—If I trust there’s a good reason behind it. It doesn’t really matter what you ask me. Like I said, I’m willing to do anything if there’s a purpose to it.
—You are a soldier in the United States Army. Presumably, you are not always told the reason for everything. Have you ever been sent on a mission without knowing its purpose?
—It happens. Not as often as you’d think, but it happens.
—Then how do you know it was worth putting your life in danger? You do not strike me as someone who would blindly trust anyone.
—I guess I didn’t do too well on that test. You’re right, I don’t trust people easily, but I have faith in numbers.
—Interesting.
—I do. I think people are scared, and dumb, and selfish on their own, but put enough of them together and they’ll be half-decent. The Army’s a big clumsy machine, but I trust it to do the right thing more often than not.
—Can you keep an open mind? Are you willing to challenge what you know to be true?
—I suppose no one ever thinks that they’re close-minded. You tell me.
—Thank you very much for your time, Ms. Resnik.
—Oh, again with the cryptic ending. Come on! Tell me more…No? Ask me more questions, then! Don’t go…I’ll tell you more stories about little Tommy sitting on the stairs!
FILE NO. 017
INTERVIEW WITH CW2 RYAN MITCHELL, UNITED STATES ARMY
Location: Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington State
—Good morning, Mr. Mitchell. Dr. Franklin tells me you are making progress.
—Oh yeah. Like she says, all you need is some faith and trust…and a little bit of pixie dust…We’ve been flying all over North America for just over four months now. It’s sort of like crop dusting at night, only from a lot higher, and it’s probably a lot more illegal. Operation Tinker Bell, that’s what we call it. It was too easy, flying around leaving a trail of magic powder behind.
—Is the compound working?
—Definitely working. Hats off to Dr. Franklin, she sure can cook. ARCANA, she calls it. It means “secrets,” or in this case Argon-Rich Compound for Aerial Nocturnal Application. I think she just liked the acronym. When we first started, pretty much everyone but Dr. Franklin thought this was a complete waste of time, but we found another arm piece in Vermont our first week out. We almost crashed again, though. Kara thought…
—Pardon me. Kara?
—Chief Warrant Officer Resnik. I’m sorry. We’ve been working with civilians for a while now. I guess it rubs off. She and Dr. Franklin thought we’d be fine flying at eight thousand feet, but when the arm piece we found activated, our engine stopped just like it did in Turkey. Fortunately, we were high enough for autorotation, and she was able to restart the engine before we hit the ground. She’s really amazing to watch. Not the most tactful person you’ll ever meet, but the girl can fly.
—I am happy to see you two are getting along. I was hoping you would. Do I detect a hint of infatuation in your voice?
—I wouldn’t go that far. I’m well aware of the Army’s fraternization policies, but you’d have to be made of stone not to find her attractive. She’s built like a swimmer: long legs, very strong, and shoulders that would put most men to shame. I don’t know how to say that without sounding like a jerk, but the men at the base say it makes their day just to watch her walk away. She has the darkest hair for someone that light-skinned. It just makes her eyes jump out at you. That pale green, it’s very…disconcerting. Well, you’ve seen her. You know how hard it is not to stare at her eyes.
—I never noticed. You must realize you are not operating in a typical military environment. You would not be jeopardizing the chain of command.
—Actually, we would be. In the Army, the co-pilot is second-in-command. That means she’s my superior. We have our own tiny little chain of command to jeopardize, and the Army is pretty serious about the Uniform Code. It doesn’t matter anyway. I find her attractive, that’s all. And believe me, she’s not the least bit interested. She acts like she barely tolerates me.
—Coming from her, I would take that as high praise. Let us get back to the mission.
—Yes! We’ve divided the country into a grid. Each box on the grid is roughly the square mileage we can cover in one night, based on the time it takes to get there from the nearest Army base. We can cover a good portion of the map from here, and we go from base to base to clear the boxes farther east and south. We’re just about halfway through the grid right now.
—Have you been able to disperse the compound from a safe distance? I would rather the two of you not nearly die every time you discover a new body part.
—We have, sir. As I mentioned, we almost crashed our first week out, so we went up to fifteen thousand feet on the next flights. We were unsure whether it was close enough for the pieces to activate before we got too far away to see them. It took about a month before we found another part, a lower leg, then a foot, along the Kansas-Missouri border.
—A foot?
—A big one. I was hoping it would have some giant toes, but it looks more like a fancy thick-soled boot than a foot. It’s a beautiful piece though. Dr. Franklin said she had good taste in shoes.
It turns out flying higher is also a lot faster, the ARCANA dispersal pattern is much wider at high altitude so we need fewer passes to cover the same area.
—So you found five pieces so far?
—Six. We just found a thigh under the Tennessee highway. That thing is huge!
—How large is it?
—I’m not really good with measurements, maybe sixty feet. Big enough to make a hell of a mess, I’ll tell you that. The highway was completely destroyed for about half a mile. The way Dr. Franklin explains it, these things are buried very deep underground, around nine hundred feet deep, and they rise to the surface really, really fast when they’re turned on. I’m glad we’re in a helicopter. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be around when these things come up. It’s got to feel like the world’s coming to an end.
—Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. I just realized that, while Dr. Franklin talks about you on a regular basis, this is the first time you and I have met. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.
—Thank you, sir.
—Tell me a little bit about yourself.
—There’s very little to say. I’m a soldier in the United States Army.
—I know you can do better than that.
—What can I tell you? I’m from Detroit. My father was in the Army. What else…I went to Henry Ford High. I played ball.
—Baseball?
—Football, sir. Trojans. I was a cornerback. I enlisted after graduation.
—Was your father a helicopter pilot, as well?
—No, sir. He was a mechanic. I never had any taste for it so I applied to Warrant Officer Candidate School. I thought I could do something different.
—He must be very proud of you?
—Yes. His father was also in the military. It’s sort of a family tradition. I wanna thank you for taking me on board, sir. I know you didn’t really choose me, but I’m really glad to be here. I’m very grateful. This is more exciting than anything I ever imagined.
—I chose the both of you because of how well you complement each other. I would not have chosen Ms. Resnik had she not worked so well with you in Turkey. There is no need for you to feel any less deserving.
—It’s OK. I understand. I’m the co-pilot. She’s great. You were right to pick her.
—I will take your enthusiasm to mean you are adjusting well to your new working environment.
—Oh yes. Very well. Dr. Franklin takes very good care of us. We spent nearly a week with her before we flew anywhere. She brought us up to speed, showed us everything she’d been doing. She made us feel like we’re really part of the team, not just some grunts doing the legwork. That hand is amazing. Do you really think it came from…you know…out there?