“They are really good, Vincent. Thank you,” said Jim.
While they were eating the ship asked, “Would you like to be without visual constraints?”
They looked at each other, and a slow grin grew on their faces. “Sure. Why not?” answered Claire.
The ship surrounding them disappeared; floor, ceiling, and walls. They sat suspended in space in their chairs, with the little tables holding their food they marveled at the beautiful and fragile world below.
****
Eventually, they got back to work, and the distraction of open space returned to the inside of the hull. Vincent provided Claire with a holographic keyboard that floated within easy reach and a dedicated view screen. While she worked, Jim asked the ship to tell him more about the failed candidate.
“Jack Smith is a retired politician and my first choice at contact. In the beginning, he was quite agreeable, and he gained my trust with what I thought was sincerity. He refused my offer of a wish and spoke fervently about the favorable traits of the human race. Jack Smith was quite convincing. I did not suspect a problem until it was too late.”
“What happened?”
The soft background buzz returned, and the voice changed pitch. “I decided to go for the machine first and prematurely provided him with critical information for its retrieval. He used that information and turned it to his advantage. The device was in the hands of your space administration, and they were beginning disassembly to determine its purpose. Jack Smith was masterful in his masquerade as a high ranking general and had it released into his custody. The plan to procure the machine worked perfectly.”
Jim had an idea where this was headed. It sounded like Jack Smith had a secret agenda. With trepidation, he asked, “…and then?”
“Jack Smith disappeared, taking the machine with him. I have been unable to determine the whereabouts of either.”
“Do you know what he wants to do with it?”
“Before he ceased communications, he indicated a desire to revise the current power structure through climate manipulation.”
“He’s going to use it to blackmail the world?”
“That is the way it appears. I made a grave error in judgment. Upon further investigation, Jack Smith does not appear to be a stable person.”
Claire looked up from her screen and asked, “You don’t know much about politicians. Do you?”
Before Vincent could reply, Jim asked, “How long would it take to melt both ice caps?”
“Six terrestrial months for the South Pole, and a little less for the North, as the warmer oceans will increase the effect. In slightly more than a year, the planet will be without polar ice, and many coastal cities will be devastated. The total effects to ocean temperatures, currents, and levels are incomputable. However, some smaller islands will disappear entirely, and many species of land and marine creatures will become extinct.”
Vincent paused, and added, “There is much about your planet’s people I do not understand. From the time I arrived on your world, I have continually been adding to and revising my databanks. Your numerous cultures and beliefs are confusing and strange. Much about this world is illogical.”
Claire smiled, nodded, and returned to her search.
Jim replied, “You can say that again.”
To which Vincent said, “There is much about….”
Jim cut him off. “Never mind, Vincent. It’s just a saying. I assume those two men are working for him. How’d they know we were helping you?”
“I have observed those men several times, and they are unreasonably curious about your activities. Unfortunately, I have no data as to why or how.”
Claire tapped a key twice on the virtual keyboard and declared, “I think I might have found him! He filed for a change of ownership contract on an island he inherited four years ago. That’s where I would take the machine if I were an evil mastermind.”
“Where is the island?” asked Jim.
Claire asked if Vincent could project her terminal onto the big screen, and an overhead view of a small, tree infested piece of land surrounded by the sea appeared before them, with a rambling mansion occupying the high ground.
“It’s a small island east of the Bahamas. According to the bill of sale, Jack Smith renamed it. He calls it, ‘Nautilus Island.’ ”
****
Jack Smith is a pragmatic man that believes in planning for the long term. When they voted him out of office five years ago, he took up a second occupation. Lobbying. He wanted to stop the tree huggers and environmentalists from tainting the business opportunities afforded by unrestricted growth.
His primary concern was fighting the idea of human-caused climate change. For years he quietly bought property above the high water lines all over the world, believing as coastlines were lost to rising seas, the population would move up and farther inland. Study after study pointed to a warming Earth, and to further accelerate his agenda, he countered each one. If you tell a lie often enough, and loud enough, it becomes indistinguishable from the truth.
He realized the reality of the continued use of fossil fuels would change the world and the increased rate of global warming would lead to many opportunities. Jack wanted to speed the process up, and increase the possibilities for profit; their loss would be his gain.
He was born Abaddon Smithe. However, he changed his name to Jack Smith early in his political career. A name he chose because it would allow him to hide among all the other Smiths worldwide. He learned the hard way while growing up that his given name had negative connotations, and would not be favorable to voters.
He was an excellent speaker and possessed a commanding voice for a short heavy-set man. His flat top white hair combined with his age and friendly manner duped many into thinking he was honest and trustworthy. The public eventually figured out he was the kind of politician that would do anything for re-election, and it came back to haunt him. He was still angry after losing the election, and he vowed to get even with them all.
When he was commandeered by the spaceship and learned of a machine capable of enhancing the effects of an already changing climate, it was as if fate smiled down on him. He truly believed the device was meant to be his, and he relished the thought of the power it would afford him.
The island was the perfect place to take his stolen prize. It was the family summer home, and over the years the property was extensively developed. The main house holds a stately mansion of forty-four rooms, and when he took possession, he installed a large underground bunker designed to be sealed and operate independently of the outside world. It was a place to go in case of a catastrophe. It was also where he took the device that would not only make him considerably richer but provide him with the power he needed to further his plans.
All he needed now was the key. The key the ship most likely possessed.
Jack knew the ship would come for the machine. For that reason, he contracted a heavily armed security team to patrol the island. He was a patient man. It was only a matter of time before the alien craft came, and it would bring the key to the machine to him.
****
Jim, Claire, and Vincent spent the evening talking, while Claire scanned the world-wide-web. Her search found very little about their target.
“It’s strange there isn’t more information on a public figure. I can’t gain access to his tax returns, his charitable contributions, his voting record, or even his private holdings,” offered Claire. “I did discover he is seventy years old, an only child that never married, and the money he inherited made him a wealthy man.”
Jim said, “It sounds like the makings of a bitter old man with a negative view of the world and the resources to do what he wants. Are there any plot plans or schematics of the island? We need something that will give us a layout of the main building.”
“I found one receipt for six hundred yards of concrete; dated three years ago. Other than that there wasn’t anything.”
Vincent concluded, “The island, a
nd what is on it appears to be a mystery. We need to physically visit the estate and investigate further.”
For dinner Vincent made a delicious Saint Louis style pizza. The armchairs they occupied were quite comfortable, and even reclined. They speculated about Jack Smith’s motives and where on the island he would hide his treasure. The conspirators watched the Earth revolve and made plans for the upcoming mission, while the humans nibbled on thin crust pizza cut into squares. When they finally decided it was time to sleep, they slept right where they were.
Chapter Eight
The divorce left Jim jaded and disheartened. After what he thought was a mostly successful marriage, the thought that his closest friend could throw him away without a tear baffled him. He spent twenty-five years thinking they would grow old together, only to be left alone as a senior citizen. After a while, he learned that people do change, and forever love is extremely rare. He had no interest in dating or enduring the roller coaster of emotions inherent in developing a relationship because he believed he would not find another like her. Jim was gradually adjusting to being alone, and resigning himself to the reality.
When he met his wife, it was a natural pairing. He had never met a women like her. She was intelligent, thoughtful and fun. Jim worked in construction at the time and was wilder that she liked, but they made it work. When she suggested they combine their incomes and move in together to save money, he agreed. Not long after, he asked her to marry him, and it was the two of them against the world.
After the divorce, his friends suggested he start dating, implying he needed a woman to be complete. His reply was always the same. “Finding someone that compares to my wife would be like getting struck by lightning twice. I’m not a lucky person, and it’s not likely to happen.”
Claire was the exception. She was easy to talk to, and their relationship grew naturally. To Jim’s delight, it appeared the storm clouds were gathering, and thunder could be heard booming in the distance; leaving him susceptible to a second lightning strike.
****
They approached the Island of Nautilus flying ten feet above the ocean as the sun rose. Occasional wave crests would brush the bottom of the ship and distort the camera's lenses momentarily. Vincent never faltered.
The trip from orbit was an experience to be treasured. The fire engulfing the ship’s exterior and the roaring winds outside became muffled and distant while they were safe and comfortable inside strapped in their chairs. The images and blurring sky they saw and felt while plummeting to Earth was something to remember.
Vincent leveled off at a thousand feet for an overhead view of the remote island. The main house stood on the plateau of a gently rising hill, and a helipad occupied the northeast corner of the roof with a helicopter perched on a painted yellow circle. Next to the mansion, to the west, was a small dock with a boathouse. A much smaller building with a garden nearby sat in a clearing closer to the water on the south side of the island. There was an asphalt pathway that circled the shoreline, with branches of the trail leading to several locations. Manicured hedges surrounded the mansion, and palm trees of all sizes obscured large sections of the island.
Vincent was the first to speak. “There are three people stationed outside the main residence. They appear to be waiting for something.”
Jim laughed, “Yeah—they’re waiting for us. They are part of a security team, and they know we’re coming.”
“Two more are patrolling the waterfront in a big circle. All of them are equipped with long-range projectile weapons.”
“Those would be rifles.”
With her hand over her mouth, Claire’s giggle was cut short by what it meant.
“Affirmative,” said the ship.
“They can’t see us? Your cloak is active?”
“I am always invisible to humans when traveling. The risk of exposure is too high.”
“Okay, let’s go down for a closer look. Oh—and make it so we have an unobstructed view.”
The ship around them disappeared, and they were two people in chairs again, floating in midair.”
Claire gripped the armrests and uttered, “This takes a little getting used to.” She looked around with wide eyes and added, “It’s pretty cool though.”
They watched spellbound as the landscape below them expanded until the ship hovered over the roof of the main house. Vincent began making a wide circle when Jim noticed a guard below them periodically holding up a rectangular pad in his hand and sweeping the sky. Jim made a guess what the device was. “Vincent, are you disguising your heat signature?”
Vincent did not have time to answer. The man raised his assault-style weapon and began firing wildly in their direction. Several bullets flew by on both sides before the ship changed course and headed straight up, pushing them into their chairs. One bullet found its mark, and the ship jumped and spun around. Immediately, the hull reappeared around them, and the view screens went blank. “I have activated the collision shield, and the projectiles will no longer harm us. However, primary propulsion has been damaged, and I must land.”
“He could see us!” exclaimed Jim, “The thing he was holding up must have been a thermal scanner.”
Claire wasn’t interested in explanations; she wanted to get to the ground without crashing. She told Vincent, “Head for the shack by the garden. It’s pretty secluded.”
Vincent was wobbling and emitting a tortured whine as he struggled to reach the only other sizable building on the island. Attached to the small ramshackle house was a shed with a six-foot pull-up door. Claire pointed and said, “Try to make it to the big door. We can hide in there.”
The ground came up fast, and for a moment it appeared they would not stop in time. The scream of the straining engines rose just before the ship bounced lightly off the ground and settled to the dirt.
Jim and Claire knew they did not have much time, and jumped from their seats, climbed down the steps, and ran to get clear of the ship. Vincent waited until they were a safe distance and hit them with the beam of enlargement. Claire was still recovering from the transition while Jim was raising the sliding door. Together, they dragged Vincent inside, closed the door, and collapsed onto the floor.
****
The shed was dark inside, with an earthy smell and a faint odor of gasoline. Jim found a light switch beside the door that turned on a single dim bulb. Gardening tools were arranged along the walls, with battered shelves holding hand tools, potting soil, and all things gardening waiting to be needed. Everything was old and well used. The dirt floor was hard packed and relatively smooth, and the walls and ceiling all the same dusty brown. For a minute they sat on the ground, leaned against the wall, and breathed.
Jim tapped his badge and whispered, “Vincent, are you okay?”
The ship replied, “Yes. I will be. The damage will take time to repair. It is good we found this place of refuge.”
“Yeah—I agree.”
“Are you talking to him? What did he say?” asked Claire.
Jim realized she could not hear Vincent without a pin and pointed to the one on his collar. “I have this thing. We’ll have to get you one. For now, we need to be as quiet as possible.”
The bullet fired by the rifle was small in our world. To the tiny spaceship, it was the equivalent to an artillery shell. The bullet grazed two of the four engine nacelles. He asked Vincent, “Can you fix that? Looks pretty bad to me.”
“Yes. The nanites can manage the repairs if given sufficient time.”
“How long, Vincent? They will be looking for us.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the ship reported his repair estimates, “Propulsion systems will take forty-seven hours and fifty-three minutes to repair. The cloaking system was also damaged, and some components will require replacement. In addition, the resizer system has been affected and will need to be repaired. I cannot bring you aboard until then.”
Jim told Claire of Vincent’s damages and said, “We need to hide him. They are sure to
come looking around.”
She tipped her head in agreement. “There is a big tarp on the shelf above you. Will that work?”
They were in the process of getting the tarp down when a widening burst of light washed over them. The door to the house opened, and a tall bearded man wearing a long white garment said something in a language Jim did not understand. Vincent translated, “What are you doing here? I must warn you I have a weapon!”
There was no place to hide. All they could do was freeze in place, and slowly raise their hands. In his hand, he carried a machete, a very serious knife originally intended for hacking your way through a jungle. He was older and had the seasoned look of a man who could handle himself. He appeared quite dangerous.
Jim rushed to answer, “We’re sorry—we didn’t know anybody was here. The place didn’t look occupied.”
The man was as startled as they were, and stood for a second taking in the unexpected intruders in his shed. Then he saw the ship and became curious. “What do you have there?”
Jim did not think they had time to explain, and decided a direct approach would be best. “I’m so glad you speak English. We mean you no harm and need your help. Is there somewhere we can hide?”
He looked puzzled and appeared uncertain. “May I ask why?”
Immediately after asking, his puzzled look changed to one of understanding. “No—never mind. I think I might know why.” He turned and said, “Follow me.”
Jim gestured at the ship and said, “We have to take this with us.”
Outside, they could hear the sound of men talking, the squawk of radios, and the chatter of the searchers getting louder. Without a word, the man stepped over to help Jim. When they picked Vincent up, the man said, “It is slippery—and weighs a lot for something so small. I will be pleased to know why you wish to hide this.”
Vincent Page 8
