“I know you screen everyone very carefully before they join the team,” said Ryan. “To make sure they’re stable and … well, not like Nathaniel. How did he pass?”
“I wish I knew. We quizzed him hooked up to the best lie detector equipment we have. Like everyone. I supervised the test myself. We asked him what he would do in different situations designed to test his morals and ethics. He passed with flying colors.”
“Well, lie detectors aren’t perfect,” noted Ryan.
“True, but the people who can fool them are really, really bad. People with no conscience, no sense of good and evil, right and wrong. Since we know the lie detector won’t weed out this type of psychopath, we look into everyone’s life history very carefully before we ask them to join Prometheus. A true psychopath always has something in their background that is suspicious. But not Nathaniel. Anyone psychotic enough to completely fool our lie detector and smart enough to hide any sign of this behavior in his past is doubly dangerous.”
Alyssa and Kelsey continued to listen to every word. They were able to hear Carl’s booming voice almost as well as Ryan could.
“Ryan, I need to go. I have a lot to do before I reach you.”
“One last thing before you do,” said Ryan. “When you went to Isis the animals ignored people completely. Now every last one of them wants us dead. Any idea why that is?”
“I thought about that when you were briefing us,” said Carl. “Did your mom tell you what happened on our last trip?”
“Yes. About the animals that look just like lava rocks.”
“Right. There were five of them in all. They only noticed us because I crushed one by accident. So the only thing that I could think of is that they alerted the other animals about us. But they couldn’t have. They were all dead. And even if they were alive they couldn’t have. After all, none of the species on Isis are intelligent. It’s the same for all zoo planets. The Qwervy would never let us visit if this weren’t true.”
“I agree,” said Ryan. “It’s impossible. Even if they were alive. Even if they were intelligent. Even if all species were intelligent, they couldn’t have spread the word that well. So it has to be something else that triggered it.”
Ryan shook his head in frustration. He would probably never solve this mystery. But as long as they could get the Isis expedition back home, he decided he didn’t care.
“It doesn’t make sense,” agreed Carl.
Ryan took a deep breath. There was one other point he needed to address. “How are things between you and, ah … my mom?” he asked hesitantly.
Carl sighed. “Not great, Ryan. She lost of a lot of respect for me after what happened on Isis.”
“I know,” said Ryan. “She thinks you killed two of the animals out of revenge. I told her she was wrong. That you would never do that. That you had saved her life.”
There was a long pause. “No, Ryan. The truth is that your mom is right.”
“What! How could that be?”
“I don’t know,” said Carl miserably. “After the injury I just lost it. I hated those animals for what they did to me. More than I’ve ever hated anything. And the thing is … well, the thing is that it was my own fault. They were minding their own business and I killed one of them. Who could blame them for what they did after that? Not that I still didn’t have a right to defend myself—and the others—but those last two animals were backing away. They couldn’t have hurt us.”
Ryan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had been so sure his mom was wrong about Carl.
“I lost my mind for a while,” said Carl. “I wanted those animals dead,” he admitted. “I’m not proud of that.”
Ryan still refused to believe Carl could have acted in this way. “The pain must have been responsible,” he said. “From what my mom said, your calf was nearly ripped from your leg. I can’t even imagine how painful that must have been. When I stub my toe on the couch, I even hate the couch for a while. And that’s because of a stubbed toe.”
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Ryan, but I’ve seen a lot of combat in my time and I’ve been in a lot of pain, and I’ve never lost control like this. But who knows? You could be right. I have to admit, once your mom hit me with the Med-Pen and the pain went away, I realized within five minutes that I had been out of control.” He paused. “But I won’t make excuses. I don’t blame your mother for being disappointed in me.”
“Ryan, look!” said Alyssa Cooper urgently, pointing to the monitors.
Ryan was so caught up in his conversation with Carl he had forgotten to look at the monitors for some time now. Good thing Alyssa had stayed alert. All six mercs were converging on the door to the lobby, their automatic weapons drawn.
“Gotta go, Carl,” said Ryan anxiously. “We’ve got company.”
CHAPTER 26
Inspiration
“I’m going to enter Prometheus,” said Ryan. “The mercs can’t follow us there.”
“Hurry!” said Carl. “My men will be at Proact in eight minutes for the ground assault. Call me when you resurface. Your cell phone should have recorded my number.”
Ryan was already moving to the door leading into the Prometheus bunker with the Cooper sisters as Carl spoke.
“Got it,” said Ryan, closing the phone.
Ryan wondered how the mercenaries had found them. He guessed they had finally thought to check for cell phone activity in the area and had zeroed in on his signal.
Ryan hit a small button under the lip of the counter and a retina scanner slid out from a hidden compartment in the wall. He put his head against it and a tiny laser light crossed his right eye. The massive vault door opened with a loud click.
“Hurry,” said Ryan, leading the girls inside and closing the door behind them.
They were safe. After a fingerprint scan and another retina scan they were standing in the massive Prometheus elevator. Ryan entered a password into a metal keypad in the elevator and it began its rapid descent.
The girls were horrified by the guards they encountered still pinned to the ground like insects in a bug collection. But when they stepped through the cavern and into the city their mouths dropped open and stayed there.
Ryan led them to one of the oversized golf-carts and had them slide in. He began driving as quickly as the cart would go.
“Ryan,” said Kelsey, her eyes still wide. “This is fantastic! That building over there,” she said pointing. “It looks like it’s floating.”
Ryan nodded. “That’s an optical illusion. It really isn’t. But if the builders of this city had wanted to have a floating building for real, I’m sure they could have pulled it off.”
Alyssa pointed to yet another building. “And that one seems to be …”
“Sorry Alyssa. Kelsey,” interrupted Ryan. “But I have this idea beginning to form in my head, and I think it’s important. You don’t know how much I’d love to show you around and answer questions—but I really need to concentrate.”
“No problem,” said Alyssa, but she was unable to completely hide her disappointment.
Ryan frowned. Just perfect. Win a dream date with Ryan Resnick. He’ll have you running for your life and then he’ll ignore you.
Ryan forced himself to return to the train of thought he was pursuing. The more he reasoned things through, the more convinced he was that he had hit on something important.
He stopped the cart in front of the zoo building and jumped out. “Wait here,” he said excitedly and then rushed into the building.
He stepped through the Isis portal as quickly as he could.
“Regan!” he called out telepathically.
Several long seconds passed.
“Ryan?” came the surprised reply. “You made it!” Ryan could sense just how worried his sister had been about him. “Are you okay? Did Nathaniel take over Prometheus?”
“I’m fine,” answered Ryan. “I’m in no danger at the moment. Nathaniel got through security and escaped abovegroun
d pretty easily, but he made no move to capture the city.”
“Really?” broadcast Regan, suddenly hopeful. “That’s great news.”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, Earth is still in a lot of trouble. He recruited a bunch of mercenaries just like he said he would, and he’s already used the Enigma Cube as a weapon. But at least he hasn’t killed anyone so far. And there’s more good news,” added Ryan, brightening. “I managed to contact Carl. He thinks we can be ready to pull you out of there by Sunday night.”
Ryan waited for his sister’s excited reaction but was greeted by nothing but silence.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“There’s just one problem with that plan, Ryan.”
“What’s that?”
“The generator is failing,” responded Regan simply. “We’ll all be dead long before Sunday night.”
CHAPTER 27
A Missing Device
“What’s your exact situation?” asked Ryan urgently.
“The shield is shrinking,” replied Regan. She looked around. “We have about half the area we had before. We’re setting up wood in a circle around us to light on fire in an hour or so.”
“Good, then there’s still time,” broadcast Ryan. “I asked Carl why all the animals went from ignoring humans to wanting us dead. He didn’t know, but I’ve figured it out. And it has nothing to do with the lava rock creatures.”
Ryan explained his theory as quickly as he could. In the beginning, Regan thought he was crazy, but the more he continued the more powerful his arguments became. By the end his conclusion was bizarre but inescapable.
And if he was right, he had saved all their lives. If he was right. But it was still just a hypothesis, and even the best theories sometimes failed when put to the test. “Okay, Ryan. I’m going to end our connection and give this a shot. I know you’ll be trying to help Carl stop Nathaniel, so be careful.” Regan paused. “I guess if there’s anyone still alive here for you to rescue on Sunday,” she added as bravely as she could, “you’ll know that this worked.”
Ryan shook his head. “Regan, I’m not going anywhere. Not until I know that you’ve succeeded and the expedition is safe. I’ll stay out of your head,” he told her, “but I’ll be right here if you need me.”
There was a pause. “Thanks Ryan,” she replied softly.
Ryan sighed deeply. “Good luck,” he whispered telepathically as their connection ended.
Regan wasted no time. She walked to where the emergency kit was lying on the ground next to Miguel and Cam. They were getting stronger and had been able to move on their own power closer toward the center of the circle as the force-field had receded.
She opened the emergency kit without saying a word. Even in the ever-shrinking confines of their camp, the five factions were still as far apart as they could get.
The Med-Pen she was looking for was missing.
She frowned deeply. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy?
“I need everyone to come here,” she said loudly. She got some angry looks but everyone came closer from their separate camps to satisfy their curiosity. Her parents moved the closest to her of anyone.
“Regan, what’s going on?” asked her father.
“The Med-Pen is missing,” she said, loudly enough to be heard by the entire group. “Who has it?” she demanded.
Everyone glared suspiciously at everyone else. Her parents drew even closer to her.
“How do we know you didn’t take it?” barked Donna Morgan.
“Because I’m the one who discovered it’s gone.”
“That means nothing,” said Bob Zubrin suspiciously. “You’re a clever kid. Or maybe your family put you up to this. Steal the device and then sound the alarm to throw us off. There are three Resnicks in our cozy little group, after all. The odds point to you or your parents.”
“Why would anyone take it?” said Ben Resnick. “It’s for all of us to use.”
“You really are a Boy Scout, aren’t you?” said Donna contemptuously. “It’s for all of us to use,” she repeated in a false, high-pitched voice, mocking him. “That’s easy to say now, but all bets are off when the shield goes down. What if the group is forced to split up? And someone has to carry the emergency kit. What if that person is killed and dragged off?” She shook her head fiercely. “No, the device won’t be there for all of us to use. I only wish I had thought to take it first,” she finished cynically.
“Look,” pleaded Regan. “Whoever has it, just give it to me for thirty seconds. I’ll give it right back. I promise.”
No one came forward. The stars glowed like a million fireflies above their heads but none of the stranded humans paid them the least bit of attention.
“Look, I know why the animals want to attack us,” said Regan. “I can save our lives. Here’s what’s going on. The animals here …”
“Shut up already!” screamed Eric. “No one here has to listen to a kid anymore. And we’re not! If I hear one more sentence from you I’m going to vomit. I don’t care about your saving-the-world fantasies. We’re done putting up with it!”
“Talk that way to my daughter again,” hissed Amanda Resnick, “and I’ll see to it it’s the last thing you ever say.”
“You think you can take me?” yelled Eric defiantly.
“What are you all doing!” screamed Miguel from the ground. He had lost so much blood that the effort of speaking this loudly made him dizzy. “Stop this!” He waved his hand limply at the dozens upon dozens of deadly predators outside the shield as they continued to pace anxiously. “Save it for them,” he said.
“Oh great, security has finally decided to come back to life,” said Eric. “Brilliant idea, Miguel. We’ll save it for them. I’ve got news for you—nothing we save for them will help us. You know what would have helped us? If the lieutenant in charge of security had brought an actual weapon with him instead of a toy dart gun.”
Regan couldn’t bear to listen to any more. She snatched the silver remote control for the force-field generator and ran to the edge of the shield ten yards away. Donna, Eric, and Bob began to go after her.
“Stop!” she yelled, holding up the remote. “One more step and I lower the shield! I’ll do it!” she screamed.
All three stopped at once.
“Regan, give me the remote,” pleaded her father. “Get away from the edge. It’s still receding.”
“Sorry, Dad,” she said sadly. “But this is something I have to do.”
Regan wanted to burst into tears. To throw herself into her father’s arms. She was so weary. But this was their only chance and she refused to give up.
“Listen to me, everyone,” she yelled. “I’m going to tell you my theory. And you’re going to listen. If I even see a single one of you not paying attention I’ll lower this shield. You’ll have no time to start the fires. The beasts of Isis will be on you before you can reach in your pocket for a lighter. I’ll do it!” she screamed with a frightening intensity. “I swear it!”
As they looked into her eyes, blazing with desperation and crazed conviction, not one of the members of the stranded Isis expedition had any doubt at all that she would carry out her threat.
CHAPTER 28
Sixth Sense
“Alright, already!” growled Bob Zubrin. “If having the stage means that much to you, tell us this theory of yours. Save our lives,” he said mockingly. “We’re all ears.”
Regan was momentarily elated, but she made sure not to show it. Her ploy had worked! She had been sure they would call her bluff, but they hadn’t. She quickly changed gears, knowing that she had a very limited time to get through to her unwilling audience. There wasn’t a second to waste. “The wildlife of Isis doesn’t have a sense of smell,” she began evenly. “But they have a sense that we don’t have.” She paused. “They can sense emotions. Negative emotions. It’s a kind of telepathy I think.”
“Are you kidding me,” snapped Eric, rolling his eyes. “I think I’d rather get torn to sh
reds by the predators than have to listen to your lunatic nonsense.”
Regan ignored him. “All animals give off primitive emotional energy. So among other things, the wildlife of Isis can use this sense to determine what is alive and what isn’t. And when they are being threatened. But when we first came here we gave off emotional energy on a different frequency. Mom brought a group of calm scientists here to do what they love doing, so they radiated either no emotions or positive ones. Since human emotional energy was alien, and positive, the Isis wildlife couldn’t sense us.”
“You know what I’m really good at sensing,” said Donna scathingly. “Stupidity. And this has to be the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”
A scowl came over Regan’s face and she was about to respond angrily when she caught herself and forced herself to relax. She took a deep breath and her expression softened. Their lives depended on her not getting sidetracked. “So humans seemed like trees to Isis animals,” she continued, as if Donna had never spoken. “When they see a tree, they know it isn’t alive. So they ignore it. They might walk around it or scratch their backs on its bark, but they don’t think of it as a threat or something they can hunt for a meal.”
“You can’t compare us to a tree,” said Donna irritably. “They don’t move. We do.”
“So do rocks rolling down hills,” pointed out Regan. “Or leaves. But to these animals, anything that doesn’t radiate emotional energy isn’t alive. It’s something to ignore—unless it’s about to hit you.”
“What an imagination,” said Donna, shaking her head in disgust. “You should be a fantasy writer.”
“Would you shut up already, Donna!” barked Bob. “Let her finish. This is torture enough without you prolonging it.”
The two glared at each other angrily but said nothing else.
“Everyone here knows what happened the last time a team from Prometheus visited Isis,” continued Regan. “Carl accidentally killed an animal, one that must have been able to disguise its appearance and emotional energy. Michelle Cooper had her feet resting on one of them for a long time, but it didn’t react at all. Only when Carl’s foot crushed the animal’s chest did it pay any attention to humans. Why? Because Carl was totally shocked when this happened. Powerful negative emotions must have been pouring out of him. Fear. Guilt. Surprise. The animal’s “emotional energy” sense was bombarded by it. Carl was a not-alive thing it suddenly sensed as being very alive.”
Stranded (A stand-alone SF thriller) (The Prometheus Project Book 3) Page 16
