The above would nullify any reasons of wanting to detain Adamarus and his family for secrecy or to make test subjects out of them.
It would also negate the problem of the Health Department tying up distribution for years while it tested it.
Everything had to be done in a way that did not get Adamarus, his family, or the Loud in any kind of serious trouble with the government.
The effects of the planet’s population explosion—shortages of living space, food, water, electrical power and others that might arise would need to be addressed before the shortages occurred.
After Bugs read off the list, the Loud was silent for almost three minutes. Adamarus was just about to say something just to break the silence when Bugs expanded upwards. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do…” and Bugs proceeded to create a plan. Adamarus added details or alternatives. An hour later, they had the details worked out. The plan was bold and daring but it seemed like it would work. A lot of people would not be happy, but as far as they could see, this would not matter.
The Loud seemed to stretch and rub his eyes with his tentacles. Again, somehow it mimicked a very human gesture. “Now,” it continued, “is there anything else?”
Adamarus was on overload, overwhelmed by the intense planning session as well as their bold plan. He laughed weakly and said, “You seem to have it all figured out.” Adamarus swallowed—he was putting so much trust in this alien after only a few weeks: the life of his wife and son, the future of his world! He looked at the ungodly creature below him on the dome floor. “When would we want to do this?”
“Your wife and son are being treated tomorrow so… it must be done tomorrow.”
Adamarus felt like he’d been kicked in the head! The entire plan had been somewhat hypothetical, but not now. How had it come to this? After a moment Adamarus said, “Bugs, I’m not sure we can do this.”
“Sleep on it. We will do nothing unless you agree.”
Adamarus realized he was in a state of shock. All he could say was, “Okay.”
Bugs raised his tentacles, “Then…until tomorrow…probability…fold in your favor!”
Yes, we must hope like hell that probability folds in our favor, Adamarus thought.
---
Adamarus tried like hell to get control of his emotions as he was led to the debriefing room. He told them what he could of what Bugs had said about how interplanetary trade would be conducted, leaving out anything to do with immortality, and they discussed this. However, it quickly became apparent that this had not taken up the entire meeting.
“Well, we also talked more about trade items, specifically entertainment items like videos, films and books. The Loud has a problem understanding fiction, that is, they understand it, they just don’t know why people would be interested in made up stories.” Pun intended, Adamarus thought as he told the lie and focused on not making any telltale micro expressions or other mannerisms that would show he was lying. He did not like being untruthful—it went against his nature—but there was simply no choice. He reached for the glass of water but then only pretended to take a drink, afraid it might contain a truth serum. He snuck a look at the clock—thank God the debriefing would soon be over.
“How long would you say you stayed on that subject,” the presidential advisor asked?
“Of fictional stories?”
“Entertainment.”
“Oh, most of the day,” Adamarus said. Then he remembered something important he’d almost forgotten, “Oh, a couple of things regarding the visit of my family tomorrow. I’d like to bring Grace and Nero in at the end of the session so I can leave with them. Meeting an alien being may scare or disturb them and I want all of us to drive home together—basically, I want to be with them immediately afterwards. Perhaps we could do tomorrow’s debrief early the next morning.”
Leewood nodded, “Very well. And the other item?”
“Yes, we don’t know for sure what will happen when my wife and son visit with Bugs, but I want some freedom—if this turns into a one or two-hour visit, I want to go along with that.”
Leewood stared at him for a beat. His face clouded but then he nodded, “Okay.”
---
That night, Adamarus had much to discuss with Grace but not while Nero was awake.
After dinner, in the middle of rinsing dishes while Grace washed, the doorbell rang.
Adamarus dried his hands, “That’s Radin. This will only take fifteen minutes.” He kissed her on the cheek and went to the door.
Radin rushed in, “I’m on duty tonight so I can’t stay long. Can we retire to the drawing room for a few minutes?”
Adamarus led the way. “I’m glad you showed up—a lot of things happened today.” They walked into the drawing room, closed the door behind them, turned on the video screen and sat down. Adamarus said, “You go first.” Adamarus noticed that Radin was staring at him strangely. Adamarus was not in the mood for this and his almost explosive response was a sign of the stress he was under. “Oh come on! What now? What? What?”
“I’m sorry,” Radin said. “My contact had some very interesting stuff for us today. He…”
Adamarus interrupted waving his hand, “Just say ‘she'. I know who it is.”
“What? How do you know? Who is it?”
“Dr. Lorraine Harrington.”
“Shit! How?”
“Power of deduction.”
Now Radin lost it. He shook his head, “Bullshit! Whatever! According to her, the results of certain medical tests were classified and withheld. These test results show that—okay, brace yourself …”
Adamarus cut in again, “They show that basically I’m immortal.”
Radin’s face went slack and he was quiet for several seconds. “Of course, the Loud told you. When?”
“Just today.”
“And they told you why they made you immortal?”
“Yes.”
Radin took a deep breath. “Well, the specialists only have educated guesses on this so, tell me, why?”
“Mostly to save my life, they say, but also consistency in trading with us.”
“Those were some of their guesses. Another was a visit to their planet.” A moment of silence passed between them. Radin was getting warm and unzipped his coat. “You know what will happen if this becomes public?”
Adamarus sighed, “Yes.”
“Do you really?” Radin shot back.
“Yes, I do.”
“Then you also know that the government “must” keep this a secret…and…in order for them to do that…” they looked at each other, letting the meaning sink in. The only way the government could insure secrecy was to round up everyone who knew about this. And…then what? Somehow contain them.
Adamarus barely moved his head, nodding only once. So it had come to his worst fears. They actually planned to grab everyone who knew anything about it. How bad was it? Surely they didn’t plan to kill anyone. Adamarus knew one thing, this was not the President’s doing. It had to be Congressman De Bella. He was sure Wicker didn’t even know. “When?” Adamarus asked.
“She didn’t know about the doctors, nurses and any others who might know about your newly acquired youth and immortality, but…”
“My God, they’re really going to do this, aren’t they?”
“The fountain of youth, immortality? It’s just too damn big, too powerful. Too dangerous. Personally I think De Bella wants it no matter what it takes. Harrington is appalled and she said Leewood is too, but he has a thing about following orders—he’s going through a lot of pain over it.”
Adamarus quickly looked away. He “had a thing” about following orders too. He had disobeyed one once and…the cost…he shook his head and put that issue aside. “So, Leewood is upset? That’s not too surprising.”
Radin looked down at the floor. “They plan to grab you and your family tomorrow after you’ve met with Bugs. Leewood is supposed to do this with two sleazebags De Bella has coming in tonight—I guess De
Bella doesn’t trust Leewood one hundred percent. Leewood doesn’t know where you’ll be taken or held, or what will happen to you afterwards. De Bella has a second team coming in tonight that will fake the accident that supposedly kills all of you. Where they’ll get the bodies… I don’t even want to know.”
Adamarus sat there and listened in disbelief. The ugliness he had feared was actually here and coming to pass…except…he and his family would not be there. And hopefully what he and Bugs planned would be in time to save the others who had been cursed simply by being aware of Adamarus.
Radin had been talking but Adamarus had not been listening. Radin saw this and snapped his fingers in front of Adamarus’ face. “I’m sorry, my mind wandered. What were you saying?”
Radin snorted but repeated himself, “We need to get you, Grace and Nero out of here tonight. I’ve got a plan that will…”
“No.” Adamarus interrupted. “It’s all taken care of.”
Radin gave him a long hard look that silently asked, what are you talking about?
Adamarus gave him a sly grin, “Really. Tomorrow many things will happen and I promise that neither I nor my family will be around when they try to grab us. And, if they fake an accident…they’ll be in for a nasty surprise.”
Radin leaned forward, “Adamarus…I’m not sure that their actions should be stopped. If everyone becomes immortal, don’t you see the horrific problems our world will face?”
“Trust me on this, Radin.”
“But how can anyone keep this,” Radin motioned to Adamarus’ face and body, “a secret?”
“We are not going to.”
“We’re not? We? Who… is we?”
“Bugs and I—we hashed this out all day.”
“And?”
“We have a plan.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I think.”
Adamarus cracked his fingers in one twisting underhanded motion. “We’ve already kept my newfound youth and immortality a secret for what—it’s probably three months now.” He gave Radin a look, “Since we know that eventually there will be a leak…”
Radin caught on at once, “You want to control the leak…,” but then his face twisted in confusion, “What? The timing?”
Adamarus nodded.
“Okay…who, when, where and how?”
“The when is tomorrow at a very precise time and the who is Dr. Harrington. You will tell her what she needs to do, and more importantly, at what time she’ll need to do it. Here’s what’s going to happen…”
---
Radin had left and Nero’s video show ended. Nero came running in the kitchen chasing some imaginary enemy and voicing the theme song from his favorite video show, Swing Fist—Super Spy. “Dun…Da Da Da…Dun Da Da Da…”
Adamarus caught him as he ran by and swung him into the air and around in a circle. In a deep voice Adamarus said, “Emergency extraction ‘Swing’—there’s trouble in your bedroom and you're needed!”
“Ah, Dad!” Nero said between laughter.
Adamarus set him down, “Big trouble—you’re needed right away!”
Nero ran down the hallway firing his toy rifle as he went, “Dun Dun Da Da Da…”
After Nero was tucked in, Adamarus and Grace went into the den. He sat on the couch and she sat across from him in the love seat. Adamarus explained what the Loud had told him today, about his not aging—his immortality and about all the thoughts that had passed through his head as a result. He summarized the plan he and Bugs had worked out. Seeing her astonishment, he then told her what Radin had said—about the grab and the fake accident. Grace listened quietly with ever-widening eyes and at the end was overwhelmed. She just shook her head and then put her head in her hands for several minutes. Adamarus just waited.
Finally, she looked up, “My God, Adamarus! This is too much!”
“Sweetheart, we've discussed the treatment over and over, and now more than ever, I think we should do it. However, in the end, it's your decision.”
Grace got up and sat beside him on the couch and hugged him. “Oh, Adamarus…” the tears came and she held him tighter, “what should I do?” After a few seconds, she pulled away and tried to put on a brave face, “Look at you! In your thirties again! It’s not fair. I’m so scared.” She stared at the floor for a full minute then looked up. “Okay,” she said softly.
Adamarus took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay,” he repeated. “You will both come with me tomorrow.” He looked into her eyes. “I arranged to get both of you the same treatment that I’ve gotten.”
Her eyes went wide, “What? Both of us?”
“Soon, if all goes well, everyone who wants it can have what I have. But even if not, at least our family can get it and we’ll be together.” He took her hands. “I know it’s scary but…”
“Scary?” She interrupted, wiping her tears from her face. “An alien immortality treatment? Hell, yes, it’s scary! But does this mean I’ll become twenty years younger like you?” Adamarus nodded. She laughed, “Then…to hell with scary. I’ll do it. But Nero too? What will happen to him? He can’t get twenty years younger.”
“He won’t change at all except that once he reaches his prime age—around thirty years—he’ll stop aging.”
Grace got giddy again, “How long does it take to work?”
Adamarus told her all he knew. After talking about the changes some more, they went into the bedroom and they made love like they hadn’t done in years. After going at it twice, they rested in each other’s arms.
“Hmmm, well, I do kind of like this new you.”
“You’ll like me even more,” said Adamarus, as he rolled onto her for a third round.
“Whoa, cowboy… maybe you’re a spring chicken but I’m still a sprung chicken.” She pushed Adamarus back over to his side of the bed and rolled on top of him. They were both covered with sweat. “I’ll tell you what though,” her eyes got very big, “let’s drive over there now!”
“Oh no…” Adamarus laughed.
“Oh yes…” she went nose to nose with him and whispered, “it’s only twenty minutes away. Then we can come back and go at it all night.”
“Don’t you remember, after you take it, you’ll feel a little sick, then sleep for several days.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Grace giggled and pulled Adamarus on top of her again.
Chapter Eight – Immortality
“As you know, the Loud come from the star designated G214-H which is 112 light years away. They traveled here at relativistic speeds reaching ninety-nine percent the speed of light for most of the trip using a propulsion technology they call Graviton Focal Enhancement. It took 182 years for the journey, though to those aboard the ship, only a fifth of that time passed. They arrived here just over three years ago and have been studying us to determine if we were peaceful and ready for contact. I am very glad that we passed their tests! (applause) They also wanted to learn our languages and customs to ease the first contact process. They claim that contacting us is the most important event in their history. I would suggest that it is the other way around. (applause)”
Dr. Wayne Brittan, Chairman of the House Science Committee
Introduction to The 23rd Amular Symposium on Quantum Physics
Source: The Archive
Adamarus had gone over the plan again with Bugs. He could think of nothing they’d forgotten. Adamarus sat down and glanced at his watch. “I was surprised yesterday, when I told my wife about Nero—she got over the safety issues faster than I had thought she would. Are the two treatments ready?”
Bugs replied, “No.”
Confusion clouded Adamarus’ face, “No?”
“No. It takes twelve hours to prepare.”
Adamarus didn’t know what to say. Then, “Well, why didn’t you start the preparation yesterday?”
Now it was Bug’s turn to look confused, “We did. All is ready.”
“But you just said that it wasn’t ready.”
�
��It wasn’t ready yesterday.”
“Right. Okay.” Adamarus wasn’t sure what had just happened but all was okay now. He guessed another translator hiccupped and shrugged it off. He checked his watch—his family was due to arrive in ten minutes. He reminded Bugs of this. “Your biggest challenge is still ahead of you.”
The giant alien gave Adamarus a look.
Adamarus raised his hands in a helpless gesture, “I told my son that he could ask you any two questions and that you would answer him. You’re supposed to be the ‘all knowing’ alien so, don’t let me down!”
The Loud’s large body quivered and jerked violently actually lifting off of the floor. Adamarus jumped up alarmed—it looked like Bugs was having a seizure. But as soon as he was standing, he realized he had seen this before, just nothing this violent. With a bust of insight, he realized that this was the Loud equivalent of laughter. He looked on amazed as Bugs jerked and quivered, the violent movements jerking him across the floor. It lasted only a few seconds and then it was over. He shook his head. He should have caught on to this before.
The alien swelled, jetting upward then came back down, forcing out the air. As usual, despite all the soundproofing, the un-Godly screech could be heard while wave lengths above and below his hearing range sent shivers up Adamarus’ spine. He realized that he was used to this, but Grace and Nero would not be. He’d have to try to prepare them. The translator said, “I will do my best, but what have I done to earn this punishment?”
Unprepared for the comeback, Adamarus just shook his head.
Bugs said, “Now remember, I will deposit their doses on the table by the sink. While I’m doing this, the light outside the door will turn red for about five minutes to vent the room, place the doses and re-pressurize the room and heat it. During this time you need to stall…act like you are preparing your family to meet me. If the guards see the red light on, they will think it unusual and may not allow you and your family to enter. When the room is ready to enter again, the light will turn green.”
Encounters (The Spiral Slayers Book 1) Page 11
