"Now, you miserable son of a bitch," Carver sneered. "I'll teach you to come on my base and try and take over." He went to fire his guns, and as he did, his hands began to shake violently. He dropped them to the ground , and fell to his knees.
Varloo rose from the floor, and smiled, healed like he hadn't even been shot. He pushed the guns away from Carver, and touched the side of his face.
"We tried it your way, General," he said. "Now, you will do whatever I tell you to, and your family will die anyway. Your mind belongs to me now." He placed his other hand on his face, and Carver fell unconscious. "General, you're familiar with hypnosis? After all, it was you who said it was ridiculous. Now, when you awake, whenever you hear my voice in your head, you will do exactly what I want. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," the General said, as he lay on the floor.
"Now, when you awake, you'll be alone, and have no recollection of what's happened here, only that you shot and killed me, and I left. You will tell Angelica Avery she has been pulled from the rocket project, but she will continue to have access to her android. You will get her to trust you with the AI chip, and then you will bring it to either Dr. Avery or I before she puts it in the android. You will complete the ships by the
assigned dates, and they will be launched. Is that understood?"
"Yes," Carver answered. "I understand."
When Carver awoke, Varloo was gone, and he looked at his guns on the floor, confused. He knew he shot him, but saw no body. He figured he must have dragged himself off to die. He felt remorse for the tragedy he brought upon his old friend and colleague, Frank Reynolds. He was so concerned about following orders, and the quest for the unknown, he hurt everyone around him, including his own family. .He was relieved this nightmare was over, and things were finally back to normal; at least that's what he believed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The next morning in her apartment, Angelica awoke to find her fiancé already up, drinking a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Miss Sunshine," he said, as smiled. "Travel to any far away planets last night?"
"That's not funny," she said, and began to drip tears.
Tom rose, and hugged her tight. "What's wrong?"
"I can't tell you," she cried. "I promised not to tell."
"Not to tell what?" Tom asked, as he became angry. She began to cry.
"You can tell me, I'm your future husband."
"If I do, I'll put your life in danger."
"Danger? Angel, baby, what are you talking about?"
"You promise you won't tell anyone else?"
"Of course, Sweetheart, what is it?"
"Last night, I saw.....Oh, you'll never believe me! You'll think I'm crazy!"
"What is it?" Tom yelled.
"I saw a gray alien with dark eyes fly into the research lab, and kill Dr. Reynolds."
"All right, this joke's gone far enough. Just what are you and Barkley trying to prove? I saw the way he was smiling after he left here last night."
"Would you stop? He had nothing to do with what I saw last night.
Carver was there as well."
"Carver? What in the devil?"
"He was talking to it, and then it placed his hand on Dr. Reynolds' head, and crushed his skull!" She began to cry again, and he hugged her in comfort.
"Come on, now, everything's gonna be all right," he said. "We'll go down and talk to Carver after breakfast, and straighten this whole thing out."
"He told me not to tell you," she said. "He said he'd handle it."
"He did, Huh? Well, we'll see how he handled it."
After breakfast, they went down to Carver's office, where he was just getting some paperwork done before overseeing the rocket project. He welcomed them in, shut the door, and offered them a seat. "How can I help you two today?"
"General," Tom said, giggling. "My fiancé seems to think Dr. Reynolds was....killed by an alien last night."
The general smiled, then bowed his head toward the paperwork in front of him.
"Dr. Reynolds," he said, and looked back up. "Did die last night, unfortunately. He had a massive stroke, I'm afraid."
"But I saw you down there, General," Angelica said. "You, Dr. Reynolds, and a gray alien. He touched him on the head, and blood ran from his eyes, nose, and mouth."
"He suffered severe hemorrhaging of the brain. He died instantly."
"General, what about Varloo?"
"Who?"
"The alien?"
"Major, do you know what she's talking about, cause I don't."
"General?" Angelica asked, as she got agitated. "Don't you remember, you came down to the robotics lab, and I caught my father trying to get the AI chip from me to give to the alien?"
"I think you better spend a day or two in the mental ward, Ms. Avery. Tom, I really think she's beginning to lose it."
"Do you really think that's necessary, General?" Tom asked.
"Don't you remember Jack Barkley?"
"Who?" General asked. "Oh, yes, him. As far as I know, he left late
last night, rather abruptly, I might add."
"He's on the alien ship!"
"All right," Carver snapped. "Tom, if you don't have her go to a psychiatrist , than I will!"
"No, no," Tom pleaded. "That won't be necessary, I'll take care of it."
"Very well," he said. "You have the rest of the week off to take care of your 'extraterrestrial' issues, and then I'm reassigning you."
Angelica was puzzled. "Reassigning me? To where?"
"Robotics division, until your robots are ready for completion. So far, you only have one, and we need at least two more before the rockets are completed."
"But General," she said. "It took me eight months to build Cely. We've only got a month before liftoff."
"Which is why you'll be working in the robotics lab."
"What about the rockets?"
"Your father is in charge of that. I don't want you anywhere near the rockets, or the genetics division, do you understand?"
She thought a moment, then smiled, and knew Varloo had taken control of his mind. "Oh, I understand perfectly," she said.
"Come on, Angel," Tom said. "Let's go. The general has a busy day."
They left the room, and then Angelica turned to her fiancé. "He's lying," she said to him.
"I know," Tom said. "He didn't even claim to know Barkley."
"Now do you believe me?"
"I don't believe the alien part. But I do believe he's lying about Barkley and Dr. Reynolds' death. Either he killed Reynolds, and Carver's
protecting him, or Carver killed him, and is hiding it."
"The alien's got control of Carver's mind!"
"Stop it with the alien talk, or you'll get us both decommissioned! Do what Carver said and take some time off. I'll keep an eye on things, and if I see anything suspicious, I'll let you know."
"Thanks, Honey, I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't trust my father anymore."
"Just get some rest, okay? I'll see you this evening, after I get out of work. Concentrate on a nice dinner for the two of us, and some quiet time together."
"That would be nice," she said. "I'm sorry to put you through all this."
She kissed him, and then headed down to work in the rocket
propulsion center.
With all the commotion around the base, she almost forgot her aunt recently came out of her coma, and was off of life support. She decided she would swing down by the infirmary to see her. She knew Sarah was still very incapacitated, but thought maybe it would be a comfort to hear her niece's voice.
When she approached the intensive care unit, she remembered something Barkley said about his wife and Elizabeth Wilson being down in the infirmary. She saw Kaleigh walk in the opposite direction, and went to stop her to ask if she knew where they were being held.
"Kaleigh!" she yelled, as Carver's daughter in law turned to face her.
"Angelica," she said, as she smiled. "It's nice to see you
. I suppose you heard your Aunt Sarah is out of her coma, and that's why you're here."
"Yes," she answered. "I'd almost given up hope. My father must be pleased."
"To tell you the truth, I haven't seen much of your father since she came out. I wonder why."
"He has his reasons," she said. "If they are his. I really stopped you because I wanted to ask you something. The two prisoners that were caught the other day. Are they still down here?"
"Yes, they are. Why? Do you know them?"
"No, not really. General Carver wanted me to check on them because he's too busy today."
"Why you? Doesn't he have other men for that?"
"Due to the nature of their capture, he's trusted me to talk to them only."
"That seems unusual, you being a scientist and not a security person."
"Are you doubting my word?"
"No, Angel, not all. They're in room 19."
"Is Sarah able to speak yet?"
"No, she just stares. She can move her mouth to eat if someone feeds her, but that's it. Her mind is gone. I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Kaleigh. Tell John and John Jr., I said hi."
"I will."
"And thanks."
"You're welcome. Tell your father I said hi, as well."
Angelica gave her a hug, and started in the direction of her Aunt's room. When she got there, she was lying on the bed, thin, but alert, with her eyes wide open. She stared into space, and wasn't even aware her niece entered the room. Angelica sat next to her, held her hand, and stroked her straggled gray hair.
"Hi, Aunt Sarah," she said to her. "It's nice to see you're awake. I don't know if you've seen me or heard my voice in the past, but I'm your niece, Angelica. I'm glad you can finally see me. I was beginning to think you'd never wake up. My dad is doing fine, although I don't think he'd want me here right now. He's been acting rather strange lately, and I don't know what to do. He's under some kind of alien control, and so is General Carver. I know if you were normal, things would've been different. You could stop him from what he's about to do, I know you could. I heard when you were kids, you always seemed to keep him in line." She began to cry, and held her hand tighter." Oh, Sarah," she cried. "I wish you two never saw that spacecraft when you were kids. You never would have met Varloo, and you wouldn't have been in a coma all these years!"
As she mentioned the name, Sarah began to speak, which totally shocked her.
"Varloo," she muttered. "Varloo."
"Sarah?" she asked. "You can speak?"
"I'm not Sarah," she answered. "My name is Batar. I am in control of Sarah's mind."
"Batar?'" she asked. "Are you the other alien Barkley spoke of?"
"I am he," she said, and continued to stare in front of her without moving anything but her mouth.
"Where is Barkley now? Is he dead?"
"No, he is at the ship. He is being held prisoner by Varloo, as I am."
"Why are you telling me this? What can I do about it? Varloo has General Carver and my father under his mental influence."
"And he's expending a great deal of his mental ability to do this. He is unaware of our current conversation."
"So what's your plan?"
"You cannot leave here, or they will become suspicious. You must pretend like we never talked and work on your android. They will try to get you to give up the chip and the secret code. You must resist, but don't let on that you know of their plans. I will assist you with this."
"How?"
"I will enter your mind when I need to and try to block him. It may be difficult, but I will try."
"I'm not to sure I want you inside my head."
"You must also contact the two prisoners, Lori Walker and Beth Wilson, and let them know what is going on."
"And then what?"
"Help them escape, and tell them to go to the ship."
"If I do that, I'll be in real trouble! Besides, Barkley said he wanted his wife to stay here."
"Lori will be in danger if she stays here."
"How?"
"Varloo will use her as leverage. At this point, it is best if we stick together."
"How will you 'arrange' it so they can escape?"
"I'm not sure yet. But you will know when I do."
"How do I know this isn't a trick devised by Varloo?"
"You will have to trust me. Would I channel myself through Sarah if you couldn't trust me?"
"Maybe, but it seems I've heard the 'trust' story before from Barkley."
"We speak the truth. Varloo is responsible for all the events that are to take place in the future."
"Maybe all of you and your conflict are responsible for the future?"
"There is no doubt we have already altered the future. Under Varloo's influence, the Tolarions will never be created in the first place. But that's not to say the race Varloo is about to create is any better."
"How can we stop him?"
"We must attack him when he's at his weakest. Carver attempted to, but failed. He will complete the wormhole generators soon, and if he does, he'll have a gateway to the other universe in which he can come and go as he pleases. He'll destroy mankind and create a race of hybrids just like you and your father."
"But I feel fine, and 100% human."
"That's where you are wrong. You have alien genes within you, passed on from your father. You will see in the future what chaos awaits for all of us, unless we kill him. "
"Barkley mentioned something about a telekinetic drug Triachilite?"
"Yes, we need to administer the antidote when he's drained of his power, which will be right around the time he completes the generator. As a team, we must somehow get him to expel all of his mental power to the
point he becomes overwhelmed. He cannot control a person's mind while he performs telekinesis, and vice versa."
"I placed the antidote inside of my android. It'll be safe there until we need it."
"You seem troubled. What's the matter?"
"I can't believe you're talking through my aunt using ESP. All these years I've wanted to hear her voice, and when I finally do, it's through an alien!"
"I am sorry, but I felt it would be the best way. I am unable to move from my current position, and I thought this would be the easiest way to communicate."
"I understand," she said, as tears dripped down her cheeks. "Will I get to ever speak to my aunt on her own?"
"You know if I told you, it will alter your future."
"I don't care! I want to know the truth. Is my aunt going to ever be okay?"
"I'm afraid not," he answered. "The damage Dr. Reynolds and General Carver inflicted on her is irreversible."
"Carver? Reynolds? What do you mean, the damage?"
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew. They are responsible for your aunt's condition. They have drugged her with a drug called Propfol, which causes a coma-like state. They've had her under sedation for thirty five years in order to get your father to do what they wanted him to do."
"That son of a bitch!" she snapped, as she clenched her fist. "I'll kill him!"
"Do not blame him totally, he was just following orders."
"From who? He's in charge here."
"A higher authority than he. Barkley only told you part of the story. Your father is who he is because of Varloo."
"I know, because of his genes."
"His genes make you both more intelligent than anyone on this planet, and that's what Varloo wants."
"Why would he go to all this trouble? Why doesn't he use this virus to kill off the human race instead? Besides, I thought I was going to die from the disease, as well as Carver and my father."
"Varloo already has the anti virus in his possession. You discover it in the future." She shook her head, and relaxed herself for a moment. Batar, who sensed what she was feeling, comforted her by lifting Sarah's arm onto her shoulder. "Do not be disheartened by what has taken place thus far. You couldn't know what your father experienced, or what the General
> or Reynolds did to him. We all must pay for our indiscretions of the past, and the effect they have on our children. You may one day stand side by side with those who choose to defeat Varloo and your father's mission."
"Are you saying you know what's going to happen?"
"No, only what might happen if we're not successful."
"Is there anything else you want me to tell to the prisoners?"
"Yes, tell them that Varloo has a security code on his craft. It is a series of numbers. You must remember them."
"Don't worry," she laughed. "I have a photographic memory."
"Yes, I know. The code is as follows: 87609-4563-6253-890. Good luck. I will see you when I return to the base one month from now."
"When should I help the women escape?"
"Twelve hours before Jan. 10th."
"That's the scheduled day of the launch."
"And it will go off as planned, but only if we can stop your father and Varloo first."
"That doesn't leave much of a timeframe."
"It's all we have. Now go, and be careful."
She headed his warning, and went about her business for the day. She had to concentrate on her work with the android, and the final installation of the AI chip without Carver's knowledge. It would be hard to face Carver knowing what he did without wanting to strangle him, but she reminded herself that right now he was under the influence of Varloo's mind.
She went down to visit the women first. When she walked in, she
wasn't questioned by the nursing staff because many of them knew of her work in robotics and genetics, and her father's work in rocket technology. They directed her to the room which contained Beth Wilson and Lori Anderson. As she entered the room, there was an instant familiarity.
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 20
