by Gary Starta
“I guess we dodged a bullet, Normand.” Schultz spoke in a hushed tone. He continued gazing out the window intermittently to make sure any stragglers were now off of the property. Vehicles parked on each side of the road lingered there. Normand felt the full brunt of the allegations were yet to come.
“It’s on me, sir. I cannot excuse my actions. I know protocol.”
Schultz loosened his tie. “I know you do. As the officer said, this is unprecedented. I will make sure my superiors realize this Normand, but Captain Catalina and I are obligated to report this.”
“I am just -.” Normand was cut off by a strange moaning sound coming from the living room.
“What is it, Doctor?” Caron asked, her body hunched to peer into Brands’s eyes. The man sat slumped on the love seat and his breath was ragged between groans.
“Here.” Miranda rose to grab an end of the coffee table. She and her mother slid it into position so the doctor could prop his legs on it.
Brands’s head lolled back from his shoulders as he moaned. “Get some water, Miranda.” Caron adjusted a pillow behind the doctor’s head. Meanwhile, Normand noticed the cat’s tongue also was lolling from its mouth. This kitty needs to tell us something.
“I – I am hearing something beautiful. But it’s throwing my equilibrium out of balance.” Brands attempted to sit up while Caron scowled with discouragement and shook her head. “Don’t move until we know what’s going on.”
Normand sighed. And this man is the doctor?
“Please don’t be alarmed. I believe I’ve experienced this before, it’s a type of vertigo. But it’s not due to my inner ear.”
Miranda came with the water and waited until the doctor drank before speaking.
“Interesting, Doctor. You’ve had this before?” Normand observed Miranda cast a sly glance at her mother.
Caron stood with arms crossed. “Your answer raises another question, Dr. Brands. Please understand we need to know what will exactly happen with Earth Cat.” She turned to face Schultz and Catalina who were now seated on the couch. “I have yet to sign our contract.”
Normand traced a hand along his belt, attempting to stay silent. We all know contracts are made to be broken.
Schultz sat at the edge of his seat, hands clasped, tie swaying. “She’s right, Doctor. Please cooperate and we’ll be happy to cooperate with you and your superiors.”
“I don’t care about my superiors.” Brands smiled boyishly. “If I take my ball away…let’s just say all the kids go home.”
“Great, Doctor. But you can be a little less cryptic and a bit more specific.” Caron took a seat beside him.
Brands cocked his head to meet Caron’s gaze. “I promise you I don’t hurt living things. What I propose to do is allow Earth Cat speech…” The doctor was interrupted by another round of vertigo. “Ah, that tune is playing again.” He waved his hand as if a maestro. “Six notes in ascending order, another six notes in descending order. Simple like a scale yet mesmerizing like a symphony.”
Caron’s eyes widened. “Solfeggio Frequency. Like the one that played on Joule’s music chip.”
Normand snapped fingers. “Yes, that mesmerizing melody. The one my ex insisted on playing each night before bed.”
Schultz smiled weakly at Normand.
Miranda opened the cage and scooped Earth Cat into her arms. “But how would that chip still be active? Everything disappeared along with the cat. We found no evidence of anything at its GPS location.”
“Something quantum is going on here. I’m sure of it.” Caron slapped hands on her thighs. “And I just practically lied to those people out there to prevent a riot, Director. But next time we might not be so lucky.” She glared at the director who was in the process of opening a briefcase.
“We need your signature, Caron. We will do all we can to keep the animal comfortable and safe. After all, he’s a precious resource.”
Miranda retorted. “Don’t you mean an endangered species?”
“That very fact may very well ensure Earth Cat’s safety.” Brands cooed pigeon- like at Earth Cat and after a moment, Miranda broke down and smiled. Earth Cat’s expression did not change, eyes fixated on nothing in particular, tongue protruded.
“Our little baby sure knows how to bluff.” Miranda commented.
Brands raised a finger. “Hmm. Wait a moment. Maybe not.”
“Doctor, what is it?” Caron’s fists were balled with impatience.
“I swear the cat’s whiskers are vibrating. Vibration and frequency are precursors to sound. Could it be…?”
The doctor resumed placement of fingers at his temples as he appeared to be listening to some far away train coming down a track but still yet unseen. Maybe this guy isn’t quite as bonkers as I thought. Normand closed a fist in contemplation and drew it underneath his chin. I saw the cat in what may have been an atomic transition, something I could see yet not touch. If this cat exists at different quantum levels…can he speak using different frequencies?
“Could this chip have been merged in some type of cosmic exchange?” Catalina asked. He rose from the couch and began pacing. “Did the chip integrate into his DNA?”
“Fascinating conjecture.” Brands commented, still hunched over, hands on head.
“But conjecture that opens up a Pandora’s box of security issues, Doctor.” Catalina countered.
Caron nodded. “Okay, Director. I’m as ready to sign as I ever will be.” She reached for the papers Schultz was handing her.
Brands intervened. “But Mrs. Ellis, we haven’t gotten to the best part; the procedure I will perform on Earth Cat.”
Everyone’s gaze was concentrated on the doctor. Normand empathized with the man because he had had a taste of how it felt when all eyes were upon him just a few moments earlier.
With clasped hands, Brands began. “I will make Earth Cat speak just like the cardinal. It is not painful at all. It is just a genetic tweak to turn on a gene or two. To be precise, I will manipulate Earth Cat’s FOXP2 gene which in turn will create proteins to make speech possible.” Brands rattled off the procedure as if he had performed it frequently.
“But there’s more than gene manipulation, isn’t there, Doctor?” Caron asked.
“There is. But it won’t involve anything that hasn’t been done to me already.”
“And that is?” Schultz inquired.
“Why we just add a little brain matter that I can grow quite easily. I’ve had my uncle Claude’s grey matter intersected with mine for quite a few years now.” The doctor hiccupped. “Must be the root beer. My uncle would have the same reaction to carbonation.”
“Because you share brain matter with your uncle?” Caron seemed to state the question more than ask it, observing the doctor with a cautious body posture. Normand noticed the woman was arching her back like a cat. She still is so beautiful even when she is mad.
“That would be the Cliff Notes version. I promise more detail will be given at the time of the procedure. We’ll be taking Earth Cat to my Chicago office for preliminary examinations.”
Miranda cried. “Chicago?”
“Doctor, I am signing an agreement that makes my daughter legal guardian of Earth Cat. She needs to be with the cat at all times.”
“I have plenty of room for her, don’t worry.” The doctor waved a hand dismissively.
“You take the idea of moving my teenage daughter to the middle of the country pretty lightly.”
Miranda intervened. “Mom, I’m going.” She kneeled before her mother with wide tearing eyes.
“I will share every detail of the procedure. The additional brain matter will not harm any of the cat’s existing biology, but it will allow me to place a dictionary chip into him.” Brands laughed. “Not only will Earth Cat speak English, but any language on the planet and in minutes no less.”
“I think he’s fine with meowing.” Miranda patted Earth Cat’s blue head.
; “He can then speak” - Brands continued - “via a speech generating device like Stephen Hawking used.”
“Oh, and that won’t be odd.” Caron’s sarcasm irritated the doctor.
“This is an extreme situation, Mrs. Ellis.”
“Call me, Caron; it seems we’re going to be getting to know each other very well – if you know what I mean.”
Normand swallowed audibly. She’s not requesting, she’s demanding her daughter’s safety remains paramount. I wish I could alleviate her worries.
“Mom, I may need a new wardrobe for the windy city.”
Caron rolled eyes at Miranda. “Some things never change.”
Schultz smiled with admiration when Caron completed the contract. “I expect to see you at the lab bright and early tomorrow, Caron. You’ve got a job at the lab with my team.”
Brands smiled and clapped hands. “Looks like a win-win situation for everybody. But back to the procedure, I propose additional surgery. I know from personal experience that speaking like a robot isn’t so desirable. I mean I listen to Red’s techno-squawk 24/7. Talk about migraines. That’s why I have another procedure in mind so Earth Cat can sound like us when he converses.”
Everyone in the room waited for Brands to continue but he had stopped talking.
“Uh, just that sound again. Seems Earth Cat is playing his song again.”
Chapter Eight
Brands appeared to her, walking on all fours, suited like a man but his attire was blue and green like Earth Cat’s and a tail was protruding from his backside.
“I told you everything would work out fine.” He spoke in a mewl, but his words were in English and rang with a metallic resonance. It reminded her of Stephen Hawking.
Are you machine, cat or man?
Miranda stood with mouth agape, a glass of root beer in each hand, the bubbles popped and fizzed. Part of her room was a bedroom, yet another part was some place she had never been to before.
“Mm. Just like I like it. Although you may have to feed it to me with a straw or maybe a bottle. On second thought, no straw, bad for environment.”
Ooh. Gross. Miranda pictured a nipple in the being’s mouth. It was still human, but each time she glanced at Brands - who sashayed on a conference table – something changed. He paced back and forth and the next time he turned to face her he had grown blue fur on his cheeks. A moment later he wore the black whiskers which resembled Earth Cat’s. They rotated and vibrated.
OMG! Where is Earth Cat!
She held raised hands to her cheeks and somehow the glasses did not shatter but floated.
He spoke. “Ah, a root beer float!”
“Where is Earth Cat?”
“Earth Cat needed to evolve, Miranda. Like you may.”
“I never agreed…” Miranda screamed for her mother. “Help, look what he’s done…”
“I warned you about leaving with him.” Caron stood perched at the doorway, hands on hips.
In another blip, Caron was replaced by Earth Cat’s sweet face. In the background, tall buildings loomed.
“Oh, Earth Cat. Come back to me.”
Struggling with her pillow and awakening from her dream, Miranda’s gaze focused on the cage next to her bed where Earth Cat resided. He was still intact as a cat – an odd colored cat – but a feline albeit.
She had reached to pat the cat through the steel cage door when Caron popped into her bedroom doorway much like she had in the dream.
“Oh, you are here to warn me, aren’t you? Well, I’m going…my mind is…”
“Yes, you are going. Please get ready. I have approval to bring you and Dr. Brands to our conference this morning.”
Miranda glanced at the window, groggy. “It’s still dark. Mm. Going to Chicago?”
“That’s what bright and early means. And no, not Chicago, sleepy head. First, we have a meeting at the lab.” Caron exited.
Miranda tossed on a pink halter top with white shorts. “Hmm. Well, I have no idea what to wear to what must be one of the weirdest meetings ever to be held at Brookhaven.”
Earth Cat peered at Miranda from his cage with his tongue protruded.
When she arrived in the kitchen, Brands was seated at the table spooning Captain Crunch into his mouth. “The peanut butter flavor is not like I remembered it. Then again, memories can be tricky.”
Miranda stood speechless gazing at Caron. The man was attired in pajamas which resembled her father’s. “Mom, is he…?”
“He is. I was about to give them to the Salvation Army anyway. Mike refused to get them.” She shook her head in reaction to the memory of her ex.
“Sorry, Miranda. I wasn’t going to stay but your mother insisted. My luggage is back at the lab.” Brands resumed chewing the brittle cereal.
Caron whispered in her ear. “I want to be able to trust this man, so I asked him to stay. He’s a little eccentric but seems to be a good soul so far.”
Miranda fought to hide her emotional reaction from the dream. All she needs is to see I’m afraid of him. Then poor Earth Cat will be alone. I’ve got to put on my best poker face.
The teen forced a toothy smile. “Where was I when this happened?”
“You had already retreated to your room with Earth Cat where you fell asleep. I miss those days when I could sleep twelve hours at a clip.”
“I’m growing, Mom. And yesterday was more than a little disturbing.”
“I know.” Caron blinked rapidly. “I trust you, sweetheart. It’s simply hard to let go.”
The meeting was already underway when Caron, Brands, Earth Cat and Miranda arrived.
Schultz rose from his seat to introduce Cheryl Lacroix and Devin Ramsey. “You already know, Normand.”
Miranda smiled and brushed a lock of pink hair from her eyes. He’s still here. I like Normand because I feel I can trust him. In the next instant, Miranda’s smile dissipated. What does that say about my opinion of Brands?
Schultz waited for everyone to be seated, fiddling with his tie as he did.
“I want us to make a game plan before Earth Cat is taken to Chicago. We need to get a tally of all our questions.” He pinched the lobe of his ear. “I am advising everyone this meeting is being recorded.”
“It’s going to be a long list to be sure,” Brands interjected. “But every answer in science comes from questions.”
“There’s going to be a boatload of answers then…I hope.” Miranda added with her eyes darting from side-to-side. “May I?” She gestured toward Schultz that she was going to let Earth Cat out of his carrier. Schultz nodded.
Earth Cat strutted from his cage, arching his back and stretching his limbs.
“Cats sure know how to command a room.” Normand commented.
“And command our hearts.” Caron added, placing her hand on her daughter’s arm.
“Well, we are fortunate to have one domesticated feline to study. I know he’s not probably a genetic type we’ve encountered before and that’s why it will be important for Dr. Brands to run blood work and DNA testing. We need to know what kind of animal we are dealing with.” Schultz punched a key on his laptop and swiveled its screen toward Lacroix and Ramsey. “Everyone here is going to be in included in a chat, so we all remain in the loop whether we are in Long Island or Chicago.”
Brands smiled. “That’s a pretty good joke. I mean, The Loop is pretty famous.”
Miranda became engrossed in Earth Cat’s strut. The feline pranced back and forth on the table just like Brands did in the dream. At one point, Earth Cat paused to rub against Lacroix’s notebook before taking a stand on it.
“Sweet kitty.” Lacroix seemed a bit reluctant to scratch the cat behind its ears. Miranda realized the cat’s appearance would take some getting used to. It’s bad enough he may be the last of his kind on the planet. Now he’ll be judged by his colors.
Ramsey, seeming to sense his colleague’s discomfort, began to speak. “It’s funny, ju
st days ago I was hoping that we would get a glimpse at a quark. And…now maybe we have. I certainly have to believe our acceleration is more than somewhat responsible. And if that is the reality of this situation, we should look at the Standard Model. As we all know – I am sorry, excuse me Miranda for being presumptuous – the model explains all the fundamental interactions of particle physics. Might this change be related to electric and magnetic fields or a new binding of atomic nuclei? It would seem that we may have an answer – despite the unfortunate occurrence – to finding out how fields operate, maybe the same ones responsible for The Big Bang.”
Schultz cleared his throat. “We do indeed, Devin. We have to remember our superiors were seeking energy efficient technology. Everyone may not be so excited about this finding, and I’m sure – that I can speak for the Ellis family – we will do our best to rectify the matter.”
Miranda thrummed fingers on the table. “I just hope this quest to find answers does not fizzle out in time. I would hope the disappearance of millions of cats might be enough to keep us all interested – financial backers included - because if you don’t find the reason for this change, how might you qualify for future funding?” Miranda arched her back against her chair and crossed arms.
Caron smiled but batted her eyelashes. It was a nervous tic Miranda was familiar with. “Please excuse my daughter’s blunt assessment. She is one of many children whose heart strings have been tugged immeasurably out of balance by this event.”
Ramsey raised an index finger and scribbled notes. “Yes, that’s good. Tugging on strings. Maybe it’s vibrational like M Theory.”
Lacroix scowled. “It may very well be vibrational, Devin, but that doesn’t scream alternate dimensions just yet.” Miranda was aware that alternate realities might exist through String Theory which posited that at least 11 dimensions might exist. If so, did Earth Cat come from another dimension, possibly another Earth?
Ramsey scowled back to mirror Lacroix. Miranda stole a glance at her mother, wondering if this was how physicists normally behaved.