The Bovine Connection

by Kimberly Thomas

  As Angelica turned and walked out of the sunny atrium and back into the kitchen, she noticed a new magnet on Gail’s refrigerator, so she went over and took it in her hand.

  “We are all on the same pathway to understanding… That is the art of existence.” Angelica put the magnet back on the refrigerator and considered that humans were just a tiny microcosm in the vast universe. So how could we be so naïve to believe that the human race is the only intelligent life form in existence? In the end, we might turn out to be not-so-smart after all, she thought.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Angelica pulled through the Georgetown University campus. The historic landmark in Romanesque revival style stood predominately along the O&C Canal, reminding her of an old castle. Driving along the road between rows of trees and well-maintained landscaping, she found Regents Hall, the University’s newest and most innovative research facility.

  Angelica parked her badly dented white BMW, then stepped out and looked around for Dr. Goolrick.

  College students and faculty were rushing to get to their next classes. The campus was like a beehive; humming with activity.

  Angelica took the paved walkway toward the front entrance of the new sustainable facility. It was a drastic contract from the main buildings on campus, most built in 1789. Regents Hall was a juxtaposed paradox, constructed of mostly glass and steel, completely unlike its stately counterparts.

  Inside, Dr. Goolrick was nowhere in sight, so Angelica found a seat on the bench near the entrance nestled by the staircase.

  Angelica looked down at her fingers intertwined together in a tight grasp that had caused her knuckles to turn white. The anxiety had returned. Her mind drifted back to Matthew. She thought about the day he picked her up at the lodge and shared the details of his childhood. Angelica realized she had never personally known anyone that had been murdered before. She and Matthew had become good friends in such a short period of time. The thought sent a chill up her spine. She contemplated the risk she was facing if she went to Nevada. She considered Dr. Marc Bishop’s safety and her own. Angelica sat on the bench preoccupied with thoughts as she considered giving up the story. She paid no attention to the students and faculty as they passed hurriedly by.

  “Angelica!” Dr. Goolrick’s loud, assertive voice startled her, and she looked up to see the doctor and his colleague standing there.

  “I’m afraid she is quite far away,” Dr. Goolrick stated, looking to his colleague.

  “My apologies,” Angelica jumped to her feet.

  “No apologies necessary. This is my colleague, Hamilton Howell. He is the Professor of Physics and Interdisciplinary Chair of Science here at the University, and this, as you know is Angelica Bradley with the Liberator Magazine.”

  Dr. Howell extended his hand and smiled. “Walter said you used to work for The Washington Post.”

  Angelica eagerly took his hand and shook it. “Yes, that is correct. It is very nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, as well.” Dr. Howell smiled.

  “Hello, Dr. Goolrick, thank you so much for arranging this meeting.” Angelica turned and met the doctor’s eyes; her voice weaker than he remembered. He noticed she looked different from their last meeting… frailer, he concluded.

  Dr. Goolrick was visibly eager to see the device. “Should we go take a look at the object?”

  “Oh, yes, this way to the lab.” Dr. Howell turned and started toward a hallway. Dr. Goolrick stepped aside so Angelica could catch up to Hamilton and keep pace with him.

  “I understand you discovered something quite unusual in your arm.” Dr. Howell glanced back.

  “Yes, unusual is a good word to describe it,” Angelica responded and then exhaled, still trying to process it all.

  The three of them walked into the broad doors of Regents Hall and took the elevator to the third floor. As the elevator opened, Dr. Howell walked with a purpose, turning immediately left as Dr. Goolrick and Angelica followed close behind. He took out a key from his pocket and opened a door marked ‘Room 33.’ He let them pass by as he shut the door and relocked it. Angelica looked around. It reminded her of Dr. Marc Bishop’s laboratory at the Smithsonian. However, this lab was considerably newer and adorned with bamboo furniture. Large windows stretched across the back of the room letting in the sunlight. Regents Hall was an eco-friendly building making use of all natural lighting available.

  Dr. Howell sat down on a stool and extended his hand with his palm facing up.

  Angelica curiously looked down at his hand. “Oh yes… I have it right here,” Angelica stated as she opened her purse, pulled out her wallet, and took out the Brown Palace cocktail napkin. Angelica looked up and met Dr. Goolrick’s eyes as she opened the napkin and then she reached her hand out for them to see it. Both doctors leaned down to observe the device, obviously questioning whether to touch it. Dr. Howell looked over to Angelica’s forearm and at the Band-Aid.

  “May I see the area where you removed the object?” he asked, business-like.

  Angelica nodded and extended her hand out to Dr. Goolrick so that he could take the napkin with the device on it. She squinted and gritted her teeth as she pulled the Band-Aid back until it released from her skin and came completely off.

  Dr. Howell raised his chin while lowering his eyes to observe the wound. “Interesting,” he said. “It appears to be healing; however, you could have used stitches to lessen the appearance of the scar.” Dr. Howell put his hand on her wrist. “May I?” Angelica nodded as he pulled her arm closer and stepped in to examine her wound. “It is roughly less than a centimeter in length, and slightly less than half a centimeter depth.” He turned around and flipped the switch on the lamp and then looked over at Dr. Goolrick.

  Understanding the gesture, Dr. Goolrick handed him the napkin. Dr. Howell put on a pair of latex gloves and then handed Dr. Goolrick a pair.

  After he lifted it from the napkin, he carefully put the object on a petri dish and studied it through a stereo light microscope. “There is a brownish red material I believe to be Ms. Bradley’s blood.”

  After a few moments of examination, he carefully fixed it onto double-sided sellotape, mounted it on an SEM holder, and put it into the scanning electron microscope. As Dr. Howell was doing so, he raised his eyes to look at Angelica. “I have a PhD in physics, not chemistry; nonetheless, I am familiar with extraterrestrial and military implant devices. Dr. Goolrick and I have been fascinated with the subject of the visitors for some time, and I have been fortunate enough to examine a few implants over the past twenty years.”

  Dr. Howell looked down again and watched the electron microscope as it scanned the object. Angelica now suspected Dr. Howell was a member of the Doctor’s covert research team.

  Pictures started to appear on the monitor in various surface magnifications. Dr. Howell was particularly interested in the metallic appearing fibers, alongside copper-colored fibers. “There are metallic fibers curling away from one edge and about forty microns long, as well as some fibrous looking surface structures about five microns, roughly. Appear to be miniature technology or mechanical components – similar to a tiny electronic circuit used to perform a specific electronic function. It is unusual… I am not seeing the common wafer, with hundreds of integrated circuits. These results are indicating military implications… Alien technology tends to be unrecognizable to human eyes so I am especially enthusiastic when I find unidentifiable structures. Unfortunately, even without the wafer, I recognize similarities to a military implant… although it is too early to form a definitive conclusion.”

  Angelica looked over at Dr. Goolrick as he raised his eyebrows inquisitively. Dr. Howell continued, “We must go through one final step for confirmation of analysis. Therefore, the final step will be to use Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis, or what we call EDX, to determine the object’s composition. Possibly, to reveal a combination of elements found on earth, if my assumption is correct.

  “I am using an "EDAX PV9100" sys
tem. This machine will show a series of peaks and troughs at different wavelengths, and the set of lines to be predictable from any element known. We will be able to look along the spectrum and identify each major peak.”

  Dr. Howell continued his analysis with an intense and meticulous approach. After a few minutes, he announced with high confidence that the elements in the top layer of the device were some type of non-metallic composite compound, and the other ingredients underneath the layer were non-ferris metals consisting of forty percent titanium, thirty percent copper and sixteen percent silver. Ignoring all the other unidentifiable elements in varying proportions, he had completed his analysis.

  “The mystery is solved. The implant appears to be more similar to the military devices,” Dr. Howell stated confidently. Dr. Goolrick was initially disappointed… but quickly his demeanor turned to one of concern.

  “Well, Angelica, it appears you are quite the intriguing creature. The military has implanted you with some new form of tracking device.” Dr. Goolrick clenched his teeth.

  Dr. Howell interjected, “We assume it is military. It certainly does not appear to be extraterrestrial in nature.” Dr. Howell raised his eyebrows. Angelica’s face was pale; she didn’t flinch.

  Dr. Howell appeared concerned. “Are you all right, Ms. Bradley? Would you like some water?” Angelica looked at him and she could feel her blood pulsing in her neck. His mouth was moving; however, she didn’t hear a word.

  “Angelica, dear, are you all right? Dr. Howell asked if you would care for some water,” Dr. Goolrick repeated.

  Angelica’s tense body instantly became alert. She looked at Dr. Howell. “How accurate are those tests?” she snapped loudly. “There was no incision! How did it get in my arm?”

  “Precise,” he stated confidently.

  Angelica turned to Dr. Goolrick appearing lost.

  “What does this mean? How would they have implanted it in my arm without my knowledge? I’m confused. Angelica felt as if her head was spinning again. “I need to sit down!” She felt dizzy.

  Dr. Howell found a stool and slid it over. Angelica took the seat and with a quick gesture, raised her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know what is worse,” she exclaimed, “an extraterrestrial implant or military implant!” She looked up at Dr. Goolrick as if she needed him to say something.

  “My dear, take a deep breath.” Dr. Goolrick rested his hand on her shoulder.

  “I don’t understand why it’s just now sinking in. I feel as if I am having an anxiety attack. I suppose I wanted to deny it had really happened. Or maybe, in the back of my mind, I thought there would be some reasonable explanation.” Angelica broke into spontaneous laugher.

  “After the test and confirmation from Dr. Howell, reality has now sunk in… Well, I don’t know what to say,” Angelica appeared bewildered as she looked out the windows. “I can’t believe this is really happening to me. One moment my life feels so normal and the next, it’s like a surreal dream that I can’t wake up from.”

  Dr. Goolrick stepped closer to Angelica and tightened his grip on her shoulder. “We can arrange a place for you to go… out of the country. It would be safer for you to get away from here -- at least, for a while.” Dr. Goolrick peered over at Dr. Howell as he nodded, appearing concerned.

  Angelica glared at Dr. Goolrick. “And leave my magazine, my mother, my friends, Michael… and hide? I can’t do that. Besides, something tells me they’d find me,” she said, her face had turned pink and her eyes were vacant.

  Dr. Howell let out a one-syllable chuckle. “You are truly unique. Most would run… and yet, you forge ahead… Such courage.”

  Angelica took a deep breath, mollified. “The aerospace facility in Nevada… What do you know about it? I’m leaving this afternoon to go there. Look, no offense but, I’m done playing games. You two are obviously experts on the subject of aliens and their connection to the government… it’s time you two started talking.” Angelica’s face had now felt hot as she stared dramatically at both of them.

  Dr. Howell glanced over to Dr. Goolrick, as Dr. Goolrick’s face softened. Dr. Goolrick exhaled, “Hamilton, be my guest” Dr. Goolrick glided his open palm gently towards Dr. Howell’s midsection.

  “Are you talking about the privately owned aerospace facility with the underground base off ‘The Great Basin Highway’ with the launch pad for Cygnus that is designed to shuttle personnel and cargo to Mars?” Dr. Howell asked, a bit mischievously.

  Angelica tilted her head. “Cygnus? Is this a space craft?”

  “More like a stealth space shuttle,” Dr. Howell said.

  “Really?” Angelica announced, surprised.

  “Yes, and Francis Giano is currently working on going further, if he hasn’t done so already.”

  Angelica looked over at Dr. Goolrick. “He’s correct,” Dr. Goolrick said. “Francis Giano has technology to travel further… Time travel from an interplanetary spacecraft, launched from the Mars base.”

  “Seriously? Is he working with ETs?” Angelica shot a look of curiosity over at Dr. Goolrick.

  “Depends on who you ask,” Dr. Howell responded vaguely.

  Angelica peered back at Dr. Howell. “Do you believe he is working alongside ETs?”

  “Yes, I believe he is,” Dr. Howell answered.

  “Why doesn’t the public know about it? I can’t believe they are able to keep information as extraordinary as this secret - pisses me off!”

  “I agree with you, Angelica… I feel the same way. However, some hold to the belief that no one would believe it anyway.” Dr. Goolrick spoke softly.

  Angelica stood up from the stool and scooted it back with her heel. “I spoke with an aeronautical engineer in Elberton who says the grey race is colonizing on an earth-like planet. He heard from colleagues the grey beings were creating hybrids by cross-breeding with specific humans to create a new race to occupy that planet. Do you know anything about that? Would it have anything to do with the billionaire, Francis Giano?” Hamilton smiled at Dr. Goolrick.

  Dr. Goolrick prompted. “Yes, this has been a main topic of discussion among our research team. In the Ufology community, individuals have claimed to have been taken there by the grey beings, and are reporting that they are creating a new race using hybrids on this planet. Apparently, they have been for some time. We were skeptical in the beginning, however too many witnesses have come forward with the same claim.” Dr. Goolrick said, turning his voice deeper.

  “Last year, a team of researchers at NASA discovered an earth-like planet and named it Eplar. They are calling it a super-earth,” Dr. Howell said as he glanced at Dr. Goolrick.

  As a physicist, I was quite excited about the discovery. It is clearly in the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ and is habitable for humans. Moreover, after much research, I found it coincidental that NASA named the planet Eplar, the same name reported by alleged abductees. More confirmation we are in close contact with the grey beings,” Dr. Howell said.

  ”Eplar?” Angelica asked. ”Very interesting.” She nodded, remembering her conversation with Blake McKinney.

  Dr. Howell continued. “Yes, indeed, and it continues to get more interesting. You see, the planet is orbiting in the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun and has liquid water. However, the star has a mass and radius a third the size of our sun. As a result, it is slightly less luminous, furthermore, creating a temperature in the seventy-degree range… comparable to a calm spring day on earth.”

  “How far it is from Earth?” Angelica asked.

  “It’s reported to be four hundred light years away,” Dr. Howell said excitedly.

  Angelica caught Dr. Goolrick’s eye and laughed, “That’s all?”

  Dr. Goolrick interjected, “The stealth spacecraft is said to only take sixty-two hours to get there from Earth, and a third of that time if launched from Mars.”

  Angelica crinkled her brow. “What is on Mars? Are we talking about an operational space station? Seriously, this sounds so insane! Is thi
s really true?”

  Dr. Howell grinned and nodded confidently. “Oh yes, most certainly true, Angelica.”

  “I see,” Angelica said.

  Dr. Howell responded without hesitation, “We are doing the extraordinary – Space-time travel.”

  Angelica thought for a moment. “So I am on the right track, heading to Nevada,” she thought aloud.

  Dr. Goolrick appeared concerned. “Do you think that is a good idea?”

  Angelica looked innocently into his eyes. “Probably not.”

  “You aren’t going alone are you?”

  “No, I will be accompanied by a colleague of mine,” Angelica said quickly.

  As a good investigative journalist her antenna had gone up. She had definitely underestimated these two. “How are you so well informed?” she asked, looking inquisitively at Dr. Goolrick.

  “My dear, I don’t believe in coincidence; you are not here by accident.”

  “I’ve heard that before.” Angelica chuckled sarcastically.

  “It was just a matter of time before some smart, ambitious journalist grabbed ahold of this story.”

  Angelica appeared wounded as she glared at Dr. Goolrick. He noticed her were eyes soft, her face delicate. “How will my life ever be the same?” she mumbled.

  Dr. Howell smiled and spoke kindly. “I heard this quote once: ‘the pain of hell never heals. A smoldering burn’. Emotions are natural and not always out of line.”