Clones vs. Aliens

by M. E. Castle

  Mrs. Bas sat up front with Mason. Mr. Bas sat in the middle seats with Alex and Amanda. Veronica and Fisher took seats in the very back, and the Cantrells, along with Veronica’s parents, followed in a second SUV.

  “What you kids have done is absolutely amazing,” Mr. Bas said, putting an arm around Alex’s shoulders.

  “Thanks, Dad,” Alex said. “We’re just doing our best to help.”

  “Your best is pretty impressive,” Mrs. Bas said, turning to look at her sons. Fisher smiled back at her.

  “Thanks for believing in us,” he said.

  “You’ve earned it,” she replied.

  “How much time is on the clock?” Alex asked.

  “Just over four hours,” Mason said, glancing into the rearview mirror to look at Alex. “As long as this exchange goes smoothly, we’ll be golden. If anything goes wrong, though … it’ll be far too late.”

  “No pressure, then,” Alex mumbled.

  They pulled onto the road with two other FBI vehicles leading the way in front of them and two more bringing up the rear, behind the vehicle containing Amanda’s parents and Veronica’s mom.

  Fisher heard a rumble in the air and pressed his forehead to the window, expecting to see more otherworldly spacecraft. Instead he saw five jet fighters flying in a tight V formation above them. Others were appearing on the horizon. At the third intersection their convoy passed, a squad of soldiers was setting up sandbags on one corner of the sidewalk. Armored vehicles were rumbling into position on the larger streets.

  Fifteen minutes passed, and they left the city behind. On a gently sloping hillside, a battery of surface-to-air missiles had been set into place on thick steel legs like a giant spider rearing up and presenting its fangs to the sky. The military was gathering to repel an invasion.

  Fisher felt a steel cable tightening around his chest. He knew that if anything went wrong, there wouldn’t be an invasion. The Mechastaceans would just sit in high orbit and bombard the planet until nothing was left but radioactive dust.

  Veronica put her hand on his and gave him a reassuring smile.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “Everything’s going to be fine—thanks to you.”

  “Yeah,” Fisher said, looking down at his lap. He wondered whether the whole mess would have started if not for him. He’d welcomed the Gemini to the planet with open arms. He’d been the one to ride the M3 in the first place.

  “You’re thinking that this is your fault, aren’t you?” Veronica said pointedly.

  Fisher gaped at her. “How can you tell?”

  “I know you, Fisher,” Veronica said. Fisher continued to be kind of surprised by that fact. The idea that anyone his age would want to get to know him was still new. Especially when the person in question was Veronica.

  “Well, maybe a little,” Fisher said as the car turned down a dirt road. Apparently, the meeting was going to be in the middle of nowhere.

  “It’s true that you and Alex were excited by the chance to introduce earth to aliens—very pretty ones, too,” she said. Fisher blushed and looked down. “But the Gemini have been studying us for years. They were going to land at some point. No matter where they landed or who they met. I for one think it’s lucky that they landed near someone as smart and courageous as you … and me, of course,” she said slyly.

  Fisher smiled. She had a point. “Thank you,” he said, half sighing, trying to breathe as much tension out of his body as he could. He needed to focus. He would meet with the Mechastaceans one last time, secure the deal, and then it would be done. The pirates would leave—and hopefully the Gemini would realize that unless they left, too, the humans would never return their ship.

  “Look alive,” Mason said. “We’re almost there.”

  Two Mechastaceans were standing in the middle of a small field, next to a shuttlecraft of their own. The shuttle had broad, forward-swept wings and a jutting central cockpit. It rested on a trio of long landing struts.

  “Okay,” Mason said. “Boys, you know what to do.”

  “Let me know if you need a little more forceful persuasion,” Amanda said to Alex, putting her right fist into her left palm.

  “I will, don’t worry,” said Alex, squeezing her arm.

  “Good luck, boys,” said Mr. Bas.

  “We’ll be right behind you,” Mrs. Bas said.

  The vehicle came to a stop, and Agent Mason got out, immediately followed by Fisher’s parents. Four of the other cars that had escorted them came to a halt and all of their doors popped open instantly, spilling heavily armed, armored FBI tactical teams out onto the field. The teams fanned out and created a wide semicircle facing the Mechastaceans. They kept their weapons pointed at the ground, but they were visibly tensed.

  A pair of low-flying Apache helicopters crested a nearby hill, coming up quickly on their position and hovering over the FBI vehicles.

  Alex clasped Amanda’s hand and stepped out of the SUV. Veronica leaned over and gave Fisher a kiss on the cheek.

  “Good luck,” she said.

  “Thanks,” Fisher said, and followed Alex out of the car.

  It was disturbing to Fisher that the robots did not fidget. Fisher had still not gotten used to this, though it made sense. If a robot didn’t have something to do, it did not move. And the Mechastaceans, even if they were a species of sorts, with their own civilization, goals, and perhaps emotions, were robots. The two representatives stood waiting like a metal sculptor had built them on the spot years ago and then forgotten about them. Their three-clawed, grasping arms sparkled. Multiple sets of limbs kept them perfectly stable. At three points, one just below the head and one on either side of the thorax, Fisher could see heat ripples. Those must be main power intersections. It was remarkable that their bodies could generate that kind of power for long periods.

  Alex and Fisher walked side by side. Alex held the chip in his hands, and the newly polished device reflected the sun brightly as noon approached.

  They stopped a few paces from the Mechastaceans, who stirred, rotating their strange, bug-like heads. Their camera eyes autofocused.

  “The Gemini agreed to the deal,” Fisher said. “They asked us to deliver the chip to you out of concern for their safety.”

  “And was it you who convinced the Gemini to relinquish control of our precious central operations chip?” said one of them.

  “Yes,” Fisher said. “We persuaded them. Well, threatened, really.” Fisher hoped that their willingness to incur the wrath of the Gemini in order to return the chip would buy them some goodwill.

  “But that’s our problem,” Alex said. “We kept our end of the deal. Now we expect you to keep yours.”

  The Mechastaceans buzzed and clicked quietly for a moment.

  “Once we confirm that is the correct chip, we can guarantee that the Earth’s surface will not be destroyed,” said the second pirate.

  Alex looked sideways at Fisher, hope gleaming from his eyes. Fate of the world, fate of the world, fate of the world…

  Fisher nodded. Alex stepped forward to the Mechastaceans and held out the chip. One of them reached up with a single segmented claw arm and took it. Three small indicator lights on its arm lit up white, and one by one shifted to blue. There was silence for a few moments. Only the flutter of the helicopter blades broke it up. The armed men shifted uneasily, some glancing at Mason, waiting for orders.

  “It is authentic,” the pirate said. “We thank you for your efforts.”

  “I’m glad we could come to an agreement,” Fisher said, feeling like a thousand-year glacier had just melted from his back.

  “Quite so,” the pirate replied. “Diplomacy is the mark of an advanced species.”

  The Mechastaceans remained in place. Fisher and Alex looked at each other. Was there something they were waiting for? A ritual farewell?

  “So … that’s it?” Fisher said. “Do we say good-bye now?”

  The Mechastaceans’ metal scales clicked. The resulting noise sounded almost like lau
ghter.

  “We are merely taking a moment to admire your world,” the Mechastacean leader said. “We believe it will make an excellent base for our operations in this part of the galaxy.”

  Fisher felt like a sledgehammer had swung down out of the sky right into his stomach.

  “A what?” he said. Mason had his right hand inside his jacket, and the color had drained from Mr. and Mrs. Bas. The tactical teams pitched their rifles a little higher.

  “We want to expand our pirating into this part of the galaxy, and have been looking for a base to operate from. A place where ships can be repaired, and where more of us can be built. We were pursuing the Gemini for the theft of this chip when we happened across your water-filled, mineral-rich world. It was a stroke of luck. Now we will systematically convert your major land masses into factories and repair facilities.”

  Fisher’s fear, anger, and confusion were having a vicious battle for control of his mind. All his life he’d dreamed of enlightened, advanced species visiting humanity and bringing wondrous technology and the knowledge of true peace and happiness. He thought that aliens would help them achieve a world free of disease, poverty, war, and crime. A world where everyone had what they needed.

  Instead, it turned out that aliens were just like people. Self-interested, power-grabbing, and opportunistic. They cheated, lied, exploited, and used others to secure their own power base and keep the money flowing. Maybe there were still benevolent, enlightened aliens out there. But as with benevolent, enlightened people, it seemed like they were the exception rather than the rule.

  “But the chip—” Alex stuttered through gritted teeth. “You promised—”

  “This chip is identical to the one powering our home world’s Mother Machine, but not the same one,” one Mechastacean said. “This will operate the new Mother Machine.”

  “And what happens to us?” Fisher said.

  “It is difficult to say,” another Mechastacean said. “Perhaps, in those few regions of the planet we do not require for our use, you may eke out an existence of sorts.”

  Alex sprang forward, grabbing for the chip, but the pirate brushed him aside easily and Alex hit the ground hard.

  A hot spike of rage shot through Fisher. He and Alex had risked a lot to get the chip back from the Gemini, and now they’d been betrayed. Fisher lunged at the pirate, hoping to catch it off balance. It moved faster than he’d expected, and swatted him off his feet with a long steel arm. Both pirates retreated back toward their shuttle. Fisher landed on his back, the wind completely knocked out of him.

  The tactical teams took aim.

  “Hold fire!” Mason said. “Hold fire! The boys are too close. Boys, get behind me!” Fisher and Alex scrambled out of the way as Mason pulled out a weapon that was definitely about a hundred years ahead of standard FBI issue. Amanda and Veronica jumped from the car as Fisher and Alex reached their parents. Fisher tripped on the turf and crashed to the ground, scraping his forearms and tasting cold earth.

  “Wait for my order,” Mason said to the men. He turned his focus back to the Mechastaceans. “Listen to me,” he said, finger tensed around the trigger, “I am a very good shot. I might not be able to hurt you, but I can hit the chip before you get away.” Veronica and Mr. Bas helped Fisher to his feet.

  The Mechastaceans paused. A long series of nearly indistinguishable digital static noises emanated from both of them. Mason raised one hand up to keep the weird sounds from rattling his men.

  “Ordinarily,” the leader said, “you would be correct. But we are already inside the range of our craft’s force field.” To illustrate the point, a semitransparent white dome became momentarily visible.

  “Nevertheless,” another Mechastacean said, “your bravery is impressive. So we are prepared to offer you another deal. We will select another rocky world in this system—the next planet out, perhaps.” Mars, Fisher thought. Well, people have imagined that there are aliens on Mars for centuries. Wouldn’t be so much of a stretch. “If you provide us with a fee. In order to build our machines, we require certain uncommon metals. Particularly, those of proton counts twenty-two, twenty-nine, forty-six, seventy-four, and seventy-nine.”

  Mason cocked his head to the side. Amanda and Veronica looked at Fisher and Alex.

  “Titanium,” Fisher said.

  “Copper,” Alex said.

  “Palladium,” Mr. Bas said.

  “Tungsten,” Mrs. Bas said.

  “And gold,” Fisher concluded.

  “All right,” Mason said warily. “How much?”

  “All of it,” said one pirate.

  “What, our entire reserve?” Mason said. “Fort Knox? Everything we’ve got in our warehouses and factories?”

  “No,” the other pirate said. “All of it.”

  Fisher’s already heavy heart turned to an anchor.

  “You’re telling me you want all of the gold that has ever been mined,” said Mason, finger still tight on the trigger.

  “And even the gold that has not,” said the Mechastacean. “You have until six P.M., local time. Farewell, and have a pleasant afternoon.”

  “FIRE!” Mason barked without hesitation, cutting loose with his experimental weapon, which spat crackling white bolts at the chip. His men opened up, and Fisher was deafened by the percussive blasts. Veronica grabbed his arm and pulled him around the back of the car as his parents grabbed Alex. He braced himself for the return fire from the aliens, but it never came. Every shot, even the high-powered bursts from the Apaches’ nose cannons, was absorbed harmlessly into the shield, and the Mechastaceans boarded their craft. With a dull roar and a massive gust of air, it lifted off.

  The next moment, the shuttle accelerated and was gone.

  And so, it seemed, was the last chance for the human race.

  Another day, another potential human extinction. This is why I need a hearty breakfast.

  —Vic Daring, Issue #4

  Nobody spoke on the short ride back to the underground base. The helicopters flew low above them, and the sound of roaring engines would have drowned out any attempt at conversation, anyway.

  Fisher’s mind was caught in a series of tight loops of calculation. But he couldn’t see any way around the facts.

  Earth was done for.

  Fisher watched more military vehicles and emplacements move into position in fields and on hillsides, and wondered how long they could possibly hold out. A few days? A week? Would the Mechastaceans pick them off slowly, town by town, or incinerate every city at once? He pictured every single city on Earth in flames. He wondered whether something he could have done would’ve spared them.

  Strangely, he didn’t feel much of anything at all. Just kind of cold, and kind of hollow, and weary near the point of collapse. Fisher and Alex had saved the world from one terrible fate only to deliver it straight into another.

  Alex and Amanda sat silently, his arm around her shoulders, their heads leaning together. Fisher’s dad leaned forward to place his hand on the back of Fisher’s mom’s seat. Veronica was squeezing Fisher’s fingers tightly in hers.

  This was all they had, these precious final moments, before the world ended.

  Mason was frantically trying to get through to the White House. Fisher couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he knew it wouldn’t matter, anyway. Unless the president was a time-traveling wizard, what the Mechastaceans had asked for was simply not physically possible.

  The whole world was wired with copper. You’d have to rip apart pretty much every electrical grid, house, and machine on Earth to retrieve all the copper humans had unearthed. To do the same for gold, titanium, and the others…

  Fisher wondered if the Mechastaceans vastly overestimated human physical capacity and work rate … or if the whole thing was just a game to them, a sick joke.

  Fisher thought about the way that he, and all of them, had been used, and the hollowness and coldness started to give way to something new. A little flame clicked on. It wasn’t much. A pilot l
ight. But it grew brighter and hotter.

  He’d been pulled back and forth between two alien races competing to take over the planet. He’d been used, tricked, conned. He and his friends were the pieces in a chess game whose players were about to knock the board right off the table. The fire filled up his gut and blossomed into his chest. He wasn’t going to be played with anymore.

  If he couldn’t stop the end from coming, he was at least going to bring some alien invaders down with him.

  The guards at the base barely got the gate open in time for the black SUV to barrel its way through.

  “Any ideas?” Mason said as they all disembarked.

  Fisher turned to him, still feeling that fire burning deep inside of him. “They’re not leaving us with any options at this point. I say we fight.”

  “Seconded,” said Amanda.

  Alex impatiently hummed a few bars of “Gift-Wrapped Heart,” and the door in the silo materialized and slid silently open. The group got into the big steel elevator and started to descend into the base.

  “We have to be smart about a counterattack,” Mrs. Bas said. “The Mechastaceans are much too strong to take on head-to-head.”

  The elevator door opened into the cavernous base. Fisher gasped when he looked down to the cave floor. The Gemini ship was aglow with shifting, flowing lights. A steady, strong rhythm carried all the way up to the top of the cavern. A hatch was open in its side.

  The ship was operational.

  Fisher bolted for the nearest stairs, everyone else hot on his heels. He clattered down each section of metal steps quicker than the last, knowing but not caring that a wrong slip could send him plummeting to the cave floor.

  On the cave floor, the engine thrum was much stronger. Fisher felt it in his bones. His sternum buzzed with every beat of the alien machine’s cycle.

  Dr. X appeared in the hatchway, a very pleased look on his face. He slowly descended the steps, raising his arms high to indicate the machine around him, as if the group might have failed to notice it.