She started down the staircase.
---
Radin was in the “One4U” sitting in a dark corner booth at the back of the room. He was drinking beer and doing shots of Old Western Warmer. After the meeting, he’d decided he wanted to be alone…alone and drunk. He saw Bugs enter the front door and he hunkered back into the booth. Then he groaned as he saw the avatar head straight for him without even looking around to find him. God damn it, he thought, as he downed the third of six shot glasses lined up in front of him.
Bugs stopped a few feet from him. “Captain, can I join you?”
Radin stared at him for a moment with a sour look, and then forced a smile and said, “What can I get you?” He downed the fourth shot.
Bugs ignored the frivolous question and scooted into the booth across from him. “You took the information better than anyone else. You got angry, but…that seemed to be all.”
“And how the hell would you know that?” Radin asked.
“I was monitoring the vitals of everyone at the meeting -- a safety precaution.”
Radin smiled again showing teeth. His voice was low and dangerous, “I don’t give a shit about how ancient or powerful some God damn alien is!” He sipped his beer and slammed the bottle down. “Just put it in front of me and I’ll fight it.” He grabbed another shot glass and downed it, “If I’m nothing but some backward slug to it…” he slammed the shot glass down on the table upside-down next to five others like it, “if it just squashes me without a second thought…well then…fuck it!” He grabbed the last shooter and shot it down.
Bugs had never seen the Captain like this before. All he could detect was anger, determination, and now, increasing intoxication.
Radin raised his hand to signal for more shooters, then paused as he noticed a disturbance to the otherwise quiet room. Dr. Donnelly was rushing around speaking to one person after another. Radin got up, “Excuse me,” he said to Bugs. He made his way across the room and intercepted Donnelly. “Doctor, what’s going on?”
Donnelly turned to him. There seemed to be more than a little panic in his face. “Have you seen Dr. Van Loader?”
Radin looked around the room, “No. Why?”
Donnelly sighed heavily, “I’m worried. He was acting…” he lowered his voice, “well, very strange after the meeting.”
“Fancy that,” Radin said.
“I got him to his cabin but…well, I had to use the restroom, and when I returned, he was gone. I can’t find him anywhere.”
---
Evelyn walked towards Adamarus, stepping softly across the soft soil and clumps of grass. Adamarus was facing the other way and the tree trunk he was leaning against hid his upper body. She rounded the tree then abruptly stopped, her jaw dropping in surprise—he was sound asleep.
She stood there a moment looking at him, not knowing quite what to do. He looked so peaceful. She decided she did not want to wake him and would just retrace her steps and leave. She started to turn her head and stepped back, but Adamarus’ head moved and she quickly looked back at him.
“Why?” It was just a whisper, and his eyes remained closed, his breathing unchanged.
Her foot was already coming down when she tore her eyes from Adamarus to look where she was going. Too late. She saw the clump of dried leaves and twigs and her attempt to avoid them made her stumble, causing her feet to fall onto an even larger pile of dried branches.
CRUNCH… CRUNCH.
“Darn,” she whispered.
---
In the dream, Adamarus saw the blue pixilated spiral galaxy that Bugs had focused the telescope on at the end of the meeting...that shocking, horrendous nightmare of a meeting where they had heard and seen things that, at first, the human mind could hardly grasp…then later, could barely conceive. There were plasma jets coming from the top and bottom of the hazy blue spiral and the upper one clearly showing a wisp veering off to the right at almost a ninety-degree angle – what all of them knew now to be the Spiral Slayer’s “footprint.”
In his mind’s eye, the hands of time spun back 12 billion years…though he really had no grasp, whatsoever, of such enormous time spans. Still, he imagined the pale blue spiral as it had been in the dawn of time. Alive with vast spiraling arms of brilliant white stars shimmering like jewels carefully set within the rich browns of complex dust plumes. Deep within, pastel explosions could be seen, the stellar nebula that marked the graves of stars. And, at the base of the arms, at the very center, a hemisphere of unparalleled luminance rose, so thick with stars, it seemed surrounded by mist – the central hub – the hiding place of the spiral’s massive black hole. Breathtaking in its beauty, Adamarus could only stare at it in wonder.
As he watched, a radiant flash came from the edge of the galaxy. It outshined the entire galaxy before it faded, leaving a small dark spot. Then further in, another…then another and another. His brows furrowed as he watched and waited. Then came another flash from the base of one of the spiral arms. The flashes formed a straight line from the edge of the galaxy to the center. He knew now what these were, for his sun might soon be one of them.
Then suddenly he saw two plasma jets burst from the center, one going upward and one down forming what could have been an axle for the spiral to turn on. At the same time, a dark ugly smear appeared at the center of the spiral and began to spread. As the blackness reached the base of the galactic arms, the strange wisp of plasma erupted from the upper plasma jet, angling towards him. As the blackness spread through the arms and finally devoured all of the spiral’s shining stars, he saw a black sphere emerge from the small plasma stream and head for another distant group of galaxies.
He watched in silent horror as the black hole went from one cluster of galaxies to another, visiting one galaxy in each cluster, leaving its ugly black stain spreading upon each one. He could see the universe expanding and that first slain galaxy moving further and further away. Looking around, Adamarus could now see other black spheres…first thousands, then millions… then they seemed endless. All of them doing the same thing…over and over again. They formed an enormous devouring wall of darkness, and as the hands of time swept forward, the wall crept across the cosmos, spreading darkness and death.
Adamarus seemed to stagger back. He heard himself whisper, “Why?”
An enormous gas giant came into view. At first the swollen planet looked like a bubble that a pin prick could burst. For reasons unknown, the planet seemed to draw all the black spheres towards it. There was a large swirling red spot within the banded pastel clouds, and Adamarus realized that a person stood in the center of it. In his dream, he floated down and stood there beside the person. He tried to look over and see who it was, but his eyes were drawn back towards the countless spheres coming at them. Just before the leading sphere hit them, he turned away and closed his eyes.
The first one hit and then the next.
CRUNCH… CRUNCH.
“Darn.” The whispered word seemed to come from everywhere.
At the same time, the back of his eyelids turned bright white. He opened his eyes, and although the bright light hurt his eyes, he could see the person that stood next to him. “Evelyn?” he tried to ask, but no sound came out.
She gave him the most beautiful smile and said, “Whoops.”
---
He was looking at her with half open eyes. His lips formed her name. Her face flushed as a large smile formed, “Whoops,” she said, “I was trying not to wake you.”
“Evelyn?” he asked again. He was still half asleep, his voice a barely audible croak.
Her smile grew larger. “Sorry,” she said. She looked downward, taking a small, insecure step. This was so out of character for her, so…vulnerable. It made the moment strangely endearing to Adamarus. He rubbed his eyes and stifled a fake yawn, pretending he hadn’t seen the movement. Then, looking up, he smiled sheepishly and joked. “Looks like I’m busted.”
She put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight. “You a
re so busted,” she said gamely, a twinkle in her eyes.
Chapter Twenty One — Aftermath
“…the universes’ expansion proves the existence of these 'other world' universes. They really exist! They exist right here, right now, and if we could see everything going on around us, it would look like a raging storm of static. The subatomic world is almost completely empty space, however, about three billion years ago, the incredible expansion rate of 'other world' universes ran out of subatomic room and the universe began the runaway expansion we see today – this is your dark energy.”
The Loud Named Bugs
Opening Speech, 23rd Amular Symposium on Quantum Physics
Source: The Archive
President Wicker sat behind his desk staring into space. Everything had changed, he thought. Yet nothing had changed. What chance did they have? None. Yet how did this change what they must do? He needed to get Thornton’s thoughts.
He reached for the intercom to call for him then paused. He remembered how shaken and depressed Thornton had looked towards the end of the meeting. Who could blame him? But Thornton’s depression had seemed so intense that it had concerned Wicker, even spooked him a little. Wicker decided to go to Thornton instead. He got up and left his office.
Passing by his secretary, he told her where he was going, then he walked out the door and down the hall. Entering Thornton’s outer office, he saw that Thornton’s secretary had stepped away, so he walked up to the door and knocked. Almost immediately, he heard a strange noise from within. It sounded like a chair had tipped over. He knocked again louder…nothing. He tried the knob and the door opened.
The first thing that caught his eye was the overturned chair, then the kicking feet, then the entire horrific scene: Thornton was hanging by the neck from a ceiling fan jerking and kicking!
Wicker gasped, “Oh my God!” He immediately ran to the chair, and with shaking hands, up righted it, then jumped up on it and grabbed Thornton in a bear hug, lifting him up to take the pressure off his neck.
Thornton continued to flail his legs and arms, hitting and kicking Wicker and making it hard for Wicker to hold him.
Wicker needed help, but there was no way to call for any! Repeatedly, Thornton’s flaying arms and feet hit and battered Wicker. Wicker hollered, “Help! Help! Somebody help me!” but nobody came. He cried out for help again and again…nothing!
Suddenly Thornton quit lashing out. He trembled violently – then he went limp. Still, Wicker didn’t want to let go of him, but he was beat up and exhausted. “Help! Please help me!” he cried out.
After several minutes, unable to hold him up any longer, he tried to let Thornton slip through his arms gradually. However, Wicker accidentally let go and Thornton dropped. The packing twine yanked Thornton’s neck up violently. There was a crack and Thornton’s neck extended! Wicker, only inches away, was shocked! He cried out and fell to the floor. He sat there rocking back and forth. Tears were streaming down his face. He could not look up at Thornton.
---
The smell of the rain, the soil, and the vegetation almost made the atrium seem like a real forest back on Amular.
Still half asleep, sprawled out on the ground which was a combination of dirt, grass, leaves and sticks, and leaning against a tree, Adamarus looked up at Evelyn and smiled. The overwhelming and depressing memories of this morning’s meeting were held at bay mostly, he mused, by her smile. “So…asleep against a tree, lying in the dirt…I suppose you’re going to report me?”
Evelyn just barked a soft laugh. She was thinking she’d like to join him.
For many seconds, they looked at each other—the only sounds were the distant birds singing and wind coursing through the trees. Periodically, a cool breeze blew though the glade, blowing across their faces.
The dream still seemed to be with Adamarus, distracting and numbing him. To shake it off, he got to his feet and brushed himself off while Evelyn, standing about eight feet away, watched, shifting back and forth almost nervously.
He noticed an anthill on the ground in front of him. A slight wave of dizziness passed over him and he frowned as he watched the small black insects crawl up the dirt mound and into the hole on top. For an absurd moment, he thought about pitting all of Amular’s military might against that anthill and what the ants might do to defend against such an attack. Then, the next instant, he felt like one of the small insects…tiny…powerless…insignificant.
He blinked away the strange feelings and remembered his dream. There seemed to be something significant about it, and he almost saw what it was, but his thoughts were interrupted.
“What’s wrong?” Evelyn asked in a concerned voice. She had been watching the play of emotions on Adamarus’ face and was leaning forward looking at him.
Suddenly remembering the special “Black Raven” security level and the fact that he could not let anything slip concerning this morning’s meeting, he forced himself to regain control and used the anthill as a distraction. He pointed at it, “Can you believe it? Do you think they included them on purpose?”
She looked down at the anthill in surprise – an anthill was not something you usually saw at Hideaway. Instinctively she walked over and bent down for a closer look, “At least they’re not the red ones that bite.” When she stood, she found herself very close to Adamarus.
They looked at each other and Adamarus felt something passed between them. Then they both blinked and looked away and the moment was gone. They both stepped back awkwardly and looked away from each other.
After a few seconds, Adamarus said, “Look,” and pointed upwards. Through the trees and rising mists, they could see a rainbow stretching from one side of the atrium to the other. Spellbound, they watched it.
Suddenly the background sounds of the birds surged to the foreground and dozens exploded from the trees and rose into the air. They flew upwards towards the shimmering colored arch and then seemed to fly around and through the misty bands of color.
A second later, the reason for the commotion appeared – Leewood and Harrington were walking quickly towards them. Adamarus and Evelyn set out and met them halfway.
Leewood and Harrington did not look well. Both were pale and Harrington’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. They seemed to pause awkwardly, look at Evelyn and then at each other. Evelyn was about to ask them what was going on when Leewood said, “Secretary of Defense Thornton has committed suicide.”
---
That evening, Wicker had recovered as much as possible from the ordeal and sat alone in his office. He had finally dealt with all the security people, the police, the interviews, the required written statements, the concerned friends, staff members, and aids.
Fortunately, Thornton had never married and his only living relative was a sister. Wicker had personally called and notified her.
They had found Lance Thornton’s final correspondence on his desk in a blank unsealed envelope. Now Wicker settled back for his second reading of the suicide note.
“My worst nightmare as a child…the thing I feared most when I was growing up…was this: I imaged that if the ocean somehow drained, the empty chasm it would leave behind would be too immense to look into. More than anything else, I had always feared looking into such an abyss. Now I find myself standing at the edge of an infinite cosmic rift more enormous, vaster, than anything I could ever imagine and my terror is absolute.
“I have pledged to guard and protect the people of our world and settlements, an oath that meant everything to me. But I can see now that my failure is total and complete. Forgive me, but I cannot continue on with the weight of this failure while balancing myself at the edge of an abyss so vast that I cannot even think about it, let alone face it.”
Secretary of State Thornton had penned the note in a very shaky hand and then signed it. Wicker read it over again, then whispered, “I forgive you, Lance,” and he did.
He set the note down and used his com unit to summon a meeting with everyone else who had
attended this morning’s gathering. The summons read, “Right now.”
---
“We can’t find Dr. Van Loader anywhere,” Leewood told the President.
“I am very, very concerned about him.” Dr. Donnelly added.
Wicker resisted the urge to rub his temples. He resisted the urge to even look down. He looked Leewood in the eye with all the confidence he could muster. Right now they deserved no less from him. “Admiral, let’s get every asset involved with the search, but…let’s also try to keep it as low key as possible. We don’t want to get too many people asking the kind of questions that might lead to this morning’s meeting.”
“Understood,” Leewood replied.
“Does anyone else…” Wicker backtracked, “does anyone feel that they need…help? We need each other right now more than ever and our civilization needs each of us even more. Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t want anyone else taking their life. If you are worried about someone else, let me know so we can get him or her help. Please, people, we need to get through this.” He looked at Bugs who had said nothing so far. He fully expected Bugs to say, ”I warned you,” and its continued silence was almost worse.
Adamarus sat silently, haunted by the feeling that something important had happened, but he could not put his finger on it. He was haunted also by his encounter with Evelyn.
Finally, President Wicker got each person to promise him that if they had suicidal feelings or a depression that they could not handle, they would let him or Leewood know immediately. He told each of them that he would do his best to be available to each of them at any time, day or night. After this, he dismissed them.
---
At the center of the domed atrium’s ceiling there was a ring of large air vents. Within this ring was a small hole six feet in diameter. Inside the hole, a walkway ran around the perimeter of the hole and there was a five-foot railing providing protection from falling to the floor 1000 feet below.
Encounters 1: The Spiral Slayers Page 35
