On the Hunt - Page 47

Hannah stepped away from the sleds as her small crew picked them up from their stands. “As you can see, their size and relatively light weight makes them easily transportable to wherever they might be needed. It’s one thing for me to talk about what they can do, but another to actually demonstrate their capabilities in the water, which is what my dive team will do for you now.”

Kira raised her eyebrows. “She’s going to use that dive team she brought?”

“Plus one.” Harlan unbuttoned his shirt and unfastened his pants to reveal a red-and-black wet suit under his clothes. He tossed his shirt and pants aside.

Kira chuckled. “You’re kidding.”

“You believe I’d let an opportunity like this go by? Watch and be amazed.”

Harlan joined the three members of Hannah’s dive team at the water’s edge. As each sled was placed into the water, a diver took his place at the rear; each undocked his swim mask and put it over his face. Harlan slung a scuba tank over his shoulder and adjusted his mouthpiece and regulator.

He and the other three operators inserted their arms into the sleds, which whirred to life and propelled them ten yards from shore before silently disappearing beneath the water.

Hannah pointed to the screens, which now showed a point-of-view shot from a sled in the rear. Kira could see Harlan leading the group, easily apparent because of not only his uniquely colored wet suit but also his broad shoulders. “Our divers are headed for an area we’ve set up with wireless video cameras so we can watch. These sleds are designed for exploring in all sorts of conditions. We’ve prepared some tests that will be a surprise even to our divers. Let’s see how they do.”

A moment later, dozens of tennis-ball-sized spheres appeared on the screen, fired from tubes on the ocean floor. Clear shields immediately shot up on the sleds’ top surfaces, blocking the spheres. “As you can see,” Hannah said, “the divers are protected from any debris they may encounter. These shields will stay up as long as foreign objects are detected in the water in front of them.”

Then, as the spheres made contact with the sleds, they exploded in what appeared to be white clouds, covering the cameras’ entire field of view in a milky mess. Hannah paced from one screen to another, showing a new image that almost looked like a video game. “When the visuals are compromised, these sleds emit sonar and lidar pulses that enable them to construct images, which are sent to the divers’ masks. They can see in almost any conditions. We’re now seeing what the divers are seeing.”

Kira found herself gaping at the crystal-clear images in amazement. She looked around and saw that the others in the group were sharing her surprise.

Hannah pointed to the right screen, which was still clouded over. “You can’t see them here, but we’ve released several plastic cones into the water. The shields will block them from the operators, but with a flick of the wrist, the sleds will now navigate around them with incredible speed and accuracy. It’s technology developed by Mr. Harlan for the Department of Defense.”

As the murkiness dissipated, Kira could see that the sleds were indeed dodging and weaving around the underwater cones. She turned toward Hannah. “They’re doing that without any help from the divers?”

“Yes. The operator can resume manual control at any time, and from his logs in the software simulator, I’ve already seen that Mr. Harlan enjoys showboating a bit.”

As if on cue, Harlan executed a breathtaking barrel roll as soon as his sled cleared the cones.

The viewers laughed and applauded.

“When the diver is finished, his sled will return to home base, even if that base is on a boat that has moved many miles from where it started. The sled will always find its way home.”

“Incredible,” Kira said. “I can’t wait to try it myself.”

“Harlan has already booked you for a training session,” Hannah said. “But like I said, it won’t take much time at all.”

The four sleds and their operators returned to the surface and glided to a graceful stop at the water’s edge. Harlan, smiling broadly, pulled off his mask and walked toward Hannah.

“Amazing!” he said. “I could have spent hours down there.”

“You will,” Hannah said. “The sled batteries are good for at least sixteen hours of continuous use.”

“Excellent,” Harlan said. “But I think there are a few adjustments we should still make. Do you have time for a quick conference?”

“Of course. I have a few tweaks of my own.”

Harlan turned toward Kira. “What did you think?”

“I loved it. It’s fantastic. What a cool toy!”

“It’ll take us wherever we need to go. And there are a few things you haven’t even seen yet.” He cocked an eye toward Hannah. “If everything is operational.”

“Don’t worry.” Hannah was scribbling in a pocket notebook. “Everything we talked about is in there.”

“Good.” He turned back to Kira. “Ready for your first lesson?”

Her eyes widened with excitement. “Now?”