“Surveillance equipment…micro cameras, bugs, it appears that someone has taken a rather extreme interest in me,” Logan noted, “I guess the Feds are watching me since the incident on St. Lucia.”
“Faaa…” Ayla said. Logan turned to look at her, “that means far-out.”
“That is a lot of hardware!” he said in astonishment.
“Do these kinds of bugs fly? Well, real bugs do, obviously, but this is a bit of a worry? Bloody crazy. How did that happen? This just seems to get weirder.” She stared at the pile and ran her hands in the air over it searching for something substantive. “I can’t feel anything. The air temperature is consistent, nothing in the air at all. She moved closer to the pile of debris and bent over to get a better view. A movement across the table drew her attention away from the debris. She froze in awe of what was happening several feet in front of her. For a second, she couldn’t speak but only observe in disbelief despite what she had just witnessed. A pen that was lying on top of a yellow letter-sized note pad defied gravity just as the surveillance equipment had. Only, it wasn’t levitating across the room. With the speed of an accomplished typist and the grace of the most effective writer, the pen appeared to dance on the yellow page as it raced across a single line before pausing, balancing on its point, then falling over.
“It was standing on its own and wrote on the notebook,” Logan said. He moved around the table and studied the pen before reading the words aloud, “‘Do not disbelieve something that is not explainable by mere common sense.’ This is just getting to be sooo weird.”
“If I were alone, I would think I was losing my bloody mind. Talk to ghosts much? I don’t think there is any doubt who that message was for,” she stepped closer to the notebook, “does anyone write that neat anymore? The letters are perfect…incredible penmanship.”
“I’m no expert, but…I don’t know anyone,” he noted. “Come on, don’t let your imagination get the better of you. Be rational…keep a clear mind,” he said to himself under his breath.
The pen stood up once again and independently danced across the page. It moved quickly from line to line and seemed that if it had decided to keep going, the pen would jump off the table and go through the window. It moved with purpose and urgency leaving perfectly crafted word after word in its wake. The sound of the ballpoint scraping against the paper made Logan wonder how friction didn’t melt the tip of the writing implement.
In the midst of the sensational occurrence, Ayla had the wherewithal to pull out her cell phone and record the event. She moved around the table to get closer to the notebook and possessed pen. She leaned in observation of the trail of perfect penmanship as line after line was permanently scratched onto the paper. She estimated that it took less than two seconds to complete a line before flying back and starting another. Just as abruptly as it had begun, the pen once again balanced on its tip, fell over with a thud, and was lifeless. Ayla reached over, picked up the pen and studied it as she was less interested in what was written than how it had occurred. She half expected it to somehow pull away or fly out of her hand, but she found no resistance. It was once again no more than an inanimate object.
“Should we send this video to the pen manufacturer?” Ayla said jokingly, breaking the silence and easing her own tension, “I must say, I’m envious of the quality of the handwriting.”
“What the heck is going on here?” Logan asked. He leaned across the table and read the message on the tablet. “‘This rather simple demonstration is to provide an example of what is possible when the mind is allowed to flourish. The reality of a lifeless pen dancing around like a marionette controlled by an invisible puppeteer seemed to powerfully accelerate your anxiety and mental functions. Your mind may now be open to new possibilities of what lies beyond your perception of your laws of physics. I can assure you, what you believe as impossible is quite possible in many respects. When the stifling concession to impossibilities is removed from all thought processes, the endless possibilities of the vast universe will open to all of you.
‘You have both seen things that were not intended for you. You have made yourselves targets of some very dangerous members of the universal community…so to speak. They now want you dead or in their possession. The melting and dismemberment of the engines on the plane were not an accident, nor was its safe landing. You have supporters on both sides. We are not your enemy.
‘I can assure you both that we are here and have been here for Earth for the last five hundred years. We have watched your kind in its development and have even waged war to protect you, without your even knowing we were here. We do not wish you or the people of your planet any harm, but there are others who are not so compassionate. Under normal circumstances, we would wait for your technology to lead you to us. That is no longer an option. Earth will be the focus of the aggression of hostile nations as they agitate the Code that has protected you and others like you.
‘We have made contact with you for more than a singular reason. As Honoré, the one you encountered on the island, has told you, your sister is alive and is now our guest. I am sure you want to know how and why she is here, but there isn’t enough ink and paper for me to share that with you right now. I can assure you, we are not her abductors. We only wish to return her to her rightful home and family. We are reaching out to you and issuing an invitation for you both to come here, collect your sister and be the first of your kind to observe our world. It is time your people know. For now, you will be the ambassador between our nations.’”
Logan looked at Ayla then darted out of the room without uttering a word. She could hear the opening and closing of drawers in the kitchen. After a few minutes, he returned with three devices. A frequency scanner, speaker, and a digital voice recorder.
“I want to try something if you are game,” he said speaking up and into the air, “speak so that we can see if we are able to hear you as this device scans frequencies and broadcasts them for us to hear,” he said while turning the devices on.
“Yes, I know what it is. Some like to mess with your kind all the time. The fascination Earth people have with talking to your dead,” the voice came through very clear and unequivocally male.
Logan played back the digital voice recorder. While the comment had been captured the voice wasn’t as clear as he would have liked. The voice sounded raspy and distorted due to the noise of the scanner. They would need to replay and analyze the comments made by the entity, which would require a clear recording. He gave the digital voice recorder to Ayla and moved to the other side of the room hoping to limit the interference.
“Who are you? Where do you come from?” Ayla asked not sure of where to look.
“My name is Artemidorus Eirar. In your terms, I would be the Director of an agency we refer to as SINSTER. Earth and my planet are but sisters. We share a galaxy, as you call them. We share an orbit of the star you call the Sun, but never have a direct view of one another. My planet, Econ, is on the other side of the Sun.”
“Look, I mean no disrespect, but I couldn’t pronounce your name if my life depended on it?” Logan said.
“Art will suffice,” the voice radiated from the speaker.
“Ayla, does he seem to have an accent to you? Your Kiwi accent isn’t too strong and is different from the Brits. I wonder, does he sound almost British?” Logan asked.
“Eh…a bit. I don’t know exactly what that is,” she said looking back at him.
“We send satellites, telescopes up all the time to observe space. Like…what was it, New Horizons. That went all the way to Pluto. Why have we not seen you?” Logan asked.
“Do you not think with our technology that we can block or jam your frequencies? If we wish to be invisible to you, we will.”
As if slapped in the face by a new reality, Ayla’s eyes widened, and she ran back to the room to grab her carry-on from the plane. From a side pocket, she retrieved a tablet and powered it up. After a few seconds of scrolling through photos, she tapped on one a
nd zoomed in with her fingers. “What the bloody…you’ve got to see this,” she placed the tablet on the table. “I found this drawing in the cave. It wasn’t exactly a perfect drawing of the galaxy, but it was close. Somehow, most of the planets are right. But I noticed this planet over here and wondered if some kind of hard case had found the cavern and why they had drawn it in. I thought that it was a mistake. But there it is exactly where he is saying it was. How can that be? And, how would they know about it?” Ayla’s face lit up with excitement.
Logan observed the photo from the cave. It was uncanny how all the planets were represented, including one they had never known to exist. “I don’t mean to come off sarcastic, but I thought you were stealthy enough to prevent us from ever knowing you were there. Apparently, someone knew you were there.”
The speaker came back to life, “Centuries ago there were no regulations or restrictions on minor interactions with the people of developing planets. Then we began to harness the power of telenium, the metal in your possession. It became the most sought-after energy source across the galaxies. Nation attacked nation over it—”
“So, you found an abundance of this telenium on Earth? Now…other beings want it?” Logan asked seeking clarity.
“No, they want you,” the voice said hauntingly from the speaker.
“The static on this thing makes it hard to understand everything. You said that they wanted us…like humans?” Logan asked looking aimlessly around.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Well, that might be a problem. Why would they want us?” Logan asked.
“Labor is big business. Humans make the best slaves in the universe. Your mind is easily manipulated, your bodies are designed for that kind of work. Humans have been in high demand for thousands of years. Look historically at the gaps in the timelines of different cultures. The great gap in the Egyptian timeline and the fall of the great empire it was. The disappearance of the Mayans, and Aztecs and so forth. If we had not stopped the great slave trade, to borrow an Earthly expression, you would still be in the Dark Ages as a matter of speaking. Mankind would be spread throughout the universe and on Earth, there would have been very little advancement.”
“So, why are you telling us all of this?” Ayla asked.
“The time of peace has ended. You need to prepare to make a defense of your planet…as best you can. As I stated earlier, we are reaching out to you. This is an invitation for you both to come here…to Econ. We want to continue to help you and to help you help yourself.”
“So, how long have you been watching us? Those things that attacked us…are they yours?”
“No, we had nothing to do with that. There are others that may come for you. That is one reason why we have extended this invitation. That will have to be enough for now. If you decide to accept, we will arrange for a transport.”
Chapter 14
“Can you pull over? I have to go to the bathroom,” Einar said.
“Do you think you are the first one to make that joke?” Eerika snapped. She was too concerned about their situation for humor. It was likely that everyone she had engaged with professionally was dead. The Senators, the assistants, and even the crew on the Vandelay were not likely to have survived. She felt hollow, lonely, and even a slight bit guilty that she was able to make it out, or at least for the moment, was alive. The fight for survival was still ongoing and had yet to be determined. They had been unable to help anyone, not a single being, and she would have to live with that. When the time was right, Eerika would mourn for the families of the victims as they would never speak to their loved ones again.
The Baraza Zima was supposed to be a neutral site, safe, and respected by its members. While there were a number of heated disagreements where the elected leadership threw even the most vile substances at each other, no one had ever been assassinated in the chambers. The cold-blooded, pre-meditated, slaughter of innocent beings was unprecedented in the history of the nations. Each member took an oath and understood that the penalty for violating their agreement was to face a unified front of nations who were obligated to penalize through economic sanctions. The sanctions always had the potential to escalate into a war. There was no doubt, Senator Krico’s and the other member’s assassinations were a call to arms for the allies.
Eerika thought about all the Econians and member nations who were certain to take on heavy casualties in the brunt of the fighting. Many lives were certain to be forfeited so that the Kasadu elite could abuse their power and force their will on the weaker member nations of the universe.
“Very good. That was a joke, but also partially true. I really don’t want to use the bag and have it floating around this cockpit. I can’t eject it while we are in celerity.” The Imil unexpectedly began to slow down, “I didn’t mean you had to stop right away.”
“I’m not. It’s the autopilot. There must be something in our line,” Eerika noted looking over the panel.
“We checked the maps and we should have had eighteen minutes before reaching our first obstacle in celerity, it has only been ten,” Einar replied as he also tried to figure out why they were stopping.
As soon as the Imil came to a stop, they both immediately noticed a red and blue planet directly in front of them. Eerika nearly overrode the autopilot which would have caused them to crash into the planet. They never would have known what had happened to them. Based on their estimated proximity, the planet was at best half the size of Econ. Water and vegetation appeared to be present. It seemed from their vantage point to have the potential of being habitable.
“What do we know about this place?” asked Einar. He scrolled through the computer-generated maps and searched for information on the planet based on their coordinates. He enlarged the corresponding section and noted nothing of importance. “Where are you? Why is that planet not on the map? Has it not been discovered? We’re not that far away from Aigi. Certainly, they know this planet is here. It has to be in the same life belt, orbiting the same star. Celerity hasn’t taken us too far away.”
“From what I am getting, the atmosphere is slightly denser and has a higher level of oxygen than we are used to. Other than that, I’m not detecting much. It does seem to be inhabited,” Eerika said as she looked at the unfamiliar planet.
Three flashes, one above the Imil and one on each side, shook the craft. Their first thoughts were that the fighters had followed them, but to their relief, they weren’t Schwan fighters. The unmarked spacecraft pulled out of celerity right on top of them. The ships were larger and possibly less agile under normal circumstances, but the Imil was damaged with no ability to turn port and had a depleted fuel supply. If the ships were hostile, their options were limited.
“They can’t trace us while in celerity. No way anyone could follow us so closely?” he said somewhat anxious about the turn of events.
Einar placed his hands on the controls and considered shooting. Their window to go on the offensive was small and would be the only hope they had to defend themselves. He didn’t want to shoot at allies, if these turned out to be friendly. Perhaps they belonged to one of the nations at the Baraza Zima and had simply fled for their lives. He studied the fighters and could not see any identifying markers or colors. The dissipating red lighting of the star the planet orbited moved between them. The last burst of light would have made the flags, decals, or other identifiers very difficult to see, but despite being blinded by the light, Einar continued to try and identify those in front of them.
The spacecraft were much larger than the Imil and seemed to be mid-range military vessels. A larger cachet of munitions and supplies could be carried while allowing the crew the opportunity to move around the bridge and perform a multitude of actions. He noted two micro-blast guns on the front port side and assumed that there were two on the starboard. Two long-range laser cannons faced the rear. If there were bombs, they were stored internally and were not visible to him. While he struggled to determine the origin of the three craft, he found it o
dd that a vessel designed for space would have a hard taper on the front end as if designed for atmospheric or aquatic deflection. Perhaps, he considered, this design was specific for the unknown planet that was before them and its gravitational pull. The Imil was less rounded in the front and this gave him a cause for concern when it came to entering the atmosphere of the unknown planet with the wounded vessel.
There was no room for error or time for indecision since the Imil was limited in its mobility. The only positive is that the foreign ships had pulled out of celerity a fraction too late, landing them in front of the Imil. There was an opening for them to take quick action but taking out all three of the unidentified craft would not be possible.
“Friend or foe?” he asked thinking out loud while searching the vessels.
Universal Code Page 25
