Variations on Humanity

by Paul Eslinger

  Trixie deactivated the cloak on her chariot and vaulted to the ground as a door opened in the villa. Two women came out waving in welcome.

  “Hello,” Trixie called and waited for Sam to catch up. She caught his hand in hers. “Marlee and Azalea, this is Sam.”

  Sam smiled indulgently while the women enthusiastically exchanged embraces. His smile remained but his face flushed when both new women gave him a tight hug.

  Azalea finally stepped back. “Come on inside.”

  His normal suspicious nature reemerged when Sam neared the door. He paused and looked back. The large courtyard was paved with stone blocks the same color as the steep rocky slope behind the villa. He could dimly see five garage doors that appeared to lead directly into the hillside. He pointed across the courtyard. “Is your garage underground?”

  “Yes,” Marlee responded. “We bought this land during World War I, but we didn’t start making any improvements for another decade. We built the garages and some living spaces underground before World War II spilled over into Italy. A tunnel connects the garage to the main house.”

  Sam looked again. The security fence appeared to extend all around the villa, but that wasn’t unusual in this part of the world. “Where did you see the small quadcopter?”

  Marlee pointed downhill across the house. “I actually saw it from the front windows. It was just a little higher than the house.”

  “Have you seen one again?”

  “No. Does that mean anything?” Marlee asked.

  “I don’t know. It could have been a hobbyist flying it, but if so, you would probably have seen it more than once.”

  “Come on inside,” Trixie called from the open door.

  Sam started walking in response. He didn’t stop to examine the door, but he noticed it was thicker than normal and there were recessed holes in both sides of the door frame.

  Marlee shut the door and Sam heard the snick of a lock engaging as he looked around. The villa was immense and he was standing on a wide balcony. Two large open stairways curved down to the floor two stories below him. Vast windows overlooked the hillside and the lake in the distance. Lights dotted the hillside and speckled the towns in the distance. The moonlight was bright enough to reveal the shape of the nearest shore of Lake Garda. The furnishings matched the grandeur of the setting. “Wow.”

  “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Azalea said. “We built it this way because we, at least I, lived underground my entire life before moving here.”

  “Are you hungry?” Marlee asked. “We had already planned to go out to dinner tonight before you called.”

  Trixie glanced at Sam before replying. “We had a light breakfast several hours ago. We’ll eat with you.”

  “This way,” Marlee said and set off on the balcony. “We’ll take a car from the garage.”

  Sam had already shifted his attention from the gorgeous surroundings to security details. He nodded and started walking beside Azalea. “You locked the front door but you didn’t close the security gate.”

  “That’s right.” She smiled. “We inadvertently left the gate open a couple of times in the past. Now, our computer closes the gate two minutes after it is opened unless we issue an override. We’ll have to open it again when we take the car out.”

  “Has anyone ever tried to break in?”

  “We’ve had a few prowlers over the last fifty years, but none of them have gotten inside.”

  Sam looked back when they reached the end of the balcony. “Bulletproof glass?”

  She held up her hand with her thumb and finger about two inches apart. “The entire building is armored and the glass is this thick. In addition, the glass is our special recipe. A simple prowler has no possibility of getting inside.”

  The balcony changed to a wide hall that led to another heavy door. The door opened into a tunnel that curved into the distance. Nearly 100 feet later, they saw the parking area. Marlee gestured at another door leading deeper into the hill. “Our security center is here rather than in the main house.”

  A faint beep came through overhead speakers just as they reached a late model BMW luxury sedan. Marlee whipped out the Abantu version of a smartphone and checked the screen. Her voice was thoughtful when she glanced up. “A quadcopter is looking around outside.”

  Sam listened to Marlee and then touched Trixie gently on the arm. “We should move the chariots inside.”

  “They’re hidden under the trees,” she responded.

  “Not if the quadcopter comes into the courtyard,” he protested.

  “You’re right,” she admitted and then looked over at Marlee.

  Marlee fingered a strand of her black hair and then nodded. “Bays 1 and 3 are open right now. We can double up cars in the other bays when everyone comes home tonight.”

  Sam started to walk behind the car and then turned back. “Where is the quadcopter right now?”

  “It’s…” Marlee studied the screen for a couple of moments and then gestured with one hand. “It’s out front, below the roof line of the house.”

  “I’ll open the doors,” Azalea said when Sam glanced in her direction.”

  “Thanks.” Sam turned towards the garage doors. The openings were large enough for a wide car and they were separated by large rock pillars. Each door opened into a tunnel that extended a hundred feet or more into the mountain. Arched walkways joined the tunnels. Metal lined every tunnel and opening.

  Sam touched the inside of an exterior door just as it started to open. Trixie was a few steps behind him. Although the Abantu enjoyed perfect health and they lived immensely long lives, they were not as nimble or as quick as humans. Any human in good shape could outrun all of the Abantu. Sam smiled at his fiancé. “You can use this tunnel. I’ll use the other one.”

  “No,” she responded. “This tunnel is long enough for both chariots. I’ll come in first and then you can follow me.”

  “That works,” Sam responded. He nodded in approval when the interior light in the tunnel went out. They wouldn’t be providing illumination for cameras on the drone.

  Trixie started to step forward and then Sam clutched her arm. “Wait.”

  She stopped in midstride. “Why?”

  “Let’s see if Keene can pick up the control feeds on this drone. I don’t want you to end up in the infirmary like Rhona did.”

  “Okay.”

  Sam pulled out his phone and initiated a call. To his relief, Keene answered immediately. “This is Sam.”

  “What’s up?”

  “We’re in the underground garage at the Villa getting ready to go out and there is a quadcopter outside. Can you check if it is armed?”

  A faint female voice came over the speaker. “It’s not armed.”

  “Is that you, Rhona?” Sam asked.

  “That’s her,” Keene replied. “We’re trying to figure out who sent the drone. We haven’t had any luck so far.”

  Trixie leaned closer. She said, “It got here right after we arrived.”

  That’s right,” Keene agreed. “It was already in the air before you arrived. It’s nearly out of battery power.”

  “We can just outwait it,” Sam proposed.

  “That will be easy. It just veered away from the house. We’ll get back to you if we figure out anything.”

  “Just a minute,” Sam interjected when it seemed like Keene was going to terminate the call. “Did anyone get enough magnetic data to follow our flight path?”

  Rhona answered instead of Keene. “A couple of satellites collected magnetic data in the appropriate location and time window. It’s been downloaded to ground installations but we haven’t detected anyone doing unusual analyses.”

  “Thanks. Talk to you later.” Sam disconnected the call and looked at Trixie. “Let’s get the chariots inside.”

  Nearly thirty minutes later
Azalea drove the BMW into the parking lot at a restaurant in Brescia. Marlee gestured at the large building. “The chef here is phenomenal and he only uses natural ingredients.”

  “They also have a private meeting room,” Azalea added. “We booked the room when we heard you were coming. We were fortunate to get it on such short notice.”

  Sam tried to keep an eye out for strange activity, but it was impossible to know what was unusual when he accompanied three good-looking women through the crowded entryway. Once inside, they followed a host along a wood-paneled hall to a private dining area.

  There were already fourteen women in the room when Sam and the others arrived. Their boisterous greetings filled the air as Trixie and Sam made their way towards four empty places on the far side of the huge table.

  Sam hid his nervousness while he smiled and exchanged greetings. He wasn’t used to meeting with groups of well-dressed women, and several of the women greeted him with far more interest than he had expected. Maybe Trixie was right in wanting to hold their wedding on Mars.

  The food was excellent and the conversation was revealing. Although Sam was seated between Trixie and Marlee, the group was small enough that anyone could hear everyone else. Every woman worked in business. Some were highly placed in existing companies and more than half owned a business.

  Sam knew they had common investments with the other Abantu in Jetmore. He soon learned they also managed huge investments spread throughout Europe. In addition, Marlee seemed to be their leader.

  The waiter brought a variety of desserts at the end of the meal. Sam finally settled for tiramisu, but he saw others take servings of cannoli, crostata, zabaione, tartufo, and cassata.

  Marlee finished her crostata and brushed her hair back from her face. “Ouch,” she said.

  “Is something wrong?” Trixie asked.

  “I was clumsy,” Marlee said as she rubbed her eye. “I think I hit my contact.”

  Trixie reached for the small handbag sitting beside her foot. “I have a mirror.”

  Marlee continued to brush at her eye. “That’s okay. I think I’ll go to the powder room. They have clean water.”

  Everyone was getting ready to leave when Marlee returned a few minutes later. She stepped close to Trixie. “I actually ripped the contact, so I had to take it out. I don’t have any spares with me.”

  By this time, Sam could see Marlee’s eyes. Most European women with black hair had black eyes, so she used contacts to hide her natural eye coloring. Her yellow-orange pupils were elongated vertically with large alternating dark and reddish striations. The edges of the cornea were dark rather than white and the white band seemed to form a double iris with a black cornea. The contrast between her eyes was striking. He couldn’t resist offering a suggestion. “Do you have any dark sunglasses?”

  “No,” Marlee responded.

  “We don’t need sunglasses,” Trixie added.

  Marlee shrugged. “I’ll just walk out normally and not look at anyone.”

  They headed out with Marlee in the middle of the group. Sam alternated between focusing on Trixie and trying to watch everyone around them. He didn’t do either action very well. However, he did notice one woman near the exit who stared fixedly at them when they passed. He glanced back and saw the woman draw in a deep breath and then fumble with her cell phone.

  Chapter 15 – Distractions

  The next morning in Jetmore, Keene didn’t join Rhona or the others for breakfast. Curious, she pulled out her phone and called him. “Are you still in bed?”

  “I wish,” he replied.

  “Where are you?”

  “Dulcis woke me up two hours ago. She thinks something may be happening in Italy.”

  “Do you agree?”

  “I’m not positive. She is slower than a snail this morning when I ask her to correlate large data sets. Can you bring me a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee? I’ll show you what I’ve uncovered so far.”

  Rhona told Laura what Keene had said while she filled a tray with food and drinks. She took a minute to detour to the infirmary for her daily shot and then headed to the Intelligence Center. Laura was already there when she arrived, and only a small number of displays were active.

  “Cutting back on processing power?” Rhona gestured at the quiet room with her head as she handed the tray to Keene.

  Laura nodded. “It’s essential to keep all of the facility support systems and financial functions running. I’m diverting processing power so we can look at data about Italy.”

  “What do we have?”

  Keene threw up his hands. “A researcher at NASA noticed the magnetic anomalies and sent the data to several buddies. It’s gone viral since then. Thousands of people around the world are looking at it.”

  “Can you pick up any patterns?”

  “Basically, most of them, from government analysts to interested college students, are postulating another Abantu ship was the cause.” Keene paused and then gestured at a display. “Dulcis pilfered hundreds of course projections out of emails.”

  Rhona nibbled on her bottom lip as she studied the display. It showed so many course projections the overlay plot looked like hair in a horse’s tail. However, most of the courses started in Kansas and ended near Brescia in Italy. She glanced at Keene. “They’re pretty accurate. We were stupid. Sending the chariots simply painted a big red X on them.”

  “Not really,” Laura said.

  The equivocation was unusual enough that Rhona pounced on it like a cat on a ball of yarn. “No? What do you mean?”

  Keene’s hazel eyes narrowed while he studied Laura’s face. “We were operating under the assumption Dulcis could mask their flight when we first recommended they go to Italy.”

  “And we brought it up as a question just before they left,” Rhona added.

  “I know, I know.” Laura held up both hands. “I underestimated the fluctuations in her workload and she couldn’t do as much as I anticipated.”

  Rhona shook her head. “That still doesn’t explain the not really comment.”

  The Abantu leader looked at her two human consultants. “How long did it take for you to convince all of the Abantu in America to come here?”

  “Several hours,” Rhona replied. “Except for Geena. It took us a day to convince her to come in, and even then, she only came because she could bring Wade and Sheryl with her.”

  Laura nodded. “I also talked to everyone living in Europe.”

  “You’re really devious,” Rhona muttered. “You agree to help them with security issues and then you point a finger at them … in a general rather than a specific sense.”

  Keene threw up both hands and turned in a circle. “I even lost sleep over this.”

  “It’s not that straightforward,” Laura insisted.

  Rhona pointed at Laura. “You mentioned chess the other day. Is this move a feint or a frontal attack?”

  “In those words, it’s more of a feint.” Laura swallowed and looked slightly uncomfortable. “Unfortunately, it will take at least three more weeks to build the first clone of Dulcis.”

  Thoughts of plots and counterplots made Rhona’s head spin. “You believe someone will follow the magnetic trail, but it may take a few days for them to actually identify the other Abantu. Meanwhile, you will be ready to respond–and keep everyone safe.”

  “Humans are unpredictable.”

  Rhona grimaced. “In one sense, yes. But, the wolves are always out there, waiting to pull down the weak and unprotected.”

  “Our people are neither.”

  Rhona bit back a retort when Keene raised his hand. “More data just came in.”

  “What?” Rhona asked.

  “We were either stupid or maybe Laura was simply making another feinting move when we wrote the Science article about the Abantu. Someone at a restaurant in Bresc
ia last night saw our group of diners and decided the women were Abantu. They posted pictures on social media and one of the women is obviously missing one contact. They are suggesting Sam is a male Abantu.”

  Rhona held up one hand with two fingers extended and looked at Laura. “An enigmatic magnetic track starts here and ends in Brescia and then someone takes pictures in a restaurant there. A good intelligence agency can probably get a villa address within a few minutes.”

  Laura looked slightly distressed, but she still demurred. “They will think the Abantu came from here.”

  “Only until they sort out the person behind the credit card used to pay for the meal.” Keene shrugged and threw up his hands. “I say that, but I don’t know who will be following the trail. As Rhona said, human wolves are slinking around. Dulcis is painfully slow this morning. We don’t have a network of human agents to gather information.”

  A feeling of helplessness caused Rhona to shake her head. She looked at Laura. “You do have a backup plan, don’t you?”

  A deep crease formed on Laura’s forehead. She stood silently shaking her head. After an interminable length of time, her face brightened and she reached for her phone. Rhona and Keene watched Laura select a name on her address list. She raised the phone to her lips and spoke in Abantu. “Menora, this is Laura. Where are you right now?”

  Rhona had been diligently studying the Abantu language, but she was somewhat surprised she could follow the conversation without Dulcis providing a real-time translation.

  “We’re about seven hours out.”

  A relieved look came over Laura’s face. “You made good time.”

  “Yes. The recent engine improvements gave a ten percent increase in acceleration.”

  “We look forward to seeing you. Please contact us when you’re about an hour out.”

  “Sure. Anything else?”

  “No, that’s it.”

  “What was that?” Keene asked when Laura slipped her phone back into her pocket.