"So you won't talk to them?"
"What do they want to know?" he asked, disgusted.
Louis turned toward General Carver again.
"He's wants to know what you want?"
Carver relaxed a little bit.
"Well, that's better," he said. "Ask him what year it was when he left the other universe?"
"He says it was 2165."
"2165," Carver said, in disbelief. "Ask him why he came here?"
He turned to Varloo again.
"He came here for me."
"Why?"
"So I can help you to understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why you should let him go."
"Why should we let him go?"
"Because he has to change the future."
"What's going to happen in the future that needs changing?"
He stared at Varloo, but felt him clam up, and refuse to answer him. He turned to Carver with disappointment.
"He won't tell me that."
"We're done here for now," Carver said to the scientist.
"It's obvious he won't cooperate. If he doesn't tell him anymore information by tomorrow, I want him dissected so he can be examined, and his ship reverse engineered."
"Yes, Sir," the doctor said.
"Wait!" Louis screamed. "He's my friend!"
"Well," General Carver said. "If your 'friend' doesn't want an autopsy done on him, he'd better learn to cooperate!"
Louis turned to the Grey, and stared into his dark eyes with concern.
"Don't worry," Varloo said. "They have no idea what they're getting themselves into. They will regret this day, and my wrath!"
"Please don't hurt them," Louis pleaded.
"I only do what I have to do to protect myself. Please remember that."
"I know that," Louis said.
"Time to go, Louis," Carver said.
He placed his hand on Varloo's shoulder. As he did, he felt a very strange feeling, and almost passed out.
"You now have my knowledge. You will be a great scientist one day, but not the way you think."
"Goodbye, Varloo," he said.
"Goodbye, Louis," Varloo answered.
He left the room, and stared back at Varloo, as he did the same, almost as if there was a mental bond between the two of them. It was then he knew Varloo didn't expect to be dissected, and had his own plan of
escape. He was led back into his room, but before he entered, he turned to General Carver.
"Will you be the one who jeopardizes the future for your own curiosity?"
Carver was surprised an eight year old asked such a question.
"I'm willing to take the risk if it can benefit mankind," was his answer.
"What if it does the opposite?"
"Then I'd have to say you were right. But once again, I'm willing to take the risk."
"Risks are dangerous, especially when they involve things you don't understand."
"You're especially astute for a young boy. Would you like to go to school once we're done with our testing?"
"Can I learn science and math? They're my favorites."
"I kind of figured that would be what interests you."
"I don't care what Varloo says about you," Louis stated. "I think you're a nice guy trying to help."
"Well, I'm glad to here that. Varloo's his name, huh? Just what exactly does he say about me?"
"That you're arrogant, stupid, selfish, and making a bad decision."
Carver smiled. "Of course he would say that. He knows we're going to experiment on him. Try to get him to cooperate. He seems to have a mental bond with you. In the meantime, Dr. Reynolds will be here to run the tests."
"Yes, General Carver," Louis answered.
Carver left the room, walked up the stairway, and into the hall, closing the security door. He stepped in the elevator, which took him to the floor where Sarah was living. He knocked on her door, and she answered, still in tears.
"What do you want?" she asked in an angry tone.
"To apologize, for one," he said. "Are you going to let me in, or leave me in the hallway all day? And why aren't you at work?"
"I took the rest of the day off!"
She opened the door, he came in, and they both sat on the sofa.
"Look, Sarah. I can say I'm sorry for what I have to do, but I have my orders too."
"But you're in charge of this place!"
"Only this section! You know there are nine others bases, and they are all run by the coalition. Whoever is in charge of the coalition itself is in charge-and that's not me."
"Yea, but the coalition doesn't know Louis. They're not his sister," she said, as she cried loudly. He put his arm around her, and hugged her tight.
"There, there, Sarah," he said. "I only need him for a month, and then I'll let him stay with you, I'm promise. I kept my word today, didn't I? You got to see him, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, there you go. You know, before your parents died, they said to me, 'please take care of our girl if anything ever happens to us.' We can't afford to lose her too. And I kept my promise, didn't I? I gave you a home, bought you new clothes, even got you a job, just like I would my own daughter."
"You have been good to me."
"I'll have Dr. Reynolds come by tonight and give you something to sleep better, okay?"
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Albert."
"You're welcome, Honey," he said, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and got up to leave. She showed him out the door.
Carver left there, and returned to the research area, greeted by Dr. Reynolds.
"Sir," he said, as he carried a clipboard. "You won't believe this one. Louis Avery's brain level is off the charts!"
"What do you mean off the charts?"
"Well, we asked him simple arithmetic on a third grade level, which he easily surpassed. We then gave him problems designed on a high school level. He again surpassed them, so we gave him college level."
"And your conclusions?"
"He currently has a college level math background, and he is fluent in physics and calculus. He understands five languages currently, and speaks backwards as well in those languages. And his science level is that of a nuclear physicist."
"Really?" he asked, again in disbelief. "Our extraterrestrial friend seems to have given our young boy a boost of knowledge. Maybe we'll keep the Grey alive after all. Let's take some blood from both the alien and the boy and test it to see if the blood is similar."
"Do you think he passed it on through his blood?"
"That's what I'm thinking. And do me a favor, will you?"
"What's that?"
He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Go up to Sarah's room and inject her with enough Propfol to put her out for a couple of months until we're done."
"You know what you're asking me to do? The risks of putting her under that long in a drug induced coma can cause irreversible damage."
"Just do it! That's an order!"
"Yes, Sir." Reynolds said, and walked away.
Carver turned to leave again, and he could see Louis stare at him differently now, as if he knew what he was about to do, and was angry. He gave him a look back, and started up the stairs, and out of the area. Reynolds followed him up the stairs as well, administering the General's order. The boy's look worried Carver, and he felt he was changing as well, and that maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.
Later that day, Carver and Reynolds came back down to draw blood from their captives. They entered the boy's room first, and Carver was greeted by a resentful young boy.
"Varloo was right about you!" he said, as Carver entered. "I shouldn't have trusted you!"
"Come on, now, Louis," Carver told him. "We're only here to help you. We just need to draw a little blood, that's all."
"I know what you did to Sarah!"
"What are you talking about?" Carver asked.
"You know what I mean! You drugged her so she wouldn't interfere!"
Carver was surprised at the statement. How could he know that, unless he could lip read, or read minds?" How do you know about that?"
"Varloo told me. You better stay away from me!" He began to throw lab equipment which was in the room at them.
"Louis, be reasonable," Carver said. "We don't want to hurt you."
"Why not?" he asked. "Because you need me as your lab rat?"
"Reynolds, get the syringe ready," Carver said. "Louis, please don't force me to get physical."
"You're not getting my blood!" he insisted.
Carver cornered him, grabbed him in a bear hug, and held him, while he kicked. "Get a sedative!" he told Reynolds. He followed his order, and
injected him with the drug. In a matter of seconds, Louis stopped struggling, and Carver placed him on the bed. Reynolds drew his blood, obtaining three full vials.
"He's going to be uncooperative from this point on," Reynolds stated. "You do realize that?"
"I know," he said. "But it had to be done. Once we test the alien's
blood, I want him moved to another part of the facility. Hopefully, their mind meld has a range limit."
"I hope you're right. We still don't know how the alien is going to alter the future, if what they're telling us is the truth."
"I really don't care," Carver said. "All I care about is what we can learn from them."
"Maybe what we learn from them is how we alter the future," Reynolds said.
"That could be, but I still don't care. Let's go get the blood from the alien." He nodded, and they left Louis' room, and went into the alien's quarters. "You sure he's still sedated?"
"Yes," he said, as prepared the vials for the blood samples. Carver watched, as Louis's face turned to face the glass next to them.
"Wake up, Varloo!" he yelled. "Wake up."
Dr. Reynolds unstrapped the Grey's arm to place the intravenous needle into him. He pushed it in, and the blood began to flow into the vial. The Grey awoke, reached and grabbed his arm, and squeezed it until he let go. When he did, the needle syringe began to float in mid air. Carver watched in amazement, as he helped to try to release his grip on Reynolds. The needle jabbed him in the arm, he screamed in pain, and threw it on the floor. Varloo touched Reynolds'
forehead, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.
Carver turned, as he pulled his M9 revolver out and pointed at him, but the Grey used his telekinetic powers to yank it from his hand to the floor. He waved his arm, and Carver also became unconscious. He unstrapped himself, glanced at the two of them, and waved his arm to open the door.
Upon leaving, Louis became excited. "You're free! You're free!" he yelled.
Several guards approached the Grey, he waved his arm, and they were also unconscious. He turned to Louis before he left. "Goodbye, Louis, and good luck," he said.
"I don't like it here," Louis said. "Take me with you! Please?"
"I'm afraid I can't. Not this time. Take care, you will see me again in the future."
He began to cry, as he watched the Grey climb into his spaceship, and
prepare it for departure. He watched in wonder, as the triangular craft rose, and the bay doors opened at the top of the structure.
"Goodbye, Varloo," Louis said. "At least you're free!"
The humans began to awake and the ship left the hangar. Carver scrambled for his gun, and pointed at the craft, but it was already gone. He stared at the sky, and then at Louis, who was dancing around the room in joy. He then looked at the mark in his arm, wondering what implication it would have from the alien blood., what the future held for them, and how it was to be altered from the gray humanoid. He also wondered what was to become of this child prodigy, and what effect the alien would have on his future as well.
CHAPTER THREE
The year was 2165, and the Republic battle space vessel Renake II journeyed toward the large earthlike world of Zebula. The president of the Galactic Republic of Peaceful Civilizations, Balar, gave Captain Jeff Walker and his crew permission to use inter-dimensional travel, and then gave him command of one of the Republic vessels due to the haste of the situation. They were now two days away from their destination as they traveled at Faster Than Light Warp drive speed 2, and Jeff looked forward to seeing his old Talokian friend, Barva, again.
The lingworts were their usual selves, bored of space travel, and just wanted to get back home to their pleasant little tropical island. Batar was overwhelmed with worry as to what Varloo's ultimate plan was, and what he already altered in the time since he passed through the wormhole. Lori Walker was like the Lingworts, and just wanted to enjoy her life with her new husband. Ever since they dropped Angelica and Rollings off at the outpost, she grew increasing homesick, and just wanted this whole fiasco over, and to settle back again to their life on Ventros.
The Walkers missed their old friend, John Carver, and although he didn't die from the Andronian virus, they still felt it better he didn't suffer for long. Their friend gave his life for them, and Jeff wished he could repay him somehow, perhaps by capturing Varloo.
Now, whether he liked it or not, Jeff became captain of the Republic vessel. He was thankful, however, that the Barok agreed to assist them in piloting the craft. Fallou, the Zacharian commander, navigated the Sarloton back to Zacharas so the Barok could use it if they had to. Between his old friends, and new ones he made, he assembled quite an efficient crew. He still missed John's authoritative manner, however, and felt he sometimes lacked the direction of his superior. His mishap on Zacharas was evidence of this; when he placed his own life in jeopardy, as well as others. He was determined not to make the same mistake on this mission.
He turned to his navigational panel expert, Lt. Elizabeth Wilson. "Are we within range of Zebula?" Jeff asked her.
"Yes, Sir," she answered. "We've just entered their star system. Coming up on Solaras now."
"I believe Zebula is the only habitable planet in this system." Varloo said. "There are some moons, like Tarakas and Belanti that harbor life, but no other planets.
"Open communications, Lori," Jeff said.
"Communications open, Sir." his wife answered.
"Planet of Zebula, this is the Republic vessel Renake II requesting permission to enter the Zebulan sector. Do you read?"
There was a slight delay, and then an answer. "Permission granted, and welcome Captain Walker."
"Very well," he said. "We'll be there in about two days."
"Understood," the voice answered. " Jalok and Barva will be pleased to meet with you."
Jeff turned to Lori, who turned off the transmission.
"Did Dormiton and Milgic finish cleaning the supply room?"
"Yes," she said. "They're down eating now, and then they're going to their quarters. I'm really regretting them coming along this time."
"Me to," he said. "Perhaps they can stay on Zebula until we clear this up."
"That wouldn't be a bad idea. They'd probably be more at home there."
"That is if we can even get to where we're going in the first place."
"If Varloo has traveled into the past," the Grey, Batar, said. "There's got to be a way for us to do the same."
"Barva and Jalok will know the answer, with the help of Varmoth," Jeff stated.
"Who is Varmoth?" Lori asked.
"He is the biological computer that runs the world of Zebula," Jeff explained. "Without it, the planet will die. The computer healed me from injuries, protected me from enemies, and regenerated their race. Did you know they built an entire complex within a matter of hours?"
"That's amazing," Wilson said.
"Not only that," he boasted. "They also built three civilizations in the other universe in less than a year."
"That is the sign of an intelligent society, peace and advancement," Batar stated. "We could have been that fortunate, but fighting and greed has corrupted our people as well. And Varloo is one of the most dangerous when he's angry. Now that he has the formula for the Triachilite from Ms. Avery'
s android, he is unstoppable."
"Nobody's unstoppable," Jeff replied. "We thought Riona was unstoppable, until Zarcon disarmed him."
"Zarcon was naturally telekinetic, which gave him an advantage," Batar reminded him. "No offense, but you're just a human. And even if you could take the Triachilite, you are no match for him."
"Well," he said. "Due to the nature of the beast, I'm going have to be."
"Unless-" Batar began.
"Unless what?"
"Unless he has already changed the past. He has a two day head start on us. And judging from theories my kind have calculated, that could
mean years in Earth time. We may already be too late to change things."
"Then we'll stop Dr. Avery if we have to," Jeff said. "Stop him from launching those ships."
"That will be no easy task either. First, we'll have to get there, and then we'll have to get past the numerous probes launched from earth into space during that time period. Even after the nuclear war, NASA was able to monitor them from underground. If they see a ship our size, they'll expect an invasion, and act accordingly. Then, once you're there, you'll
have to find a way onto the base without anyone suspecting who or what you are. And then, you'll have to find a way, on a top secret base, to get near two people who don't even remember you because they haven't even met you yet!"
"Like I said, a piece of cake! Besides I love a challenge!"
"You also have a habit of putting us in dangerous situations," Lori said, and smiled at Wilson, who smiled back.
"It goes with the territory, Major Walker."
"Whatever, Captain Walker," she said. "And to think, I was once worried about you calling 'me' Sir."
"Things change," he said. "Let's hope they haven't changed too much."
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 3
