the afternoon and much of the early evening trying out the VRVS. Scott and Virgil finally had to physically remove Gordon and Alan in order to get a chance to test it out. Jeff even sat in for a few rounds in Firefly and Thunderbird 1. Brains had never been happier. It seemed his latest creation was a smash hit with everyone.
When the Tracys had finally had their fill of the simulator, they headed up to the villa for a late dinner.
"Aren't you coming, Brains?" Jeff asked.
"Uh, no, Sir, I have a few modifications I'd like to make on the VRVS before I retire for the evening."
"All right, then. I'll send Grandma down with something for you to eat."
"Oh, uh, thank you, Sir," Brains replied. But his attention was already on the VRVS. He had removed the external control panel and was in the process of detaching the main CPU.
Jeff just shook his head as he followed his sons to the elevator. No wonder his engineer was so skinny. Food always seemed to be the last thing on Brains' mind. If it weren't for Kyrano and Ruth, Jeff was certain the young man would've starved by now.
It was almost 9:30 at night by the time Brains finished tinkering with the CPU. He reattached it into the VRVS frame and closed up the control panel. Not being one able to let an unfinished project lay unfinished, he loaded FIREFLY - SIMULATION SCENARIO 2 before settling into Seat 1. He put on the glasses and gloves and ordered the machine to begin the simulation. Voice interface was something he was just beginning to use, and it saved quite a bit of programming time, he was discovering.
Brains was still amazed by the realism the VRVS produced. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the Firefly. The panel screen directly in front of him looked just like Firefly's control panel. This virtual reality world, instead of being based entirely on images produced in the glasses, utilized the 60-inch screen positioned in front of the two seats as background. You could actually see through these VR glasses, almost as though they were sunglasses. The sights, sounds and smells associated with being within the scenario were created by a variety of impulses sent by the glasses through the eyes and into the brain.
It was the beginning of the second Firefly simulation. In this program, a skyscraper had collapsed into a large pile of rubble. Your mission as the pilot was to clear a path through the rubble to specified coordinates, which would enable the Mole to reach the area where it needed to start digging. You could choose to become the pilot of the Mole if you completed Firefly's mission successfully. If you did, you would be taken into the second Mole simulation.
Brains expertly moved Firefly out of Thunderbird 2's pod and headed for the burning pile of rubble. He could see his body if he looked down, and appreciated his own attention to detail when he saw he was wearing a white protective suit. In real life, even though Firefly was well shielded from heat, the driver could still become uncomfortably warm, and so protective suits remained a necessity. That was one of the things Brains intended to work on: increasing Firefly's insulatory factor to shield the cockpit from intense heat.
As he neared the rubble, Brains felt the air become warmer. He lowered the dozer and initiated the cannon in its center. Aiming, he fired a nitroglycerin charge into the mass in front of him. The force of the blast shoved Firefly backwards, and he smiled. Brains actually felt like he was being bumped along in the vehicle as the explosion occurred.
"Guess that little enhancement did the trick," he said aloud. "Now for dozing the rubble…"
Ruth Tracy stepped into the elevator just outside the Lounge. In her hands she held a silver tray containing a large bottle of water, and a plate filled with different items they'd had for dinner…including a warm slice of apple pie.
She pondered Brains as the elevator descended. "It's a wonder that man doesn't just waste away," she said to the metal walls surrounding her. "No wonder Jeff wanted me to make sure I took him some dinner. All he does is work, work, work." Almost before she'd completed the sentence, the elevator went dark and jerked to a halt.
"Now, what in blazes is this all about?"
"We blew a fuse?" Jeff asked.
"Seems that way, Father," Gordon replied.
"Good thing we have emergency lighting. Gordon, Alan, I want you to check it out."
"F.A.B., Dad," they replied.
A buzzer soon sounded from the console behind Jeff's desk. He pressed a button and spoke. "This is Jeff Tracy."
"Jeff, it's your mother."
"Mother? Where are you?"
"Stuck in the elevator. What's going on?"
"Gordon seems to think we blew a fuse. He and Alan are off checking it out as we speak. Are you okay in there?"
"Sure, a small emergency light came on."
"Well, if it looks like it'll be any longer than a few minutes, I'll send the boys to get you out."
"Okay."
Jeff closed the Emergency Elevator channel and sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Millions of dollars worth of machinery and equipment, my own atomic power generator and the brightest scientist in the world…and still, my fuses blow."
Within ten minutes, Gordon and Alan had reset the main breaker and the Tracy complex was once more flooded with working lights. The elevator bumped softly into gear and continued its downward trek. Ruth picked up the silver tray from where she'd set it on the floor and sighed in relief. She wasn't claustrophobic by any means, but being stuck inside a small elevator could get awfully uncomfortable.
It finally came to rest on the concrete floor of Thunderbird 2's hangar. The doors opened and Ruth stepped out and turned to her left, heading for the far corner of the hangar, where she knew Brains had set up his simulator machine. She didn't know much about it…technology was not her forte…but her son and grandsons had talked of nothing else throughout dinner, so she had an idea that whatever Brains had come up with this time, it was pretty fancy. And a lot of fun, if Gordon and Alan were any indication.
Ruth rounded a corner into a smallish nook in the back of the hangar and to Thunderbird 2's left. She saw the back of the machine she'd never seen before, as well as a long metal table Brains had set up against the left wall, just six feet from the VRVS. Brains himself, however, was nowhere to be seen. She approached the table and set the tray down, then looked into the machine. There were two seats in it, but both were empty. In one of them lay a pair of black shaded glasses and two black gloves. On the large screen mounted in the front of the frame, there was what looked to be the burning remains of a collapsed building.
"It's not like Brains to wander off with one of his gadgets still running," she mused as she headed back out into the cavern. "Brains!" she called. Only her own echoing voice replied. She tried again. "Brains! Where are you?"
Are you…are you…are you… her voice echoed back.
"Hm. That's odd. Oh, well. At least the food's here for when he comes back."
Ruth returned to the elevator and pressed the top button to be taken back to the main house. It never occurred to her that Brains' absence from the VRVS might actually be a sign that something had gone wrong.
For indeed, something had gone wrong. Horribly and completely wrong. As the Tracys would soon discover...