by Jim Beard
Virdon replied, “Same here.” They had known from the first hours after their arrival on Earth that the planet and human civilization had suffered upheaval while he, Burke, and their fellow astronaut, Christopher Jones, were traveling in space and encountering whatever storm or time warp had propelled them centuries into their own future. What remained a mystery were the circumstances of that catastrophe, and how, why, and precisely when humanity had reached a point of such desperation that it felt compelled to unleash upon itself weapons of unimaginable destructive power. How far had science, technology, and society advanced after his and Burke’s departure, before all of it was lost? What had become of his wife, Sally, and his son, Chris? Such questions tore at him, and it was the not knowing that haunted Virdon’s dreams.
“Whoa. Get a load of this.”
Startled from his momentary reverie, Virdon turned to see that Burke had risen from his chair and was leaning over one of the consoles. He pointed to the workstations, one of which was now active. Rows of lights and status gauges reported all manner of information, only some of which Virdon recognized.
“It’s alive,” said Galen.
Burke replied, “Sort of. Something’s up, that’s for sure.” He pointed to one of the terminal’s blinking lights. “If I’m reading this right, this set of controls is for the video monitors.” Without waiting for instructions, Burke tapped one of the keys. The blinking light now remained lit, and the four television monitors hanging from the ceiling all crackled to life. Within seconds, their displays coalesced into the image of an attractive, dark-skinned woman with short black hair. She wore a nondescript olive, drab jumpsuit with no insignia or patches, and looked to be seated at a desk or polished table. Her hands were clasped before her, and her expression warmed as she smiled toward the camera.
“Greetings, Colonel Virdon and Major Burke. My name is Doctor Eva Stanton, and if you are watching this, then so far, everything has gone according to the rather hasty plan we have put into motion.”
“What the hell….?” Virdon felt his jaw slacken, his gaze riveted to the alluring woman on the monitor.
“I represent a community, one of several pockets of human civilization which have managed to survive all that has transpired over the many centuries you were away from Earth. Our numbers are small, and continue to dwindle with each successive generation, to a point where we are considering revealing ourselves to the surviving human populace. However, doing so brings with it the risk of discovery by the apes, which is something we cannot afford.”
“This is unbelievable,” said Galen.
“We only recently became aware of your existence here. One of our people was investigating reports of a human experimenting with a rudimentary glider, and discovered that you were helping him. We later realized that it was you who found the cache of information at the Oakland Science Institute. That storehouse was lost, unfortunately, but we were grateful that you escaped, and have continued to elude the ape authorities. Now that we know about you and your general whereabouts, it’s time for you to find the safe haven you’ve been seeking. I know you and your friend, Galen, have many questions, and we hope to provide those answers. For that to happen, you must come to us.”
“What is this?” asked Galen.
Burke pressed a button and the video halted. “It’s a recording, similar to that projection we found in Oakland, but not quite so advanced.” He patted the control console. “Whoever made it probably just took advantage of the equipment they found down here.”
Virdon gestured to one of the monitors. “Let it play.”
“Due to our small numbers and limited defenses,” said Stanton after Burke resumed the playback, “it’s imperative that we hide our existence from the apes. For that reason, we maintain our communities well away from the territories they control. However, after learning about you, we’ve attempted to track your progress while maintaining our secrecy.” She paused, and her smile returned. “You’ve proven most adept at hiding from us, too.”
“They never call,” said Burke. “They never write.”
“Much information from centuries past has been lost, but we were still able to identify you as two of several astronauts from the 20th century who had been listed as missing and presumed dead, and we’re sorry for the loss of your friend, Major Jones.” Stanton paused, as though collecting herself, before continuing, “Once we realized you were heading inland and away from the central territories, we devised means of reaching out to you. The missile complex you’ve discovered is just one such facility we’ve rehabilitated in anticipation of your finding it. To protect ourselves, we can’t give you our precise location, but based on your 20th-century knowledge, you should be able to find us if I tell you to search for a former military installation that used to be known as Area 51. We’ve left you with supplies to aid you, and it’s possible we may be able to help you further as your journey continues. Until then, I look forward to the day we meet in person. Good luck, my friends.”
The image faded, leaving the astronauts and Galen to stare in muted shock at the blank screen. After a moment, Virdon turned to his friends.
“I don’t believe it.”
Burke snorted. “You don’t believe it? Try being me, pal.” A small smiled teased the corners of his mouth. “All those times I doubted you? I take them back. I officially surrender my membership in the Skeptic’s Club.”
Unfolding the paper map he had taken from the supplies they had found, he laid it atop a nearby table and traced his fingers along the inset portion depicting the southwestern United States. It took him only a moment to find a marking in Nevada’s southern regions, which was labeled “Nevada Test and Training Range.”
“That’s it.” Virdon could not help a small smile. “Groom Lake.”
Leaning over the table, Galen asked, “You know this place?”
“Heard of it, mostly,” replied Burke. “In our time, Area 51 was the popular name for a top-secret base where they developed new technologies for the military. Planes that were all but undetectable by an enemy, that sort of thing. Some people thought it’s where spaceships from other planets were taken for study.”
Virdon added, “I’ve never been there, and I don’t know that the Air Force even admitted the base existed. At least, not before we left.”
“And this is where this human lives?” Galen gestured to the monitor and the frozen image of Eva Stanton. “Her, and others like her?”
“That’s what the lady said.” Burke moved closer, eyeing the map. “If I’m reading this right, we’re talking about something like three hundred miles, on foot, to get there.”
Nodding, Virdon forced himself not to let the exultation and anticipation of the past few moments overwhelm him. “Yeah, but we can do it. We have to.”
“You realize that even if we find these people,” said Burke, “the chances of them being able to help us get home have to be pretty remote.”
“I’m aware of that, Pete, but it’s the first real hope we’ve had since we got here.” Reaching into the pouch he wore on the rope belt around his waist, Virdon extracted a thick cloth, within which was wrapped a small, shiny metallic disk. For the first time in weeks, he held it up to inspect it.
Despite everything he and his friends had endured, he had managed to retain possession of the invaluable artifact that was the one surviving component from their spacecraft. Whatever had befallen their vessel, every aspect of that doomed flight was recorded on the disc. Did a civilization exist, anywhere on this planet, with the capability to interpret the stored data and perhaps recreate or reverse the circumstances which had pushed him and Burke so far into their own future? For the first time since their arrival, the answer to that question might very well be within their grasp.
There was no way Virdon could ignore that opportunity.
“I know that look,” said Galen, before reaching over to tap Burke on the arm. “I think you and I should start packing those supplies.”
Virdon wrap
ped the cloth around the flight disk and returned it to his belt pouch before folding the map. New energy and hope surged through him. For the first time in months, he felt driven once more by purpose. “Let’s do it.”
“Watch out!”
Galen’s cry of alarm rang in the air an instant before Virdon felt the chimpanzee slam into him, driving him off his feet. Even as he tumbled to the floor, the snap of a gunshot echoed within the control room’s confined space. Rolling away from the direction from which he thought the shot had come, Virdon caught sight of the gorilla soldier levering his bulk through the escape hatch’s narrow opening. Moving with surprising speed for his size, the ape emerged into the control room just as Virdon and Galen scrambled for cover. Behind the soldier, Virdon saw another gorilla scrambling to pull himself from the conduit.
“It’s them!” said the second ape. “The fugitives!”
Where the hell had the apes come from? How many of them were there? His mind racing, Virdon considered their escape options, which were few. There was the silo’s main entrance, which meant a retreat deeper into the complex, or the escape shaft, which required fighting their way through at least two gorillas. Either scenario involved abandoning the complex itself, along with the supplies and the priceless information it contained.
We can’t leave it! Not now!
“Alan!”
Hearing Burke’s shout as he lunged for whatever meager protection the control consoles might offer, Virdon looked up to see his friend charging the first gorilla. He wielded a large, silver fire extinguisher that he swung by its handle like a club, striking the ape in the face and sending the soldier crashing to the floor.
Backpedaling, Burke was looking for a chance to lash out at the second gorilla, but the ape was faster, turning toward the astronaut while reaching for the short club hanging from a hook on his uniform belt. Using the soldier’s distraction, Virdon vaulted over the console and lowered his shoulder, driving into the ape’s back and sending them both crashing into the wall. The gorilla struck his head against the concrete and grunted in confusion and pain, giving Burke an opening to strike once more with the fire extinguisher. One solid blow was all that was needed to drop the ape in his tracks.
“Behind you!”
Instinct and Galen’s warning made Virdon duck and roll to his left just as he sensed the other gorilla lumbering toward him. The soldier overshot and tried to change direction, but by then Burke had retrieved the club from his companion’s belt and come up behind him. A backhanded swing with the bludgeon across the back of the ape’s head was enough to send him reeling, until he stumbled over one of the workstation chairs and crashed to the floor with a heavy thud.
Drawing heavy breaths, Virdon pushed himself to his feet. “Thanks.”
Burke hefted the club. “Always liked these things.”
“We can’t stay here.” Virdon moved to the tunnel accessing the escape shaft. It took him only a moment to verify that the two soldiers who had ambushed them appeared to be alone.
“There might be more up on the surface,” he said upon returning to the control room, by which time Burke and Galen had finished tying up the unconscious apes.
Galen said, “At the very least, it’s a scouting party that someone will miss. You heard what they said. They knew who we were.”
The soldiers were the first the fugitives had seen in weeks. According to Prefect Gaulke, there was not even a police garrison anywhere within a day’s ride of Nivek, but Virdon could not believe that the soldiers finding them here was a simple coincidence.
“You think it’s Urko?” asked Burke, as though reading his friend’s mind. “He’s a tenacious one, that feisty gorilla.”
Virdon nodded. “Well, we’re not waiting around for him.” He paused, casting his gaze around the control room. They would have to abandon the complex, which was unfortunate, but the buried missile silo had served its purpose, so far as he was concerned.
It had given him hope.
* * *
Urko stepped through the large metal door, trying not to let trepidation get the best of him as he examined the odd, circular chamber and its contents. In many ways, it reminded him of the underground room they had found several months earlier in the Forbidden City. Some of the unfamiliar components here looked to be of similar origin, and Urko knew what that meant.
Human knowledge, from ages ago, and all the danger it represents.
“Incredible,” said Chief Councilor Zaius, who was standing at the room’s center, taking in the collection of unfamiliar machines with their blinking lights and the low humming noises they made. “Simply incredible. Urko, do you understand what we’ve found? What we now hold in our hands?”
Regarding the strange devices, Urko grunted in annoyance. “All of this is dangerous, Zaius. You know that.” He waved to indicate the room. “This is disease and destruction. We must destroy it all, just as we’ve done before.” Several of the components looked to have been destroyed, reduced to nonfunctional piles of scrap metal and broken glass. Had they always been this way, or had Virdon, Burke, and Galen done this before making their escape?
It had taken Urko’s troopers more than two days to force their way into the underground complex, during which Zaius and his entourage had completed their journey from Central City after being notified, more than a week earlier, of the latest reports of the fugitive humans and Galen being sighted in this region. Upon entering the subterranean passages, Urko’s soldiers had found Lieutenant Robar and Sergeant Medros, who had managed to free themselves from their bonds while remaining trapped within the strange chamber. The two gorillas reported encountering the renegade astronauts and Galen and, after several minutes of harsh questioning, admitted that the humans had bested them, after which they had awakened to find themselves trussed up like animals. The fugitives were long gone, of course.
“It seems unreal that this equipment survived being buried for so long,” said Zaius as he moved about the room. He reached out to touch various pieces of the bizarre machinery. “We know that humans once were capable of amazing feats, but this seems beyond even them.”
Huffing, Urko waved toward the machinery. “What does it matter, Zaius?” He had ordered his troopers to remain outside the room, and instructed Robar and Medros not to discuss anything they had seen here until first debriefed by him. “This is an infection we cannot allow to spread. You know what we have to do here, just as we did before.”
“Perhaps we were too hasty then, Urko.” The chief councilor stopped before one of the odd components, resting his hand along its smooth surface. “There may be much to learn here—knowledge we can use to improve ape society.”
Urko shook his head. “What can humans teach us, except how to more easily annihilate ourselves?” He pointed back toward the heavy metal door and the tunnel that lay beyond. “This entire facility had but one purpose: to carry destruction.” He had seen pictures of similar structures in one of the few human books Zaius kept in his office back in Central City. Giant arrows of fire, carried on the winds to rain death down upon entire cities. It was no wonder the humans had so easily obliterated their entire civilization all those centuries ago. “You taught me to be wary of such things, Zaius. Have you forgotten your own warnings?”
To his relief, the councilor nodded, releasing a tired sigh. “You’re right, Urko. We must remain forever vigilant.” He tapped the odd machine with his knuckles. “This place is nothing but poison, and it must be eradicated.” Turning back to Urko, he asked, “What of Virdon, Burke, and Galen?”
“We will find them,” replied Urko. “It’s just a matter of time.”
* * *
Another hill.
“For the record,” said Burke as they made their way up the latest gentle slope to crop up in their path, “I’m really getting bored with this whole ‘return to nature’ thing we’ve got going.”
Virdon smiled at his friend’s sardonic comment. “You might not want to get over it just yet. We’ve sti
ll got a lot of walking ahead of us.”
By his calculations, and while allowing for factors such as rest periods, terrain, and weather, and even possible injury or being forced to evade ape patrols, Virdon figured it would take a minimum of a month to reach their destination. It would be a long journey, but he was confident they could make it. There was no need to rush or take unnecessary risks, and every reason to exercise due caution as they undertook their new quest.
“I don’t know that anyone has ever been this far east,” said Galen as he walked between his two human companions. “We seem to be walking off the edge of the map.”
“Ape maps, maybe,” replied Virdon. He tapped the pouch on his belt, which held the paper map he had taken from the missile silo. “But we’ve got some extra help now.” Along with the map, the supplies left for them by their mysterious sponsors also had contained a proper compass of a style similar to those he had used during military land navigation exercises. It was a welcome substitute for the crude one Virdon had fashioned months earlier.
Noting that Galen seemed to be walking with his gaze fixed on the uneven ground before him, Virdon asked, “You okay?”
“I was just thinking,” replied the chimpanzee as he shifted the heavy pack higher on his shoulders. “The woman on the recording represents your world, rather than mine. Once we get where we’re going, I’ll be the outcast.”
“You’re our friend,” Burke said. “They’ll welcome you, the same way you befriended us.”
“I hope you’re right.” Galen smiled. “I have to admit, I’m excited and nervous, all at the same time. There’s likely a great deal for me to learn.”
Virdon said, “That may be true for all of us. On the other hand, there may be a lot you can teach them, too. After all, there are plenty of good apes out there. When you think about it, you’ll be their ambassador. Would you rather they meet you, or Urko?”
