The Watcher II: The Time of Suppression

by Saxon Robinson

  Three Weeks Later

  Martha sat beside Dan in the front pew and said, “The Watcher doesn’t seem much different than a lot of people I’ve met.”

  Dan shrugged, “No…he doesn’t. But there is something about him that’s…I don’t know…imposing.”

  “I sense that as well.”

  • • •

  The three couples were standing at the front of the church waiting on the pastor to make an appearance. Charles sighed and said under his breath, “I don’t know why you insisted on having the wedding in a church.”

  Nicole turned to him, “Well, for beginners, if we are going to do this with Gregory and Allison, they wanted to be married in a church.”

  “What other reason is there?”

  Nicole stared at Charles and said, “Charles, I’m going to ask you a question, and computer, I don’t want you helping him to answer it.”

  “I’ll stay out of it.”

  Nicole’s head tilted and she said, “What are the odds that just by chance one of the most brilliant mathematical minds of our times is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, put into a room with another brilliant mathematician and remained there until he died where he was released and admitted to MIT without an undergraduate degree where he found the equation on Merry’s blackboard?”

  “That’s a rather complex sentence you just threw together.”

  “What are the odds?” Charles thought about it and Nicole added, “And I’m not going to get into your being stranded on Earth and causing the development of Homo Sapiens such that these two mathematicians would one day come together to develop technology needed to defend Earth against an aggressive civilization.”

  Charles stared at Nicole and said, “I understand why we’re in a church.”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “There’s too many zeros for him to do that Nicole,” the computer responded.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “There’s far too many coincidences beyond even those you’ve mentioned and I’m sure Charles knows it but is just being stubborn about wanting absolute empirical evidence to support a creator. But he sees the math and I think he’s concerned about it.”

  Nicole turned to Charles, “Concerned?”

  “If what you’re trying to say is that the Creator has a special relationship with humanity, why should we worry about anything? The Creator will just handle it.”

  “How do you know he isn’t?” Nicole paused and added, “And how do you know he doesn’t have a special relationship with your species? Think about all the good things that have happened to you.” Nicole looked up, “Computer, do you believe a Creator exists?”

  “Belief has nothing to do with it. The question is ‘does the evidence support the existence of a creator?”

  “Does it?”

  “It suggests the existence of one, but it doesn’t prove it.”

  “You’re just as bad as Charles; you’re being stubborn.”

  “Nicole, one could also say that there is another long-lived species out there far more advanced than any other civilization that is manipulating us. Can you prove that’s not true?”

  “If it’s that advanced, it is possible they, or it, created the universe which would make them, or it, the Creator,” Nicole responded.

  “I’ll have to think about that,” the computer remarked.

  The Pastor walked in and Nicole and Charles turned to him. He smiled at the three couples and said, “We are gathered today to unite these three couples in the holy rite of matrimony…” He delivered a sermon and at the end he turned to Gregory and Allison, “Who gives this woman to be married?”

  Dan and Martha stood up and said, “We do.”

  He turned to Dit and Merry and said, “Who gives this woman to be married?”

  Charles raised his arm as he and Nicole smiled and answered, “We do.”

  The Pastor’s eyes narrowed slightly and then he asked, “And who gives this woman to be married?”

  Nicole’s head lowered slightly and then she heard, “We do!”

  She jerked her head around and saw her parents standing behind her. Her eyes flew wide open and Charles said, “I felt it was time for them to know.”

  Nicole flew into his arms and she started kissing him all over his face. The Pastor interrupted her, “Hold on! You’ll have the opportunity to do that after the ceremony.”

  Nicole turned to him and smiled, “Count on it!”

  • • •

  The Pastor went through the vows with Gregory and Allison first and then Dit and Merry. He turned to Charles and Nicole and said, “I understand you wish to make your own vows.”

  Charles nodded and Nicole turned to him; she didn’t know about that. Charles turned to her and said, “I’ve been waiting on you for more than a billion years. I’ve been alone and now my life is filled with love and my loneliness is ended. I will honor, protect, care, and love you through good times or bad times for another billion years or until my life is over.”

  Nicole was crying and she said, “And I will also honor, love, and care for you until death us do part and I no longer require another ship.”

  The Pastor stared at them and shook his head before going through the exchange of rings. At the end, he said, “By the authority vested in me I hereby pronounce you husbands and wives; you may kiss your brides.”

  Nicole wasn’t kidding; she jumped into Charles’ arms and planted a huge kiss on his lips. Merry and Allison weren’t going to be outdone and they kissed their new husbands. Finally, the Pastor cleared his throat and they broke the kisses. He turned to Charles and said, “Are you who I think you are?”

  Charles smiled, “Shall we just keep that between us, Reverend?” The Pastor’s eyes widened, and he nodded.

  Nicole turned and jumped from the dais and ran down to her parents and hugged them, “I’ve missed you so much, but it was too dangerous…”

  Nana put her fingers over Nicole’s lips, “Charles explained Honey. And you were right to keep it from us; we couldn’t have hidden that you were still alive. I’m so thankful we are here with you today.” Fredrick hugged Nicole and it was the first time she ever saw her father cry.

  Merry joined them and Nicole said, “This is my daughter Merry; she’s your granddaughter.”

  Merry hugged them and said, “I’ve always wanted to meet you!”

  Gregory and Allison walked over to Charles, “What did they mean they thought she was dead?”

  “I was forced to kill her soon after we first met.”

  “She doesn’t look dead to me,” Allison responded.

  “I didn’t actually kill her; I made it appear I did.”

  “Why?”

  “To keep her alive long enough to keep a promise. It was a different time and place back then. Excuse me.” Charles joined Nicole and her parents. Gregory could only shake his head.

  • • •

  The women changed out of their wedding gowns and they drove down to Plymouth Center for a dinner. They entered the New World Tavern and Nicole smiled, “You do love this place.”

  Charles chuckled, “They still have the best clam chowder in the state.”

  They had reservations and sat down away from the locals sitting in the main dining room. They placed their orders and Allison turned to Nicole, “You met Charles here?”

  “Yes. At the time I was looking for him to turn him in to the Agency I was working for. He was sitting at the corner of that bar right over there.” Nicole turned to Charles, “Do you remember?”

  “How can I forget it? There was an Opposition agent sitting at the other end of the bar planning to abduct you with three men waiting outside; they planned to torture and question you.” Charles turned to Allison, “Her agency had confiscated a musket when they searched my old home and I wanted it back. Nicole was the best chance of making that happen; so, I told her about the agents, and she managed to trick them into leaving.”

  “Get real C
harles; it was your plan that saved me.”

  Charles waved a hand, “You would have found a way. However, Nicole made me promise that I would talk to her about America’s history if she returned it. That forced me to fake her death in a car explosion so I could keep that promise.”

  “Why?”

  “The Opposition had targeted her with all of their resources to remove her and they were ruthless. I had to stop their satellites from searching for her.” Charles shrugged, “It worked, and we’ve been together ever since.”

  Nicole smiled, “I managed to get him to tell me about all the time he’s been on Earth and it was so exciting. The videos of Leonidas and Alexander the Great were incredible.”

  Martha’s head came up, “You have videos of Leonidas?” Charles nodded. “I’ve always been fascinated by Thermopylae.”

  Charles smiled, “Take this and hold it in your hand.” Martha took the small round piece of metal and it disappeared into her palm. “That device will link you to my computer and it will share the videos with you. Simply think “Computer’ and you’ll be connected.”

  “That’s wonderful! Will I be interrupting it from what it needs to be doing?”

  “No, the computer can perform thousands of tasks simultaneously.”

  The meal finally ended, and Merry turned to Fredrick, “Do you need a ride back to Boston?”

  “We took a taxi down here so it would be greatly appreciated.”

  “Good, there’s so much I want to ask you about Mom.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes as Gregory turned to Charles, “Can we go back with you?”

  “Sure, you might have to sit on top of each other in the mustang’s back seat.”

  Allison smiled, “That won’t be an issue.”

  • • •

  Gregory looked at the boxes being unloaded from one of the small ships and asked, “Computer, what are in these boxes?”

  “They contain the twelve projectors needed to produce the dark energy field around the ship. There’s also two antennae on board to put the charges on the outer and inner layers of the field.”

  “Do you need my help in installing them?”

  “No, the repair and service bots have already set up the places on the hull for them along with the necessary wiring to the control panel on the bridge. They should be in place within five days.”

  “I’m starting to get excited,” Gregory replied. “Let me know if you run into any issues.”

  “I will.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Gregory and Allison were sitting on the bridge of the ship with Charles and Nicole when Merry and Dit arrived; chairs came out of the floor and they sat down. Charles turned to Gregory, “Before we start this trial, I want to make it clear that if it doesn’t work, then I will not be keeping my promise to stay and defend Earth. I want it also clear that Nicole and Merry will be leaving Earth with me if it’s a failure.” Charles turned and looked at Merry and Nicole, “I agreed in good faith to stay and fight and you’ve agreed to leave with me if this technology doesn’t work; staying to die isn’t a good decision.” Charles paused and said, “Computer, it’s your show.”

  “Alright, first I’m going to produce the field around the ship.” There was a pause and the computer remarked, “The field is in place and is not fluctuating. Charles, choose a place to go.”

  “Let’s take this easy Computer. Move us a thousand miles away from Earth.”

  “I’ve entered the coordinates in the navigation system. Gregory, would you like the honor of pressing the drive button; this is your invention.”

  “You had just as big a role as I have.”

  Charles smiled, “Press the button Gregory.” Gregory stood up, went to the console in front of Charles, and pressed a green button. The view on the wall monitor instantly changed and Earth appeared smaller. Charles’ eyebrows came together, “Did we move?”

  “Yes,” the Computer replied.

  “Take us back.” Charles stared intently at the monitor and instantly the view changed slightly. “We need to move further away. It’s hard to tell anything’s happening.”

  “How far would you like to go?”

  “Take the ship out to Jupiter computer.” Instantly, the ship was in orbit above the giant planet.

  “It works!” Merry remarked.

  Gregory smiled, “Yes it does, and it takes the same amount of time to jump to Jupiter or across the known universe.”

  “I would like this system installed on my ship,” Dit announced.

  Charles nodded, “First things first. Take us back to Earth.” Earth appeared on the monitor and Charles asked, “What about the second frequency? Does that work?”

  “We’ve not trialed it yet,” the Computer answered. “I launched a small ship prior to creating the drive field. I’m charging the outer layer of the field with coordinates close to the moon. Let’s see if it functions.” Everyone stared at the monitor and saw the small ship approaching at slow speed. Suddenly, it disappeared…and reappeared above the moon.”

  Gregory looked at them and said, “I know the small ship approached at slow speed but even if were moving at maximum speed, it would have still been transported to its current location.”

  Charles was shaking his head and staring at the monitor. He turned to Gregory, “And you say this field can be placed around Earth?”

  “I’ll let the computer answer that question.”

  “Charles, we can use the forty-eight small ships that are currently putting the suppression field around Earth to produce the new field. All it will take to set it up is to put a larger projector on each of them and designate one of them to set the frequencies of the inner and outer layer of the field.”

  Charles sat in silence for a long moment and said, “Bring the small ship back and have it fire a blaster at the field.”

  “What are you doing?” Nicole asked.

  Charles turned to her, “Seeing if this truly is a form of a force field. Computer have the small ship fire the beam at an angle where it will miss the ship.”

  “It will take a few moments for the small ship to come back; it doesn’t have this new field.” They watched the small ship accelerate away from the moon toward them and in a few moment’s it arrived outside the drive field. “I’m going to have it fire a weak beam first,” the computer announced.”

  “Do you want to change the outer layer’s frequency first?” Dit asked.

  Gregory chuckled, “I think that would be a good idea. Computer, change the frequency to fifty miles out from our current location and focus one of the scanners on that location.”

  “Done. I’m firing in three…two…one…Now!” Everyone stared at the main monitor and saw a beam leave the small ship and hit the drive field. They looked at the second monitor and saw a beam appear in open space.

  Gregory immediately asked, “Computer, how much energy is not being transferred?”

  “Less than one percent.”

  “Start increasing the power of the beam,” Charles ordered. The beam grew steadily brighter until it was at full power. Charles saw the beam in open space also grow brighter and brighter, “That’s enough.”

  “Computer, did the amount of energy not being transferred increase as the power of the beam increased?” Gregory asked.

  “I’m shocked that it did not. It actually went down to less than a tenth of a percent of what it was with the initial weak beam. It appears the stronger the beam hitting the field the less that’s not being transferred.”

  “Computer, I did not see that in the math!” Gregory replied.

  “Neither did I but that’s what’s happening.” The computer paused and then continued, “I’m looking at the data and it appears the outer layer of the drive field stiffened as more power hit it. I suspect if a tremendous level of energy hits the field, all of it will be transferred. If that’s the case, then this ship is, for all intents and purposes, indestructible.”

  The room was silent for an exceptionally long
moment and Charles turned to Gregory, “Would the same be true of a field placed around Earth?”

  “I don’t see why there would be a difference in the two fields.”

  “There’s something else I think everyone is missing,” the computer stated.

  “What is that?” Merry asked.

  “I hope all of you noted that we decided to direct the beam to an empty place in space.”

  “We did,” Charles remarked.

  “Well, what if ten warships are attacking us and we direct all the energy hitting our field toward one of those ships?” Charles’ eyes flew wide open as the computer added, “And as each of those ships are destroyed, it could be directed toward the others one by one.” Gregory blew out a breath and Charles knew he was relieved about something. He suspected he knew what it was, but he kept the thought to himself.

  Charles sighed, “Well, it looks like if the field can be put around Earth, then I am compelled to keep my promise. Computer, what do you need to make that happen?”

  “Forty-eight projectors for the small ships above Earth.”

  Charles turned to Merry and she said, “Do you have the specifications needed for those projectors?”

  “I do.”

  “Send them to me and I’ll start getting them constructed.”

  Dit turned to Charles, “If a large number of warships attack Earth, we’ll need more than just one or two ships.”

  “Why do you say that?” Nicole asked.

  “Because what happens when it gets down to one-on-one ships against each other and they’re evenly matched. I’m going to assume that we can’t have this field in place and use our weapons through it.” He looked at Gregory, “Right?”

  “We won’t be able to fire beams or missiles through the field,” Gregory answered.

  Nicole turned to Charles, “Is it still possible that I can get a ship; that would give us three.”

  Charles was staring at Gregory and Merry asked, “Shouldn’t I get a ship?”

  Nicole shook her head, “If we’re ostracized by the collective, none of us will be allowed to get another ship.”