Tablet of Destinies Read Free Page B

operations base?’ Maelgwn turned a circle referring to the room around him. ‘We can speak freely here, as no one knows of its existence any more, not even the men who designed and built it. It is pretty much impenetrable, indestructible and bugproof. Even if you or I have been bugged, no transmission will penetrate these walls,’ he announced, well proud of the setup.
    Noah, although most impressed by the Governor’s foresight and vision, couldn’t really see the need for such measures. ‘No offence, Governor, but this is not the Dark Ages. Couldn’t we have just removed our thought-wave neutralisers and communicated telepathically? After all, no one can monitor the telepathic process from a distance.’ Or, Noah thought, there could be thingsthe Governor is not telling me and therefore does not want to risk opening his mind to me.
    â€˜Out of sight, out of mind,’ Maelgwn replied, removing the thought-wave neutraliser from his wrist and casting it on the table. ‘Ah,’ he sighed, so liberated that he began removing all the remaining electronic paraphernalia from his person: weapons, communication devices, thought-recorders and even his all-terrain boots. The Governor was left wearing only his trousers and a light, loose-fitting shirt. ‘I feel free here, free to speak and move … free to think!’ he exclaimed loudly, throwing his arms up to embrace the moment. ‘You see, for you this rebellion is only just starting.’ The Governor let his arms drop back to his sides. ‘But I have had to carry the knowledge of the eventuality for seventy years, whilst constantly under the scrutiny of those I mean to shake up … I love this place, no one can hear or see me, unless I wish it.’
    As Noah’s doubts about Maelgwn’s motives were swept away, he offloaded all of his devices onto the table as well. ‘So how many people know about this place?’
    â€˜Tory and myself, as it was our brainchild,’ he explained. ‘And now you,’ Maelgwn concluded, stunning Noah with the fact that such a confidence should be bestowed upon him.
    â€˜But surely, as Head of Defence and wife of the Vice-Governor, Candace knows?’ Noah was horrified. What if something adverse was to happen to Maelgwn and his wife; no one would know about their hidden agenda?
    â€˜You would know,’ Maelgwn advised, catching the scholar’s thought. ‘And you are the only one who needs to know right now.’ As Noah appeared to be a littlebemused, Maelgwn thought he’d take Noah’s mind off his newly-bestowed responsibility. ‘Allow me to show you around.’
    â€˜You mean there’s more?’ Noah was shocked.
    â€˜Of course there’s more.’ Maelgwn passed by Noah to exit out the same door through which they had entered. ‘You can’t win an interstellar war with a boardroom table and a few chairs.’
    Noah followed the Governor back down the tunnel. Maelgwn was counting the large panelled sections of the floor as he went. ‘Twenty-seven, twenty-eight! Here we are,’ he announced facing the tunnel wall on his right and, with a mental command, the section of the wall disappeared to reveal a transporter plate. ‘The boardroom is just a decoy,’ he explained and he stepped onto the teleporter.
    â€˜I figured.’ Noah grinned and stepped on board, whereupon a wall manifested to enclose them in the secret annex.
    â€˜To the pit,’ Maelgwn advised the teleporter, and then raised his brows at Noah as they were sped forth.
    What the Governor had created here beneath the park in Chaliada’s city centre was not just a few secure chambers to escape to, but a major communications, research and defence complex.
    As Noah was shown through the control centre that housed a multitude of inactive psychokinetic databases complete with accompanying hardware, he gaped in awe. It was not the sight of the