Deep Storm by Lincoln Child Read Free Book Online

possible.
     
    Crane, inhaling the scent of freshly ground coffee wafting from the cafe, decided life here would be very bearable indeed.
     
    On the far side of the tiny park, he could make out an oversize flat-panel display, perhaps ten feet by ten, with a group of benches set before it. On closer inspection, he noticed it was actually an array of smaller displays placed in a grid to project a single image. That image was dim, green-black ocean depths. Strange, almost otherworldly fish floated by: bizarrely articulated eels, colossal jellies, balloon-shaped fish with a single lighted tentacle on their heads. Crane recognized some of the species: fangtooth, deep sea angler, viperfish.
     
    Is that the view outside? he asked.
     
    Yes, via a remote camera outside the dome. Asher waved his arm around the little square. A lot of the workers spend their off hours here, relaxing in the library or watching interactive movies in the multimedia nexus. The sports center on deck ten is also very popular: remind me to show you around it later. Also, well need to get you chipped.
     
    Chipped?
     
    Tag you with a RFID chip.
     
    Radio frequency identification? Is that necessary?
     
    This is a very secure installation. Im afraid so.
     
    Will it hurt? Crane asked, only half joking.
     
    Asher chuckled. The tags the size of a grain of rice, implanted subcutaneously. Now, lets get to the medical suite. Michele and Roger are waiting. Its this way, at the end of the corridor. And Asher pointed with his right hand down one of the wide hallways. At the end, past the PX and cafe and a half dozen other entranceways, Crane could just make out a double set of frosted glass doors, marked with red crosses.
     
    Once again, he noticed Asher kept his left arm tucked in stiffly against his side. Something wrong with your arm? he asked as they made their way down the hallway.
     
    Vascular insufficiency of the upper extremity, Asher replied.
     
    Crane frowned. Is the pain significant?
     
    No, no. I just need to be a little careful.
     
    Ill say you do. How long have you had the condition?
     
    A little over a year. Dr. Bishop has me on a Coumadin regimen, and I exercise regularly. We have a fine set of squash courts in the sports complex. Asher bustled ahead, apparently eager to change the subject. Crane reflected that if Asher had not been the chief scientist, such a condition would probably have kept him on dry land.
     
    The medical suite was engineered like the other spaces Crane had already seen: meticulously designed to fit as many things as possible into the smallest area, yet without appearing cramped. Unlike usual hospital practice, the lighting was kept indirect and even mellow, and piped classical music came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Asher led the way through the waiting area, nodding to a receptionist behind the front desk.
     
    Like everything else in the Facility, the medical suite is state-of-the-art, he said as he ushered Crane past a records office and down the carpeted corridor. Besides our doctor, we have four nurses, three interns, a diagnostician, a nutritionist, and two lab specialists. A fully stocked emergency unit. Equipment for just about every test you can name, from simple X-rays to whole body scans. All backed up with a comprehensive pathology lab on deck seven.
     
    Beds?
     
    Forty-eight, with contingencies for double that if necessary. But lets hope it never is: wed never get anything done. Asher stopped outside a door marked CONFERENCE ROOM B. Here we are.
     
    The room was small and even more dimly lit than the waiting area. A large videoconferencing screen hung on one wall, while the others sported innocuous watercolors of landscapes and seascapes. Most of the space was taken up by a large, round table. At its far end sat two people, a woman and a man. Both wore officers uniforms beneath white lab coats.
     
    As Crane entered, the man sprang up from his seat. Roger Corbett, he said, reaching