by Kip Hartzell
“Yah, I know, to make me jealous, but when she left with him...it made me crazy.”
“I saw the whole thing...and I took advantage of the situation, of you.”
“Yes, you did. Imagine the look on my face when I found out she didn’t sleep with him.”
“But, she did.”
“Only after she found out about us.”
Shelly looked away. “I’m sorry.”
Jay calmed down. “Don’t worry about it, I guess deep down there wasn’t really anything there. It was inevitable. You just made it happen sooner. I see it as a life lesson. I saw what kind of person she really is.” His anger stirred. “I saw what kind of person you are. If you’re trying to move up the ladder, move on, and please leave me behind.”
“That’s an awful thing to say.” Shelly’s anger flared. “I learned a lot about you, too. If things aren’t easy, you quit.”
“Get a room!” someone yelled from an enclosed tent.
After what Jay had experienced at the mountain site, this all seemed trivial. “Goodnight.” Jay turned, and went to his tent.
Jay was in a bad mood, while he brushed away sediment from a piece of pottery. He didn’t sleep well from all the nightmares. His mind was so scrambled, he wasn’t even sure Chrysalis was even real anymore. He was halfheartedly working the deep end of a trench of what was thought to be a temple, when he felt something tugging at his senses. He stood up and moved a few yards down the trench, the sensation was leaving, he moved back a little. Kneeling down, he racked his trowel across the bottom of the trench wall. A metal sound was heard. He carefully dug around a thin strip of metal about two inches by three inches.
He sat on his haunches as he brushed the dirt away. It felt slightly warm to his touch. He rubbed, and spit, until he could make out a series of small lines connected to almost unperceivable row of stones. He studied it closer with a pocket magnifying glass and determined it to be Atlantean. “I’ll be damned.”
“Have you discovered something, Mr. Rodgers?” Professor Snodgrass asked, as he waddled through the trench.
Jay put the piece in the thigh pocket of his khaki cargo pants, before the old man came around the corner. “No Sir, just the usual pottery pieces.”
“Well, let’s keep looking,” he skirted by Jay and continued talking, “If we don’t look, we won’t find. Carry on.”
“Professor, about that time off?”
He looked around. “Perhaps, in two more days.” He turned and left.
After dinner, Jay went to his tent. He was waiting for the sun to go down before he made a run for Chrysalis. He was about to make his move, when Shelly unzipped the tent door and stepped in. She had always made a pair of overalls look good, matter-of-fact, she made anything she wore look good.
Jay met her at the opening. “Shell, it’s not a good time.”
“But, I thought you were always good for a good time.”
“Uh, not tonight.”
“Are you sure,” she said as she unbuckled one of the over shoulder straps.
Jay became confused, then he felt the piece of metal in his pocket. “Shell...I have to go the head, make yourself at home.” He took off into the darkness.
“Now, had I known ignoring her was the trick, I would’ve tried that instead,” he said, under his breath as he got his bearings.
“Halt, who’s there?” a man with a heavy Greek accent, said.
“Damn, I forgot about you guys,” Jay said, to the guard the institute had hired from the local government to oversee their protection.
Jay raised his hand to his eyes as the man shined a flashlight taped to a rifle in his face. “Hello, I’m Dr. Rodgers from the archaeological team.”
“Yes, I recognize you. What are you doing out here?”
“Bathroom.” The excuse had worked before, and since they frequently moved the port-a-potties, it made sense.
“The other side of the compound, now go.”
“Yes Sir.” Jay immediately turned around and fast walked away.
A few people were still scurrying around as he wandered through the camp. He began watching the contingent of guards come and go. He watched their patterns, and after several hours, determined he would have to wait for the next night to time his escape just right.
He opened the tent flap, stepping in with his flashlight on, he saw Shelly asleep on his air mattress. With a slight sigh, he removed his boots, and laid back on the lone cot against the tent wall.
Jay was up early, probably the first time in his adult life, and was at the site, hoping to finish, so he could get time off. He scrapped and dug, moving along a predetermined path. He squared the corners, recognizing what things were, where things used to be, categorizing, and cataloging. He had been there a couple of hours, when he turned and bumped into thin air. “What the hell?” he said, reaching out to nothing.
“Don’t be alarmed,” a male voice said.
“Ahh!” Jay stumbled backward, but caught himself.
“Gramps?”
“Yes.”
Jay moved cautiously with his hand out to feel solid air.
“It’s a cloaking device, small scale, but efficient.”
“What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t come back, and your Grandmother was worried.”
“The Professor won’t let me go without becoming suspicious. I think I should keep this job in order to keep an eye on them-lead them away, if necessary.”
“Good idea. Will you be released soon?”
“Tomorrow, I hope.”
“The program is set up, and we’re ready to proceed. Shall I incapacitate the sight director for a few days.”
Jay smiled at the thought. “No, no, that would only draw more attention. Let’s keep this routine, and boring.”
“Shhh,” a wisp of air said.
“Who are you talking to?” Professor Snodgrass asked, coming over the rise.
Jay tuned quickly. “Uh, myself, just talking to myself.”
“Oh, you’re making great progress, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Mr. Rodgers, but I like it. At this rate, you should be able to take some time off in a couple of days.” He turned to go to another section.
Jay grabbed the shovel, and started toward him, but was stopped by an invisible force.
“Don’t you think assault might draw some attention?”
Jay cooled down. “Yah, you’re right. Does that incapacitation invitation still stand?” He could sense the humor in the non-existent voice.
“Here,” Jay’s hand rose on its own. Suddenly, a flexible titanium metal band curved around his wrist. “This is your cloaking device.” John shimmered, and appeared before him. “Two fingers, press here, and here, if you do it twice, say the name of the person you wish to communicate with, and we’ll answer.”
“Whoa,” Jay said, as he examined the bracelet.
“When you’re released tonight, go west one mile, a shuttle will be waiting for you.”
“Isn’t that a little obvious.” He thought about what he just said. “It’s cloaked, too.”
“Yes, as long as you have the personal cloak engaged, you’ll be able to see it. Board it, and say, Chrysalis. It’ll do the rest.”
“Aw, this is so cool. At first I thought I was dreaming. I’ll be-” John vanished.
“Jay, why didn’t you wake me?” Shelly said, coming toward him from the low side.
“Ah, well, you looked so peaceful.”
“What took you so long?”
“Ah, well, it must’ve been something I ate, was there half the night.”
“Jay, you’ve been acting very strangely since your Grandfather died. What’s the matter?”
“He’s very important to me...I mean, he was very important to me.”
“I always found him interesting, and kind,” she purred, as she moved in close to him.
“This is why I have you on the opposite side of the site, Ms. Masters,” Professor Snodgrass said, standing on
a mound above them. They both looked up quickly. “When you two are together, not much gets accomplished. Now, Ms. Masters, section B253 awaits your attention.”
“Yes, Sir.” She looked back at Jay, as she crawled out of the trench on her way to her assignment, with the Professor close behind.
“We’ll see you tonight,” John whispered.
“Gramps, I found this.” Jay brought out the strange piece of metal, and held it out. It disappeared.
“Very old tech, it was very hard for us to find it all. How’d you find it?”
“I more or less, felt it.”
“You may be more Atlantean than we thought.”
“What is it?”
“All will be explained. See you soon.”
Jay had his sweaty shirt off before he stepped into his tent. He toweled off and searched for a fresh one. He found it, and as he was putting it on, he heard Shelly call his name, as she walked up to the tent. She opened the flap to an empty room. She called his name several times, but remained confused. She called his name several more times, nothing. She could have sworn she saw him walk in here. She looked around one last time, and then stepped out. While she was asking a co-worker about Jay, the tent flap flicked to the side, then fell back into place.
Jay walked right passed a guard without so much as a suspicion. He practically ran toward the shuttle as it got dark. To his surprise, the device also allowed him night vision, but much clearer than the human kind. He pushed a tree branch to the side, and there it sat. A sleek delta winged ship, much larger than he expected, with a long nose and flight deck up front. Jay touched in awe, the sigil of a tear drop outline with a nova burst behind it. Its 3-D effect kept his attention as he moved down the ship. He couldn’t help but run his hand down the side, as if caressing a through-bred horse. The hatch opened at his arrival, and he slowly stepped in. As soon as he cleared the door, it shut, lights blinked on as the ship came alive. Jay turned off his cloak, and walked around the much more spacious ship than it looked, marveling at the 3-D displays that surrounded him.
“Chrysalis.”
The ship powered up, and he could tell he was moving by the view out of the forward window. There was no sensation of movement, just the sight of trees and mountain silhouettes moving passed. He staggered a little as he finally tore his vision away, and looked at something more stable.
It took only a few minutes for the shuttle to stop in front of a mountain side. It quietly slipped inside the man-made tunnel, and set gently down in a large cavern-hangar. He stepped out to be greeted by his pseudo-Grandparents.
“Welcome back, JJ,” Athene-A said, as she put her arm around his, and led him away. “We have a quick tour for you before we start.”
Jay gave up trying to remember everyone’s names. He found the Minotaur’s intimidating, and the Centaurs standoffish. He tried to satisfy a Cerberus by scratching all three heads behind the ears simultaneously, but that was futile. He was beginning to feel at ease by the time they made it back to the common area to make plans on how to proceed.
“We should get started as soon as we’re done here. I don’t know how long this will take,” John said.
“Pops, used to say, take your time and do it right the first time, you may not get a second chance.”
“That would be my son, John-Athain?”
“Close, his name is Jonathan.”
“Yes, I remember him,” Athene-A said, staring into space. “He was our first born.” Her eyes teared up.
“He is fine, spoke to him...a few months ago, still doesn’t have much of an imagination. Kind of a, straight forward, only believe what he can touch, and see what’s right in front of him, kinda guy.”
“I hope our deaths were not too painful for him.”
“He took them hard, he loves you both very much. He has immersed himself in his construction jobs in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The divorce didn’t help either. Mom’s a little estranged right now.”
“We know where Las Vegas is.” They looked at each other for a second, as if remembering something.
“So, how long have you been on Earth?”
“The cerebral information transfer device will answer all those questions. We should probably get started. We have to have you back by morning.”
“Do I have to go back...oh, alright. Lead the way.”
“Hold still, you hairless monkey,” Rhe-A said to Jay, as she adjusted the thin clear band around his head.
“Rhe-A, be civilized,” Athene-A said, with a warning in her voice.
“I’m joking,” she said, while she recalibrated the device, “I meant, hairless chimpanzee.” She half smiled at Jay, and then walked over to her wall of instruments.
“I think I just got an upgrade. I think she likes me,” he whispered. “Is she married?”
“I don’t court younger men,” she said, handing John, and Athene-A, a similar headband.
“But you did, or were you just using me?” Jay spitefully said.
“Yes, you’re all synched up.” Rhe-A continued to change the subject. “The computer will scan all of you, looking for commonalities, hopefully the reason you gave him so much information will present itself. There are possible side-effects, like hemorrhaging of the brain, spontaneous aneurisms, loss of all memory, and of course, the all-encompassing, death.” Jay’s eyes were wide. “If any of you should die before I can get you disconnected, a part of the others will die also.” She saw the near panic in Jay’s eyes and put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s less than a one percent chance.”
“Oh,” Jay relaxed.
“We have to have him back by morning.”
“The brain moves more quickly than our linear perceptions. Well, some of ours do. You can only go as fast as the slowest brain. So, we could be here for a while.” Rhe-A gave him a sarcastic look.
“I still think she likes me,” Jay smirked back.
“Alright everyone, sit back and enjoy the show.”
At first, Jay felt nothing. He was starting to wonder if this experiment was going to work at all. Without warning, he took off at the speed of light. Pictures, images, colors, all became a garbled mess. He was nearing a panic stage, when-everything stopped. He found himself in a hangar, or what looked like a hangar, it was bright, spaceships coming and going. He was looking down on it, like a god checking on his subjects. A focal point became clearer as Jay’s mind raced toward it.
Chapter Three: Before the Beginning
He blew out an exasperated breath, and then climbed down from the short ladder. He opened a panel, letting the tool fall to the floor. The hangar bay was very noisy as space-bound, and planet-bound craft, came and went. The air lock inner doors were massive, and made people’s ears pop every time they opened. As he reached for the spanner wrench that lay under the latest model of the Achilles Mark III shuttle, he heard, “Asa-Avion!” He jumped, and hit his head on the engine cowl. He turned quickly to see who yelled his name, even though he knew who it was, he cursed anyway. A shorter than normal Terrahnian stood stoically with her hands on her hips. Her determined complexion was darker than his as she stomped toward him. He maintained his temper.
“Is my ship going to be ready by the sixteenth hour?”
“Yes, Science Councilor Samari-A, it will be ready.”
“Good.” She turned quickly in her full length gray body dress, and marched away.
Asa half smiled, he always thought she was pretty, for someone older than himself, but she had the personality of a Terrahnian Tibber Wolf. He cleaned off his wrench and went back to work.
“I need you to fly at these altitudes,” Science Councilor Samari-A ordered, as she handed Asa a data pad. “I need precise information.”
He took the data pad and set it on the console, where, the data was immediately transferred. He brought it up on his bigger consol. She stood close behind him, watching. That always made him nervous. He made a few calculations, letting the ship do the flying. “You know, a drone could do all th
is.”
“Yes, I am aware,” she snobbishly said. She noticed the perturbed look on his face, and relaxed a little. “I want firsthand information so I can make the appropriate adjustments,” she explained a little softer. “Look,” she leaned in closer, “the ultraviolet band changes slightly when oxygen particles pass through, and different levels make calculations astronomically variable.”
Asa noticed her flowery smell, and lost his concentration for a few seconds, while he admired her passion for science. “In other words, you don’t know why?”
Leaning over, she looked at him square in the face. Asa couldn’t stop staring into her blue eyes. “I just haven’t found the answer yet.” She went back to her arrogant attitude, and her instruments. Asa shrugged it off, and finished his flight plan, and then it was back to Pantheon Base.
The base had been there for hundreds of years as a mining colony on the planet Assillins. The orophyte was essential to the function of almost everything. Most of the planet was made of it, but retrieving it, and processing it, was extremely difficult and dangerous. Its fragility combined with its volatility, made human involvement a must. Machines helped, but did not possess the intuition of humans.
Many inventions had been tried, all but the actual human doing the dirty work was all that produced what was needed. The New Enlightenment Order contingent was still fighting the Old Enlightenment Group, albeit, sporadically, but they needed the orophyte, pressure was mounting from the NEO Councilors to have a solution.
Samari-A was only a bit player in the scheme of things, but she aspired to be great. Her research led to several discoveries for the other nine departments to advance. She worked tirelessly on the solution the Council approved, sometimes to the point of obsession. Some of her methods would be suspect by any Old Enlightenment Group supporter, but she was mild, and conservative, compared to her New Enlightenment Order constituents.
The ship landed softly in the bay. Asa manipulated the controls, and opened the hatch. “Same time tomorrow?”
