236 - triage

he room was already abuzz as Billie stepped into it. So, the rumors she had heard were most likely true. Her coworkers hardly noticed her presence as she glided past the cubicles and through the rows of workstations. Her faithful assistant, Teddy, was the only one who greeted her. No amount of excitement could cause him to lose focus on his boss.

"Well, Teddy, what's the word?" Billie asked in her usual fashion, taking the cup of coffee from her assistant's hands as she simultaneously unlocked the door to her small private office.

"Sunlight," Teddy said with delight as Billie slid into the chair behind a cluttered desk. "The photosensors started sending back blips of readings at around three o'clock this morning. Of course, we've had so many false positives before, but this time the readings have been growing steadily stronger all morning."

Billie caressed the warm cup in her hand, taking a sip and savoring its heat. Among the piles of reports and other office detritus on her desk, she found a spot to put the cup down. She exhaled deeply.

"So, we're there," she stated as a matter of fact.

"Finally!" Teddy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I sometimes wondered if this day would ever really come!"

Billie quickly shot a glance at the door behind Teddy. She trusted him with her deepest thoughts and emotions. Beyond him, though, she preferred to project the aura of an unshakeable leader.

The door was indeed shut. Her eyes could safely well up, and indeed they did so. Tears streamed down her face, and she was unable to fully pinpoint why. The emotions within her at the moment ran the gamut. Relief, happiness, doubt, fear. She was at once wholly vindicated and at a complete loss.

Teddy was quick with the tissues.

"I have to admit, so did I. I had my doubts," she began through the tears. "All those religious nuts, constantly harping about how this was a violation of the perfect world that the benefactors created for us."

"When we failed to get any readings after such a long time, I thought, maybe they were right. Maybe there really was nothing beyond the walls," she continued.

Teddy smiled. "Imagine how much they are going to flip their lids now that we've finally pushed through. Definitive proof that there is something beyond!"

"Oh, please, don't even start!" Billie lamented, preemptively rubbing her temples. Already, she was sobering up from the emotional overload, once again thinking like the efficient tactician she was known to be.

"I can already hear them now," she said. "They'll say that, although our robotic drills have finally cleared a path, we must not venture forth ourselves, for fear of the benefactors' wrath. I can't imagine what it will be like for the person we send through first."

"Some people have suggested that it should be you," Teddy offered.

Billie laughed out loud. "Impossible! I'm too old now to be a great explorer. No, it's a nice thought, though. It'll have to be Dobson, or Tamara. Someone out on the front lines, anyway," she said, thinking it over. "I guess that's something we'll have to actually figure out, now. Who to make a legend."

"If the records do any justice to reality, you have certainly already qualified as one," said Teddy, ever the model acolyte.

Billie grabbed at the coffee cup and took a heavy swig. Her eyes no longer showed even the faintest hint of redness or puffiness. The road ahead would be more difficult than anything they had ever faced before.

"Well, come on, Teddy, let's not keep them waiting," Billie said, smiling.