The Bovine Connection

by Kimberly Thomas

  Angelica glanced back at Dr. Bishop in the backseat. He didn’t look so well, she thought. “Everything okay, Dr. Bishop?”

  Dr. Bishop looked nervous. “Yep,” he said, but obviously he was not. He appeared extremely anxious.

  They sat in silence for a moment, and then stepped out onto the dry desert soil. Dr. Wallace opened the rear hatch as Dr. Bishop stepped around to assist her. Angelica walked towards the other side of the ridge where the lights of the ASTIC Aerospace Facility glowed down in the valley.

  Dr. Wallace took a gun from a dark blue back pack in the trunk and handed it to Dr. Bishop. It was a black military issue Colt M45. “Best handgun for close quarter combat,” Dr. Wallace said with confidence and an air of authority.

  Dr. Bishop looked at it as if it were made of radioactive material, and then stuck it in the back of his jeans. Dr. Wallace put the back pack on and then closed the hatch. They both walked over to Angelica, where she was standing at the edge, peering out at the brightly lit white metal buildings.

  Angelica’s hands were trembling. ”How far is it… do you think?” Her voice shook. She was visibly nervous.

  Dr. Bishop diverted his eyes and said dryly, “Maybe a half mile or less.”

  A long runway extended out from an aircraft hangar. Angelica’s eyes widened as she observed the metal gate with barbed wire around the perimeter of the facility. She dropped her shoulders, and took a deep breath. “We’re really doing this aren’t we?”

  Angelica looked Dr. Bishop in the eyes, he was clearly as nervous as she was. “Where would the teleportation chamber be located in the facility?” Angelica asked bluntly.

  Dr. Wallace pointed to an area of the building. “There… under that section… There is also an underground facility so you’re only seeing a small percentage of it.”

  Dr. Bishop appeared concerned. “I forgot to ask… How long will it take us to teleport, if we get in the facility and to the chamber alive?” He exhaled. “Can we travel together?”

  Angelica looked over at Dr. Bishop from the corner of her eyes. “Good question!”

  Dr. Wallace tilted her head. “If we make it to the chamber alive, once we start the teleportation, you’ll feel as if you’ve jumped through a tunnel. The teleportation process will occur within a spit second, one second there, the next on Mars. And, it fits four, Dr. Bishop.”

  “Oh,” Dr. Bishop put his hand over his stomach. Dr. Wallace looked over and smiled at Angelica, amused by his sudden onset of nerves.

  “Theoretically, we are traveling between the extra dimensions, hyperspace. We will essentially be moving between time and space, between dimensions… On the macro-level, Dr. Bishop. The chamber creates a wormhole and we will be pulled through it.”

  “That is extraordinary, Dr. Wallace!” Angelica blurted, appearing shocked.

  “Yes, indeed… think of yourself gliding down the highest water slide if you want a real world comparison.”

  Angelica sighed. “Look there!” She pointed. “Security!”

  Angelica looked over at Dr. Bishop. His eyes were grave. He said in a dry whisper, “Maybe we should turn back… I’m not feeling it.”

  She shot him an irritated look, “Are you serious?”

  Dr. Bishop shrugged his shoulders, wide eyed as he watched the guards get into a white SUV.

  As the SUV drove off, Dr. Wallace stepped forward. “We should go now! Stay right with me.” Dr. Wallace led the way down the hill toward the valley. “We are going to that door right there.” She pointed to a door in the middle of the building. “An old colleague of mine has left the security gate unlocked for us and is waiting behind that door. He’s agreed to let us in. Of course, I think he is less than thrilled about it.”

  “I have three of my old white lab coats rolled up in my back pack. We’ll put those on and then I will lead the way through the facility. I have an old badge. As long as I have it on, no one should stop and look too closely at it. Just stay behind me and talk quietly to each other, paying no attention to anyone. Remember, you are scientists and you are supposed to be there.”

  Angelica stepped over the desert brush, right behind Dr. Wallace. “Got it,” she stated sternly. Dr. Bishop nodded his head anxiously and stayed in step with Angelica.

  Angelica was impressed that Dr. Wallace had done what she said… and worked out the details after she left the hotel before coming to pick them up. Angelica glanced over at Dr. Wallace. Dr. Wallace didn’t appear as frightened as her and Marc, she thought.

  As they moved into the valley, Angelica stumbled over something. Dr. Bishop quickly grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

  Angelica looked up and smiled. “Thank you, Marc!”

  “You’re welcome!” he whispered politely.

  Dr. Wallace was worried the SUV would make its way back around before they could get to the gate. “We need to move faster.” They picked up their pace. Angelica’s heart was pounding from exertion and adrenalin. “Look, there’s the SUV; it backed up. Stop!” Dr. Wallace extended her hand out behind her. “Down!” They all stopped and obeyed her command.

  “What are we going to do?” Angelica looked at Dr. Wallace, worried.

  “Wait to see if they get out or drive off.” They stayed as still as statues until the SUV finally pulled away. Dr. Wallace reached into her pocket and grabbed her cell phone. Angelica glanced down to notice, and shot Dr. Wallace an incredulous look, clearly shocked at the timing of a phone call.

  “I almost forget to text my friend that we’re here,” she whispered. Angelica pursed her lips and glanced away.

  Dr. Bishop reached his hand out in an effort to steady himself as he sat down. When doing so, he placed it on something firm and rubbery. Dr. Bishop jerked his hand up. “Holy hell…?”

  Dr. Wallace looked back at Dr. Bishop as he was looking down to get a better look. “Quiet!” she whispered darkly. Angelica quickly turned around. “Everything okay, Dr. Bishop?”

  Dr. Bishop didn’t respond. Then suddenly, they all heard something move beside them. Dr. Bishop leaped into the air, and yelled. “Snake!” Angelica jumped, pushing into Dr. Wallace causing her to fall forward.

  “Holy shit!” Angelica squealed. Dr. Bishop grabbed Angelica’s arm and pulled her as he leapt up and started to run. Dr. Wallace ran as quickly as she could behind them. “Right there… the gate door!” Dr. Wallace said in a heavy breath, while panting.

  They stopped at the cyclone style chain link fence. The door was unlocked and slightly open. Dr. Wallace pushed slowly through as Angelica and Dr. Bishop followed behind her. “Look to your left. There is the main door we need to get through! Stay with me and run… Now!” Dr. Wallace snapped. Angelica was feeling increasingly worried as she hurried behind her.

  The door was approximately a hundred feet from the security fence. At the door, Dr. Wallace knocked two firm times and the door opened. “Dr. Wallace…” a voice whispered.

  “Hello, Dr. Sayre, thank you!”

  Dr. Sayre looked at Angelica and Dr. Bishop and then back to Dr. Wallace. “Be careful!”

  Dr. Sayre turned and walked away.

  “Well, he was friendly,” Angelica commented sarcastically as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

  Dr. Wallace whispered. “He put his life in danger to help us. He also manipulated all of the security cameras. The guards are viewing footage of this time last night. Let’s hope, for his sake, it never gets traced back to him.”

  Angelica looked around, noting a new thumping sensation in her chest. “How did you get him to agree?” Angelica looked amazed.

  Dr. Bishop’s eyes were wide. He was watching Dr. Wallace as she took the white lab coats out of the backpack and unrolled them. She handed one to Angelica and then one to him before putting hers on. Dr. Wallace took a deep breath and turned. “Let’s just say he’s disgruntled… This way… Remember what I said: you are supposed to be here, you are scientists.”

  They stepped out from the small hall where they had come in
through the emergency exit door. Dr. Wallace led the way down a long hallway past several doors. They entered a hallway of interior windows to view inside what appeared to be small laboratories. Every so often someone would turn to look their way and see Angelica and Dr. Bishop closely following behind Dr. Wallace, engaged in conversation as if they were discussing something important.

  “Here we are.” Dr. Wallace stepped up in front of the sign that read in bold letters… ‘Private. Authorized Personnel Only.’ When Dr. Wallace put her hand on the knob, Angelica looked up at the security card scanner and then down at Dr. Wallace’s hand. The door was cracked slightly open. Dr. Wallace smirked. “Dr. Sayre.”

  Dr. Bishop looked around and behind them to make sure no one was watching as he followed them inside.

  Dr. Wallace stepped back and made sure the door closed and locked behind them. They were standing inside a large warehouse with metal walls. Metal cage style walkways crossed above their heads.

  “Follow me this way.” Dr. Wallace started toward a large titanium round dome in the middle of the warehouse about twenty feet in diameter and twelve feet high.

  The dome looked familiar to Dr. Bishop. “That almost looks like a flying saucer.”

  “Yes, it was designed according to the blueprints. There are four seats inside and a control panel. Come, let’s get inside.” Dr. Wallace pushed a button and the side hatch opened. It raised up above their heads and stairs smoothly glided down for them to step up into the chamber.

  Once inside, Angelica looked at Dr. Bishop. They were both in awe. The interior walls were shiny and black, and there were no windows. The lighting was dim with a pulsating florescent neon blue light circling the interior. There were four black chairs with gold lights pulsating on and off. The chairs were in two rows positioned in the middle of the chamber.

  Dr. Bishop stepped over and leaned down to observe the control panel. “Quite complicated.”

  Dr. Wallace nodded. “All constructed from the alien blueprints,” she announced.

  Dr. Bishop rubbed his hand across the headrest of the black chair. “Alien’s don’t use seatbelts, I see.”

  “The craft would not be leaving the ground, only the passengers, Dr. Bishop,” Dr. Wallace cracked a smile at Angelica.

  Dr. Bishop stepped over to the control panel on the left side of the armrest of the first seat and looked at Dr. Wallace. “Your seat?”

  “Yes,” Dr. Wallace appeared anxious. She looked around. “Just as I remember… Everyone take a seat.

  “How does that work, Dr. Wallace?” Angelica was curious.

  “Much like a navigation system in your car… You key in the coordinates,” she replied.

  Angelica and Dr. Bishop leaned over to watch. “You take this dial and turn it to the location you are attempting to reach. See how a map of the solar system appears on the screen? As you turn this dial, it highlights the area as it moves across it. You stop on your destination… you see?

  We have stopped on Mars. It has been engineered to communicate with the other teleportation chamber there. Once you position it on Mars, you will see the words ‘Cydonia Chamber’ appear on the screen here. We will then confirm that this is the correct destination. I will push this button to accept. Then we wait for the five-to-one countdown. This is how it calibrates and configures the chamber. When it gets to one, the walls will become invisible and it will say that we are ready for teleportation. At that moment, you will see sparks of light, like stars appearing all around you… So, everyone sit back and relax and prepare for travel.” Dr. Wallace appeared a bit excited.

  Dr. Bishop instantly cringed. Angelica bit down on her thumbnail, a nervous habit she was doing a lot lately. She glanced back at Dr. Bishop, sitting directly behind Dr. Wallace. He was leaning all the way back in his chair squeezing the armrest with his eyes tightly closed, as if he were preparing for some type of turbulence.

  Angelica took a deep breath. “Will we be in the same seats when we get to the other side?”

  “Yes. These seats are designed to read your individual DNA and communicate it to the other chamber. Highly advanced technology, Ms. Bradley,” Dr. Wallace said. Angelica glanced down and noticed the gold lights had sped up and appeared to be scanning her body.

  “Oh!” Angelica uttered.

  Dr. Wallace looked over at Angelica. “It’s compiling your DNA data.”

  “What are we to expect once we get to the other chamber?” Angelica’s voice shook.

  “Or who?” Dr. Bishop asked, his face taut with fear.

  Dr. Wallace looked over to Angelica. “If we are lucky… no one. The areas where the chambers are held are usually unoccupied unless someone is preparing for teleportation. Let’s hope the flight isn’t overbooked.”

  Suddenly they heard a whooshing sound. Dr. Wallace looked around at Angelica and smiled sheepishly. A computerized female voice appeared in a slow methodical tone. “Ready for teleportation… Five, four, three, two, one…”

  Dr. Bishop squeezed down harder onto the armrest as the room filled with static electricity. Angelica glanced down at her hands as they were starting to disappear. The matter of her physical body appeared to be separating and she felt a strong vibration that shook her bones. Everything around her, including herself, seemed to separate and turn into what appeared to be tiny dots. Just as Dr. Wallace described, she saw a bright flash of light, and then immediately began spiraling through a shimmering tunnel. Angelica couldn’t see the others but she felt their presences with her.

  Angelica heard a popping sound as she felt the sensation of every molecule of her body connect back together in solid form. She looked around to see Dr. Wallace rubbing her head and Dr. Bishop in the chair behind her, sitting in awe, holding his hands up and observing them.

  “You all right, Dr. Bishop?” Angelica asked sincerely. He nodded in agreement.

  “How about you and Dr. Wallace?” Dr. Bishop asked while rubbing his fingers together. “That was the most incredible feeling I have ever experienced in my entire life. I can’t believe…,”

  Dr. Wallace interrupted him… “We are on Mars, ladies and gentlemen. Now let’s see if we have anyone out there prepared for our arrival. Let’s hope not.” Dr. Wallace mumbled as she stood up slowly and pushed at her bun to straighten it. “Oh, and I recommend you take your time getting up; it’s a bit disorienting.”

  Dr. Wallace pushed the button on the hatch and it lifted. As she stepped down the stairs and out into the room, she was relieved to see the large warehouse area housing the chamber was empty.

  She looked back to Angelica and Dr. Bishop who were peeping out of the chamber from behind Angelica. They both appeared disoriented.

  “Coast is clear,” Dr. Wallace announced.

  Dr. Bishop appeared troubled as he looked at Angelica. “We shouldn’t have done this.”

  Angelica dropped her shoulders. “It’s too late Marc, it’s done… we’re on Mars! You want to just teleport back to Earth right now?”

  Angelica was growing more and more frustrated with Dr. Bishop constantly second guessing… She narrowed her eyes and looked over at him clearly irritated. “Dr. Bishop, how are you holding up?” she asked aloud to remind him to compose himself in front of Dr. Wallace.

  Dr. Wallace glanced back around at Dr. Bishop, concerned, anticipating his answer.

  Dr. Bishop stood up straight and nodded at Dr. Wallace and then met Angelica’s eyes. “I’m good. No, I’m good, Ms. Bradley. This is um… amazing, never would have imagined being on Mars,” he stated, business-like.

  Dr. Wallace smiled. “Well, you’re here… Welcome! Now, let’s go. Remember, follow close behind me, and do not make eye contact at least for more than a second. Stay engaged in conversation amongst each other. I am going to lead you through the facility so you, Ms. Bradley, can get some photos for your story, but very discreetly, and you, Dr. Bishop, can see the pyramid while on our little field trip. Sound like a plan?”

  Angelica did a double take. When
did Dr. Wallace become GI Jane? Maybe Dr. Wallace was tougher than she had given her credit for. She certainly wasn’t normal -- “but what person capable of building a teleportation chamber to go to Mars was?” she wondered.

  They followed closely behind as Dr. Wallace cautiously led them through the door and down a hallway. The facility was brightly lit with shiny white structural features and round windows. It was very much like Angelica had imagined it would be.

  After turning down two corridors, they found themselves in an area that was heavily occupied with personnel. “Stay close, don’t make eye contact and remember, you’re supposed to be here,” Dr. Wallace whispered back to them.

  Angelica nervously shook her head and smiled apprehensively. Dr. Bishop started the conversation. “It will be resolved shortly. These system failures are certainly a nuisance, however…” He went on into some high-tech tangent. Angelica continued to nod her head in agreement although she had tuned him out. “I certainly agree, Dr. Coble.”

  They were almost down to the end of another corridor when they passed a small group of people in white lab coats, huddled together speaking in front of a large glass window. Behind the glass, in the room, with his back turned, stood a tall man with long white hair. He was standing beside a table covered in what appeared to be graphs and maps of some sort, from what Angelica could make out.

  Unexpectedly, the man turned and looked directly at Angelica, as if he knew they were behind him in the hallway.

  Angelica suddenly forgot her thoughts and her mind went blank. He looked like the biblical descriptions of an angel, she thought, as she looked back at him. She knew immediately that the being in front of her was not human. His hair was long and pure white. She estimated his height to be over eight feet. He was wearing a bright white, tight-fitting body suit that emphasized his well-defined muscular frame. His facial features appeared youthful and human. She immediately thought of the famous marble statue of Michelangelo’s David, and then she recalled depictions of Archangel Michael.

  Dr. Bishop almost bumped into Angelica, catching himself before the collision. Angelica had stopped and was completely paralyzed. The unexpected encounter brought attention from the group.