Vatican Abdicator

by Mike Luoma

  “Manageable?” Wentworth erupts. “I’ll give them manageable! Fuck that! They might as well be killing all of us, Campion. Look around! Our scientists are starting to work with the Project scientists, but we’re no closer to finding a cure,” Wentworth tries to calm himself, shakes his head. “Why not just attack us outright? Couldn’t be much worse than this.”

  “I hate to say it,” BC says, “but it probably is worse, now that Dolomay is on Mars.”

  Wentworth looks confused.

  “That’s the new player you mentioned, Al-Salid’s new ‘advisor’,” BC explains.

  “Dolomay, huh? Strange name.”

  “Yeah. He’s not from around here.”

  “So… Why does he make it worse?” Wentworth probes.

  “Because the Eldred are afraid of Dolomay, and what he represents. And we should probably be aware of what he represents, too, if not afraid of him. He’s ruthless, inhuman. He comes from a time and culture more technologically advanced than we are, so he gives the UIN an unfair tech advantage by siding with them against us. There are lots of ways Dolomay makes it worse.”

  “The Eldred are afraid of Dolomay? Why?” Wentworth thinks out loud. “Wait a minute… How old is this Dolomay?”

  “Ancient,” BC says.

  “Ancient?” Wentworth asks, and then pauses. “As in ‘Ancient Enemy’ ancient? How could he still be… Holy shit! If you weren’t the pope I’d say you were lying. As it is, I’ve got to wonder about your mental state!”

  “I wish I was crazy,” BC cracks.

  “But how could one of them be here now?”

  “Well, it’s a long story…”

  “We’ve got time,” Wentworth says, but then he corrects himself. “Huh, well, maybe not too much time, though… The appearance of this Dolomay on Mars… That’s what has you talking about a million year old intergalactic war, isn’t it?” A crooked grin twists across Wentworth’s mouth. “Can’t we just stand aside and let the Eldred wipe out the UIN?”

  “I’m not sure the Eldred appreciate the subtle differences in politics and religion that divide us humans,” BC tells him. “They may see us as all one race. And if they feel Dolomay is somehow, I don’t know, ‘tainting’ us, they may feel justified in wiping all of us out, as the last vestige of the Ancient Enemy.”

  “Right… Let me back up for a second. We’re sick because of these aliens. Our human ‘Project’

  is in touch with them?” Wentworth asks. “The Project set up your trip out to see them?”

  “The Project is in contact with the Eldred and those other aliens I mentioned before,” BC says.

  “The ones who kept us hidden from the Eldred?”

  “Exactly. There are several alien races in our area,” BC tells him. “But the Eldred seem to be the most powerful. Aside from the Ancient Enemy.”

  “And the Ancient Enemy are our ancestors?” Wentworth asks for clarification. “And it’s one of them on Mars?”

  “Something like that,” BC says.

  “He’s one of them? The Ancient Enemy?” Wentworth is still trying to wrap his head around the idea. “So tell me, then: How did he end up on Mars?” Wentworth asks.

  “I’m guessing he left Eldray stowed away on board the Eldred ship that carried Al Salid back home to Mars.”

  “Shitty security,” Wentworth mumbles. “But that doesn’t explain how it is he’s alive here and now in the first place!”

  “The Eldred and another race found him in deep space, in a suspended animation capsule that used technology beyond their own,” BC explains to him. “Dolomay had been placed in the stasis capsule in orbit around the home planet of the Ancient Enemy in punishment for crimes against his people. The capsule was set free, floating off through space by the same explosion that destroyed the Ancient Enemy’s homeworld and launched the star seeds.”

  “Oh. Great,” Wentworth exclaims. “So this guy was actually a criminal among those ancient brutes? Just great.”

  “It gets better,” BC tells him. “When I got back from Eldray, even before I could talk to you, the Eldred got back in touch through the Project to demand another meeting. I met them at the Project’s asteroid base…”

  “Wait a minute… The Project has an asteroid base?” Wentworth stops him.

  “Didn’t I mention that?”

  “I don’t think so,” Wentworth says cautiously. “You made it sound like they were based on the Moon.”

  “The Project has a base in the asteroids, too,” BC says matter-of-factly, but with a hint of sarcasm.

  “Thanks.”

  “Just trying to be open and honest. You know, our new, um, relationship.”

  “Working together,” Wentworth says, with a touch of irony.

  “Anyway. At the asteroid base

  meeting, the Eldred basically told me about Dolomay, said he was headed this way, and then told me now it was our problem! They demanded that we deal with it.”

  “You’re kidding. They expect us to take care of this guy?” Wentworth asks.

  “That’s pretty much how they left it,” BC tells him.

  “Did they know he was on Mars?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t think so,” BC guesses. “I didn’t know myself until I went there to meet with Al Salid.”

  And even then I wasn’t positive until you confirmed it as well. Fiza told me some, and Wentworth filled in the gaps.

  Should I tell him about the mental stuff?

  What do I know about it anyway?

  I mean really know?

  I don’t know.

  “This guy could be extremely dangerous,” BC says.

  “Really?” Wentworth challenges him. “Based on whose information? The aliens who are already trying to kill us? Or your Project? I’m afraid that neither seems at all credible at this point, Campion. We only have their word that he’s even a member of that ancient race,” Wentworth points out. “You chastised the board for lacking control over the Project. It doesn’t seem like you’ve got much control, either. You see my point?”

  “You know, I do. I really do, point taken. But they cozied up to these alien races under Van Kilner’s leadership, not mine,” BC says. “Wentworth, if this ‘new player’ is this Dolomay? This ‘Ancient Enemy’? He’s more powerful than the average guy. Because there’s one more thing. Something the Eldred weren’t all that forthcoming with.” BC pauses.

  I’m still not sure I should tell Wentworth this…

  “What? Don’t hold back now, Campion!” Wentworth cautions.

  “I believe the Ancient Enemy had psionic abilities,” BC tells him. “They could get inside your head, communicate telepathically, maybe even move things with their minds.”

  “They were telepathic? Telekinetic?” Wentworth asks incredulously, shaking his head. “You’re kidding me.”

  “You can see why I hesitated to tell you.”

  “That’s a lot to swallow, Campion.”

  “Do you believe me?” Campion asks.

  “I do,” Wentworth says to reassure him. “I believe you. I just don’t believe the people you believe. Hell, they’re not even people, right? The Eldred are the ones that look like little blue koala bears, right?!”

  “They might be cute and fuzzy… but don’t underestimate them,” BC cautions. “They’ve killed off more than half the human race,” BC points out.

  He looks around at the room he’s in. “Or have you put me in this isolation chamber because I smell bad?” BC jokes half-heartedly.

  “Touché,” Wentworth says. “You know, judging by what they’ve said, you may be safe.”

  “Judging by what they’ve said,” BC says, “those of us who haven’t died yet probably won’t. If we’re willing to believe the ‘little blue koalas’?”

  “I don’t know. That psychic stuff sounds too far-fetched,” Wentworth declares.

  “They weren’t ‘psychic’! Psionic. And the Eldred didn’t say anything about that at first. It’s what I’ve discovered! The Anci
ent Enemy used more of their brains, somehow. I don’t know how. They were telepathic. And the Eldred didn’t say anything about that. Only confirmed it when I confronted them about it.”

  “They didn’t tell you about it at first, eh? Where did you get the information, then?”

  Should I tell him? Why not?

  “I’m pretty sure I heard Dolomay in my head, Wentworth. I know that sounds crazy, but, please, listen to me!” BC asks. “I’ve heard him in my mind. It’s real.”

  “You’ve heard him. In your head? Are you sure?”

  “Not entirely sure. But I’m pretty sure. It’s disconcerting! And I’m even beginning to think my ability to ‘hear’ him has something to do with those headaches I’ve been getting.”

  I am? I do? I guess I’m beginning to… it makes some kind of sense to me as I explain it out loud to Wentworth. Maybe the headaches are the birth pangs of new mental powers on my part! Psycho-Man!

  Yeah, right!

  “Really?” Wentworth looks at BC quizzically through the glass. “So you can hear him.”

  “I can. I have. I didn’t realize what it was, or who it was, at first. I heard him in my mind when I visited the Eldred’s planet, Eldray. That must have been when he was waking up!” BC realizes. “The Eldred think that my presence on their world somehow triggered the mechanisms of Dolomay’s suspension capsule, turned them on and made them automatically thaw him out,” he explains. “When I was on Mars I ‘heard’ him again, louder, stronger, somehow. I figured out how to block him out after a while.”

  Wentworth looks down, shakes his head slowly back and forth.

  “This… this all sounds ridiculous!” he ends with a shout, lifting his head to glare back at BC through the wall of glass, unconvinced.

  “I don’t care how it sounds!” BC shouts back at the glass. “If Dolomay has already taken the UIN’s side, that could turn the war. Whether you believe he has the power to bend men’s will to his own or not, he comes from a time of superior technology, from a people known for their brutal superiority in war. I’m thinking this may give the UIN a bit of a tactical advantage, huh?”

  “No need for sarcasm,” Wentworth frowns. “Fiza’s reports bear out much of what you say.”

  “Fill in the blanks and the pieces of the puzzle fit together,” BC says. “Who else do you think Fiza’s mysterious stranger, this ‘new advisor’, is?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Wentworth insists. “I don’t think we can be certain it’s this ‘Dolomay’.”

  “I think we can be.”

  Wentworth shakes his head.

  “Wentworth!” BC shouts at him. “Watch the UIN, Wentworth. See if their ships don’t all of a sudden get better, start demonstrating technological advances we don’t have! See if this new stranger Fiza mentions doesn’t start taking over more and more control. Watch for the signs. Be ready for them to take a shot at us… and be ready to strike back hard! It’s the only way Dolomay knows!”

  “Look, Campion. This is all very farfetched,” Wentworth says. He gets a cold and distant look in his eyes as he continues. “I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by today and fill me in on these very important details. I’ll look into them and we’ll discuss this at the next meeting of the UTZ board. Thank you.”

  Even as Wentworth says “Thank you,” the glass wall turns opaque and BC finds himself staring at himself in the mirror.

  What the fuck? Come off it! Don’t shut me off! Don’t shut me out!

  “Don’t take too much time, Wentworth!” BC shouts at the mirror. “I know it’s a lot to think about, but we don’t have time to spare! The reappearance of Dolomay has not made the Eldred reconsider their stance on humanity and the plague,” BC cautions, “even if his escape is their fault! We face two threats, Dolomay and the plague!”

  “Clear,” Wentworth says.

  The mirror turns transparent once again, revealing Wentworth still standing on the other side.

  “Where do you suggest we go from here, then, Campion?” Wentworth asks him. BC looks him square in the eye.

  “We watch. We wait. And we prepare for the worst.”

  “If you’re right, Campion. But that’s a big if… ”

  “So what are we going to do about it?” BC challenges him. “Because it’s up to us now, Wentworth. No one else is left! Me? I’m thinking I’m going to direct the Project to ramp up Transpace ship construction and production. And you? You can help me arm those ships. We have war coming our way, on all fronts. What else can we do? What can you do?”

  “Such as?”

  “Will you let me turn the Project brain trust loose on your shipyards on the Moon? Double our efforts?

  Build some killer ships? Find a way to put up some sort of fight?”

  “How many of us do you think will be left standing to fight after this alien plague runs its course?”

  Wentworth asks rhetorically. “Don’t you know how many have died? Are dying?”

  BC shakes his head. “I know. But what else can we do?” BC laughs. “How pathetic is it that the fate of the human race is dependent on us two?”

  “Who knew it would get this bad?” Wentworth ponders. “I’m in,” he tells BC. “No reason not to combine our efforts! If the UIN protests politically, let ‘em. It’ll just force the issue already at hand. Let’s do it.”

  “Good. We need to be together on this,” BC says. “Speaking of which, do you really need to keep me isolated like this?”

  “Huh, let me see,” Wentworth says, consulting some readout in front of him. “Well, the sweepers say you’re clean, even though you’ve been in the plague zones. As far as our instruments can tell. Still worries me.”

  “I really do think that if you haven’t died yet, you’re not going to,” BC insists. “So they said.”

  “Sure… but who’s to say they didn’t infect you with something new to take back to take out the rest of us?”

  “Aw, now you’re just trying to cheer me up,” BC jokes.

  “I don’t trust the Eldred. Why should we?” Wentworth insists.

  “We don’t really have an option,” BC tells him. He laughs. “But I can’t believe you’ve ever ‘trusted’

  anyone? Why start with the Eldred?”

  “Touché,” Wentworth says with a smile. “Where to next?” he asks BC.

  “I think I’m heading back to Lunar Prime.”

  “Home base? Or your home away from home, now that you have the Vatican?”

  “Yeah, it’s funny, the Moon is one of the few places I do feel at home,” BC admits. “I can relax and regroup there. Think this through a little.”

  “You need some time to think?”

  “I need all kinds of time. We need all kinds of time. Time to think. Time to strategize. Time to build, and to rebuild. Time to at least try to contact The Eldred. Tell them we know where Dolomay is,” BC

  explains.

  “Are you really sure that’s a good idea?” Wentworth questions BC.

  “Why not? Despite my doubts, maybe we can get them to help us, make them see the difference between us and the UIN! If the Ancient Enemy is working with the UIN, maybe we can make the Eldred see that we are on their side. Maybe they can still come in on our side. The ‘enemy of my enemy’ and all that?”

  “Right.” Wentworth turns away from the glass wall and begins walking away.

  “Stay in touch, won’t you, Campion? Let me know what’s going on?” he says over his shoulder.

  “Absolutely. So… you’re not going to come see me off?”

  “I’m seeing you off right now, Campion! Good-bye!”

  Wentworth leaves the room on the other side of the glass.

  “Prick,” BC says under his breath.

  “I heard that!” Wentworth says, unseen, an echo from the hall coming over the loudspeaker.

  “Scary, man,” BC says, knowing Wentworth is still listening.

  “Thank you,” Wentworth says over the speaker.

  The room d
oor slides open. BC walks out into the corridor. There’s no sign of the greeter, so BC finds his own way back to the ship. Drex is there waiting for him in the walkway outside the ship.

  “You’re not afraid of the sickness?” BC asks him as he walks up.

  “Me? Nah,” the pilot says. “Your time comes, it comes. You die, you die,” he says dryly.

  “Very pragmatic of you,” BC observes.

  “So, you still want to go to the Moon?” Drex asks.

  “Yup.”

  The two board the ship. BC settles in for the trip to Lunar Prime as Drex gets them underway.

  Chapter Two

  BC’s thoughts wander as he travels.

  Back to the Moon. Get my shit together there before I head back down to the Vatican. The Vatican. Huh.

  I sooooo do not want to go back there. That can’t be good.

  I just don’t want to be the fucking pope!

  Damn.

  I should get in touch with Anita.

  “Drex, can you put me through to someone on the com?”

  “Sure.”

  “I need to reach a scientist with The Project. Her name’s Anita Capituna.”

  “And she’s on the Moon?”

  Huh… good question. Not sure what her plans were for the week.

  “I think so.”

  “I’ll try”

  Drex calls in to the Moon and somehow manages to get Anita on the other end of the com.

  “BC?! What happened? You’re… like, five and a half days early! We didn’t pick you up… Whose ship are you on?”

  “Things didn’t go so well on Mars, Anita. I think Dolomay is already there. I’m pretty sure he’s gotten to Al-Salid… Instead of meeting with me, Al-Salid threw me in a cell! Wentworth’s people helped me out, got me out of there and off of Mars,” BC tells her.

  “Should you be saying all this on an open channel?” she cautions.

  “Dolomay can read minds, Anita. Do you think channels matter?”

  “What did you say? He can read minds? BC? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. The Eldred said the Ancient Enemy were more powerful than we are, right?”

  “Right…” she agrees, tentatively.