The group’s tired eyes were wide as they looked around at their landing spot. There was ocean everywhere. It reminded David of one of those old World War Two island air bases built in the middle of the Pacific. It was tiny, as islands go—or air bases, for that matter. They could only see about half of the island before it curved around into the sea. The runway looked like it barely fit, surrounded by dark black sandy beaches and turquoise waters on three sides. On the other side of the runway was a set of four concrete structures that were separated from tropical rainforest by a tall barbed-wire fence. The dense green vegetation rose higher and higher up along a towering, jungle-covered mountain.

Today was arrival day for several groups of consultants. Another jet taxied back out to the runway. It looked identical to the aircraft they had come in on. David watched that jet’s group of passengers carrying their bags up the sandy path to the buildings. The flight attendant directed his group to do the same.

David and his new companions grabbed their things and followed step. When they reached the buildings, they were shown to their quarters by an Air Force Major in his summer blues.

“Name?” He asked as David approached.

“David Manning.”

“Manning. Yup. 214. Up the stairs. Here’s your key. Throw your stuff in your room. Please meet at The Classroom in one hour. It’s the big building up on the hill with the large glass windows that overlook the runway.”

“Got it. Thanks.” David wanted to ask the Major a million questions, but the others were checking in and he decided to wait. It sounded like they were to get an in-brief in another hour.

An hour later, David sat admiring the swaying palms and clear blue sea through the panoramic windows of the large amphitheater-style classroom. He had showered and shaved using items from the duffel bag Tom had provided. It felt good, but he was still exhausted from the trip.

He thought about his wife and daughters. Lindsay was probably in tears. God, he hoped she would forgive him for this. If this were all really happening, he didn’t see how he had a choice. David wondered why he kept thinking like that. As if this might not be real. Was it the magnitude of a war with China? Or was it something else that caused him to feel uncomfortable?

The setting sun created a painting of bright orange and deep purples over the water. However, none of them knew exactly which body of water it was. David thought it had to be the South Pacific based on the time of flight and climate. But if that were true, why take them here, so far away?

The room was filled with curious men and women from a variety of places. Some wore power suits. Some had crew cuts and wore military fatigues. Still others had on skinny jeans with fitted tees. David gathered from several informal introductions that their backgrounds were as diverse as their looks suggested. There were computer programmers and scientists, engineers and psychologists, military officers and policy analysts. All were well educated and incredibly bright. David counted twenty of them in all. Like Henry and Bill, each had been told that their purpose there had something to do with a very important national security project. But that was all they had been told before flying to the island. It seemed that Tom was the one recruiter who had spilled the beans. David’s friends from his plane had already started to spread the word that this was about China, creating quite a bit of excitement.