Kay leapt out of her chair and ran for the gun in her purse. If she could get there quick enough, she could blow this bastard away and bring down the entire house of cards his lies and manipulations were built on. Sliding on the slippery concrete floor, she found the bag and struggled to pull back the zipper. Her hand dove inside and emerged with the gleaming silver pistol. Then a fist closed around her wrist.
“What are you doing?”
She struggled to free her hand. Here he was so close she could feel his hot breath against her. If she could only angle the gun a few degrees, she might be able to hit him.
“Don’t do this, honey. I love you.”
Her eyes rose from the barrel and focused on the face before her. It was Derek. She spun, her heart sinking as she realized the shadow man was gone.
“I followed you using the GPS feature on your phone,” Derek said. “I just couldn’t let you come out here alone.”
She fell into his arms and wept.
He asked her over and over what had happened and every time Kay’s tortured reply was the same.
“It’s all my fault.”
Chapter 49
Greenland
After passing through the stone door, the ground at their feet began to dip at a twenty-degree angle. They were heading further underground, ice and gravel crunching beneath their boots. The further down they went, the wider the corridor became. Tool markings chiseled into the walls gave evidence of the grueling manual labor involved in carving out this underground sanctuary.
Mullins checked the crude map he’d drawn. “My guess is in another hundred yards we should be beneath the pyramid.”
“And then?” Gabby said, seeking an answer to the obvious.
“We look for a passage that leads directly inside.”
“Watch your footing,” Jack told them. “One slip and you might end up all the way at the bottom.”
“Bottom of what?” Dag asked without getting a response.
Soon the floor leveled out and brought them to a spot where the tunnel branched off in two separate directions. The team kept to the right, entering a slightly narrower, roughly hewn corridor with twelve-foot ceilings and chambers on either side. Searching them one by one, they found little of interest.
“Dr. Holland,” Anna called out after disappearing into one of the small rooms. “There is something here.”
Jack followed Grant inside, curious. “What have you got?”
“The wall,” she said, pointing. Even with their LED lights set on full, Jack couldn’t see anything except a smooth stone surface.
“The ceiling is arched and a lot smoother than the entrance tunnel,” he said. “Is that what you wanted to show me?”
She switched on an X-ray fluorescence imaging beam and suddenly a drawing began to appear. Although rough and incomplete, it looked like a nature scene. At one end of the room was a depiction of daytime, complete with palm trees and a blazing sun. On the other was a nighttime sky, thick with stars and a brilliant full moon.
“There’s no face,” Jack remarked.
Standing next to him, Grant was also puzzled. “That’s right.”
“Whoever did this had likely been cooped up underground for months or even years. They were trying to surround themselves with memories of the world outside. I just find it interesting the moon has no face.”
Gabby was standing at the doorway. “That’s probably because those particular impact craters on the moon hadn’t happened yet.”
The idea was still hard to wrap your head around.
Grant examined a crumbling stone table and bench protruding from the wall. “Look how low the seat is compared to the edge of the table.”
“It suggests these people had short legs and a very long torso,” Jack told him.
“Which fits perfectly with the proportions of the statue we found in the temple.”
Things were certainly adding up.
It seemed silly to draw such sweeping conclusions. And yet, if some future civilization stumbled upon the weathered and crumbling remains of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, they could glean a wealth of information on human anatomy. While the size might provide a false impression of how big humans were, it certainly would give them an idea of our proportions, that we clothed ourselves and were relatively hairless, except for a small section at the top of our skulls.
Grant set the briefcases on the desk and opened the sequencer. “I don’t recall seeing many tables around,” he noticed. “This may be the only chance I get to do this in relative comfort.” He began to sit, only to find he could barely see over the table.
“Mullins,” Jack called over the radio. “You read me?”
“Yeah, where are you?”
“We got held up with something. You and the others keep searching ahead. We’ll catch up soon.”
“Roger that.”
Grant then proceeded to crack one of the femurs against the table’s edge. It made a painful crunching sound. Dust flew into the air. He peered inside the opening.
“Anything?” Jack asked.
Grant shook his head and tossed the bone aside. He took another and did the same. This one was far more promising. Using a pair of tweezers, he scooped some of the marrow into the receptacle and closed the tiny lid. “If there’s any DNA in this thing, we should know shortly.”
“Anyone see where Anna went?” Gabby asked, looking around.
“She can’t be far,” Jack said, heading out to find her. “Anna, are you nearby?”
“In here, Dr. Greer,” she said. “Second room on the right.”
He found her scanning the walls here as well. Jack removed his helmet, thick plumes of warm breath escaping him. This time Anna hadn’t found drawings, but what looked like words scribbled over every visible surface.
“Any clue what it says?” he asked, long shot though it was.
“I cannot decipher the meaning, if that is what you are asking. However, it is consistent with other samples I have collected. There are other conclusions that can be drawn. For example, the erratic nature of the text and tremble in the author’s hand indicate either a nutritional deficiency or deterioration of the subject’s mental health.”
“He was bonkers,” Jack said. “Bananas. Looney Tunes. I have others if you like.”
Anna smiled. “I never indicated the subject was male and yet you assumed that he was. Why is that?”
Jack scratched his chin. “Uh, I don’t know. I suppose that’s just part of being human.”
“By human, do you mean leaping to conclusions without sufficient data?”
“In a perfect world, those leaps are designed to save us time. If, say, ninety percent of homicides are caused by males, it becomes easy to hear the word ‘killer’ and automatically assume the assailant is a guy.”
“Men might be responsible for more violent acts, but not all men are violent.”
“Exactly,” Jack said. “That’s where the leap happens. Facts are one thing, but drawing conclusions from unconscious bias is something each and every one of us struggles with.”
“Jack,” Grant cut in.
“Is the sequence done?”
“It is and I suspect the results will surprise you.”
Chapter 50
Greenland
“I’m not sure I’m following,” Jack said, his arms extended, palms up as though waiting for Grant to fill them with something.
“Based on their genome,” Grant explained, indicating the room they were in and everything around them, “the people who lived here were the ancestors of modern cetaceans—that is, dolphins and whales.”
The weight of Grant’s words hung in the air like a heavy mist.
“You see, we thought they were related to wolves, but I should have known better. They were really part of the Mesonyx family.”
“If you recall, Dr. Greer,” Anna said, entering behind him, “we discovered the Mesonyx’s genome catalogued in the Atean ship’s incubation lab, right along with the sampl
e we found for the human ancestor, Plesiadapiformes.”
“So before dolphins took to the sea,” Jack said, “you’re saying they once created a thriving civilization on earth?”
Gabby uncrossed her arms. “But that’s not possible. We have fossil evidence five to ten million years after the mass extinction sixty-five million years ago which clearly shows Mesonyx still in its small, wolf-like form. The creatures that slowly adapted to the oceans over millions of years certainly weren’t seven feet tall or for that matter bipedal. How do you explain that?”
“There’s only one way any of it makes sense,” Jack admitted. “Mesonyx, as a species, was introduced into earth’s ecosystem more than once.”
“You’re saying the two species aren’t the same?” Gabby asked.
“Dr. Holland,” Anna said. “Would you mind uploading the genetic results for me?”
“Of course.” Which he did, still waiting for Jack to explain.
“I’m saying that each time one of those things trashes the planet, it’s carrying the same genetic cargo, tweaked slightly here and there to accommodate shifting conditions.”
“Then would the same not be true of Plesiadapiformes?” Grant said.
Jack rubbed his hands together, chasing away the numbness creeping into the tips of his fingers. “It would. Look, I’ll be the first to admit it’s a hard concept for our delicate human egos to accept. On some level, human beings take for granted that all other species ever to have graced the planet were merely the opening act to us, the main attraction. No doubt, the species who lived here probably believed they too were special.”
“Dr. Greer, I’ve completed an initial comparison between the Mesonyx genome taken from the Atean ship and the one extracted from the bone sample.”
“How close are they?” Grant asked.
“Close enough to show a common ancestry, as you have already indicated. However, with one noticeable difference. The inhabitants of this city appear to have had Salzburg syndrome, while the specimen from the ship shows no signs of the disorder.”
“Are both the 47th and 48th chromatids present in the leg bone Grant analyzed?” Jack asked.
“I’m afraid not. The 47th alone is present, though it contains all four of the disorder’s known genes.”
“What do you think that means?” Grant asked.
Gabby frowned. “It means genetically speaking, they were facing the exact same biological and planetary threats we are today.”
“And we know how the planetary threat part ended for them,” Grant said, trying not to sound glib.
“I’m afraid there is more,” Anna said. “I was able to utilize the prime number solution to decipher the version of Salzburg detected in the bone specimen.” Without needing to be told, Anna patched the image into each of their glasses.
At a quick glance, the pixelated image looked very much like the same pulsar map and entity representation they’d decoded from the 47th chromatid found in humans. Jack asked her for a detailed comparison.
“I am afraid the pulsar map shows a different planetary system,” she replied. “Working backwards, I have calculated the star’s location to be one thousand light years from Earth. Furthermore, given the galaxy’s rate of motion and the changing pulse frequency of the celestial bodies in question, this map was created approximately two hundred and fifty million years ago.”
“That date lines up with the Permian extinction,” Jack said, excitedly. “Which means another one of those ships struck the earth two hundred and fifty million years ago, wiping out life and releasing a set roster of species into the ecosystem. Each of them then fought and struggled for survival, but only one rose to dominate the planet.”
“The descendants of the Mesonyx,” Grant said.
“Exactly. Then sixty-five million years ago, another ship crashed into the planet, killing most life on Earth, including this thriving civilization of dolphin people, only to lead to the emergence of humans.”
“The cycle repeating itself,” Gabby said, “over and over.”
“That implies it is now our turn to go extinct,” Anna indicated.
Gabby shook her head in disbelief. “It’s as though they keep running back the clock and letting evolution play out over and over again. On more than one occasion in our own history, humans were on the brink of extinction. Run the tapes a thousand times and in each one a completely different scenario might play out. But why?”
“Maybe they’re looking for something and aren’t finding it,” Jack proposed.
Grant straightened his back. “So much for evolutionary destiny.”
“I believe there is a complicating factor you have not addressed yet,” Anna interjected. “Either the Ateans have spread throughout the Milky Way galaxy, or each of the extinctions has been caused by a different extraterrestrial species.”
“That is a complication,” Jack said, staring down at the cracked femur lying on the floor. “Any thoughts on the matter, Anna?”
“Unfortunately, at this time there is not sufficient data to draw any firm conclusions.”
“Wherever they’re coming from,” Jack said, “one very important question remains. Why does it keep happening?”
Just then the sound of gunfire echoed down the stone hallway.
Jack hailed Mullins and the others on the radio, but all he got back was static.
Chapter 51
Rome
Mia spent most of the trip back to the Saint Andrea Hospital trying to wrap her brain around what they’d just seen. “Do you think it was some kind of trick?” she asked, hating the idea of being fooled, while doing her best to stay open to anything, no matter how outlandish it might at first seem.
Ollie glanced at her rapidly before returning to the road. “I don’t see how. I suppose they could have had microphones in the rooms and earpieces plugged into each girl’s ears, but what would be the point of that? Just to waste our time? If that were the case, it would mean that Dr. Putelli, Felli, the two girls and the graduate students evaluating them were all in on it. That to me sounds a lot more farfetched.”
“We need to get those girls back to the research hospital as soon as possible and run a whole battery of tests,” Mia said, rubbing her hands on her cargo pants. “Dr. Putelli worried the girls had gone insane, but maybe there’s a scientific explanation for what’s happening.”
“A scientific explanation for telepathy?” Ollie replied. “Because that’s what it was. Barring the possibility the two of us just got punked, you’re talking about genetic changes that have allowed two people to communicate with their minds.” He slapped the wheel several times. “I just don’t believe it.”
“I don’t either,” she said, cracking the knuckles on both of her hands. “But I can’t explain what we witnessed. Which is precisely why we need additional tests. To ensure what we saw was real and not a product of magical thinking. Back when they discovered the Atean ship, Jack told me several of the scientists on the rig had already closed their minds to the possibility it was of extraterrestrial origin even before reviewing the evidence. That’s where we’ve come to in our society. Everyone’s so scared of looking foolish, we’ve stopped pushing the boundaries. Cynicism masquerading as skepticism, stifling the emergence of new theories simply because they don’t conform to our current understanding. That’s not to say the scientific method isn’t working as it should, because it is, but science requires investigation to occur before conclusions are formed, not the other way around.”
“And what if the final stage of Salzburg syndrome has somehow opened up a form of communication humans have never known before?”
Mia was not sure she agreed with Ollie’s premise, but she went along anyway. “I’m not sure how new this is. If you look at the rest of the Salzburg chromosome, many of the genes do little more than accentuate existing abilities. Some of us live longer than others. Some of us have denser bones. Some of us are born with genes which seem to be harming us. The spread is relatively even and oft
en random. The same might be true for telepathy. Since at least the mid-twentieth century, scientists have attempted to prove that it was at least possible. From 1978 until 1995, the CIA had a program called Stargate where they utilized subjects with so-called extra-sensory perception to spy on the Russians. I’m saying, what if our evidence was weak because our telepathic abilities themselves weren’t very well developed or understood? The circumstantial evidence is there. How many times have you dialed someone important in your life, only to find they were trying to call you at the very same time? What if all HOK3 did was to strengthen something that’s already within us? If we’re right, then it means those girls and anyone else like them may represent a new stage of human evolution.”
He shot her a sideways glance. “I know that look,” Ollie said with alarm. “You wanna take those girls to Greenland, don’t you? Well, forget it. There’s a war going on.”
“I’ve already sequenced their DNA,” she argued, holding out the thumb drive she kept with her at all times. “I’m not the type to go on a hunch, but something is telling me that’s where they might be needed.”
“Needed or not, you’re giving me a headache,” Ollie snapped, flipping on the radio to the international news station.
“In Nevada, what started as an act of defiance has turned into full-blown sedition after a group of cattle farmers, supported by local militia groups, declared their own independent government. With the bulk of the country’s military and police forces struggling to maintain order in increasingly lawless urban centers, state and federal authorities simply lack the manpower to end a bloody standoff that has so far claimed over a hundred and fifty lives.
“In other news, a medical examiner in Richmond has determined the remains found in the trunk of a burned-out Cadillac are not those of famed geneticist Alan Salzburg, but his assistant Dr. Gregory Abbott.”
Mia went to turn it up, but the news had already switched to President Myers and his new commitment to utilize the full force of the country’s nuclear arsenal to keep the planet safe.
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