by Ira Tabankin
“I like it. How quickly are you going to advance us this cycle?”
“We lost five to eight years, so I think we’ll have to have a little more fun to push them. My choice to become your new President, who will win, will be on our side. He will increase the funding to the black budget. We’re also going to jump-start the Russian and your efforts in hypersonic weapons. Back in the 1970s, both of your countries played around with hypersonic weapons, but neither of you had the technology metallurgy to make them work. Today you have the materials and soon you’ll have the technology to make them work.”
Kalteck asked Brix, did you make arrangements for the SUV we left behind to be picked up?”
“Of course, I did. Two of my men retrieved it, they erased the GPS unit so it couldn’t be tracked.”
“Excellent. Thank you.” Kalteck smiled, Brix may work out perfectly if something happens to Rhett. My mission is to valuable for it to fail if something were to happen to Rhett or if someone figured out who he really was.
Brix asked, “Why do we need to develop hypersonics?”
“Your current weapons are too slow. They’ll be easily intercepted, ships like mine can easily evade them. You need to develop weapons which are fast enough so ships like mine can’t easily avoid them. Once you manage the development of Mach 5 weapons, you’ll be able to break the next barrier, which is Mach 8 to 10.”
“Do you really think we can make missiles that can fly that fast without melting?”
“Ceramics.”
“Ah, I remember that line only I always thought it was the word plastics from the movie “The Graduate.” I think it was from the late 1960s.”
Kalteck laughed, “You’re correct. I stand by ceramics which you’re already using for armor plating. It has to be ceramics because all known metals will melt at Mach 8 and above. Just watch the progress you’re going to make in the next twenty years. One of our next technologies we’re going to have developed is quantum computing which will be over 100,000x faster and more capable than today’s supercomputers. This will enable you to make a breakthrough into AIs. Once you have mastered AIs, they will guide you through the safe process of developing the matter-antimatter annihilation drive.”
Colonel Brix smiled, “Then we’re able to fly faster than light and “Boldly go where no man has gone before…”
Kalteck shook his head, “Please stop with the science fiction. Most of it is hilarious. You should see it from my point of view. I almost chocked myself when I watched ET, and of course, there was Independence Day. Would you be surprised to know there are really aliens like the hive aliens out there?”
“No! Really? Do they live in those giant city ships like in the movie? Do they attack planets?”
“They usually fly to uninhabited systems where they strip mine the system until they’ve mined every last drop of minerals and fluid from the system. Rhett and I saw one of the systems they emptied on our return trip. Think of them like locusts. They swarm into a system, trillions of small ships land on every body in the system, they leave nothing behind. Most of the planets are nothing more than shells.
“Was it like the movie?”
“No. They hollowed out planets until there wasn’t a useful atom left. They even sucked a lot of the hydrogen from the star. One day they’re going to make a mistake and drain a populated system. When that happens, many races will band together to hunt them to extinction.”
“Are you going to allow the pilots to tell their story of seeing us?”
“Of course, I even allowed them to record my ship for a few brief moments. For now, I think we both have a lot of work to get done. I’ve been away for almost eight years. I want to see the changes made to my hangar. I noticed you finally painted a number on it, and I saw the base had added a lot of other new hangars. When we flew over Nevada, my sensors informed me of many new planes and drones at the Tonopah Test Range.”
“I can’t say. I’ve attempted to see for myself, and I learned my security clearance isn’t high enough to allow me access to the base.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll send Rhett, they can’t refuse him, he holds the highest security clearance there is. I ought to know because my AI ensures he has it. my AI easily hacks your most encrypted firewalls like they’re not there.” Kalteck smiled while Colonel Brix almost choked due to his laughing. “You’d be surprised what your political leaders use their encrypted emails for.”
Kalteck held up his hand, “Colonel, please give me a moment, Rhett is calling.”
“Of course.” Colonel Brix left wondering what Kalteck meant by Rhett calling when he didn’t notice any phone or other communications device.
Kalteck’s implant connected with Rhett, “Hello Rhett, how are things in Florida? Is he going to play ball with us?”
“Oh, yes. He’s agreed to everything we’ve asked for. I assisted him with his initial defense budget. He’s going to increase it by a few billion. I think he might end up with a four-year budget, in the open budget, more than $2.9 trillion-plus a couple hundred billion in the black budget.”
“Excellent. I’d like you to see if you can find out what’s been going on at the Tonopah Test Range…”
Rhett nodded, “My friend, before we get there, there’s a report that the missing Indonesia flight, MH 370 never crashed. Someone claims a satellite grabbed an image of the plane being taken by a strange ship. Mr. Trump wants to know if we can locate the plane or at least determine what happened to it.”
“My double stomachs are telling me the damn maggots took the plane. I think I will leave and check the area. Do you want to join me?”
“I would love to. Where should I meet you?”
“The Everglades where we landed the last time. Do you remember the coordinates?”
“Of course, your new gift is like having a built-in navigation system. I’ll ask the Secret Service to take me to the location. Please ensure the ship is in stealth…”
“Now, you’re telling me how to run my ship?”
Rhett laughed; Mr. Trump wondered who he was laughing at. “I’m sorry, sir, I have a way to communicate with our friend by just thinking about talking to him.”
“Can I have one?”
“I’m sorry, he told me he only had one which he had installed in me while I slept in suspension. There’s no possible way for you to now disappear for any length of time. After the election, but before you take the oath of office, we will keep our promise and take you for a ride in the ship.”
“Thank you. I would like to use the projection thing Truman used with Stalin. I’d like to scare the crap out of Putin.”
“I’ll see if I can arrange it when we return. We’re going to do a quick recon mission to see if we can locate the missing flight.”
“Thank you.”
Colonel Brix asked if he could come along, Kalteck shook his head, “I’m sorry, not this time. I promise I will take you on another trip. I need you here to secure the base.”
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The ship’s AI reported, “I was able to download my memory from the clone of me I left in the shrine. I am pleased to report I am back to my old fully functional super-intelligent self with a perfect sense of humor for AIs. I’ve added the information from the Neanderthal system to the Shrine’s AI and asked him to send it to the relay station so it could be sent home. I am ready and pleased to be able to perform all of my assigned duties.”
Rhett broke out laughing. “I think we should have left him the way he was when he was without most of his memory. He wasn’t so arrogant. Listen to him now.”
Kalteck shook his head as he waved his left hand over the glowing crystal, which was part of the master control panel. “I’ll shut him up…”
The ship’s AI responded, “No, you won’t. We had some excess nanites left over after the repairs were completed, so I used them to make some significant upgrades to our ship. One of the first upgrades I made was to make sure you can’t deactivate me.”
Rhett laughed, “I gu
ess he got you.”
“I still have some tricks he doesn’t know about. For now, AI, search the system for any alien ships. Someone stole a human airplane filled with passengers. I want to find that airplane and those who took it.”
“Searching…I located a drive trail. It’s from Earth and leads to Titan, the moon…”
Kalteck snapped, “I know where and what Titan is. Set a course to Titan, set maximum stealth mode, and arm all weapons.”
“Completed, course laid in.”
“Execute.”
Chapter 6
When the ship was ten million miles from Titan, the AI announced, “Kalteck, the human airplane is on Titan. It is located under a dome. There are two saucer ships parked next to the dome. I am scanning for life forms. So far I have discovered two-hundred-thirty-nine human and twenty-nine aliens inside the dome.”
Rhett asked, “Can you tell the condition of the humans?”
“I am sorry. I cannot determine their status from here. I have determined some are alive, but I can’t tell you how many or in what condition they are in. I can tell you the two ships are powered down, and their drives are cold. Their sensors are off.”
Kalteck smiled, “Take out their drives. This is our chance to grab their AI cores and learn what they’re up to.”
A moment later, two bright flashes of light shot out from the bottom of Kalteck’s ship. The beams hit the two saucers parked next to the dome. “My aim was perfect. I have disabled both of the ships. The maggots are running towards their ships, what are your orders?”
“Hit them with the stun weapon so we can search the dome without them attacking us.”
“Done.”
Kalteck nodded, “Rhett, I want you to wear these two devices on your belt. One on the front of your belt and one on the rear. These will generate a force field that will protect you from the vacuum and any gases in the dome. Here is a sidearm, be careful, it is immensely powerful.”
“Is it a ray gun?”
“It’s a laser weapon which can cut through a ship’s hull, but not its shields.”
“Can I keep it?”
“We’ll discuss that later. Rhett, I don’t know what you’re going to see. Prepare yourself for what could be your worst nightmare.”
“I’m ready.”
“I hope you are, but I doubt it. I’ve seen what these maggots are capable of. As I said, prepare yourself to see a real-life horror show.”
The airlock to the dome automatically opened when they drew close to it. They waited for the outside door to reseal, and the atmosphere to re-pressurize. A light over the door flashed alerting them it was safe to enter the dome. The inside door opened, and quickly closed with a hiss. Kalteck used his transplant, to tell Rhett, “I don’t think you want to see this. Why don’t you return to the ship?”
“I think I already know what’s in here.”
“Rhett, it’s much worse than your worst nightmare. Please return to my ship. Go into the tube and let the nanites erase your memory of this place.”
“I am here. These are my people. I want to know what’s going on. I have to know. Proof of what these aliens are doing to us will help my people recognize the danger we’re facing.”
“Okay. But remember, I warned you.”
Kalteck nodded while connecting the ship’s AI, “Have you managed to hack the maggot’s AI’s?”
“Yes, I will show you what I discovered when you return. Do you want me to keep an eye on Rhett?”
“Please do. I am worried about how he’s going to react when he sees what they were doing here. I am sending you the images from my implant.”
“I have them and am recording it.”
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There were five rows of humans floating over flat tables that were sending information to large panels above the human’s heads. The first row of humans had been slit open. All of their internal organs were suspended on the sides of the bodies. The organs were connected to the opened humans by tubes and wires.
Rhett thought the humans were dead, but when he approached the first young man, one in his early twenties, the man whispered, “Kill me, please kill me. Look what they’ve done to me. They cut me open. They cut off my balls. They inserted a large tube up my ass. Please just kill me. I felt everything, I can’t live this way. I can’t take the pain, it’s driving me crazy, please kill me.”
Rhett paused in shock. He reached out to Kalteck, “I need help!”
“I am coming. All of the humans in the first row are the same; they have been sliced open; their organs were removed but were still functioning. They were all in shock and most in more pain than their worst nightmares. They were awake and paralyzed when they were cut open. They felt everything that was done to them. They couldn’t move or scream, but they felt their bodies being sliced open.”
“What can we do for them?”
“You’re not going to like this, but our only option is to terminate them.”
“Will they feel it when we kill them?”
“No, I can arrange it, so they won’t feel a thing. They will be here one nanosecond and gone to the Creator of All the next.”
“What about the others?”
“I will terminate these while you examine the others. Is that fair?”
“Please make it painless. They’ve suffered more than anyone should ever have to.”
“I gave you my word.”
“Do it.”
A blue glow covered the first row of sixty humans. Most of them were out of their minds from the pain they’d suffered. A moment later, it flashed, and the humans were terminated. Rhett moved to the next row of humans. These had an opening cut into their skulls, glowing wires exited their skulls and connected them to a small flashing red box. The humans copulated every time the lights flashed. The human couples were in every possible position for having intercourse.
Rhett wondered how this was possible. “They connected their computer to their brains. They are not only forcing them to have intercourse, they are then collecting the feelings the two are experiencing.”
“How can they perform while being wired to a machine which is forcing them to copulate?”
“They don’t know they’re connected. They are experiencing pleasure from the acts which the maggots are collecting and examining. Remember what I explained to you. They don’t understand humans. They don’t understand having sexual activities simply for pleasure. They are asexual. Most of the races they deal with mate only to have children.”
“What about your people? I never asked because I assumed it was private, and since you came alone, it wouldn’t have been right to ask and honestly…”
“You were afraid I was kidnapping earth women and forcing them to have sex with me. Isn’t that the real reason why you never asked? You didn’t want to know the answer to your question, so you didn’t ask it. My people only mate to create a new life. Our DNA was altered so that our women are fertile every five years. I can’t tell you when it happened because I really don’t know. I assume it happened in our forgotten past because all of the histories I learned said the same thing, we mate every five years to produce new children.”
“But you’ve been here for over fifty years…”
“I left my sperm behind. My chosen mate will be able to produce our offspring without me.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Don’t worry. I take no offense by your questions. The real question is, what do you want to do with the humans?”
“Can we disconnect them from the computer?”
Kalteck nodded, “We can. However, I have no idea what their pain will be when they are disconnected or what they’ll remember. Remember the maggots cut their heads open while they were awake. They most likely inserted probes into their bodies to measure their responses.”
Rhett looked at the row of copulating couples. “We have to do something about them. We can’t leave them screwing forever like that. I don’t even understand how the men are ab
le to…”
“The computer is controlling them. I’m not sure what to do about them either. I’ve asked the AI, and he doesn’t know either. He’s running through the files looking for a way to help them and, at the same time, wipe their memories, so they won’t have to relive this.”
“Is that possible? What if the AI can’t find a way to disconnect them without harming them?”
