“Sure, come on in.”
The very pregnant blonde and brunette came in. Kat was noticeably upset, Mary had her arm around her. He stood up, went to them and got into a group hug. He kissed them both, then Kat spoke. “Boss, I can’t do my job anymore. I cannot put a spin on things like this anymore. I guess I have been fooling myself about the type of people, the creatures we are actually dealing with. The Krakens are being supported by the Squids, His Lordship. Those goddamned photos… the little girls…” She began to cry.
Adam knew this would happen as soon as he saw the broadcast from the U.S.A. He wondered if he could keep doing his job. The Tschaaa may claim ignorance of what was going on in Montana, but they were ultimately responsible. And he was partially culpable also, since he helped His Lordship in all his dealings with humans, including the Church of Kraken. Ignoring this was not an option.
“Consider yourself on extended maternity leave. I’ll find someone else to be the face of the Occupied States. I have to meet with James Kray this afternoon. Maybe he can provide someone. Let him and his people explain all this…shit we just saw.”
He sighed. “I expect a call from His Lordship anytime now, either expressing concern or asking questions about the broadcast, maybe both. Then again, maybe neither. Maybe he knew about that compound all along. Maybe there are a bunch of others.”
Kat wiped her eyes, and blew her nose. “Think that is a possibility?”
“Hell, they tried to modify all women secretly and quietly. They said it was for our own good. It was bad enough when our own previous government used to say that. Having a bunch of tentacle aliens claim they know what is good for us…that raises the insanity to a whole new level.”
“What’s next?” Mary asked.
“We just hunker down. There is still a remote chance something may break for the good. If not, then we try and do what we discussed.” Kat and Mary both nodded, knowing Adam was talking about his bugout plan. “I imagine I have a bunch of messages from people wanting to see me today, Mary.”
“You’ve got that right. Professors Joseph and Sarah Fassbinder want to see you later this morning. Major Grant is on her way here right now, she couldn’t sleep either. I expect more will follow.”
Adam sat silently in thought for a few moments. How do you spin the unspinable? You don’t. There were no valid reasons for what happened in Great Falls, Montana. Those types of experimentation and manipulation were pure abuse of human beings. Hitler and Joseph Stalin had nothing on the Krakens and others behind this despicable level of evil.
“Well, some will try and say the broadcast was fake, propaganda, a Hollywood production. But, Kat, you can tell. Any signs of image manipulation?”
Kat shivered. “Hollywood—hell, the porn industry—could do wonders with special effects and computer graphics. But those pictures of those…creatures looked too real. You can’t fake the scenes of those five young girls. I don’t think anybody under Madam President would allow little girls to be run around nude, and abused for the sake of propaganda. If she got wind of something like that, someone would be personally castrated by her. Then shot.”
Adam snorted. “Yes, I will give her that. She has a strong sense of what is right, is not afraid to fight for it, take action on her own. I often wondered if the roles were reversed, if somehow I was up there, and she had met His Lordship, Neptune. What would she have done?”
Everyone was silent for a while. Then Mary spoke. “She would have tried to gut our many tentacled overlord, and been killed for her efforts. We would all be dead, except for a few put in with the Cattle, or the Ferals. Any semblance of organized human society would probably be gone, as without your attempts at working with the Tschaaa to save some humans, there would be no reason for the Tschaaa Lords to listen to our Lord Neptune. You showed what cooperating humans can do for the Tschaaa in the future. Besides being meat on the hoof.” Mary paused, then continued.
“Adam, things happen for a reason. Without you, here, the Krakens might be in charge. Other than items which helped them in their screwed up religion, everything else would be gone. You saved people. You just could not save everyone.”
No one spoke for a period of time. Adam shrugged. “We’ll just have to take it as it comes. I imagine I’ll find out more very soon from His Lordship, and during the meeting with Reverend James Kray this afternoon. I already know that he has been put in charge of offensive actions against Atlanta, and the U.S.A. He is going to use his cannon fodder followers of the Church of Kraken. We’ll see what his reaction to the broadcast is.”
He hugged his wives. “We’ll make it through this. We’ve all been through worse. Now Kat, go ahead and go home. I know Jane Grant will want to talk to me, so I’ll tell her your change in status. Mary, please try to handle the requests to talk to me, keep it in some semblance of order. I’ll see who I can. Hopefully those who see me will spread the word about what I think, to cut down on people coming in. If you get too run down, take off. I’ll handle my own phone calls.”
As the three went back into the front office, Adam saw Heidi sitting in her normal place in the corner, with a good view of the entrance way. He glanced at his watch.
“I know I didn’t call you in this early.”
Heidi gave a wan smile. “Didn’t have to. I knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep, and would be here.”
Adam chuckled. “You know me too well, like an ex-wife. Well. It is going to get busy today with visitors. Hopefully they will all be friendly.”
“If not, I’ll handle them, Boss, After all, that’s what you pay me to do.”
He looked in her eyes. “Thanks, Heidi. Just remember, you can quit this gig anytime you want. You weren’t drafted.”
Heidi responded with her throaty, cheerful laugh that Adam had always enjoyed.
“What, quit and have to go back bouncing around on a boat all day? I think not. Besides, who would you find to replace me, with all my charms?”
Adam laughed. She always could get a good laugh out of him. Yes, she was rather irreplaceable.
“Okay, I gave you your chance. Don’t start whining later.”
“A Coastie whine? It’ll never happen.”
With that, Adam went back into his office to wait for the first visitor.
Professor Fassbinder and his very pregnant wife Sarah came in a few minutes later. The sun was barely rising above the horizon. Adam knew this was going to be a long day for everyone. Probably everyone with access to an over the air television or computer new internet hookup had seen “The Broadcast”. (In later history, that became the name for it. No special identifier, just The Broadcast. Everyone alive knew what it meant.)
Joseph’s face was long, and Sarah had puffy eyes from crying. Adam welcomed them into his office, and shut the door. “Can I get you both anything to eat or drink?”
“If I weren’t so pregnant, I’d say a double shot of scotch was in order,” Sarah answered.
Joseph shook his head “No”.
Adam sat down in a chair opposite the married couple, the coffee table between them. The two professors were sitting on the large sofa everyone who visited found so comfortable and inviting.
“I’m not going to try and make any attempt at grand explanations about what everyone has seen on the broadcast last night. Yes, it appears real. It has no characteristics of a photoshopped or computer-created product. The creatures, the people were real. And because of that, I have to accept responsibility for what happened.”
With this, Joseph seemed to wake up from his funk. “How so? You weren’t there in Montana. Those weren’t your people.”
Adam let out a sigh. “They may not be ‘my people’, but I have supported the system that allows their existence. Therefore, I’m afraid that I’m at least partially to blame.”
“What about his Lordship?” Sarah snapped. “Has he contacted you yet, expressing some condolences? Tried an explanation of what happened? Those poor, frightened children, filmed as they were rescued
… What type of fucking explanation does he have for them?” Sarah’s cheeks were now flushed with rage.
“None, yet, Professor. I don’t know if that is because he is still processing what happened, he knew it was happening, or he just does not really care.” Adam paused, looking off as if at something in the distance no one else had seen. “I have a meeting with Reverend Kray of the Church of Kraken, head of the Krakens, his followers. I am definitely waiting to see if he will be a mouthpiece for His Lordship. I know he has been in greater contact with the Tschaaa since he was given the task of pacifying Atlanta. I know also that he is been told to plan an Invasion of the Unoccupied States, using his half-trained fanatics. The details I’m supposed to find out today, this afternoon.”
There was a pause in conversation, all three deep in their own, private thoughts. Then Joseph Fassbinder spoke. “This has to stop. We cannot allow such activities, no matter where, to continue.” The Professor voiced an opinion that could easily be a death warrant if the Tschaaa Lord found out, if he were behind the activities in Great Falls. But Andrew, cyborg robocop, had been sweeping the Director’s Office for any bugs. Although people would think he was nuts, Adam trusted Andrew when he said the office was entirely bug free, that none had been placed by anyone, including Lord Neptune. Otherwise, many conversations would never have occurred.
“I agree, Joseph. But we are limited as to what we can do, other than insuring nothing of this nature is allowed in the Keys.”
Sarah broke in. “We are buying guns. If Andrew and his ilk decide to take action against us, they may be of little or no value. But I’ll be damned if I am going quietly, into the dark night, my unborn children becoming Squid food without a fight. The Holocaust, never again.”
Adam allowed himself a small smile. “You are not the only local resident with that frame of mind, Sarah. I think our…existence under the Tschaaa has reached a turning point. The attack by the Squids immediately following the nuke strike was bad enough. They have attempted to act conciliatory after that. But, as of today, over fifteen thousand Tschaaa are counted as casualties as a result of the attack, directly or indirectly. Eighty percent of those were young or adolescents. That is something the Squids will never forget…nor forgive.”
“So,” asked Joseph, “What’s next?”
“We protect ourselves as best we can. If I were you, I’d prepare for some kind of bug out. I’ll try to warn people if I think we are about to be made ‘meat products,’ but I cannot guarantee much time to flee. Or any real help.”
Joseph grunted. “Well. I don’t plan on returning to Platform One anytime soon. If someone tries to force me, I am definitely gone.”
“Speaking of, how are the Olson twins doing with their saucer research?”
Joseph furrowed his brow. “The research is producing some exciting scientific results, but they are being run ragged by the asshole Minor Lord running the Platform. He is still angry over the embarrassment of losing the space plane, two humans, and some Delta fighters trying to intercept it. So, he threatens all the humans on the space station with ‘produce or die’. I’ll send you an email, Adam, with the most recent video of their tests. Bottom line, when activated the saucer takes them somewhere, elsewhere. It only works with the Olsons, no one else. It’s like it is a living being that likes them, ignores everyone else.”
“Where do you think ‘somewhere’ is?”
“That’s the weird part. It appears to go into what can only be described as a completely different, unknown universe. The Tschaaa and their related starcraft can access a form of hyperspace, a small dimensional shift or warping of this universe that allows the craft to exceed the speed of light. They warp space in front of the craft, changing the properties and physics of the area. Then, the craft enters the area at a speed that, in relation to “normal space”, breaks the speed of light. Some scientists say they bend or fold a section of space, allowing them to travel a shortcut between two points, timewise. However you explain it without the math, it works. But it requires a crap load of energy, provided by tapping into a highly efficient use of matter, anti-matter. Dark energy and dark matter. So, only smaller ships, and scouts are used in this manner.
“The saucer disappears, reappears in a different section of the galaxy, universe, we don’t know. We try using the Tschaaa extensive and our limited star maps to try to extrapolate where the craft is. Usually, you should be able to find some recognizable star or sun looking in a 360 degree search around the saucer. But, so far, no joy. Not even close.”
“So, Joseph, the theory is that it is one of the eleven multi-verses of string theory. Correct?”
“Spot on, Director. The problem is, we cannot discover its relationship with our universe, galaxies. Where and how the two bubbles we picture the universes as being connect, position in reference to each other, they have not figured out yet. They take their little trips, two dozen so far, take some photos, sensor readings, and then return. But that still cannot triangulate or use some other means of reference to figure where the saucer travels to in reference to Earth. Though they have found out something else. Is this room secure?”
“Yes. Andrew sweeps it for bugs, takes out any he finds as he says he has no orders about allowing surveillance devices in this area. He says that His Lordship has not authorized any bugs to be placed. If the Tschaaa Lord had, Andrew would have done it.”
“You trust him?” Sarah asked.
“Yes. Andrew is brutally honest. He may be of originally human stock, but he has received some programing which requires him to follow directions to the proverbial letter of the law. Conversely, the ability he and his brothers have for independent thought and action is greater than any other Client or creation of the Tschaaa.”
“Hm,” interjected Joseph. “That seems to be programming conflict looking for a place to happen. Independent thought verses stone clad directions. Sooner or later, there is going to be an internal argument.”
Adam shrugged. “If it happens, it happens. I haven’t seen any inkling of that yet.”
There was a short lull in the conversation, as Joseph mulled how over how to present his information. “Well. I might as well be blunt. Thanks to the Star Map info the Squids had given, the Olson twins have figured out where the Squids came from. They found the area where the Squids’ homeworld is.”
Adam froze. “Who knows this?”
“Just them and us, you included as of today. They mixed it in with a report on the saucer results. In with some math formulas they slipped the coordinates of where the Tschaaa homeworld was apparently located. I can find a way to slip them to you, if you have a way to camouflage them, secure them from prying eyes.”
“No problem, Professor. The Tschaaa are kind of blind when it comes to electronic surveillance of the internet. They understand bugs in an office. Hacking a computer? Not really.”
Joseph looked at Adam. “So you never really pushed their vulnerabilities to them?”
“I told his Lordship after the last fiasco around Atlanta that humans understand real total war, using everything to win. He acknowledged it. But for all his studying of the ‘human condition’, he still doesn’t really understand us, our capabilities. Were it not for the surprise of large rocks hitting us, then the saboteurs disrupting our responses, and finally the airstrikes by the Deltas and Falcons, the Invasion would have failed. In a standup fight, even with the Falcons’ kickass capabilities, they would have been brought to a standstill. This would have required them to completely decimate us from space, probably making it difficult to colonize this world. The Long Winter would still be going on, the seas becoming too cold for the Squids reproduction crèches to function, at least on the scales they are now. And even more of us would have died.”
He paused. “The Tschaaa would have probably grabbed a large breeding stock of us, and then left. And we would be living in caves and city sewers, trying to survive until things warmed up.”
Sarah looked at him. “Sometimes, I think tha
t might have been better in the long run. No Squids and Krakens rounding us up, eating us, at least some of us, on a monthly basis. We would have to start over. But maybe we would be more humane to our brothers and sisters.”
They were all quiet for a while, deep again in their own thoughts. Finally, Adam broke the silence. “Well, like they say. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. So, to end this conversation, I am doing what I can to deal with the…savagery we saw on that broadcast. can’t make any promises. I believe we have reached a tipping point in our relations with the Tschaaa and its virulent supporters. What happens next…” He let the statement hang.
Sarah managed to stand up with her very noticeable belly. She suddenly grabbed ahold of Adam and kissed him on his cheek. “We have had some disagreements, but I know your heart has always been in the right place. Unfortunately, I don’t think you will be able to achieve your dream.”
Adam snorted. “After the Squids attacked us indiscriminately after the nuke attack, basically saying we all look alike, I knew my chances of completing my original Mission, the Protocol of Selective Survival, were poor. Us being an indispensable Client Species, is probably not going to happen. At least in my lifetime.”
He sighed. “But I’m very stubborn. So I keep hoping.”
“Well, Director,” said Joseph. “Just remember you have a lot of personal support. If you yell for help, we will come.”
Adam took his hand and shook it. “Thanks, Professor. I appreciate it more than you know. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a line of people waiting to talk to me. By the way, babies okay, Sarah?”
“Yes. They are developing, healthy but at a faster rate. Which means I’m hungry all the time.”
“Well, I’ll have to make sure we set up a spread for Thanksgiving this year. At least we can have fun eating ourselves silly if nothing else.”
The Tsunami Page 40
