The Harvest of Area 51

by Elijah Stephens

  “I’m not a scientist. I only work to obstruct the violence of animals, from whatever planet or dimension.”

  “And you never thought of the deeper meaning of your work?”

  “There is none,” Barnes concluded. “Dust settles upon what was already known and the truth of prophets has to be reiterated to fit the evolution of culture. Plenty of Greeks understood that the Earth was not the center of the Universe, medieval Europeans just followed Aristotle’s misguided notion until direct observation proved otherwise.”

  “But stagnation is inhuman,” she said. “There’s always another step to take.”

  “Happiness is stagnation to you?”

  She shrugged. “Contentment is. You might be searching forever, but you have to set new goals to define yourself. Even if science is the language of the future, death is still the measure of life.”

  They met the Colonel at the blast door with the others. “Once we’ve achieved our mission, we can use the elevator from the second sub‑level to return here.” He looked over their faces and saw the doubt he expected. “Is everyone ready?”

  * * * * *

  The steel door rested open like a mouth waiting for a meal. The scientists paused at the dark corridor until the Marines went in with tubes of light, bathing the shadows in neon green. Colonel Black walked in front with his rifle in position, then they turned at the elbow of the passageway before reaching the entrance to the first sub‑level. Most of the electrical systems had been shut off, leaving unused areas blacked out, but the central workstation was alight with backup generators. The soldiers surveyed the main lab and sent scouts ahead to scan the branching hallways. The Colonel was reading the schematics on his tablet when a scuffling sound made everyone jump.

  The Marines triggered the flashlights at the end of their weapons, centering the beams to reveal semi‑transparent shells hanging in the corner. The redhead named Amanda pushed past the others after one of the cocoons dropped from the ceiling and cracked against the tile floor. Something inside was struggling to break free, and as the pod opened to reveal intricate markings on the light brown body of a giant insect, the wings stretched and it fluffed its untested appendages. Amanda urged the Marines aside to let the bug fly over them.

  “It’s like a moth,” she said with an anxious giggle.

  The Colonel ordered his men forward and they followed him into the central workstation. From the section used for botany, plant-life was overgrowing and much of the lab was hidden behind thick greenery and hanging vines. With more insects dangling from the roof, the scientists looked across the logistical center for the first phase of Project Harvest.

  At the nearest intersection, Dekker saw an inquisitive head poke around the corner. The dog-sized animal was white with black stripes, but it seemed harmless as Barnes took a few steps and kneeled. To the kind gesture, the eight‑legged mammal came into the open, revealing its long body. The soldiers watched it nervously and gripped their weapons before the graceful creature gave a sign of submission to be petted.

  “Something has scared this animal to starvation,” said Dekker.

  The others were whispering fervently about pounding footfalls that arrived with the beast that made them. It had a bony protrusion, a large skull-plate that fanned upwards like a mohawk, but when it let out a moan to call its herd to the foliage on the walls, it only managed to alert a stalking hunter.

  The soldiers were visibly tense when they noticed it, pale in color like a lion, but with bright red spots and numerous claws running up its legs. Obviously built for holding onto heavy prey, it walked around the computers and lifted its head above the desks, sniffing at the air and curling its upper lip to reveal interlocking fangs. The herbivore caught its scent and started snapping its wide mouth defensively. When that didn’t work, it lowered its head and ran towards the threat, intending to trample it.

  “Now,” said Black. His Marines responded, shooting a dart into the plant‑eater that made it instantly drowsy. They used the net‑rifle for the salivating predator and trapped it against the floor with metal prongs sinking in. The Colonel made certain that the lumbering herbivore was unconscious before issuing orders. “Ms. Botanist?”

  The tanned Persian skin of Luma Sharaz escalated the shine in her eyes when she said, “Call me Luma, or Mrs. Botanist if you wish.”

  “My apologies, Luma. Will you please enter the Botany Wing with Mr. Parker to upload the data?” Out of nervous habit, the young hacker fixed his glasses. “You have everything you need to begin the mission. Jonze and Patanos will keep you company.” Black pointed at the harmless eight‑legged creature behind Barnes. “You can put that thing in the break room down the hall before you join them. The feeding machines are timed for automatic use, but we were warned about large congregations around any food source where carnivores have a better chance of ambushing prey. Perhaps Ms. Setterlund can provide her expertise as well.”

  * * * * *

  While Dekker led the timid animal to the employee break room, the Colonel sent three of his men to gather reconnaissance for the Reptile Wing and said, “Gibbs and Waverly, override the emergency lock and open the elevator. We’ll need an easy exit from the second sub‑level.”

  Barnes turned on the lights and opened the fridge, but the food inside was moldy. He looked to the creature that licked its lips and sat in a docile position. “You were treated like a pet, weren’t you?”

  He opened the cabinets and poured a box of crackers on the floor, then filled an empty bowl with water before he left. As he shut the door to protect the animal, he came face to face with someone who wasn’t entirely human. It was never his first instinct to go for his gun when dealing with an unknown being, so he observed the man wearing hospital scrubs and his large eyes seemed to be begging for help.

  “Black has come to kill us. He’s going to kill you all.”

  * * * * *

  Dekker returned to the Colonel on the walkway, who watched his Marines trying to open the elevator by resetting the system at the electrical circuit. “Why did you order the blast door to be closed?”

  Black gave him a look derived from rarely having to explain himself. “The plan is to leave using the elevator. We can’t risk letting anything reach the surface.”

  Sparks shot from the control panel and the elevator slid open. The Marines leaned into the shaft and tossed tube-lights into the darkness. Gibbs turned to the Colonel and said, “It’s clear, sir,” before webbing splashed against his cheek. As he was dragged into the angled shaft, Waverly saw the hairy legs of a massive alien arachnid stepping from the void. He fired his weapon at the innumerable glossy eyes, but the hooked feet secured their grip and lifted him into the air.

  Lacking a clear line of fire, the other soldiers rolled a few grenades into the shaft. When the flash-bomb detonated, the arthropods scattered from the intense light. Waverly was dropped to the ground, and while bleeding heavily he crawled to the circuit panel and closed the electrical current. The elevator doors shut with muffled explosions pounding inside, but he was soon caught in the throes of a toxin that twisted his central nervous system.

  The Colonel looked to Barnes, “Please guard the others.”

  * * * * *

  The entrance to the Botany Wing was open and the walls were covered with vines stretching for the artificial light in the hallway. The entire lab was covered in moss and only segments of machinery could be seen through the indoor jungle.

  “Where’s data storage located?” asked Parker.

  Luma scrolled through the schematics on her tablet and pointed to the far end. Jonze and Patanos held their rifles tightly after she said, “For your sake, don’t get curious and touch something.” She pushed away hanging vines to reveal the control room before explosions echoed down the corridor. Dekker came in soon after.

  “What happened?” Patanos asked him.

  “The elevator shaft was
infested with insects, Gibbs and Waverly are dead. Did you make sure this wing is clear?” said Barnes, and the Marines split up to scout the confined rainforest.

  “Can I stay near you?” April asked him.

  Luma wandered off on her own path and within moments they were out of sight, hidden by leafy doorways in the lab. She noticed a display of flowers growing beyond its containment, and some of the plants seemed to be backlit. She pushed them aside to reveal large atriums where a digital clock timed the flow of water for blossoms reaching outside their cages.

  Patanos came to a section drowned by lichen with large yellow flowers swaying without wind. He touched one with his gloved hand and the petals reacted as if being tickled. He laughed at the strange movement and tried again. It repeated its coy reaction, then coughed a cloud of pollen in his face. Patanos wiped his eyes while trying to clear the taste of stale coconut off the back of his throat. His eyelids felt puffy as the haze of particles drifted. After his vision came back, he was engrossed by the dynamic color of his hand, which vibrated with a residual dance that appeared to grow with bulging veins.

  * * * * *

  Parker’s focus was buried in the digital workstation, relaying encryption codes to access the internal network and transfer files. Dekker waited patiently outside the data storage room with April.

  “Perhaps this is why Mark Twain wrote that the secret source of humor is sorrow, that there is no laughter in Heaven. I was surprised by what you said about sacrifice,” she said, thinking about the two dead soldiers. “It’s a powerful human trait to not only cling to that which is dying, but that which is already dead. From the species who make it off their worlds to visit ours, I’ve always wondered about the orbs of lights. I never believed rumors of aliens from backwoods moonshiners telling tales, but from the generation of military pilots during World War II and what they experienced, even the government only denies ninety‑eight percent of possible encounters, leaving enough room for speculation about the rest. Still, who knows? I have an astrophysicist friend who has a theory that streaming portals of energy are being viewed by us as two-dimensional floating spheres. When we start spreading through space, it will be with mechanized probes. Psionic observation is out of the question, unless aliens are selectively empathic. Otherwise the pain of the human race would be overwhelming.”

  “Most of us do a good job of ignoring it,” said Barnes. Luma stepped from the lush forest in the back, captivated by the plants covering the ceiling. He asked about the others and she snapped out of her fascination.

  “I haven’t seen the soldiers since we split up.” She pointed to the roof. “Do you know what those remind me of? A collecting place for lampyridae and their photo-electric cells.” She uncovered a switch on the wall and shut it off. When everything was dark, the oversized fireflies triggered their mating ritual. As they sparked like stars in the night sky, April stood next to Barnes and watched them zigzag against the backdrop like a meteor shower.

  “It won’t be much longer,” Parker said by his glowing monitor. “The transfer is almost complete.”

  Jonze walked into the room and Luma turned on the lights. “Have you seen Patanos?” she asked, but he nodded that he hadn’t. She told him to be careful of a leafy bush before he stepped forward and caught his armor on a thorn. The wiry branch came alive and wrapped around his forearm. “Defensive mechanism,” Luma informed him. “Try to be more observant.”

  As Jonze gave a chuckle at the strange plant, Patanos came tripping through the verdant overgrowth and raised his rifle. After smashing the affixed battery unit against the wall to disrupt the output regulator, he pulled the trigger and hit his fellow Marine with a blast of electrified sulfuric acid that seared his skin. Dekker pulled Luma into the data storage room with April, breaking Parker’s attention from his computer screen. Patanos started firing into the door with his sub‑machine gun, and with the bullets sticking deep enough to poke through the metal, Barnes told Parker to complete his task.

  “Are you kidding?” yelled the programmer.

  When the feral soldier’s clip went dry, he growled in guttural confusion and pounded on the door with the stock of his gun. The upper hinge broke from the frame, so Dekker slammed his shoulder against it and charged out, tackling the Marine onto the lab equipment. They rolled off the table before banging against the cold tiles, where the insane Patanos noticed a boot-knife shoved through his collarbone. The loud whine emanating beside him drew his attention to the hydrogen energy-cell of the damaged rifle until it burst open, shredding him with an expanding wave of light.

  * * * * *

  “What was that?” the Colonel demanded from Dekker as he led the survivors back into the central workstation. “Were you successful with the data transfer?”

  “Yes,” Parker answered. “But my console was destroyed.”

  “Jonze and Patanos are dead,” Barnes told them, but none of the remaining six Marines asked how.

  “My scouts have informed me that some of the cages in the Reptile Wing are empty,” said Black. “At this point, we should go to the Aquatic Wing where everything is sure to be limited to water.”

  “I’m not needed anymore,” Luma realized. “My task in the Botany Wing is finished.”

  “The blast door is shut,” said the Colonel. “So unless you want to take the elevator, we’re all in this together.”

  As they started towards the Aquatic Wing, Dekker pulled April aside to reveal that the Marines would likely administer low doses of tranquilizers upon the scientists to help them relax.

  “We need their expertise to be precise,” she said. “Pharmaceuticals cannot open someone’s mind to reality.”

  “I know, but this has gotten rough and they’re useless as non‑combatants if they fail to handle the stress.”

  “So why did you tell me?” she wondered.

  “Because I have doubts about the Colonel’s real mission and we need Parker to discover the truth.”

  * * * * *

  The Aquatic Wing contained daunting aquariums, but everyone seemed comfortable in the timid surroundings. The Marines slid the desks together and gave the scientists anxiolytics to relieve their tension.

  “Parker needs a new console,” Barnes said as he stopped the programmer from taking his dose. “We’ll head to the Reptile Wing immediately.”

  “You’re joking,” Parker stuttered in disbelief.

  The Colonel mulled over the risk. If Dekker was killed they had a second programmer to complete the mission, so he motioned for the others to supply them with extra equipment. “Splitting our forces is a risk, but it doubles our chances for success. If you think you can manage it successfully, Lieutenant Hearn will go with you.”

  They reached the hallway before the Marine could follow. Parker was strapping the console to his back when he asked, “Why did you take away my pill?”

  “It was a drug,” April told him.

  “Oh,” said the programmer. “My addiction has always been digital.”

  Barnes leaned closer. “I didn’t come to assist in a sweep and clear operation for a military wetwork. We need to discover the rest of Project Harvest and anything else they’re hiding. How would you handle access to the most integrated network outside of Langley?”

  * * * * *

  The Colonel ordered Zalas to begin the data transfer again, but the programmer fell back in his seat, mildly dazed. While the soldiers examined the aquariums, Sergeant Tacitus smiled at the skinny hacker, whose body mass had distorted the calculations for their sedative. He leaned over an elongated tank that was sending a continuous river over whatever was inside. Transfixed by the milky water, he touched the surface before tentacles grabbed at the disturbance.

  O’Neal calmly put his hands on the appendage and unraveled it. “It’s not strong enough to hurt you,” he calmed the Sergeant. After he pushed away the languid limbs, Tacitus was left with sucker
marks on his skin that made everyone laugh.

  * * * * *

  As they were headed to the Reptile Wing, the herbivore was still snoring in the central workstation near the predator trapped in the wire‑net.

  “To update you with our reconnaissance,” Lieutenant Hearn said as he caught up. “There are over a dozen cages open in the Reptile Wing. I recommend you have Parker check the data logs to see exactly how many.”

  * * * * *

  Amanda Evans rubbed the nap from her eyes and watched Zalas in the data storage room, accessing the harddrive of the Aquatic Wing and mumbling to himself. She rolled her blue eyes at the strange scene and walked to an aquarium while adjusting her red ponytail. The largest tank in the room was filled with ocean flora, where giant crustaceans ambled across fabricated rocks near drifting gelatinous creatures.

  Luma sat on the floor nearby, scrolling through her tablet of the animals that were harvested. A dorsal fin passed behind them and the schools of fish scattered to escape something that was smart enough to avoid detection in the mock canyon below. “You wouldn’t believe what’s in there,” she said.

  “If the automatic feeding machines are still functional,” said Amanda. “It might keep most of the predators docile.”

  * * * * *

  They heard chirping when they entered the Reptile Wing and tropical colored lizards ran across the ceiling. After Hearn went to the check the perimeter, Barnes said to Parker, “Can you tear down the firewalls in the system? If you access the internal network and line up a data transfer of this wing congruent with the files in Entomology, we’ll have a smokescreen to give us time to search the database.”