“I told them we’d call and that I know I was in big trouble, but I had to come and meet you. I have to be here working on the stuff that we need,” Terry said, pleading with Piper and then Alex. The boy looked desperate.
“Terry, I appreciate everything you’ve managed to do, but stowing away on our airplane was very dangerous,” Alex said. “You could have died if you were in the wrong area.”
“Yeah, except they aren’t airplanes, are they?” Terry said, giving Alex a challenging look. “Those engines on the wings are weak for that type of plane and wouldn’t be able to push us nearly as fast as we needed to get here in four hours. I saw what was in the hull. Were they some sort of anti-gravity drive? They kept me more than warm. I didn’t even need my jacket. No one else has even come close to doing anything like that!”
Piper, Nabhitha, and Nathan all looked startled, glancing at the two agents with varying degrees of concern. John and Leann both tensed, suddenly on alert about what they’d just heard. Anti-gravity? Wasn’t that only something out of science fiction? Except that at the moment, somehow, the ten-year-old boy hit the nail on the head and caught everyone by surprise. It was too honest of a response to not be true.
It was also clear that this wasn’t something Alex and his people had wanted anyone to know. Leann ran through several scenarios, but the reality was, they were out on an island in the middle of the Pacific. She and John were both capable with guns, but she was sure that Nathan could eat them for breakfast. More importantly, the man had tensed, giving Alex a sidelong glance as if waiting for a signal to do just that.
Alex, however, just looked irritated and threw up his hands while giving Terry a more appraising look. “Well, out of the mouths of babes. You’re exactly right, Terry. Those are anti-gravity engines, and once we work out a few kinks with the whole design, they’ll make getting into space as easy as the flight we just took.”
“Anti-gravity? Going into space?” John murmured, looking down at the floor. “This is so far out of my wheelhouse. We need to contact the office in L.A.” he paused, giving Nathan a pointed look. “That is unless we’re going to be kept from doing so?”
Alex shook his head firmly. “No. No, that’s not how we operate, Agent Malcom. However, can I please ask that you hear us out? News like this, as you can imagine, will be traumatic to the world. It needs to be released in such a way that will cause the least amount of damage or panic.”
“Sounds like you just want to retain control of it, to me,” John said, frowning.
Alex shrugged. “To a point, though coming from an official from America, that seems rather ironic. I assure you, there will be some technologies we’ll be keeping tight control of. However, there will be others we want to get out to the entire world. Healthcare, food production, and others like that being of primary concern.” Alex paused, giving out a sigh. “Listen, I had little intention of having this particular discussion this soon, but my hand has been forced. We do need to work with the world powers, but as I said before, this is going to be delicate. If you just report this up to your bosses, will it get to the right people, or will it get to the wrong people?”
John opened his mouth to answer but paused. Alex was right. If he just sent it blindly up the chain, it would be thrown into the maelstrom of the system and a legion of bureaucrats, politicians, and lobbyists would panic. He glanced at Leann and could see the younger woman agreed. If they did this wrong, there would be blood.
But he had some friends that might listen. More importantly, they might even have the power to make sure this whole thing didn’t get out of hand. Despite disliking smartphones and still typing with one finger on each hand, John was at heart a man that wanted the world to be good and positive. He hated watching his country backslide into anarchy because a hundred men at the top of the heap wanted to keep everyone under their thumb, and the masses of people desperate and without choices.
He would never admit it, but he watched the strides that SpaceX and Virgin Galactic made, gripping his chair arm hard, hoping that they would manage to pull humanity away from the wolves. Now he could add Empyrean to that list, and for the first time, he thought they might just pull it off.
So, he gave them all a nod. “Okay. We’re willing to listen and if we like what we hear, I think I know some people that can help.”
Chapter 13
Time: August 23, 2027
Location: Empyrean Island, Pacific Ocean
Colleen and Helen were sharing a glass of wine with a late dinner, watching the moon reflect off of the water from the third floor of a building that was close to the beach. The food had been delivered by a polite man from the cafeteria that was kept open at all hours, though they were not overly busy as of yet. There were just too few people on the island as the labs and production workshops were being slowly filled. It wasn’t a quick process since the evaluation protocols that Empyrean had enacted for those they brought to the island were relatively strict and lengthy.
Still, they knew that those coming to work here were likely to be busy at all hours, so even the smallest service that one might expect was kept available. Something Colleen and Helen had both taken advantage of on more than a few occasions.
Despite the warm atmosphere, both women were muted in their conversation as they waited for Alex and Piper to arrive. Things had changed in more ways than one, and they all needed to talk about the ramifications.
“What a day,” Alex breathed out as he collapsed into a comfortable lounge chair that sat next to the table where his grandmother and Helen were eating. Piper joined him, sitting across from her brother with a worried look on her face. “You can say that again,” she said, closing her eyes and putting her head back.
“Did you get all the children settled?” Colleen asked politely, looking up from her dessert.
“Ha! Children. Only to you, Grandma. One of those children has hair as gray as yours. At least for now,” Alex said, glancing over at the table. “but to answer your question, yes, we’ve got the two agents in their apartments on the beach, and I’ve put Terry in with one of the female security guards in her quarters.”
“So, what do you want to talk about first?” Helen said slowly. “The fact that the big, bad US agents know we have antigravity or Terry.”
Alex gave Helen a long look before giving out another sigh, then stood up and crossed to the table and took a seat. “I think we need to talk about Terry, first. Piper and I were discussing it on our way over, and both of us felt…something when we saw him. I can’t really explain what it is, though. It’s like I wasn’t surprised to see him. That, and the kid was talking about wanting to build plasma engines.”
“Do you think it’s some sort of psychic recognition?” Helen asked hesitantly.
Alex frowned, thinking about that for a long moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. It, well, would I even know if it was? All I know is that it was something!”
“It felt like-,” Piper said, biting her tongue before continuing, “-like you’ve been thinking about the solution to a problem, and suddenly it just bubbles up from the back of your brain. But whatever it was, I think he’s connected to us somehow. Or maybe more appropriately, to whatever happened to us.”
“How? He’s not old enough, is he?” Helen asked.
“He’s ten years old,” Colleen said, leaning back in her chair. “It’s been just about ten years since I…since the incident. When was he born, I wonder.”
Alex frowned before turning to his drone. “Aristotle, can you display the US public records for James Terry Young?”
“Yes, sir,” the drone said, then hovered forward and displayed a set of holographic screens over the table. Alex had retrieved them earlier that day and was glad he had. Despite him being so young, it was clear that Terry had already made an impression with various appearances with the UCLA rocket club, as well as taking first place in a few state-level science fairs. There, displayed underneath his school record was a
date sometime after the death of Colleen.
“It’s not the same date,” Piper said. “Though it’s the same year.”
“No, don’t you see?” Colleen said, putting her fork down and shaking her head. “It’s not the date of birth. It’s the date of inception. His birthday is a little over nine months after when we were all affected. Whatever happened to the four of us, apparently also affected this young man.”
“Aliens!” Piper said, raising her hand high in the air. “It’s got to be aliens! They beamed something into our heads!”
“It could be Angels, too,” Helen offered, then continued with a quieter tone. “Or demons.”
“I refuse to believe it’s demons,” Colleen said. “We’re doing far too much good. Besides, we’re keeping a very close eye on things just in case. Something wants us to advance our species, and I don’t think it’s for malevolent reasons. Either way, we’ll either find out what it is eventually or not. Do you propose we stop out of fear?”
Helen hardened her look and shook her head. “No. Some of the things I’ve been able to discover, I can’t explain, but they’re good things. Food production, and cures for diseases.” She held up a hand with her thumb and forefinger held only an inch apart. “I’m this close to refining a process to cure cancer that won’t cost four or five hundred thousand dollars. I used to be a hospice nurse. There’s no way I should be able to do what I’ve done, but here I am.”
“None of us are doing things that are normal,” Alex said. “It’s also clear that Terry is affected by the same phenomena. As I said, he was talking about building plasma drives and ramscoops. I talked to him about it afterward, and he’s not just spouting words. He actually has plans for a magnetic scoop, not a physical one, and I’d bet you a doughnut he might even have some of the calculations on how to do it.”
“He won’t need to,” Piper said quietly. When they all looked at her, she blushed and shrugged. “Once he mentioned it, the ideas for how to build it started popping into my head.”
“I repeat, Well, then,” Colleen said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that he should be here, but he’s still just a ten-year-old boy. How did the conversation with his parents go? A lot will be up to them. What are they like?”
“They are good people, but needfully terrified,” Alex said. “They hadn’t gotten Terry’s email by the time we called and were a bit frantic once they realized their son was talking to them from the middle of the Pacific ocean. It was a little touch-and-go at first, but I managed to calm them down. Then I offered them a trip to come out here.”
“Whatever for?” Helen asked. “Wouldn’t it have just been better to take him back to L.A?”
“Normally, yes,” Alex answered. “Until I looked at their credentials. She’s a teacher at UCLA in chemistry, and he’s there on a research grant in physics. The kid’s got excellent genes. I’m thinking of offering both of them jobs. If I can talk them into it, I think that’ll be a perfect opportunity to see what the kid can do. Besides, we’re going to have plenty of families here, so there will be other kids for him to interact with. Speaking of others, you realize that finding Terry means there might be others out there.”
Colleen, Helen, and Piper paused, absorbing what Alex had said. “Do you think it will only be kids?” Piper finally asked.
“Who knows? Whatever’s happened, it seems to have happened during some sort of flux event in a person’s life. Though with the three of us-” Alex said, indicating himself, Piper, and Helen, “-it might also have affected those around the person. I’m highly curious if Terry’s parents would have become as talented in their fields if Terry hadn’t been in the picture.”
“Piper, can you begin a worldwide search for anyone that has that date as a significant factor and sudden brilliance in some sort of science?” Colleen asked her granddaughter. “I’m sure we won’t find everyone, but it should be a good start.”
Piper nodded. “Yes, I can do that. I’ll be upgrading our computer core this week anyway, so that will be one project to test.”
“Sounds good. We’ll leave that in you and your team’s hands,” Colleen said, then turned toward Alex. “Now, what can we expect about the Agents hearing about our antigravity engines. Coupled with what we’d actually planned to show them, they’ll know we probably have more we’re probably hiding from them.”
Alex nodded slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Honestly? I’m not sure. My initial read of both agents is that they are good people, and the older one actually seemed quite concerned once I pointed out the possible infighting this might cause in the US. He wants to arrange a meeting with an old friend of his. General Talieson Solmon. Apparently, they went to West Point together, and the man has significant influence with the Pentagon.”
“Can we trust them?” Helen asked.
Alex gave Helen a long look. “I don’t know, but right now we don’t have a choice. Well, we do have a choice, but we agreed long ago that whatever happened, we wouldn’t do things to compromise our morals and ethics. That means doing things the hard way sometimes, and this might be one of those times. We’ll just have to hope it doesn’t become a worst-case scenario.”
“We’re not yet ready for a worst-case scenario,” Colleen said. “We’ve got some capability to get into orbit right now, but we don’t have enough seafloor mining or other infrastructure to make any significant habitats. If they start playing hardball right now, we’ll have to go under the ocean.”
“I’ll have some of the construction crews moved from the island to work on the underwater habitats, then. It will slow down construction of some of the labs , but we need to do everything we can to give ourselves time. I’ll also move more crews to sites B and C to increase their production.”
Piper snorted. “Alex, when are you going to give them proper names? You can’t just call everything by letters or numbers. People need something to identify with.”
Alex rolled his eyes, but when he saw the look on Colleen and Helen’s faces, he realized he was outnumbered. “Fine, fine. I’ll work on it. I guess mining sites just don’t seem very romantic, but I refuse to call anything Atlantis.”
“They probably won’t be exclusively mining sites forever,” Colleen said. “But fine, no Atlantis. It is a pretty name, though.” She said, giving him a sideways look.
“No Atlantis,” Alex said more firmly, though he noticed Colleen was giving him a faint smile.
Chapter 14
Time: September 12, 2027
Location: Empyrean Island, Pacific Ocean
John smiled as he saw his old friend walk into the coffee shop. General Talieson Solmon was not as tall as John, being only about five foot six, but had broad shoulders and looked like he kept in shape. John secretly thought the bomber jacket and aviator sunglasses his friend wore were a bit too top gun, though. It had been a few years since they’d seen each other, but he was one of those friends that no matter how long between visits, they just slipped right back into their comfortable familiarity.
“Digger!” his friend said, shaking John’s hand warmly before taking a seat. “Dang good to see you, my friend. It’s been too long. How’s Bevin? I hope she’s doing well? Or at least putting up with your grumpy old ass.”
John laughed and shook his head, wincing at the old nickname. He had been good at digging up information on instructors or other students at West Point, so had more than earned the nickname. “Good to see you, Tali. Bevin is doing well and putting up with me about as well as Martha is with you, I’m sure.”
“She does better than most, putting up with my hopping around the country and world. The Free world won’t keep itself free, that’s for sure.” Tali said, grinning at his friend. When the waitress came by, both men ordered plain coffee.
“Are you still heading up to Alaska every year for your fishing trip?” John asked.
Tali smiled. “Yep, and you’d probably see some of the pictures of the Steelhead I catch if you got on the computer
once in a while. Facebook isn’t only for the young, Digger.”
John scowled. He didn’t mind the internet but didn’t trust it either, and Facebook not at all. “I tried once, but I started getting friend requests from people I haven’t seen for twenty years. How did they even know I was there? It scared me to death, so the next day I erased my account. Those damn computers get into your life and dig everything out.”
Tali grinned and shook his head. “Ironic coming from you, Digger. How in heavens name did you ever succeed as a military analyst?”
“Maybe that’s why I don’t like them because they’re too good at getting at sensitive information. Also, we didn’t have computers back then,” John said. “Everything was paper files and filing cabinets. I miss those days.”
“I don’t, but I’m not here to talk to you out of what you believe. I’ll send you the pictures in an email if you have one.”
“I do,” John said. “Can’t do anything these days without one. You’ve got it. I still get all those joke emails you send out all the time.”
Tali chuckled. “I love those dad jokes. My kids plead with me to stop sending them out, but I just love seeing their reaction too much.” He paused, then got a more serious look on his face. “Now, you didn’t drag me two hours out of DC just to talk to me about my dad jokes, did you? What’s going on, John? Your message seemed kind of cryptic.”
John tried not to, but he couldn’t help himself from looking around at the other few people in the coffee shop. No one had come in since he and Tali had entered, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Tali’s face grew still, but he nodded, leaving some money on the table that would more than cover the coffee. Then both men rose and headed outside. It was mid-September, so both men’s coats were more than enough to keep the wind off. There was a park across the street which is one of the reasons that John had picked this particular coffee shop, and he led his friend over to a park bench.
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