It can easily be accomplished with a computer

by Dwayne A. Day Monday, July 7, 2008 [Editor's Note: The following is a work of fiction.]

Jake stopped the jeep and jumped out, starting toward the old rusted gate when he heard the distant roar of the jet engine. He turned and looked back toward Groom's long runway and watched as the big grey bomber came toward him. It was moving slowly, and as it sailed over Jake's head at no more than a couple of hundred feet it suddenly faded from view, as if the blue morning sky above was shining through the fuselage. It wasn't complete—he could still pick out the plane's outline against the sky if he looked hard enough—but otherwise the plane was invisible.

"Show-off," Jake muttered, suppressing a smile. They weren't supposed to turn the system on until they got over the test range, and certainly not this close to the base. That had been for his benefit. The pilot—who was it today? Frog? Whizzer?—knew that Jake was out there and was teasing him. Look what I can do… he was saying to the boss.

Jake turned back to the gate and took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the thick padlock there. The lock was new, although the gate was probably nearly as old as the facility itself, and if he had given it a good sharp kick he probably could have busted it open. He pushed the gate all the way back and went to his jeep, got in and proceeded the remaining quarter mile down the dusty road until he reached the bunker entrance recessed into the side of the small mountain. The door alongside the vehicle entrance opened as he approached and a man emerged.

He was carrying a shotgun, pointed at the ground.

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