Wanda

by carl smothers

  Harry shook his head. “What do they look like?”

  “If you saw one on the street, you’d hardly give them a second look.”

  Out of curiosity, Harry asked, “What do they want with us? We have little to offer them. Our knowledge base and technology must be terribly elementary compared to theirs.” His hunched shoulders, and palms up emphasized his curiosity.

  Bill chuckled lightly, “That’s quite true. They told us they’ve been exploring the galaxy for hundreds of years. The interesting point is that we’re the only other planet they’ve found with a technologically advanced civilization. Some worlds they’ve explored have extremely dangerous animal life. When they have discovered humanoid life forms, they’re primitive and hostile. Their government seems anxious to make friends with the only other intelligent and civilized neighbor they’ve found in the galaxy … even if we are technologically challenged compared to them.”

  Harry sat with his fingers folded and lightly rubbed the palms of his hands together, studying Bill’s face, trying to come to grips with the realization that aliens really did exist. “Bill, if their technology’s as advanced as you say, it should be easy for them to attack us and take over.”

  Bill nodded in agreement, as he finished his jellybeans. “That’s true, but we’ve already had a group of sociologists visit them. They reported no signs of the Kandarians being militaristic or warlike. Kandar has no military or armed police forces and their nations live in peace. Everyone is well educated, their medicine highly advanced and all of their people live quite comfortably in democratic type republics. There’s no poverty or hunger on Kandar. They have a family-based culture and maintain strong family ties throughout their lives. If there’s a natural disaster of any kind, they pitch in to help their neighbors.”

  “If they’re hundreds of years ahead of us, it would seem to me they may have exhausted their natural resources. If that’s so, they may want ours,” Harry said.

  Bill smiled. “They’ve been mining minerals from barren planets for several hundred years and have no need or interest in Earth’s resources. Their mining technology is beyond belief.”

  “Well, it looks like we have a new neighbor and obviously, pardon the cliché; the question of whether life exists elsewhere has been answered. I do have another question, though. I know it’s silly, but what was the deal on Area 51 and the Roswell incident back in the 1950s I read so much about when I was a kid?”

  Bill grinned. “I wondered how long it would take you to get around to that. Actually, the Kandarians did have a ship crash in New Mexico back in the fifties. Nothing but a few small pieces of metal survived.”

  Harry cocked his head and asked with a frown, “What happened to their ship?”

  “They told us the propulsion system had a freak break in a dark matter containment vessel, which caused the ship to explode. It happened so fast the crew was helpless to do anything. They later resolved the problem and corrected it. Area 51 was just a secret U.S. Air Force test facility. Do you have any more questions?”

  “What about Project Blue Book?”

  Bill laughed, pulled out a new bag of jellybeans and popped a couple in his mouth. “That project was set up to investigate and discredit reports of UFO sightings. The UFO’s were really top secret aircraft the government was testing … nothing more.”

  Harry was a bit disappointed. He had been sure as a kid that the Army Air Force had found little green men at the crash site and used Area 51 to dissect them. “What time are we on to meet with the Secretary?”

  “Two-thirty. Let’s ride over together. By the way, I’ll meet with Pepper and give her the scoop on the upcoming move. I need some face time with her anyway.”

  Chapter 14

  The Pentagon

  Washington, D.C.

  The building was the most confusing Harry had ever seen. They walked for twenty minutes around the circular corridors, through the spokes, and finally found the Secretary’s office complex. I wonder how many levels below the surface this building has. I’d sure hate to get lost in here. Might never find my way out, Harry thought with some amusement.

  The Secretary was busy looking a report as they entered his outer office. Before his secretary could speak, he put his work down and stood. “Gentlemen, come in. We have a lot to discuss.”

  Harry’s first impression of the Secretary was that of a fastidious and important man. A U.S. flag stood proudly at the left rear of his desk. The office walls displayed numerous degrees, awards and pictures of him with the president, senators and other high-ranking government officials. He was a short, thin man, meticulous about his clothing. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but he maintained a neat clean shaven persona, and his short brown hair, graying at the temples, matched his soft brown eyes.

  The Secretary checked his notes before he spoke. “I want to make it clear that I fully support this project. I think it will benefit the peoples of the Earth, and allow mankind to explore the stars. There are those in Congress who think the money we’re spending could be better used elsewhere … especially on domestic issues. Fortunately, we have the support of some powerful congressional representatives and senators. Otherwise, we would most likely lose our funding lines to some giveaway program. I don’t have to remind you, it will be important to keep this project on track and show progress if we want to keep it funded. Having said that, can you give me an update?”

  “Harry’s just come back from a very successful SCDR. Harry, give us a quick briefing,” Bill said.

  “Be glad to. Well, Mr. Secretary.”

  “Call me Felix,” the Secretary injected.

  Harry smiled. “Thank you, sir … uh, Felix. We’ve completed the implementation and build stage of both the mission control center and the wormhole launch port, and we’re now focused on the electromagnetic and nuclear particle shielding for the starship. Most of the relativistic wormhole design and field and matter synthesizer software’s in place, but not tested yet. The wormhole navigation software is also close to completion. It needs a few modifications.”

  “When do you think you’ll be ready to run a beta test?” Felix asked.

  Harry thought for a moment and realized the Congress and the Joint Chiefs would get the information, so he tried to be realistic, but not overly optimistic. “I believe we’ll be ready in about three months.”

  “Very good, Harry. Thanks for the update,” the Secretary said, “I have a couple of other very serious things we need to discuss.”

  Well, guess I’ll find out what this meeting’s really all about. This is going to be interesting, Harry thought. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

  “We’ve been getting Intel from our agents in the Middle East that we have two radical and competing groups fighting each other for leadership of the new progressive Islamic radical movement,” the Secretary said. “Their goal, as we understand it, is to reestablish the Ottoman Empire. Only they’re far more aggressive than their predecessors, and this time they want to extend the empire over the entire modern world.”

  The Secretary took a sip of his coffee then continued. “The most powerful group is the Sacred Warriors of God (SWG) headquartered in Beirut and led by Sheik Aktar Zaman. They have quite a few soldiers, well funded and heavily armed. We don’t know their exact numbers. Our Intel says it’s significant. They’re so splintered and have small cells sprinkled all over the Middle East, it’s hard to get an exact count.”

  What does this have to do with us? Harry thought.

  “The second group is the Movement of Allah (MOA) headquartered in Cairo. Sheik Ollie Oganda and his lieutenant, Yasaid Ahmed, head the organization. Oganda is perhaps one of the most dangerous and aggressive despots in the world. The CIA says he has moles and Intel agents integrated into virtually every government in the world. They’ve rounded up and deported more than twenty from the U.S. alone. We think there’s still quite a few more we haven’t uncovered yet.”

  Harry and Bill exchanged confused looks, a
nd then leaned back in their chairs to see where this was going.

  “Have you heard of these groups?”

  “No, Felix. I know about the radical Muslim movement, but I don’t have any details,” Bill replied. Harry also shook his head negatively.

  Felix took another drink of his coffee and frowned as if he was trying to figure out what he wanted to say next. “We’re getting spotty info about some kind of strategic weapons project in the Pakistani Waziristan Valley. It’s tough to get agents in that part of the world. Quite often, when we do, they’re sniffed out and eliminated. The information flow is not always continuous or complete.”

  Harry was curious as to why this concerned him, but he kept quiet.

  “I’m telling you this because the CIA has reason to believe the MOA has infiltrated your project. To what extent we don’t know.”

  Shocked, Harry sat up in his chair, deep furrows wrinkling his brow from the difficulty of coping with the bombshell Felix had dropped on them. Technical problems are one thing, but now terrorists. “Felix, we haven’t seen any evidence of subterfuge or anything else that would make us suspicious.”

  “I agree,” Bill added.

  “Perhaps so, but the CIA thinks they may be keeping a low profile in order to steal our technology and build their own system. In fact they think one of their agents tried to kill Pepper.”

  “Why would they do that?” Harry asked.

  “We’re not sure. Maybe her expertise in system diagnostics and virus protection is a concern to them. We just don’t know. I’m glad Bill’s moving the two of you to the STL facility. It’ll be safer. Another scenario we’ve discussed is that they’re stealing our technology to build some kind of a weapon system. Is that possible?” The expression on the Secretary’s face indicated he was extremely concerned about Harry’s answer.

  “They could be trying to build their own wormhole system, but why?” Harry asked. “We plan to make the technology accessible to everyone, so that doesn’t make sense. As to the possibility of a weapon system, it is feasible. The difficult part is they need access to technology with very, very strict export restrictions. How would they get around that? Finding qualified talent wouldn’t be easy either. The theoretical physics community is quite small — particularly those working in relativistic mechanics.”

  “Okay, Harry, you’ve told me what I need to know for now. At any rate, you need to ensure your security at STL is at its highest level. Be assured the DOD will be contacting STL shortly and clamping down drastically. I fully expect them to send undercover agents to work inside the project.” Felix paused and took another drink of coffee. He looked away for a moment before he went on. “The last subject concerns our meetings with aliens.”

  Harry interrupted briefly. “Bill briefed me on that this morning.”

  The Secretary smiled politely. “The Kandarians first noticed us in 1943, when America started testing atomic weapons. One of their survey ships was passing though our solar system and its sensors picked up the nuclear radiation from a test blast. They were curious and periodically visited Earth to investigate our culture and technology level. During the time they’ve surveyed us, they’ve picked up a considerable amount of information about our world.”

  “Their technology must be phenomenal,” Harry said.

  “It is quite advanced. They’ve been using wormhole technology for five hundred years, if that helps calibrate you. They have wormhole corridors numbered and plotted across much of the galaxy. Sort of a dial a number space travel if you will. Their technology is drastically different and far more advanced than what we’re implementing.”

  This is very interesting, but why is Robinette telling me about it, and why were they spying on us? Harry thought.

  “We first met with the Kandarians three years ago, and since then we’ve visited their planet. We’re convinced they’re peaceful. They want to establish long-term diplomatic relations with us and initiate cultural exchanges. One of their spacecraft detected your field generator tests at STL a few days ago. It didn’t take them long to figure out what we were up to. Interestingly enough, they have since offered to loan us one of their physicists to help on the project. Obviously, their technology is too advanced to share with us, but they have offered to help us with ours. The President has agreed, and their man should be arriving from Kandar in a couple of weeks. I want you and your team to take him into your complete confidence and let him help you.”

  “What’s his name?” Bill asked.

  “Dr. Tarnak Zontal. He’s a Physics Professor, and their equivalent of our Nobel Laureates.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him,” Harry replied. “Will he be dropped off in Washington?”

  “Yes. Bill has agreed to make the necessary arrangements to get him to New Mexico. Well, gentlemen, unless you have something more, I need to go to the Joint Chiefs office for my next meeting. General Holmes is going to have a shit fit when he hears about the possibility of a new enemy weapon system. Thank you both for coming, and keep me informed.”

  The Secretary shook their hands and escorted them to the door.

  As Harry left, he thought, boy, wait until Dad hears about this! He’s not gonna believe it. Guess we can trash that that Air Force report. I think I won that debate. He chuckled to himself.

  “This terrorist worry really raises the risk profile of our project. We’ve got enough to worry about without some nut trying to sabotage things. When I get back, I’ll talk to Marc about new security procedures. Will I know who our undercover agent is?”

  “I doubt it. They like to keep a low profile. Most likely, only the head of STL security will know. Looks like you have some challenges ahead of you. Well, good luck and keep me informed,” Bill said, shaking Harry’s hand.

  That’s all I need. I have enough to worry about without a bunch of loonies running around trying to screw everything up, Harry thought.

  Chapter 15

  The Loft

  Washington, D.C.

  Harry walked in the door of his loft and called Marc to confirm his and Pepper’s move to STL. Before he hung up, he decided he would tweak Marc’s curiosity. “I have some other news. Guarantee you’ll be shocked and amazed. I still have a few more things to get sorted out. I’ll brief you when I get back.”

  “Thanks for leaving me hanging over the cliff, buddy. Well, tell Pepper and Wanda I said hello.”

  “Will do. See you soon.” Harry hung up and snickered. Marc’s curiosity will be working full tilt, he thought. Scooter came over and gave him his favorite rum and diet coke.

  “Hi, Harry. Hope you had a good day. Enjoy your drink. Gotta go finish my fishing show. Sam Waterman, the Bass King, is demonstrating some special casting techniques for hooking the big ones. See you later.” He then turned and went back to the kitchen to watch the end of his show.

  That boy loves to fish. I must do something about that. Harry laughed to himself. He may just be a little robot, but so help me, I don’t think of him that way. He seems more like a friend .Wanda has really done a good job with him.

  Harry sat on the sofa enjoying his drink as Wanda appeared. Standing there was a tall, twenty–something, slender, but curvy woman, reasonably busted with a great athletic build. She had short black hair, a lightly tanned complexion and blue eyes. Her dark blue pinstriped business suit and blue pumps made her look very professional. Her immaculately tailored suit adorned her athletic figure exquisitely. She was beautiful!

  She turned so Harry could see her from all directions, before she sat in a plush leather office chair to talk. The movements were so fluidic and the hologram so perfect, it was impossible to tell it was not a real person. She crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap.

  Wanda has finally become an adult. A very beautiful, professional looking young woman, he thought. It’s a shame she’s not human.

  “Harry, glad you’re home. We missed you.”

  “Thanks, Wanda. Love your new look.”

  “I’m very p
leased you noticed, and even more so that you like it,” she said with a big smile.

  “I’ve been transferred to the STL facility in New Mexico.” Harry said changing the subject.

  “Will you want me to make your flight reservations?”

  “No, I’m going to drive. I do want you to arrange to have my stuff moved to my quarters at STL. You can check my personal file for particulars.”

  “Done. What about Scooter?”

  “Just make sure they pack him securely and send him on the moving van. Have you talked to Mom?”

  “Just about every day, and she’s very upset you haven’t called her.”

  “I’ll call her tonight.”

  “I’ll make sure you do,” Wanda said with an impish smile. “By the way, I designed a mobile hologram device that will let me freely move around in any place that has a hologram station.”

  “Are you kidding? How did you do that?”

  “I designed it, created all of the drawings and specifications, and then filed for the patents. I paid a company to build it for me. It works great. Haven’t you noticed all the mobility I have? It will even function at the office, if that’s okay for you?”

  “Sure. Wanda, that is amazing. I know how you hate the confinement of cyberspace so maybe you’ll feel a bit better. I’m curious, how did you get the money?”

  “I sold some of my stocks. Actually, it didn’t even make a dent in my portfolio.”

  About that time, Scooter returned.

  “Scooter, seen any good fishing shows lately?” Harry asked.

  “You bet! Harry, you wouldn’t believe the thirteen pound bass they caught today. What a monster, and the fight he put up was terrific. I thought they would never reel him in. What a competitive fish.”

  “Did they keep him?”

  “Of course not. Real bass anglers always release their catch. Besides, the fun is in catching ‘em and having the opportunity to fight with them again. Boy, I wish I could go fishing.”