A lift brought Kenom and Enew and an accompanying Patrolman to the fifth floor. They proceeded down a long circular hall until they came to a door which said, “Dome Headquarters. Commander Sane Finloy.“ Enew slid his identification card through the ID slot and the door opened. Inside were five High LEB patrolmen each with his own computer monitor sitting at a long desk. They continued working except for an occasional side glance, not at Kneom but at Enew. It is rare that a regular patrolman is allowed in dome headquarters, and never to visit the commander. Kneom approached the the desk and said, “We are here to see Commander Finloy.” “Business?” inquired one of them sternly. “He is expecting us” was Kneom’s curt reply. Just then a Patrol Major entered from the Commander’s office, “Hello, you must be Patrolman Kenom. Commander Finloy is expecting you, please, come this way.” Enew’s slight hand gesture could only be interpreted as a gesture of insult toward the High LEB patrolmen as he passed by the desk.
Commander Finloy greeted them warmly. “Going into politics are you?, well that is a worthy vocation,” he said, “I’m sure you will distinguish yourself in politics just like your DNA father has.” “Thank you sir,” said Kenom “may I introduce my dear friend and companion, Enew Snubbs who came along to keep me company.” “Hello Patrolman Enew, we can all use an assistant… let me introduce you to mine, Major Finon.”
With all the introductions done Knenom brought the Commander up on all the latest political news from Zimmnil. After that the Commander inquired as to which mini-dome they had been assigned, “Mini-dome C“, replied Kenom. “Good” said the commander, “you are attached to patrol dome 4 and 5. Flextmaster Tsubo Aseem in Patrol-dome 4 is an agreeable chap with a high LEB count. I will send over his brain analyses for you to read so you will know a little more about him.” Kneom thanked the commander and told him of their brief meeting on the way over to Central dome earlier.
Major Finon reminded the commander of some pressing obligations so after a bit the meeting was terminated. As they were walking towards the door Commander Finloy asked if Knew would be so kind as to deliver some computer discs to FleckMaster Etel over at Partol Dome 5 on his way back to the Mini-dome. He also offered to have a patrolman give he and Enew a tour of Central dome if they were so inclined. They agreed to both propositions.
As they left Enew reflected on the importance of having influential friends. As for Kenom, his thoughts were about the tunnel, he was a sorry that the opportunity never came up to ask the Commander about the Vertons and the tunnel repair situation,…perhaps another time.
When they got back down to the fourth floor a patrolman was waiting for them. He introduced himself as Patrolman Flyn, one of the permanent duty patrolmen stationed here. He appeared to have a high LEB count but not high enough to be wearing a high-LEB uniform. He said he was to give them a tour of Central dome. “We’ll start with the observation platform on the fifth level” he said.
As they proceeded to the fifth floor Kenom had a chance to take measure of the kind of Patrolmen that were stationed here year around. Patrolman Flyn seemed to be a strict, no nonsense type with little regard for anything non-electro. He made no effort to hide his contempt for the Flextons and their inferior brains still in organic bodies. Whether he was just being pro-electro to impress or that it was the prevailing sentiment here in Cenrtal dome Kenom could not discern.
They emerged from the lift to find a large open area with a window view of the entire complex. All eight patrol domes could be seen as well as some of the mini-domes and sections of the perimeter shuttle tunnel. It was quite impressive. Patrolman Flyn informed them that here is where they monitor the Nutron Electro-Blaster tests that they hold each month. These tests are not tests to gauge the efficiency of the blasters because as all Zimmnilions know they are practically useless for any real planet protection. Zimmnil has weapons with enough power to blast the entire planet of OB out of existence if it wanted to.
The whole compound is just for show really. “The Flextons haven’t the slightest idea of how much blast power you need to be a factor in the outer Galaxy war zones,” offered Patrolman Flyn, “but as long as we put on a good show the Flexies are happy and the money keeps flowing in. As far as the patrolmen well they’re here mostly to learn how to monitor the equipment so that they can get good jobs when they return to Zimnel.” Kenom was impressed with the patrolman’s candor.
After the observation deck tour they all three entered the lift and went on to view the remaining floors. Most of the upper floors were the same with rows and rows of fancy high-tech electronics. Nothing very exciting. When they arrived at level one, the Flextrons game and entertainment floor Patrolman Flyn lead them to a narrow observation room that went almost all the way around the perimeter. There were several dozen patrolmen more or less loitering around talking and wasting time. Watching low LEB organics play computer games was not a very engaging duty assignment. But once in a while something goes wrong and they are needed for Environment Stabilization.
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