Discovery

by Douglas E Roff

“Retribution? Of course. We must kill them all. Everyone who has any knowledge of our kind, anyone who has ever touched or heard of our Library and anybody who has ever had any involvement in any way related to the Library. They all must die. And one more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “We must find a way to destroy or disable this DL Main. As fast as possible.”

  “They’ll only recreate it. It’s certain to be a waste of time. And you did mention it was US Federal too, right?”

  “We don’t care if they recreate it. That will take time, maybe years if we’re lucky. In the meantime, we’ll finish our research and our science projects then resolve the problem of human infestation. By then, for humanity, it will simply be too late.”

  Eight heads nodded in agreement.

  Paulo continued, the mirth returning to his voice. “Now, who wants an update on the progress of our science projects?”

  ***

  Months earlier.

  Cindy and Rod had been called in one afternoon to have a chat with Edward. He seemed agitated on the phone, which wasn’t like him. As soon as the last of the three arrived, Edward began.

  “I received an advance courtesy copy of a quarterly magazine called the Journal of Ancient Migration thanking our team for research and help with the article and for the use of DL Main. He promised he wouldn’t disclose any of the names of, or the location of, the team that assisted him.”

  “Terrific,” said Rod. “And yet something’s wrong? Right?”

  “At the time we thought it might be a good test of the DL Main’s capability in tracking and tracing human movement both historically as well as right up to and including the present day. We were able to confirm the efficacy of the software and algorithms, as well as the parameters of the data extraction process. Seemed to work well and Dr. Miller of Tesla College was so appreciative he practically gushed about this new research technique and academic tool. But, contrary to his express promise of confidentiality, he went ahead and mentioned the DL Main by name as well as its very thorough and wide-ranging capabilities.

  “He was specifically prohibited from acknowledging specific processes or us by name, but he did so anyway. This, unfortunately, is why I’m talking to the three of you now. I’ll speak to Adam separately if necessary, but you know his sensitivities around some of our methods. And he won’t like this one, so I plan not to tell him about it unless he asks. You shouldn’t get involved in this task except in the background.”

  “Thanks. I think,” Cindy said.

  “You’re welcome. So, we have a problem with Dr. Miller that I’m now dealing with. It’s not a biggie though.”

  “How so, Dad?” asked Rod, casually. Rod was worried about the exact nature of Edward’s resolution of the situation. He hoped it wasn’t a terminal resolution.

  “We have offered to hire Dr. Miller away from Tesla College and have him come here to work for us. He’ll be in residence here at the Institute for the next year or so. He has accepted the position and will soon be on his way here to Barrows Bay.”

  “What can we do to help?” asked Cindy.

  “I want you and Rod to go to Tesla College and monitor the local FBI field office in pulling together the removal of all his teaching materials, research and personal effects from his home and office. Then, oversee the transport of everything quickly and quietly over to Portland for analysis. Then we’ll barge all of his stuff here to the Institute after it’s been analyzed and sanitized.”

  “Why the emergency treatment?”

  “Sooner or later our quarry may take notice. We cannot take the chance of meeting these folks, how should we say, prematurely? So, I’m going to assume they’re all professionals at this game of hide-and-seek, so we shall take no chances that they find Dr. Miller. If they do, they will want to discuss exactly what the DL Main can capably do and who helped him with his research. That leads directly to Adam, us and Barrows Bay.”

  Cindy asked, “Are you debriefing him? Girlfriend, boyfriend, family, fellow academics, students, student assistant, and so on? What does Tesla College and their administrators know? Did he or any of his close colleagues or confidants share secrets with … anyone?”

  “We are. Thoroughly. So, we’ll know who knows what and how much,” answered Edward. “Soon enough.”

  ***

  Dr. Ian Miller sat at his roll top desk, inherited from his father, an academic who had in turn had inherited the colonial era desk from his own father. His office, to no one’s surprise, was littered with papers and manuscripts politely stacked and unevenly distributed on his desk, the hardwood floor, the side table and anywhere else that had a few feet of open space in which a piece of paper could alight.

  Two men dressed in suits had just arrived, knocking on the closed office door and asking for permission to enter. Dr. Miller shouted out to them firmly but politely, reminding them that office hours were in the afternoon and please come back then. He was very busy at the moment.

  The men entered the office anyway, along with a coterie of men attired in work shirts and overalls. The good professor looked up from the manuscript he was inspecting just as the men closed in.

  “My name is Special Agent Alfred Fredericks from the Akron field office of the FBI. I’m serving you with these papers.”

  “What are they? Why are you here?” Dr. Miller was flummoxed and confused by the sudden appearance of FBI personnel and their overly intrusive activity. Dr. St. James had mentioned that the FBI and two of his colleagues might make an appearance before Dr. Miller left for Canada. But he failed to mention they would arrive unannounced and in force. He didn’t remember consenting to these aggressive intrusions into his work and personal life.

  “We are here on a matter of National Security, sir. We have been authorized to take you into custody for your own protection and collect all the documents and possessions related to your work and your private life. You have been released from your employment here at Tesla College with their institutional thanks and a glowing recommendation. You will not be going home tonight to your apartment.”

  “Where will I be going?” Dr. Miller’s mood instantly transformed from incredulity to annoyance and was a little more than irritated at the interruption. He had agreed to leave Tesla College, with the full knowledge and approval of the College administration. He was over the moon and delighted with the new position and status that would come from working with Dr. Edward St. James.

  “Portland. Portland, Oregon. Then, after that, wherever you are assigned. Just leave those things, professor. It’s all coming with us now.”

  “I thought I would be working with Dr. St. James at the Victoria Institute? Who do I report to now?’

  “You will report directly to Dr. St. James after a brief orientation in Portland on process and procedures, confidentiality issues and a full background check. Then you will be reassigned to the Institute. It’s lovely I hear.”

  “Have you been?”

  “No sir. The Institute and everything about it is top secret, ‘need to know’ only. And I don’t need to know.”

  “I see.”

  “Let’s just say you now work for a very exclusive and top-secret branch of the United States Federal government. Excellent pay, and the best retirement and benefits going. I’m sure you’ll be very happy there.”

  “Are you saying the Federal government somehow needs historians?”

  “Nope. Just one historian. You.”

  Chapter 40

  Hannah and Edward exchanged telephone pleasantries, then got down to business. It was late, and Hannah was in no mood for Edward if this call and conversation was about his son.

  “This isn’t about Adam is it?” Hannah asked cautiously. She knew and loved Edward in her own way but was aware that being within Edward’s gravitational pull could be both exhilarating and emotionally painful. He had few filters acting between brain and mouth, an unfortunate trait inherited by his son Adam.

&n
bsp; “I think you know me better than that. Not by a country mile would I get anywhere near your business with the boy king. But I need to see you urgently, like tomorrow morning, right away.”

  “Sorry, Edward but I can’t. I’m working at the Lab tomorrow. Six in the morning to use the mainframe and you know how hard it is to get time on the Big Blue Monster. If I don’t go then I might be SOL for at least another month. So, I gotta go. Maybe later in the day, or perhaps the day after. I have loads of time then.”

  “Too late.” Edward said. “You’re grant has already been temporarily suspended and you have a new schedule. Dr. Robbins has agreed my project takes precedence over your research, so while I’m sorry for this bombshell, you can certainly get back on the Big Blue Monster in a day or two. I promise. So please meet me at the Seattle Harborside Airport, dockside, first thing tomorrow morning. I’ve chartered a floatplane from Barrows and it’s urgent that you meet me when I arrive. I’ll email my flight details and arrival time as soon as I have them confirmed but it’ll be as near to 5:00 am as possible.”

  “What the hell Edward? What on earth are you talking about? And what exactly have you done?” Hannah didn’t normally have a sharp temper with people in general but this news and its method of delivery was so typically “Edward” that she lost it right away.

  “I contacted Fred Adams, who contacted Robbins. You know who Fred is, right?”

  “Of course, I do, Edward! He’s the University President. But what the hell do you think you are doing - it took me two fucking years to get that grant? Now you say it’s been pulled. You better not have fucking done that to me!”

  Edward ignored her obvious distress. “This is urgent, so please be on time,” he said calmly.

  “Don’t fuck with me Edward or I swear I’ll cut your nuts off! If this has anything to do with …”

  “It doesn’t. And you’re going to thank me. So, set your alarm and pack some things.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re on your way to Europe. All expenses paid. Huge salary, great benefits, and a high-profile project. You’ll see.”

  ***

  The next morning Hannah watched the float plane from Victoria circle and land, arriving promptly and on time at the Seattle Harborside Airport. It was 5:22 am and chilly. There was only one passenger, a trim man in his late 50’s with graying longish hair, wearing khakis, a blue oxford button down dress shirt and Sperry Topsiders. No tie.

  In this garb, he looked like the academic he was. He also looked like a kindly old gentleman headed to a poetry reading, which he wasn’t. Adam, she mused, was every bit his father’s son. Nice, without a hint of vanity in his appearance or dress, but terribly self-important, self-absorbed and a driven arrogant type ‘A’ personality. When he was in “work mode” the rest of the universe mattered little. No wonder, she thought, that he never remarried. Who’d want to put up with that?

  Edward caught sight of Hannah a short distance up the gangway from where the plane had docked and waved vigorously. She waved back vigorously, and he thought for an instant that she might be happy to see him. He knew better, of course, because, like his daughter-in-law Cindy, Hannah was a very clever girl. Attractive, smart and funny she had been around the St. James Clan long enough to understand that things were rarely as they seemed and that the old man had an odd and mercurial way about him.

  Almost everyone else in the extended family was normal. Maria, Pops, Rod, Cindy and the girls. Then there was Adam. Part normal, part Edward. Poor Adam, she sighed, seemingly fated to be constantly at war with himself over the destiny of his soul. Hannah just couldn’t figure out what Adam really wanted in life, but she had always believed that whatever he wanted, she would be a part of it. In her heart of hearts, she still believed that.

  “Hannah my dear, thank you so much for meeting me so early. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Edward flashed that famous St. James smile that could light up a room, but Hannah was having none of it.

  “What are you up to now, you vile old man? You and your son – honestly I have no idea why I ever loved either one of you so much.”

  “I know, I know. But, I still get a hug, don’t I?”

  “You don’t deserve one, but yes. And only because you’re still like a crazy uncle to me. A horribly irresponsible and thoughtless uncle but an occasionally lovable uncle nonetheless.”

  They hugged for a long time and Hannah could sense that something was very wrong. Edward’s face was creased with worry and he looked … old. Hannah had always been struck by how well Edward had aged for a man who was far closer to his early sixties than he was to his late forties, partly due to a lifetime of strenuous exercise and a reasonably healthy diet. After all, he was a field archeologist but even at home he had always been very physically active like his son.

  The moment passed, and Hannah grabbed Edward by the arms, not letting go, and said “All right, old man, this had better be good. What gives?”

  “Can we talk in the car? What I have to say may take a while and we have somewhere to go. We can talk on the way.” Edward grabbed his briefcase, perennially overloaded with “stuff”, and started toward the parking lot. He turned back to Hannah, still standing at the top of the gangway, “Well, c’mon young lady, let’s get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover today.”

  “If you say so. Where are we going, again? I’m not sure you mentioned our actual destination.”

  “I didn’t? I’m sorry. How’s the gas situation?” Edward asked as they climbed in her immaculately clean car and headed away from the harbor and toward the I-5 entrance ramp. “When we get to the freeway entrance, head south.”

  “Thought I was going to Europe?” she challenged, turning her head slightly in his direction. So why do we need gas? SeaTac is a ten-minute drive this time of day.”

  “No worries, Hannah, you’ll be off to London or Rome or Vienna soon, at least I hope you will. But today we’re off to Portland to meet some of your new colleagues and get you some new reading material.”

  “Wow, you’re awfully confident about me coming on board with whatever mischief you’re up to, aren’t you? You haven’t told me squat yet. Maybe you’re getting out front of this just a wee bit. Maybe you should fill me in on the details first.”

  Eyes firmly on the road, voice clear and firm. Resolute and suspicious. This was the Hannah he knew, and this Hannah was ready to deal.

  “First off” Edward continued “I need you to sign something for me. Just a formality, of course. One of those federal confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. No big deal.”

  “Federal what?” Hannah asked, suspiciously.

  “You know, an NDA. A non-disclosure agreement. Standard when dealing with confidential matters that don’t belong in the public domain.”

  “Not what I asked, old man”, Hannah reiterated. “I know what an NDA is. My Dad’s a lawyer. I asked about the federal part. Is this a government project?”

  “I would have to say no. At least not exactly anyhow. I just need you to sign the last page. And date it too.” There was silence. “Please.”

  Hannah was unimpressed with this level of dissembling but was used to it coming from Edward, Adam and the rest of St. James Clan. So many secrets in that family, she thought. She wondered how they kept so contained, never letting down their guard, never breaking their unacknowledged but ubiquitous silence and or disclosing their many secrets. Somehow, even in the presence of the ones each claimed to love most, they were able to move their lips while saying absolutely nothing of consequence.

  Would it ever have been different for her? Could it have been? She’d never know now.

  Hannah snapped back to the reality of driving down the I-5 past the turnoff for SeaTac, the city grey and overcast in the early morning mist and fog that so often blessed Seattle, keeping it green and lush.

  “Which federal”, Hannah asked “And what’s the … uh, economic deal?” Hannah said this flatly
and without emotion. “I already have a job, a grant and a career I’m happy with so I’m not dropping everything in my life and career just to make you happy, Edward. You need to tell me more and right now or this will be an immeasurably shorter drive than I’m certain you had in mind.”

  Edward felt slightly peevish about the tone Hannah was taking with him, knowing that when she knew all the facts and what he was about to offer, she would thank him to her dying day and be grateful he even considered her. After all, Hannah wasn’t by far the best qualified anthropologist for the role he had in mind, but she was certainly the most trustworthy and knew how to keep a secret.

  Edward adopted his best and most clinical voice in response. His tone was curt and clipped. “Well, let’s examine that for a moment. Your job and your grant are really one in the same. Your career is “publish or perish” and you haven’t published anything yet. You have a Masters, but not a Ph.D. and without that “Dr.” in front of your last name, you’re just a third-year grad student trying to distinguish yourself from the rest of the herd. That enough, or should I go on?”

  “Go on, I’d like to know just how little you think of me and just why you’re wasting your time with a ‘chick’ whose only skill, apparently, has been to fuck your precious son for the past seven years.”

  Hannah paused, gathering her thoughts quickly as she felt her ire rise. “In fact, I think I’ve already heard enough from you and yours. I’ll drop you back at the Harborside or SeaTac if you prefer. We’re done here old man.”

  Hannah was pissed off but tightly in control. She had pictured this conversation in her mind, like so many others over the past few months. She knew it was the product of unexpressed and pent up frustration and anger that had been simmering just below the surface for at least the past couple of years. Maybe even from the very beginning of her and Adam. She was an outsider in a close knit and unhealthy family dynamic she had begun to viscerally detest. If Adam wasn’t worth the pain that the Barrows Bay Clan exacted, then Edward was even more of an afterthought.