Greg touched her shoulder gently. "Sarah, at this point, I don't know what is real and what isn't anymore…except for you. But I am going to check him out before we go any further." Then, with obvious concern for her, he asked, "Okay? You up to this?"
"Sure, let's go," she said, determined. "I just wish this whole nightmare were over and done with, so that I could wake up in my comfortable bed. I'm ready for another normal workday in my nice 'real' office with 'real' people…like you."
Greg smiled and reached for her hand as they slowly made their way back to the bar.
Reluctantly releasing Sarah's hand, he offered his to the bartender, smiling carefully. "Excuse me, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Greg, and this is Sarah."
The bartender took Greg's outstretched hand, returning the gesture. Greg squeezed the man's hand slowly, gradually increasing his grip. His hand met warm, firm flesh. It left no doubt in his mind that the bartender was real. He nodded toward Sarah, hoping she would catch his meaning. She did, and smiled slightly.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Greg, and you, too, Sarah," the bartender said, releasing Greg's hand. He then lightly grasped Sarah's hand and shook it as well. "The name is Leumas."
"Okay," Greg began, feeling a surge of confidence that even surprised him. "Now that the introductions are over, Mister Leumas, and you seem to be a flesh-and-blood person and not an image, who the hell are you?"
Before Leumas had a chance to reply, Greg continued, "And don't tell me you're just the bartender and you just work here." Then, with a sarcastic edge to his voice, he added, "And by the way, while you're at it, how about explaining where exactly here is."
Leumas sighed. "I can see this is going to take a while," he said as he looked from Greg to Sarah. Tipping a glass toward them again, he asked, "Are you sure you two don't want to have a drink before I begin explaining all this? You may need one."
Greg's anger mellowed at the offer of the beer, which seemed a nice gesture. Lord knows, I could sure use something to drink, he thought. He nodded toward Leumas. "Well, if you insist." Then, quickly embarrassed by his rudeness, he turned to Sarah. "Would you like something?"
Sarah shook her head, not looking at him. He thought she was probably wondering how he could be thinking of drinking at a time like this.
"If I were you, Sarah,” Greg began, “I'd have a drink, because I think it's going to get kind of deep in here in a few moments."
"I'll have a glass of water," she said quickly.
Leumas turned away from them and busied himself, humming the same tune he had earlier. In a few moments, he placed two glasses on the napkins in front of them.
"The floor is all yours," Greg said to Leumas, taking a large gulp of beer.
"Thank you, Greg," Leumas began, rubbing his hands together. "Let me start by introducing myself again." He pointed at his chest, and continued. "As I mentioned earlier, my name is Leumas. No mister, just Leumas. I am part of an organization…that tends to the welfare of other organizations, you might say. As to where here is, that is a two-part answer." He looked each of them in the eye. "But, for now, I will answer your question by stating that you are presently in a form of virtual simulation."
"And why exactly are we in a virtual simulation?" Sarah asked with a hint of skepticism, then nervously sipped her water.
Leumas, sensing her doubt, spoke in his most professional tone. "We, that is, the organization that I represent and myself, felt that this would be the best method to use in this particular situation based upon the customs and rituals of your people. I guess you can say that it lends a sense of familiarity, or common ground. This allows room for an open discussion. Subsequently, this eases us into an introduction of the information that I have to share with you and—"
"Cut the crap, Leumas," Greg cut him off. "If you haven't noticed, Sarah and I are tired, frustrated and want some real answers. Tell us the whole truth, straight up and right now!" Sarah nodded in agreement.
"Please, Greg, Sarah, let's not rush into anything," Leumas said, waving his hands, trying to calm them. "These things need to be done slowly and in a manner that is comfortable to you both. To rush into this may lead to irrecoverable complications. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I have been doing this for quite a while."
He straightened and grinned, back in his bartender role again, "How about another drink, folks? Would you like some peanuts or something? I would be more than happy to get something for you."
"Now, Leumas!" Greg shouted.
Leumas exhaled in frustration as he looked at them, shaking his head. Then he came out from behind the bar and sat on a stool next to them. In a resigned voice, he continued.
"Okay, as you wish. Here goes nothing. Where shall I begin? Okay…" he mused with his finger under his chin. "Let's start with when you were both dead, well, temporarily dead." He tried to smile but, getting nothing but blank looks in return, he continued. "Then we brought you back to life. All your people back on Earth, I mean in your home towns, thought you both had actually died, you know, well, in freak accidents."
They both began to interrupt, but Leumas held up a halting hand, and then offered, "A logical question at this point would be why have we done this? Well, we did it because we need you two in our organization." He paused. "More on that later. In answer to your other question about where you are, you are four point three light years from Earth, on a planet in the star system of Alpha Centauri, called Zire."
They suddenly became slack-jawed, gaping. Greg spewed out a mouth full of beer. Sarah's glass of water crashed to the floor.
Leumas continued, trying to ignore their reactions. "And, yes, I am actually what you people would consider an alien. However, I look amazingly like you humans except for these," he said as he held up his hands showing them the webbing between he fingers.
He turned toward the mirror, patting his slick hair. Then, turning toward them again, he pointed. "But don't get too comfortable with the idea that everyone in the organization looks human, because a lot of my associates, well, they, uh…don't." Leumas leaned on the bar, and looked at them seriously. "If you think back to a dream you had a little while ago, the implanted memory waves in your brains will release additional information about the organization to which I belong. It is called the United Council of Developing Worlds or the UCDW or just Council, for short." He paused and poured himself a drink from a bottle that contained an odd-looking pink substance. He sipped it and continued. "Well, as the phrase goes, you know what I know. Any questions?"
Sarah and Greg continued to stare with gaping mouths at him, unable to utter a sound at his question. Then, virtually simultaneously, they both dropped to the floor, unconscious.
Leumas stared at the still figures on the floor, shaking his head. "Humans! Always in a hurry. See, you should have listened to me."
Chapter Nine
WHOOPS…THERE GOES ANOTHER ALIEN
Biom carefully slipped out of the control room during the confusion he had caused by tampering with Leumas’ assimilation program on the two Earth humans. He searched his memory, trying to picture the layout of the facility, looking frantically for a terminal that could be used to transmit the data Copolla wanted. He finally located an unused wing of the building that contained the terminal he needed. He loaded the crystal data disk and began transmission of his report detailing the sabotage and its results.
He chuckled as he thought about the reaction Leumas’ two subjects were having right at this moment. His subdued laughter caused the rolls of skin that layered his body to shake and quiver. The additional layering of skin was a protective coating from his home world, where the sun's light was very intense.
Talk about being mentally screwed up! That's putting it mildly. Those two aren't going to know what's real and what's not after my tampering with the sensitive indoctrination sequence and raising additional doubt in their minds. With this increased doubt, the process will become much more complicated. Leumas is going to have to
work a long time to straighten that mess out, if he can at all.
The orders from Copolla had been quite specific. The words echoed in his mind in the same tone in which they'd been spoken, reminding him of the price of failure.
"Do what you have to do, Biom. Any hopes you have of aspiring to any position with the Council depends on your success," Copolla had told him. He remembered, shuddering, the cold red eyes that stared into his as Copolla had continued. "Leumas must be stopped. Do whatever it takes. But I don't want him physically harmed. Just ensure his attempts with the Earth subjects result in failure."
Biom had been in Leumas’ service for only a short period. He had been studying at the Zirean University, a student of high promise in the field of computers and artificial intelligence, when an ugly incident threatened to cause his expulsion under less than honorable circumstances. Then one day, he was approached by a life form named Journo that worked for Copolla. The alien offered to help him out of the sticky situation in which he found himself. Cheating on an exam was a serious offense and, not having any other options available, he went along.
The University mysteriously and very quietly cleared him of any wrongdoing in the incident. Copolla's agent wasted no time in requesting his services for a matter of the utmost urgency that required his special talents. Further, it was a Council matter and the request could not be refused. When Biom tried, he was informed that certain illegal documents had been obtained with his handwriting on them that would easily implicate his wrongdoing and reverse what had been done to exonerate him.
Copolla's agent, Journo, was very thorough and arranged for Biom to be planted flawlessly inside Leumas’ organization. Computer records were altered, life forms were bribed to vouch for his character to ensure his acceptance, and it was all bought with Copolla's money.
Biom felt no strong allegiance to Leumas and, as long as no physical harm came to anyone, he saw no problem with the situation if it would release him from the heavy debt he found himself burdened with. Moreover, Copolla had even promised him a good position with the Council if all went well. Most of Leumas’ assistants’ loyalties swayed whichever way the current situation turned. If Leumas’ standing with the Council was good, they were true blue loyal. If not, they would let Leumas swing in the breeze on his own. All with the exception of Greta; he thought it was best to stay clear of her. Greta maintained some type of personal relationship with Leumas, so he only approached her on official matters, and rarely then.
Biom doubted that anyone would be able to trace what he had done to the program directly, but there was still a risk involved. As the newest addition to the team, he would probably fall suspect first. He would have to cover his tracks well; he suspected Greta was keeping an extra close eye on him. He checked the display indicator. The transmission uplink of information was almost complete. With the time delay and encryption precautions, it would be several minutes before the information reached Copolla. He added a note in the last details regarding the probable suspicion that he would fall under, and let Copolla know he might not be sending any more communications for a while, if at all.
He had received Copolla's personal assurance that, if he were taken into custody, a rescue would be initiated. He wasn't sure if he truly believed that, but he felt some reassurance from the stun weapon he had placed beneath his jacket before he left the simulation room.
The uplink indicator reflected that the transmission was ninety-eight percent complete. He stood and drew his weapon, preparing to destroy the information disk as soon as it reached one hundred percent. The indicator now flashed ninety-nine percent complete.
A flare of light and heat buzzed by him as a laser beam struck the transmitting device. It destroyed the entire unit and with it, the information crystal. The explosion that followed threw him several feet from where he had been standing, his weapon lost in the confusion. His scared and dazed young face looked up and he found himself face to face with Greta, who held a stun weapon pointed squarely at his chest. Biom threw his hands in the air. As he stared at Greta, his facial expression changed from scared to one that suggested that his initial surprise and fear had been replaced with the realization that he still was not in an unrecoverable from situation. He said to Greta with a smug smile, "You may want to hear what I have to say before you use that."
"Why should I listen to you?" Greta asked calmly, as she kept the weapon pointed at him. "What could you possibly have to tell me that I don't already know?" Then, tight-lipped, she continued, "What I do know is that you have been feeding Copolla updates and sabotaging our entire operation here. I hope you had a chance to spend the money he is paying you."
"I always make sure that I have something to negotiate with, Greta," he said casually, placing his hands in his pocket. Greta’s raised her weapon and pointed it directly at his head. Biom slowly removed his hands from his pockets, and said, "Oh, sorry about that, forgot. Didn't mean to make you nervous. I am still new to this espionage game, fresh out of school and all."
She relaxed her trigger finger slightly but kept her aim true.
"As I was saying," he continued, clearing his throat. "I have no deep-rooted loyalties to Copolla. He is, or will be, I should say, paying me well. But, as I look down the barrel of your weapon, I realize that money is not everything. So… I would like to propose a trade."
"A trade?" Greta asked sardonically. "Why would I possibly want to trade with you? I would rather just see you dead or severely mutilated, so you won't bother Leumas anymore."
"Information is a valuable commodity," Biom said, slitting his eyes. "One always wants to know what the other side doesn't know, and vice versa." He smiled at the sudden interest he saw in Greta's eyes.
"Go ahead. I'm listening," she said skeptically.
"First, we need to agree upon terms. I offer valuable information and, in exchange, I want freedom and a ship to get far beyond the reach of Copolla," he said with confidence, liking the new feeling of having the upper hand.
"I will consider your requests after I hear the information."
"That's not much of an assurance. How about this?" he said, beginning to smile smugly again. "Suppose I were to tell you that Copolla has more than one reason for doing what he is doing to discredit Leumas, and that this reason could seriously damage the credibility of Copolla if it were known." He paused for effect, then added, "Interested now?"
"You know that I would be interested in anything that would discredit Copolla," she said, thinking of Leumas and how this type of information could help him. "I'll grant your request. However, I hold final judgment if the information is useless or unsubstantiated. Then the deal becomes null and void."
"Fair enough," he conceded.
Greta sat down in a nearby chair, still keeping a cautious eye on his movements. "Talk."
"I was one of the members of the team that removed the records from the archives about the Council’s involvement with the planet Earth," he began. "The records were obliterated when it was discovered they contained information that could harm Copolla's position. Historians are a funny lot, but they don't miss much. The funny thing is, they never understand or really care about the data; they reserve their opinions and just record it. But, somehow, this time certain information got into the archives that shouldn't have."
"Such as?" she asked impatiently.
Ignoring her tone, he continued. "A long time ago, maybe fifty or sixty years, Copolla ordered two agents placed on Earth to learn more about the people after the big mess up with a human leader, I can't recall his name. But, from what I understand, Copolla didn't exactly send the cream of the crop, as far as agents go." He paused again, catching his breath. "To make a long story short, those agents became so adjusted to the Earth's environment that they decided to stay, and integrated into the local populace. One thing led to another, as it does with any species, and they produced offspring."
"That is strictly forbidden by the Council Charter!" she said incredulous.
"That'
s correct," he stated, liking the feeling of seeing her surprise. He continued. "There is another reason why it was so important for the information to be removed from the history files. The two agents eventually contracted some form of disease that they had not anticipated. At that time, inoculation procedures were still in the early stages of development. The agents died about forty Earth years after their arrival."
"What happened to the offspring?" she asked, her curiosity apparent in her voice.
"I assume, then, that we have a deal?" he asked.
"Yes, yes," Greta agreed, wondering how she was going to pull it off. "I promise to deliver the ship as soon as we finish this conversation."
"Very well, then. There was…ah…!" Biom suddenly screamed in pain as his body turned bright red and began to burn within a matter of two to three seconds. Greta dove behind the chair she was sitting in to avoid the fire that consumed the body. She could not have done anything that would have saved his life.
As Greta rose from her place of refuge, she surmised what must have happened. She shook her head sadly as she went over to the pile of ashes that had been Biom. Using the toe of her boot, she sifted through the ashes until she found what she was looking for. It was a small circular device, about the size of her fingertip. An implanted loyalty device. Copolla's handiwork, no doubt, she thought.
"A very unfortunate occurrence," she said, shaking her head sadly. "I wonder if Biom even knew it was there."
For a brief moment, Greta felt remorse over Biom's death. He was young, and probably didn't really understand the dangerous game Copolla was playing with him. Biom would never have won. He wouldn't even have come close, she thought.
"Copolla's reach is getting longer and longer. Soon there won't be anywhere left to hide," she said as she re-holstered her weapon. She took one last look at the pile of ashes, shook her head again, then turned and walked away through the deserted wing of the building.
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Alien Deception Page 8
