Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3

by David Clarkson

  ‘And what about you two?’ Davo asked.

  Lucas looked to Sammy who nodded back in return.

  ‘We’ll be okay,’ Lucas replied. ‘Besides, it’s not like I don’t have company. If I get bored I’ll just wake one of them up.’

  ‘Okay,’ agreed Davo. ‘Just promise me you won’t go shooting anybody unnecessarily!’

  ***

  She was woken with a start. A ceramic clatter in the kitchen alerted her to the possibility of an intruder. Her first instinct was to make sure that Lucy was alert and capable of reacting should it be required.

  Upon seeing an empty space on the mattress beside her she realised that her initial fear had been unwarranted. It was just the product of a mind driven paranoid by too much time in solitude. Too much time on the run and having to be on her guard twenty four hours a day.

  ‘Trouble sleeping again?’ she asked, as she entered the kitchen to find Lucy sitting at the table with a freshly poured brew in front of her.

  ‘I didn’t mean to wake you,’ replied Lucy. ‘I just didn’t feel tired. I haven’t done since I came here. It’s almost like...’

  She looked to Emmy whilst searching for the right words, but her lover’s face just made finding them all the more difficult.

  ‘Almost like what?’ asked Emmy.

  ‘It’s almost like I have too much energy. My mind, my body, it all feels too much. I don’t know how to switch off anymore.’

  Emmy pulled out a chair and sat down beside her.

  ‘You think it’s got something to do with how I brought you back, don’t you?’

  ‘I don’t know. It does worry me though. What if this is permanent?’

  ‘It can’t be permanent,’ Emmy assured her. ‘Everybody has to sleep. You just need to give it time.’

  ‘Can’t you just prescribe something – like sleeping pills?’

  Emmy laughed, only just managing to disguise the nervous tremolo in her voice.

  ‘I’m not that kind of doctor. Besides, I think it’s best if we work through this naturally. I don’t want you getting dependent on pills. Especially not because of me.’

  Emmy recalled her own brief dependency on pharmaceuticals to suppress the tulpa within her. Now it was inside Lucy. It seemed that no matter what she did she could never fully escape from her mistakes.

  ‘So what do you suggest?’ asked Lucy.

  ‘I’m not sure, but I’m certain we can get to the bottom of this. I’ll speak to the medical team in the morning. They’ll figure something out.’

  Lucy looked back at her with demure, panda eyes. Emmy desperately wanted to help her. After all she had been through – what they had both been through, it was frustrating to encounter what was in relative terms a minor setback, yet it was a setback nonetheless.

  ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Leave the drink. Let’s go back to bed.’

  ‘I already told you I can’t sleep,’ protested Lucy.

  Emmy smiled back at her, mischievously this time.

  ‘Who said anything about sleep? I thought perhaps we could put some of this limitless energy of yours to better use. If you get my meaning.’

  Chapter 22

  The file landed on her desk straight from Charlie’s hands. She stopped typing and peered up at him over her monitor.

  ‘What’s this?’ she asked.

  ‘Take a look,’ he urged her. ‘I think you’re going to like it.’

  She picked up the folder. It had the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped across the front in bold red lettering, but so did every file relating to her work. This did not mark it out as particularly special.

  The papers within were dated from the late nineties and appeared to relate to correspondence between NASA and the SETI Institute. She had to scan through several jargon heavy paragraphs filled with political doublespeak before she got to the part Charlie wanted her to see. Before asking him about it, she reread it twice just to make sure she had interpreted it correctly.

  ‘They found a signal?’ she asked.

  ‘Not just any signal,’ he replied. ‘Keep reading and you’ll see what really sets this find apart.’

  She returned to the pages in her hands. It did not take her long to figure out to what her colleague was referring.

  ‘This has to be a hoax,’ she told him. ‘Where did you get this?’

  ‘It’s all been verified. This is real. I’ve already loaded the coordinates into the computer. We’re good to go whenever you are.’

  Emmy felt a chill run down her spine, like droplets of freezing cold water flowing along the contours of her back. She always knew that eventually they would find evidence of intelligent extra-terrestrial life, but she never expected it to happen so quickly. In the time it took her to fall into a trance she could be on an alien world. What strange beings would she encounter? What kind of technology would they have? And more importantly – would they be able to detect her ethereal presence?

  ‘How are we going to approach this?’ she asked, addressing both Charlie and, more reluctantly, Dr Stark.

  ‘Standard dual protocol,’ he replied. ‘Emmy, you and Constance will travel together, and I’ll monitor your progress from here.’

  ‘You won’t be coming with me?’ asked Emmy, surprised.

  ‘This is our most important mission yet. It’s best if I monitor operations. That way, if there are any complications I can act quickly.’

  ‘Well, I’d much rather have you with me. If there are any problems - we simply abort. Your expertise would be much more use in the field.’

  ‘She’s right,’ interrupted Dr Stark. ‘You should go with her. I’m fully up to speed on the research and will have no trouble taking care of things at this end.’

  Emmy did not know what to say. Her relationship with Dr Stark had never run smoothly and for the other woman to be backing her up, and in such an apparently selfless way, did not seem right to her. There had to be more to it. Something that she was missing.

  ‘You’d give up the chance of a lifetime just like that,’ she said to Constance. ‘Why?’

  ‘I’m giving up nothing of the sort,’ Dr Stark replied. ‘Should this lead prove as promising as we believe, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to explore this world.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ asked Charlie, ‘because...’

  ‘Because nothing,’ interrupted Emmy. ‘If she doesn’t want to come with me then that’s her choice. It doesn’t mean you have to take her place, but I’d prefer it if you did.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Charlie. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll come with you. Before we go, is there anything you need to take care of – don’t you normally meet Lucy for lunch?’

  ‘Not today, so there’s no need to call her. She’s undergoing some sleep tests at the hospital. I’ll probably not see her until tomorrow morning now.’

  ‘In that case, let’s go. I think history has waited long enough – don’t you?’

  Emmy shook her head with pity. Charlie could be such a geek sometimes.

  ***

  It was their first meeting since Davo had left the group. Lucas wondered if he too would one day be able to retire from his responsibilities. The possibility was most appealing, but the likelihood of it ever happening was small. The system he had put in place for his people was successful, but it was not without its limitations. The human spirit is strong. Memories can be forgotten but emotions can never be fully suppressed. Every so often he would see that initial glimmer of awareness in the eyes of his people. At one time or another, each and every one of them had possessed moments of clarity where they were able to see beyond the reality he had constructed for them. Jimmy was prone to this more than most.

  The moment the kid showed up, Lucas knew it would change things. That was the one guarantee when Jimmy was around. For such a simple kid he sure did know how to complicate matters for others. Even in life, the waters never rested still around Jimmy Johnson.

  ‘The boy told you this himself?’ asked Sammy.

  ‘Along wi
th many other things. To be honest, I don’t know if all or even any of what he tells me is true. Most of it sounds just plain crazy.’

  ‘Crazier than this,’ the big man swept his arm out to the vast expanse of the endless desert of the unreal, which he often referred to as the “Dreamtime”.

  ‘Crazier than this,’ confirmed Lucas. ‘I don’t doubt that he possessed some form of sixth sense. I witnessed it myself on several occasions back before the disaster. It’s his other claims I’m having trouble with. He says that along with Emmy and some CIA super spy, the three of them saved the world from a nuclear apocalypse at the hands of an army who possessed Jackson’s power. I mean, this is Jimmy we’re talking about - the same kid I once caught sticking a redback in the microwave in the hope its bite would give him superpowers.’

  ‘Sounds like he got his superpowers in the end.’

  ‘Yes, but not from a radioactive spider. And I would hardly call them superpowers. Look what happened to everyone else. To us. I mean, that has to be the reason we’re stuck in this place. Nobody else comes here. Just the poor bastards who Fox poisoned in his lust for power.’

  ‘There’s much we don’t understand.’

  ‘I’m not sure I want to understand. I just want to get out. I may have a way too. I didn’t mention this before because I wasn’t sure how Davo would take it and if I’m honest, I’ve been trying not to get too hopeful myself. The thing is, for all that I distrust Jimmy’s stories, there is one particular story that could be of interest to us. He says that when he crossed over, Emmy was with him.’

  Sammy smiled warmly. Emmy’s name was one he had not heard in a long time. Far longer than the span of a normal human lifetime. Or even a hundred for that matter.

  ‘The boss lady is here?’ Sammy asked.

  ‘No,’ replied Lucas. ‘If she was here, she’s gone now. Jimmy said she didn’t die like he did. She used her machine to get here. Not the original, but another. She’s resumed her experiments.’

  At once Sammy was able to deduce what really troubled his friend.

  ‘You think she may be able to help?’

  Lucas nodded.

  ‘Not us. We’re dead. For us, there is no going back. I understand and I accept that. But what about the others? Jimmy told me that their bodies are being kept alive in some kind of medical installation. If Emmy knows that they’re here she may be able to help them.’

  ‘And does she know?’

  Lucas shook his head.

  ‘I don’t know and neither does Jimmy. Before he came to me he tried to find her. I’ve searched myself too. I’ve relived every contact I ever had with Emmy in the hope that one would contain that spark behind the eyes. I’ve found nothing. It’s actually got me worried that we may already have missed our chance. Jimmy was the last one to be infected. If he was the one that brought her here then there may be no way for her to come back.’

  ‘I do not think you really believe that. You should keep searching, my friend. Once the sun rises, it is always destined to set.’

  ***

  ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ said Charlie.

  ‘Without doubt,’ replied Emmy, ‘but is it unique?’

  The pair of astral travellers floated mere miles above the surface of the earth. Their home planet sparkled before them, lit up by the energy of billions of life forms.

  ‘We’re about to find out,’ said Charlie. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘I’ve always been ready.’

  They allowed their thoughts to meld together and focused on their destination as one. In an instant the planet in front of them was replaced by one of comparable size, but far greater luminescence. If life was abundant on Earth, here it could be considered in excess. The two scientists exchanged a look of trepidation that quickly turned into giddy excitement when their eyes met. Then like meteorites, they hurtled towards the planet’s surface.

  Chapter 23

  ‘They’re in,’ said the tech.

  ‘Excellent,’ replied Dr Stark. ‘What is the estimated mission time?’

  The tech quickly consulted her computer monitor.

  ‘Since they’ll be doing a detailed exploration of the surface rather than the long ranging passes of the previous tests, I figure dilation should be minimal. So long as there are no complications I expect them to remain astral until we bring them out. We’ll send an energy surge as a signal when it’s time. Maybe ten hours.’

  ‘I cannot begin to imagine what wonders they’ll encounter in that time. Make sure you log all of their movements. The more data we get the more favourable it will be at the next budget review.’

  Constance left the techs to watch the main console whilst she worked from her desk in the corner of the laboratory. She waited for an hour just to make sure Charlie and Emmy did not return unexpectedly early, and then she made her move.

  ‘I’m popping out for a moment,’ she told the head tech. ‘I need to pick up some papers that I left back at the apartment. If anything changes, you can contact me on my cell.’

  The tech waved her away, too engrossed in her work to care. Constance locked her workstation and calmly left the lab, careful not to appear either harried or stressed. On her way to the door she passed Emmy’s workstation and placed some papers down to cover her actions as she slipped something off the desk and into her bag. Once she was clear, it was not her apartment that she returned to but the hospital where Lucy was undergoing her sleep test.

  With Lucy holding top level security clearance and having passed all the psyche evaluations, there was no security in or around her room. The door was still code-locked, but thanks to Emmy’s access all areas pass that Constance had stolen just before leaving the lab, the scientist was able to enter without trouble or detection.

  Lucy was, as predicted, in a deep, drug induced sleep on the room’s only bed. Various sensors were attached to her body and head, which were monitoring her while she rested. The only camera in the room was focused on the upper half of the patient, recording her facial expressions and body movement as she slept.

  Constance carefully slid her bag off of her shoulder and removed the small package that had been left for her outside of the roadhouse. Its precious contents were sealed in a state of the art micro-refrigeration unit.

  Before getting to work she said a silent prayer in her head. If Emmy was right and there was some higher purpose to being, whether in the form of a God or otherwise, sooner or later Constance would have to make peace with it for what she was about to do. She figured there was no harm in starting early.

  Chapter 24

  For their first foray into an alien world, the two astral travellers were careful to retain contact in order to keep their line of communication open. It took several tense minutes for either of them to break the silence. After countless terrestrial journeys, the pair had learnt to see the objects and animals they most frequently encountered for what they were. To them the astral plane was like a three dimensional blueprint of reality. What they were now experiencing was akin to starting completely from scratch.

  Life was everywhere. It covered the entire landscape, encompassing a scale not thought possible on earth. Beings rose hundreds of feet into the air, making the dinosaurs look like mere newts in comparison. Never had the scientists felt so small and insignificant – so humbled by nature.

  ‘Look,’ said Charlie, pointing to the nearest monolith. ‘Are those parasites crawling on it? They’re huge.’

  Emmy willed herself closer, pulling her partner along with her. The creatures were huge if taken to be parasites, but if viewed more objectively they were not much larger than the average human being. She watched as they appeared to be consumed by the larger being only to emerge on a separate part of its body.

  A thought occurred to her, which provided an alternate hypothesis to the one put forward by Charlie.

  ‘This is a city,’ she told him.

  ‘What makes you say that? There’s no technology here. No structures. Everything is orga
nic; nothing but a habitat overflowing with organisms of gigantic proportion. These monsters are far too large to be a part of an organised society. Look at them. They barely even move.’

  ‘It is due to this lack of movement and their interactions with these parasites of yours that leads me to suspect they are not actually living at all. At least not in the way you are thinking. What if what we have here is an advanced civilisation, but their technology is organically based rather than mineral?’

  Charlie looked again at the vast structures in front of them. This time he pictured them not as gigantic animals, but as organic buildings. It was a living and breathing city in the truest sense.

  ‘Yes, I see it now, but how is it possible? Look at the way they sparkle. Only consciousness can produce that kind of intensity. A living structure, I can accept – but a sentient one?’

  ‘This place is alien. By definition we should not expect it to follow the same rules as our own.’

  ‘Amazing!’

  Emmy viewed her friend’s excitement fondly. When they had started out in science they were both so young. So naïve and impressionable. For a time she had feared that naïveté and the ability to view the world with childlike wonder had been lost. How wrong she was.

  ‘Shall we take a closer look?’ she said.

  ‘Go inside that?’

  This time his countenance was one of abject horror.

  ‘What’s to be afraid of? It’s not as if we’re crawling down the throat of a dinosaur. I’m telling you – they are buildings, homes – nothing more.’

  Once inside, Emmy’s hypothesis seemed much more plausible. The structure was hollow and compartmentalised with thin veins, about the thickness of garden hose, connecting the interior like pathways on a circuit board.

  ‘We should split up,’ she said. ’We can cover more ground that way.’

  ‘No,’ replied Charlie. ‘There’s no hurry. For now, I think we should stay as close to one another as possible.’