War of the Worlds 2030

by Stephen B. Pearl

  “Why would they want to build it up?” demanded the admiral.

  “To go home, Sugar,” said Nancy.

  “Or attack.” countered the admiral.

  “Unlikely. If they were going to attack, at least in the short term, an assault from space would be far more devastating,” observed General Flanders.

  “Admiral, general. You can’t think of their technology as you would ours. If a jet has no fuel it doesn’t care. Gas it up later it flies without a hitch. This is a living thing. If it has no food, it will cannibalize itself like an anorexic losing muscle mass. For the good of the creature it must be kept well fed and watered. Try to think like someone who keeps horses.”

  “I worry about how our biosphere might affect our new friends,” observed Nancy.

  “Quite right. They look like us, but they might have no immunity to Earth disease,” agreed Richard.

  “Could they have brought something that we have no immunity to,” demanded the admiral.

  “Admiral, Y’all are asking things we can’t know. This whole little dog and pony show could be a disaster. We don’t know half the nasty critters running around our world. There’s no way they could have prepared for them all. I don’t think we all have much to worry about though. They would have seen to our safety before landing,” countered Nancy.

  “I’d give my eye teeth for some gene samples,” said Richard.

  “They’re being processed now,” Malcome smirked from his seat at the head of the table.

  “How?” Richard turned to face the man.

  “We had several subs and retrieval teams standing by under their flight path. We recovered the seed husk within an hour of them dropping it. As to Tannal and company.” Malcome scraped at the palm of his hand tearing a thin membrane. “The speaker of the UN agreed to assist us. When he shook hands with our new friends, some of their dead cells adhered to the glove. They are being analyzed now.”

  “Y’all are so paranoid,” said Nancy.

  “All on the QT,” remarked General Flanders.

  “Good, we need to find out as much about them as we can,” said Doctor Green.

  “Y’all against them now, Richard?” asked Nancy.

  “I like answers, and we don’t have many. Besides, if they do catch something, understanding their DNA might help us save them.”

  * * * *

  Upload monitoring/ Richard Green /Index 09:37/ 1/10/2032

  * * * *

  Richard sat at his desk and pressed the decode sequence into his computer. The gibberish on the screen resolved into genetic data.

  He stared at the result. Read it three times then picked up the phone and dialed.

  “Code magenta, Scramble, AI 555, PP, code name Scholar, contact Chieftain.”

  The line went dead then activated again with a click.

  “Scholar, Chieftain here. What’s the Magenta?” Malcome’s voice was oddly flattened by the scrambling process.

  “They are not real life forms, and they’re almost human.”

  “What?”

  “I just saw the results of the DNA profile. Chieftain, it’s terrifying what they’ve done. They are human. Genetically identical but perfect, except for one thing. It’s like someone removed all the non active parts of the genome and cobbled together a reader’s digest version of a perfect human being.”

  “That is incredible.”

  “Impossible for anything but an engineered life form. All advanced life has inactive sections of DNA, leftovers from earlier forms. I knew parallel evolution could account for superficial similarities, like appearance, even though that’s damn unlikely. Until now I thought they must have used surgery to look like us. This though. They were built. Assemble by a technology that I can only guess at.”

  “This is disturbing. A lie of omission is still a lie.”

  “There’s more. The DNA from the shell has nothing in common with that of Tannal and the others.”

  “Different species?”

  “There isn’t a nucleotide sequence that matches. Life on Earth follows consistent patterns. Actually, I did find something that matched. It’s the sequences responsible for the human autoimmune system. In the shell it’s a viral implant that hijacked that aspect of the biology from pre-existing DNA.”

  “What does this mean?”

  “They superimposed biologic resistance to Earth pathogens. They are perfectly safe from our biosphere, the reverse does not necessarily hold true. Our friends have secrets.”

  “Keep on it Scholar. Closing secured line.”

  “Goodbye.”

  * * * *

  Upload monitoring/ Richard Green /Index 16:24/ 25/11/2032

  * * * *

  “Hello, Tannal, Osa.” Malcome greeted the aliens as they entered the room. A large table filled the middle of the floor and the pile on the carpet was so deep it left a trail of footprints wherever someone walked. Richard and General Flanders sat at the table.

  “I was told a delegation wished to discuss a matter of some import with me,” opened Tannal. His uniform looked to be a bit tight.

  “Yes. I hope you will not consider our actions amiss. You must understand, we humans have a long history of individuals who pretended to be friends and turned out to be anything but.”

  “I have watched your historical documentaries. What is it you wish to discuss?”

  “You,” snarled Richard.

  “Pardon me, Mister Green?” Tannal barely spared Richard a glance.

  “Doctor.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “My proper title is, doctor, after all the documentaries you’ve watched you must know that.”

  “Very well, Doctor Green,” Tannal managed to make the word sound slimy.

  “Doctor, please. Tannal and Osa are honored guests,” admonished Malcome. “We have no reason to think that the abnormalities you detected indicate a hostile intent. Activate your first slide. Gentle beings, please take a seat and make yourselves comfortable.

  “We just want to be sure of everything before we start building your embassy.”

  The screen that covered the room’s end wall filled with a double helix spiral of DNA as they all took seats.

  Osa examined the screen her eyes growing wide before she gasped. “Where did you get that? How dare you!” Her beautiful features were contorted with a scowl.

  “What is this?” demanded Tannal.

  “It is our DNA, captain. They must have stolen a sample,” snapped Osa.

  “Bloody straight, we stole a sample. Mind explaining what you’re playing at?” demanded Richard.

  “Have you humans no decency. This is no way to treat a peaceful delegation.” Tannal went red faced and slammed his fist against the table.

  “Captain, you must understand. In human politics a certain measure of paranoia is a necessity,” soothed Malcome.

  “You aren’t real,” growled Richard.

  “Really. Ashley seems to believe I am quite real. Three times I showed her how real I am last night. She accepted each with great relish.” Tannal bared his teeth in a smug smile.

  Richard started across the table but General Flanders’s tossed him back and glared at him.

  “This is a travesty. We travel light years to greet you and you pry into the nature of our life to make weapons to destroy us,” snapped Osa.

  “That is not the case. We are a curious species,” said Malcome.

  “You tax my patience.” Tannal glared at the humans in the room.

  “I’ll tax your engineered, overly muscled neck,” snapped Richard.

  “Can he be removed?” asked Tannal.

  “Richard, Doctor Green, enough!” ordered Malcome. “Now I know it is an imposition, but could you explain to us what this i
s about?”

  Tannal’s hands clenched into fists as he spoke. “As you surmised, these bodies are engineered. We intercepted transmissions of the data on your Human Genome project and constructed these vehicles. We have a process that allows one to copy and input biological memories in much the same way you might copy a file on a computer. Our actual bodies are on the Wikell. When our mission is done we will upload the information stored in these brains into our original forms.”

  “Why go to all that trouble?” asked the general.

  “Our biology would have introduced bacteria to your biosphere that might have caused plagues. Also, the bacteria in your atmosphere may well have been fatal to us. In addition, it was deemed that you would find our true forms repulsive.” Osa leaned her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers.

  “Also in this way we do not need to physically return to our vessel. Thus the lander does not require the ability to fly into orbit. Once down it need only serve as atmospheric transport and commutations,” added Tannal.

  “When were you going to tell us this?” demanded Richard.

  “Don’t you mean when was I going to tell Ashley? Now that it is known, I will do so tonight. I must say, the reproductive process of you humans is quite pleasurable. I have never experienced anything quite like it. Of course, ones partner must have something to do with that,” taunted Tannal.

  “Richard, down!” ordered the general.

  “Does your lander pose a biological risk?” Richard demanded through gritted teeth.

  “It was purged of all companion organisms before leaving the Wikell. There is nothing to infect your world.”

  “Thank you for clearing up this little misunderstanding.” Malcome stood.

  “Do not thank me. I will be speaking with your president about this gross invasion of my people’s privacy. I am tempted to end our mission immediately.” Tannal left the room with Osa behind him.The door closed and the three men sat silently for several seconds.

  “Richard, you missed your calling. That was one hell of a bad cop. I thought you were going for the smarmy bastard,” said Andrew.

  Richard released the death grip he had on the coffee mug in front of him. “I just let myself do what I’ve always wanted to. The creature’s a maggot in a pretty shell.”

  “Do you believe that is what their original form is like?” asked Malcome.

  “No idea. I hope the monitors got some good readings. He didn’t get as aggressive as I thought he might.”

  “Are you mad?” said Malcome. “He’s a diplomat; he practically tried to throttle you. Keeping a good face up is paramount. Trust me, I think we’ll be able to get a base line to make a lie detector.”

  “Good. I’ll tell you one thing. If they can download consciousness the implications. No death, no injuries. When the body wears out, just clone a new one and transfer.” Richard shook his head and looked at the table.

  “Perfect soldiers. Don’t worry lads, if you die we’ll just rebuild you from your last back up,” said the general.

  “Exactly. I don’t like being lied to,” said Richard.

  “Neither do I,” agreed Malcome.

  “It does explain a lot though.”

  “What?” asked the general.

  “Remember at the presidential banquet, when the Canadian delegate told the joke about the penguin and the priest?”

  Malcome and Andrew both dawned pained expressions and sighed. “Yes.”

  “I watched Kalok after that. He couldn’t stop laughing. It got so bad Osa took him aside and sedated him.” Richard drummed his fingers on the table.

  “So?” asked Malcome.

  “So, they aren’t use to hormones and endorphins. They have the memories of their true forms but basically human bodies. They aren’t use to dealing with adrenaline surges and endorphin rushes, all the bio-emotional elements we grew up with. It’s amazing Tannal didn’t try and kill me, if you’re right about his aggression level.”

  “What does it mean?” Andrew looked out the window watching where Tannal and Osa would exit the building.

  “I cannot be sure, but it’s another piece of the puzzle. Are you in trouble with the president?” Richard turned to Malcome.

  Malcome shrugged. “Who do you think authorized this soiree? She’ll tell Tannal I’ve been reprimanded, make some noise where he can hear it then have me over for a drink in the oval office to get the report.”

  “Do you think they’ll be allowed to build the embassy?”

  “Probably. Nothing here is damning, and with that Parkinson’s cure they’ve made a big hit in the opinion polls.”

  * * * *

  Upload monitoring/ Richard Green /Index 12:02/ 2/12/2032

  * * * *

  “Why in hell did they insist on this location,” shouted Malcome as Richard and Flanders climbed from the chopper onto the old factory’s parking lot. The chopper lifted into the air sending a down draught that blew dust in all directions and scattered the men’s hair.

  “Geothermal power. They require a place where the magma comes close to the surface. There are several on the west coast that meet the requirement,” said Richard.

  “So you believe their party line?” yelled Flanders.

  “Why lie when the truth serves. I also think Tannal’s involvement with Ashley, and the fact that our research may be a threat to them, played a role. There are other locations that would serve as well as Goleta.”

  “So it’s not just the balmy southern California clime,” quipped Malcome.

  Richard scanned his surroundings. The huge abandoned factory the Darmuks had chosen to make their embassy sat beside a mound of Milorganite. A crevice had been blasted into the mountainside behind the factory. The rest of the committee stood among a group of local and international dignitaries by the new embassy’s doors. The building was painted, and ornamental arches added along with a series of planter beds filled with flowers and shrubs.

  “We better get out of sight.” Malcome led the way to a limo parked by the lot’s entrance. A short drive later and the three men sat in a house overlooking the embassy grounds. The place was packed with surveillance gear.

  “You know, I’m beginning to wonder if Nancy isn’t right. Are we just wasting our time?” General Flanders settled in a chair behind a wall full of screens showing the factory’s yard.

  Richard stared into one screen.

  Ashley stood dressed in a semiformal skirt and blouse combination. Her red hair caught the sunlight.

  “Doc, you with us?” asked Andrew.

  “What…oh…yes…I think my next report might rekindle your suspicions. The Parkinson cure. The bio-components could be reprogrammed to generate a powerful, psychotropic drug. Effectively turning whoever is implanted into a paranoid psychotic with a persecution complex and minimal emotional filters.”

  “Which means?” Flanders stared at the monitor screens.

  “You ever read about the Celtic and Norse berserks.”

  “God! Is this certain?” Flanders turned to stare at Richard.

  “The symbiont could do it with the right instructions. The computer control interface could give those instructions, or it could just be that some of the brain chemicals needed for the cure are so similar to those that would cause this effect that it’s a coincidence.”

  “Still, it’s another oddity. Ah, here they come,” said Malcome.

  All eyes focused on the screen as the Rigal settled onto the pile of Milorganite. The hull now had an unhealthy, yellow tint. The craft’s back folded open and the alien crew disembarked. Tannal and Kolok carried a blob of green material about the size of a small dresser to where the indentation had been blasted into the mountain. They lay it in the rock and stepped back. Nothing seemed to happen.

  “What is that?” demanded Malc
ome.

  Richard brought a camera into focus on the blob. “Gods! That, my friends, is a drilling rig.”

  “Impossible,” said Malcome.

  “Look.” Richard pointed to the screen a small pile of fine sand had started to collect just below the blob.

  * * * *

  Upload monitoring/ Richard Green /Index 09:33/ 22/12/2032

  * * * *

  “What happened?” demanded Richard. Ashley sat at the lab’s workbench assembling her prototype bio-mechanical interface. There was a bruise on the side of her face.

  “I…It’s embarrassing.” She replied setting the equipment down.

  “Ash. Did someone hit you?”

  Ashley looked at the floor. “It was Tannal. We had a fight and he got angry.”

  Richard felt his face go red. “He’s a dead man! Ashley, no one worthy of you could ever do that to you.”

  Ashley smiled at him. “I thought so too. I ended it. I was more than a little sick of his attitude anyway. Darmuk this is so great, Darmuk that is so great and a mere human couldn’t possibly understand.”

  “Thank the Gods!”

  “You really hate him, don’t you?”

  “Until a minute ago, I would have said disliked and distrusted. Now hate seems a reasonable description.”

  “You are so sweet. I guess it’s back to dating for Ashley. I hate being single.” She smiled and moved to pick up her tools.

  “Ashley…As regards…Zane and I were speaking and…” Richard felt his face go hot.

  She stared at Richard.

  “Ashley, I fully realize that this is inappropriate, given that I am you faculty advisor, but the simple truth is your work on cybernetic interfaces is so ground breaking and so well done, you are already assured your doctorate. I could not exercise bias, and well I am older, I feel we have a solid basses in friendship and I…”

  She smiled like the sun coming out from behind a cloud and interrupted him. “How about the Chinese place that just opened up on main this Saturday, seven-ish then maybe drinks afterwards.”