likened it to the Sargasso stew.'
'Sarah, where are Ben's files on this computer?'
'Look under 'Ben,' in My Documents.' Her tongue's swelling had reduced enough to make her easier to understand.
'These are password-protected documents,' Sam said. 'What's the password?'
'Don't know,' Sarah said. 'I never looked at 'em.'
Sam tried the word Haley and got nothing. Then he tried ARCLES and they opened.
There were five documents and they were all blank.
'Damn it,' Sam said.
'He thought I'd be opening them,' said Haley. 'So what do I know that would help?'
'Nothing if they're blank,' Sam said. 'Unless they are specially programmed to look blank when they aren't. Like a program within a program.'
'I have a wild idea,' Haley said. 'Ben has a code for the burglar alarm in his house. It's 2872, my birth date. When he wants a longer password for something, like the Internet, it becomes 42872 Haley. He uses it on the Internet and everyplace he needs a long password. It's way too obvious, but why not try?'
'But who else knows it?' Sam said.
'I think only Ben, Sarah, and I know it.'
Sam closed the blank document and typed in the code. This time the document opened to another dialogue box, which asked for another password. He typed ARCLES. This time the actual document opened.
Before them lay a map of the North American continent with red dots around it. Sam guessed these represented all the known methane hydrate deposits. Below were calculations and some text, which Haley studied.
'They start out telling where methane is, et cetera. Like an executive summary. I'm guessing these are elaborate mining techniques, here.' She pointed at the relevant pages.
'Look at all these sketches: giant anchored ships and barges. It's like what I saw Ben and Nelson looking at.'
She pointed.
'They say here that using their methods… God, get this… One 50- by 150-kilometer area off the coast of North and South Carolina is estimated to hold enough methane to supply the needs of the United States for over seventy years. Can that be true? That's unbelievable.'
'So they think they know how to mine it,' Sam said. 'No more energy crisis and worth a fortune, if they can pull it off.'
'Let's open another file,' he said.
They opened the second. Once again Haley started reading, then scrolled through pages of calculations.
'We're back to aging again.' She paused and a look of shock came over her face. 'Oh, my God. He is giving it to people.'
Sam looked over her shoulder and read Ben's notation: I have interviewed all thirty-six men and the two women on the life-extension regime denominated Arc for short.
'Interesting that there are only two women.' 'He's got some general material about how they chose these people for the program,' Haley offered. She pointed to the text:
Of paramount importance, however, are the psychological impacts, which are as yet only partially understood and documented.
'Then he's got some comments about other reports that are related, and then he goes on some more.'
A more surprising development is the complex of psychic issues that arise from taking the regimen and reorienting one's thinking to an extended life span. None of those currently on the regimen can be expected to add more than fifty years to their lives because much of the genetic damage and transformation of age was accomplished before they began the regimen and, hence, the outlook is much different for the late middle-aged and elderly participants than for those who in the future will begin the regimen before age thirty-five.
I have not yet personally begun the more robust portions of the regimen because I did not want any altered state of consciousness that might be associated with the regimen while I was evaluating its effects on my colleagues.
I am sorry to report that there seem to be significant changes in mental orientation from the onset of the regimen. However, they seem much more pronounced in the men than in the women.
First, there is a great sense of well-being that seems to be experienced by all those on Arc, including the two women.
Second, they seem to have developed a strong emotional focus on continuing self-supply
— similar to that of an addict, although this seems much less pronounced in the women.
Third, one cannot overstate the universal sentiment among participants. Perhaps belief is a better word. They view themselves as a distinct group, distinct from the rest of the human race. It is a bit disconcerting that they have such a strong us/them consciousness. I am finding that, because I am not on the regimen, I am not considered one of them.
Haley and Sam looked up at the same time, searching each other's eyes. Sarah lay asleep beside them. They continued silently reading:
On the positive side the regimen seems to foster great energy and optimism that is prevalent, unless one gets on the subject of scarcity — medication scarcity.
Unfortunately, the treatment for aging is expensive, never ending, and complex. Any hint that there might be a problem with supply seems to arouse anxiety and a mental state bordering on paranoia, particularly in males. To this group, the paramount value seems to be securing continuing availability of Arc.
An expert in the field might be able to counter some of these mental effects with drugs, but for the present I have to deal with it psychoanalytically to the best of my ability.
Members of the group seem to have retained their sense of humor and self-awareness and they are often able to laugh about their seeming paranoia over losing the supply of regimen drugs.
In all other regards mental performance of subjects remains as high, if not higher, than it ever had been.
Lately, however, they've become extremely concerned when they do not know my precise whereabouts. In the beginning I kept the various recipes for the various portions of the regimen in a vault at the foundation, but recently I destroyed the hard copies and then had only the copies on my computer and on Sarah's computer. Recently I also destroyed critical portions of the electronic documents on both computers so that I now possess the critical information only in my memory. (I was able to access the escrow and did the same.) My mistrust of Sanker necessitated these actions. I tested Sanker 's integrity and, unfortunately, it failed, thus giving me reason to thwart the escrow. I am concerned about the reaction of the male subjects when they learn what I've done.
For specific interviews and psychological test results, see the main body of this report.
Sam took another look at Haley. She seemed taken aback to the point of shock.
'I can't believe he's done this,' she said.
'It's bold to the point of recklessness, I agree. It should make you feel better, though.'
'How?' she said.
'You can see now why he kept you out of this,' Sam said. 'Right? I'm sure he was afraid of your reaction. In addition to your safety. Interesting that women don't seem to have the level of paranoia.'
'Two women is too small a sample. It's anecdotal.'
'Spoken like a scientist.'
She closed her eyes and nodded, as if clearing her mind for the work to come.
'Let's open another.'
There were three left. Haley typed in the codes this time. The third popped up a third dialogue box, asking for another code.
'Uh-oh,' Sam said. 'He hasn't made this one easy and we don't have a code breaker.'
They tried a dozen words and then the computer flashed a sign that said no more opportunities to open were available.
'We're cooked,' Sam said. 'We'll never get in without help. And maybe not then. I'll try for the help, but it's a long shot.'
