“I’m not saying that clairvoyance isn’t a handy skill to have,” said Frey. “But it’s sketchy, isn’t it? Temperamental. Unreliable. And even if she can see a myriad of futures, all you have to do to kill her is make sure there isn’t a single future in which she lives. Put her in such an ironclad box that nothing she can do can change her inevitable fate. Like locking her in a conference room surrounded by special forces commandos,” he added pointedly, “who Nessie will ensure will follow my every order.”
“Are you going to answer the colonel’s question?” said Anna. “How did you manage all this?”
“I’m more than happy to tell you,” said the demon known as Shane Frey. “It’s time you understood just how outclassed you really are. Humanity never stood a chance, despite your feeble efforts. Your conscious minds are pathetic. Vorian minds are better, but still not as sharp as ours.”
“And yet they managed to wipe out your sorry asses on Earth thousands of years ago,” taunted Anna. “You talk a good game, but how special are you really?”
If anything, Frey’s eyes blazed even brighter, and his fury was evident. “The Vorians got lucky!” he hissed. “But their luck has run out! And so has yours!”
Frey took a deep breath, and, after a brief pause, managed to compose himself again. “It was easy to outmaneuver you,” he continued in more measured tones. “I was nearing the warehouse to collect you and the Vorian named Vega when I learned that Black Ops helicopters were approaching. There is only one reason that these could possibly have joined the fray: a secret military group must have learned of our presence on Earth. A group tasked with investigating alien visitation. I knew that the ranking military officer in these two helicopters would end up in possession of Vega and his clairvoyant detective.”
Redford frowned as it all became clear. “And you realized that the secretary of defense was one of the few people in the world who would know who was in charge of this secret group,” he said.
“I’m glad you’re able to catch on after I spell it out for you, Colonel. But yes, you are correct. So we stalked him and waited for an opportunity to drug him with Human Control Serum. Which we finally managed to do last night. Then, when he was fully compliant, I gave him detailed instructions on what I needed him to do. I’m sure Vega has told you all about this drug. Under its influence, Stinnett was only too glad to tell me everything he knows. Your identity as head of Extraterrestrial Visitor Investigations, the location of your headquarters here, and how he could transfer power to me. Everything.”
“So why the charade with Stinnett?” asked Kaitlyn.
“Frey wanted me to be fully cooperative,” replied Redford. “He was hoping I’d give a thorough report to the secretary of my own free will, while he listened in. So he could know everything the Vors had told me before he had Stinnett kill us.”
“Right again,” said Frey. “And I made sure this place only had a skeleton crew when you arrived. To reduce uncertainty as much as possible.”
“How many of my people are here?” asked Redford.
“About ten percent. I had my puppet Stinnett order the rest of them home.”
“If he’s your puppet,” said Anna, “how do you control him?”
“After we drugged him we established a dedicated channel through the comm already implanted in his inner ear. The one he uses to communicate with Nessie. But we modified the comm so that it’s now booby-trapped. If any of your surgeons attempt to remove it, he dies. He’s primed to respond to my voice. Whatever I tell him, he does. Without question.”
“Too bad he’s unconscious,” taunted Anna.
Frey shrugged. “It’s worse for you than it is for me,” he said. “If you hadn’t caught on, I’d have obtained the information I’m after the easy way. Now it looks like I’ll have to beat it out of you. Not optimal, because you tend to get less reliable information that way.”
“Why not use your HCS drug?” asked Anna.
“I used our last dose on Stinnett,” said Frey. “It’s not easy to make. But don’t worry about us. Our numbers on Earth have just seen a major increase, so we’ll have enough hands to make plenty more. And to do a lot of other things that you won’t like.”
“Why didn’t you just drug Stinnett or our president when you first arrived?” asked Redford. He knew that Frey would happily answer his every question, since the alien was certain they wouldn’t live to repeat what he was telling them.
“Because it would have been more trouble than it was worth,” said the demon-eyed alien. “Better to work in the shadows. These men are too high profile. Even just getting close enough to drug them would pose a considerable risk. And we’d continue to risk being exposed while we were pulling their strings. Dramatic, uncharacteristic changes in behavior by such high-profile people don’t go unnoticed.”
“But once you realized that you were already exposed,” said the colonel, “this was no longer a concern.”
“Exactly. But back to your question, we also had little interest in wielding your military. We could kill most of you using your nuclear arsenal, but this would render your planet uninhabitable. Since Earth will soon be our base to expand into this region of space, we’d prefer to kill you off while keeping your planet pristine.”
“Which is where Foria comes in,” said Anna. “So what does it do?”
“It heightens human senses,” said Frey. “It floods human brains with so much pleasure that the feeling of ecstasy is like a migraine headache by comparison. Like a dozen of your orgasms at once. But with no side effects.”
“Except when it kills us,” said Anna.
Frey smiled. “Well, there is that. It acts like a time-delayed computer virus. After just one use it modifies a host’s DNA in a way that will prove to be lethal, but won’t give away even a hint of this lethality for almost three years.”
“Which gives the drug time to spread to every corner of the world before anyone realizes they’ve swallowed a time bomb,” said Redford.
“Yes. We don’t expect it to kill everyone on Earth, but it will be a good start. And if you and the Vorians hadn’t caught on, no one would have ever guessed that a non-human species was responsible. But now, given our increased numbers, we won’t even need Foria. We’ll be able to construct weapons of mass destruction that you’ve never dreamed of. And use other Tartarian technology that will make us invincible.”
“You’re delusional,” said Anna. “Invincible? How’d that work out for your fallen ancestors?”
“This time it’s very different,” said Frey. “Back then, human science was primitive. There were no manufacturing techniques, materials, or technological building blocks our people could use to recreate our technology. A thousand of your greatest tech wizards couldn’t create a modern cell phone if they were stranded on a desert island. But now you have the tech we need to recreate Tartarian advances that you won’t have for decades. And we also brought a library here with us. The equivalent of tens of millions of pages worth of specifications. A detailed compendium of all of our technology. And given the more advanced state of your technology, we’ll actually be able to use it.”
Anna knew that Frey was right. It would have been impossible in ancient times to construct anything meaningfully advanced from the materials available at the time. But the Vors had already demonstrated that this was no longer true. They had sold scientific advances to technology companies, and had developed jaw-dropping invisibility tech to protect their compound. So the Tarts probably could do exactly what Frey was threatening.
“This has been fun,” continued the holographic alien dryly. “But I’m almost out of time.”
Frey gestured to Redford. “But just so you don’t think you’ve made any inroads against us, Colonel,” he added, “my first act upon gaining control of your secretary of defense was to have him reverse your every order. The few Foria-related prisoners already taken were released, as were all samples of Foria. And as of this morning, you’re wanted as a traitor and enemy o
f the state. Your closest friends and allies will now turn their backs on you as if you were a disease.”
Anna scowled at the alien commander. “You’re very pleased with yourself,” she said in disgust. “But I pity you. Because you have no idea what you’re up against.”
Frey laughed. “Starting to believe your own press, Detective?” he said in disdain. “How pathetic. I’m truly embarrassed for you. The truth is, you’re going to tell me what I want to know, and then you’re going to die. Very soon. You’re the most overrated sentient being who ever lived, Anna Abbott.
“I know all about the Vorians’ theories. About microtubules resonating with time-reversed quantum signals. My people looked into this thousands of years ago on Tartar. We couldn’t get your microtubules to work with our brain architecture. But our modeling suggested that even if the Vorians succeeded in finding a clairvoyant and optimizing their abilities, this would be of marginal value in the broad scheme of things. At best.
“You’ve been lucky so far, Anna, but face it, you don’t even understand what you see most of the time. You have no idea what any of your hunches really mean. No military ever succeeded by taking cryptic orders from someone who doesn’t even know the reason for her own orders. You’re a clairvoyant, not a magician, and easy to nullify. And even if you manage to see a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle clearly, you’ll never see enough of it to matter. Like in the old human parable—you’re a blind woman feeling an elephant’s trunk and mistaking it for a snake.”
This last hit Anna hard. Frey had restated her biggest fear, that her clairvoyance could mislead her just as much as it could show her the truth.
But she also knew that this was the least of their problems right now. Because if they didn’t manage to find a way out of this, they’d have an eternity to ponder this issue in the afterlife.
46
Shanifrey Doe surveyed the two humans and one Vorian from the vantage point of his holographic avatar projected into the conference room in Arizona. “As I mentioned earlier,” he said, “I need to sign off. These are busy times. But you’ll see me again soon, when I fly out to handle your interrogation personally.” He shot them a menacing scowl. “And I know tortures you humans can’t even imagine.”
“I’m afraid we’ll be gone before you arrive,” said Anna defiantly.
The Tartarian commander laughed. “Your bluster is cute, Detective, but misguided. One of Evie’s holding cells is being prepared for you now. The colonel knows that these are impossible to escape from, since he approved the final design. So sit tight, and try not to miss me. It won’t be long before the commandos outside come to collect you.”
He paused. “And just so you know,” he continued, “the conference room door has been locked tight from the outside. Try to leave and it won’t go well for you.”
With that, Shanifrey ended the connection, and his holographic image disappeared from the conference room. He had Nessie kill the audio while he watched the three inhabitants stewing in the room on a video feed, and finally clicked it off entirely.
“I’m ordering Nessie to have the commandos gas the room,” he said to his second, Eldamir Kor. “Using the same type of canisters Neil Marshall’s men used at the Rest Easy Motel. But this time using a gas that will also be effective against a Vorian. I like the idea of them being unconscious while they’re being taken to a secure holding area.”
“You had Stinnett strip them of their weapons,” said Eldamir. “You don’t think five elite human commandos can handle them?”
“I never take chances when I don’t have to,” replied Shanifrey.
He paused to issue orders through Nessie and then returned his attention to his second-in-command. “The holding cell will be ready in eight minutes,” he reported. “They’ll gas them a few minutes before that time.”
Shanifrey then called for silence so he could consider recent events. Anna’s realization that the secretary of defense was under his control had been unfortunate. If not for this, they would have already learned the location of the Vorian portal, the most prized, decisive piece of intelligence of all.
He cursed inwardly. If only they had been able to turn Stinnett sooner things might have played out differently. But they had only managed to gain control of him the night before. And they hadn’t been able to turn Nessie into an expensive bug until even later that night, just in time to hear the vomit-inducing noises of Redford and the clairvoyant in the act of copulation. Even worse, if worse could be imagined, was their syrupy sweet pillow talk afterward, their gushing, fawning declarations of affection for each other, which made him want to stab at his ears with a knife.
Most discouraging of all, Nessie had caught the tail end of what he guessed from context had been a very long and interesting conversation between them. As it was, after overhearing a single session of mating and before the two had fallen asleep, all Shanifrey had learned was that Anna was unwilling to become the admiral of the Vorian allied fleet.
Yet this unwillingness had been short-lived, as she had reversed herself only the next morning, for inexplicable reasons, as they were flying to Evie headquarters. Until that point, very little of interest had been gained by Shanifrey’s audio surveillance. But this had quickly changed. First came Vega’s revelation that the Vorian portal had reopened, a vital piece of intel. This was followed by Anna’s agreement to command the fleet, after all. And finally, the detective had experienced two very intriguing visions, which she had quickly shared.
Shanifrey turned his thoughts to these possible glimpses into the future when his second-in-command broke the long silence. “I find the first vision the detective had in the helicopter troubling,” he said, demonstrating that he and his commander had been thinking along the same lines.
“That’s because it is troubling,” said Shanifrey. “We can’t let her get to Vor, even if she’s one-tenth of what the Vorians think she is.”
“Then why don’t we kill her immediately?” asked his second. “Making sure this vision never comes to pass.”
“Patience, Eldamir. She’s the bait we need to round up every Vorian on Earth. While we have the might of the entire American military at our disposal.”
“What if she escapes?”
“She won’t.”
“What if she does?” persisted Eldamir.
“Don’t believe the Vorians’ hype. What I told her is true. Her abilities are sketchy and grossly overrated. But let’s imagine for a moment a miracle happens and they do escape. We’ll just have to make sure her second vision comes into being.”
“But in the helicopter, they never mentioned the location of their portal. And we have no idea where it is.”
“Thanks!” snapped Shanifrey sarcastically. “I wasn’t aware!”
“My apologies, Commander,” said Eldamir immediately. “It’s just that I fear her first vision is the more likely of the two to come true. They also mentioned in the helicopter that they believe that once a future has been announced, anyone who knows about it can change it. After she described these visions, I have no doubt that she and the Vorians will take actions to ensure her second vision never comes to pass.”
“Unless actions taken to change this future are the ones that actually bring it about,” said Shanifrey.
“I think this would only work if you didn’t know the details of the future,” said his second. “But if you see a future in which you die in Paris, you can change this for sure. Just never go to Paris.”
“It might not be that simple,” pointed out Shanifrey. “What if your vision was incomplete? What if you failed to see that you would be kidnapped and brought to Paris against your will?”
The Tartarian leader shook his head. “Look,” he added, “we can debate this forever. But there is one takeaway from her visions that I find heartening. In her second one, we do discover the location of their portal. Which means that we must be very close. Given that so many more of our comrades are now on the case, maybe one of them is on the brink o
f discovering its whereabouts. But even if not, I’ll get this information from Redford anyway. If I can’t break him—which is hard to imagine—we’ll have another dose of HCS ready in a day or two. Then he’ll have no choice but to tell us where it is.”
He paused. “And then we’ll use the detective as the lure to wipe out all the Vorians here on Earth.”
“And if the impossible does happen,” said Eldamir, “and she escapes? What then?”
“I’ll order massive Tartarian forces to converge on the Vorian portal, to make her second vision come to life.”
“But if what she saw does comes true,” said Eldamir, “this would be a disaster for us, as well. We’ll kill her in the woods, yes. But not before losing a majority of our comrades. And our portal may never reappear to replenish our ranks.”
“If she really can escape from Redford’s headquarters,” said Shanifrey, “against all odds, then we won’t have a choice. If she can manage that, then she just might be the potent force the Vorians think she is. So even if we have to take heavy losses to kill her, it’s worth it. With her gone, and given that we’ll be able to patrol the Vorian entrance to Earth, there will be little to stop us from carrying out our plans.”
Shanifrey noted that his second-in-command still didn’t look convinced. “Cheer up, Eldamir,” he said. “Remember, this is just a hypothetical discussion. The Gatekeepers are more likely to turn themselves into a school of fish than Anna Abbott is to escape. Besides, even if she did, I’d keep sixty of us behind, forty women and twenty men, all of the highest rank. Including the two of us. If the rest get wiped out near the Vorian portal, so be it. That’s what pawns are for.”
Eldamir was about to reply when his commander held up a forestalling hand. Nessie was reporting that the commandos at the Evie facility were seconds away from gassing the conference room.
Shanifrey turned on the feed once again, just in time to see the door suddenly open and a tiny canister roll into the center of the room. The feed was soon blocked by a thick haze of gas, but less than a minute later this had dissipated just enough to reveal a Vorian woman and two humans collapsed on the floor.
Oracle Page 28
