Earth Cat Zero: Last Cat Meowing

by Gary Starta

  Miranda sighed. “I want to apologize, Doctor. I can’t help thinking we are being led by a nefarious ball of string. This meeting seems like we’re again playing to somebody else’s script. I don’t think my mom has leveled with me. There may be something even worse going on than I could imagine…in this dammed waking nightmare.”

  “Look at the sun, the cumulus clouds, the glint of light playing off the tinted windows above us. This is only a nightmare if we choose to view it that way. What it is…Miranda…is glorious.” The doctor’s smile was feint and a tear seemed to well in his eye.

  Okay, it’s clear I’m the glue that’s got to hold everyone together here. Now even Earth Cat seems to have become affected by human emotions.

  The doctor excused himself. “I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s rare I’ve had company to share my feelings with and I’ve got to thank Red for being there for me…ah…I’ve got to get him back…I’ve got to show him my gratitude.”

  Miranda smiled. Despite the doctor’s imperfections and nifty way of sinking us deeper into the cosmic muck, I would be proud to call him family.

  “You have a knowing look on your face, Miranda.” Brands commented, whisking a finger along the cat’s cheek. The cat seemed overly stimulated to Miranda with his tongue protruding. Was this in reaction to Brands’s emotional outburst or something else? Miranda couldn’t be certain. She realized she could only be confident about her own feelings, not the cat’s nor the doctor’s.

  “Well, I know I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I know it doesn’t make much sense because I want to freak out just about every other minute. But I feel I’ve been placed in this position because science is in my blood.”

  “Ah, so you’re saying it’s not only genetic disposition but fate itself.” Brands chomped his gum in contemplation.

  Earth Cat Zero winked an eye. “Speaking of fate, I could use a fortune teller or two. I don’t get how being put into danger time and time again could be advantageous not to mention how such ideas could course through one’s blood stream. I just think we’re meant to live – peacefully - and in one piece. That’s going to be my destiny.”

  “But feelings and information do run through us, Earth Cat Zero, they do.” Brands began waving hands and a spring had returned to his step. “Information runs deep. It’s not only in our brains but in our other organs as well. We are living proof of a special mind sharing. And…well” – the doctor’s face lined with worry – “I do need to admit that you share a link with my Uncle Claude as well because of the quantum data transfer.”

  “Hmm. That can’t mean…” Earth Cat Zero seemed to chew on the matter, his tongue protruded and wagging from one side of his mouth to the other.

  “You may be part human. In a loose sense. Yes.” Brands nodded as he spoke. Miranda interpreted the gesture as confessional. Just what god does a scientist ask for that kind of forgiveness?

  Brands laughed dryly as if he heard her thoughts. “You speak of devils, Miranda; if I err, I would like to err on the side of God.”

  Miranda clasped the doctor’s hand. “Let’s show this Felicity Mandabelle what we’re made of.” With heels clapping defiantly on pavement, Miranda walked with faith. Even though the doctor had again failed to disclose their destination, Miranda knew those details were much less significant than their overall journey.

  Once inside the doors of Portello’s, Chicago’s infamous hot dog joint, the doctor’s worry lines had disappeared. Possibly they were cosmically exchanged for a few genuine belly laughs.

  “Miranda, we’re going to teach you how to drag a dog through the garden yet.”

  Earth Cat Zero observed the food being placed on trays from the ordering line. “I don’t care much for veggies, myself. Hmm. Was that once a pepper?”

  Miranda laughed with wonder. It was as if she had been transported from her waking nightmare into the carefree environs of a carnival. It seemed that locations and barriers were gatekeepers of good and bad. She wondered what barriers Earth Cat Zero had navigated to experience his new existence and if things on his other side – or other life – were just.

  “See Miranda, I gave our scientist friend exact directions.” Brands chuckled. “You can even see her avatar walking up West Ontario. She’ll be here any moment.”

  “That’s all well and fine. But again, how do we prove who she says she is beyond a badge?”

  Brands tugged at his cheek so Miranda could see his entire right eyeball. “I’ve downloaded a nifty retina recognition scanner onto my watch. “If she hesitates at all to participate, we’re out of here. Despite the delicious cheese fries.”

  “Sounds serious.” Miranda accepted a trayful of food from the cashier. “Why don’t we pick a table near the sunlight. I don’t want a rat or devil to be able to elude our spidey senses.”

  Miranda tilted her head with a fry sticking from her mouth. “She’s here.”

  Brands whispered. “And she looks a whole lot like her doppelganger.” The doctor readied his gadget.

  The bespectacled woman wore a pink jumpsuit with hair tied into a ponytail. When she stuck her hand out for a shake, Brands opted to scan her eyeball instead.

  “Sorry, can’t be too careful.”

  The woman held a hand over her chest. “I can imagine. I hope everyone is okay. I also hope her reputation didn’t precede mine too much.”

  Miranda liked the woman immediately. She was disarming, dressed respectfully without being stuffy and displayed none of the gruff behavior of her imposter.

  “Take a seat. And dig in.” Brands watched as if he was some kind of inspector.

  The woman folded a few napkins over her lap. “And if the scanner didn’t introduce myself properly, I am Felicity Mandabelle.”

  The doctor nodded. “The retina scan seems to prove that pretty conclusively. You know, I didn’t trust your doppelganger. Imagine telling me she was on a diet with a spread like this.” Brands made parentheses marks around the table.

  “Just how far will criminals go these days?” Felicity laughed from the diaphragm.

  “Who can place limits or boundaries anymore? Our cosmic lines have been blurred. We always longed for the new frontier, Dr. Mandabelle; but now it seems to have arrived without need of a starship.”

  Felicity waved a hand. “I prefer a first-name basis. Even my son calls me ‘Felicity’.”

  Miranda placed Earth Cat Zero’s paw into Felicity’s hand. “Say hello to our new friend.” The teen observed the cat’s posture. It seemed the blue and green cat was not raising any hackles or extending any claws. It seems she’s who she says she is. But even still, she’s following a government agenda. Miranda sipped her soda via straw. It’s best I remain cautious.

  Felicity explained how the DOE scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago were testing out a quantum loop experiment. “If successful” – Felicity said chewing on a fry – “we can send and receive messages in a quantum manner. And by the way, the quantum loop has nothing to do with Chicago’s Loop.”

  “I see.” Miranda sipped and imagined the straw as a quantum conduit between the tasty soft drink and her taste buds. “I wonder what else you know about me besides that I’m from Long Island?”

  “Actually.” Felicity paused to purse her lips. “I have to admit it was my son, Brandon, who looked you up.” Her shoulders rose and she made a cooing sound. “He’s so cute when he’s excited. He says he wants to become as famous as you are, Miranda.”

  Miranda was at a loss of words for a moment. “Um. Wouldn’t he want to be as famous as Earth Cat Zero?”

  “Well,” the scientist confessed. “It’s probably his hormones speaking. But personally, I do envy you, Miranda. I hope you will take full advantage of this cosmic internship that you’ve been granted.”

  “I know. I know. I am. I…will. But, in the end, I just want our cats back.”

  Brands raised a dog to his lips.
“Miranda is instrumental in my work.” The doctor bit into his treat with gusto.

  Miranda read defiance in Brands’s gesture and Felicity responded in kind.

  “I see.” Felicity batted lashes. “I see you think I’ll be a third wheel despite my expertise. I do understand and I want you to know that I personally don’t care who benefits from this tech, the DOE, the DOD, what the hell, let’s include the NAACP while we’re at it” – Felicity snorted – “job one is to restore our cats. I’ve come to add -not subtract - if you get my drift.”

  Miranda could tell the woman had gained the doctor’s confidence. He had even paused before finishing off his sausage dog to listen to how the scientists were using fiber optic cables to transmit messages via quantum entanglement. “The cables will transmit a message that will appear instantaneously to the receiver, making it impossible for hackers to infiltrate it.”

  “Ah. So, you are using particles to send the information. One affects the other instantaneously.”

  Earth Cat Zero grumbled while licking some cheese off a fry. “I seem to have been down a similar road. I wonder if what I’m doing now is affecting my quantum half?”

  Brands excused the cat’s gruffness. “We seem to believe that a subatomic version of Earth Cat Zero exists. It was last seen in the particle collider. It would seem the same principles of quantum entanglement would apply.”

  Felicity adjusted her glasses. “However, it seems Earth Cat Zero is a particle while his double would likely be the wave – the same element existing in two states at the same time. It would be fascinating to prove this. Maybe, just maybe, this quantum loop can be used like a quantum Internet in some way, to allow both of the cats to communicate with each other.”

  Miranda observed Brands’s sudden silence. It was possible the doctor wasn’t ready to share his two-way qubit communication system with Felicity. The teen also had to wonder if this quantum loop could somehow be used nefariously. Instead of sending information between two points or two particles, what if it was engineered to include a third party? What if that third party had been receiving their data all along? It made Miranda grow pensive as well, but she didn’t want Felicity to grow suspicious, so she began recounting Earth Cat Zero’s love of his LED rat-ball toy.

  Felicity smiled with clasped hands. “I just love how Earth Cat can still exist as himself, a cat; despite the language, despite the informational deluge we must pour upon him every day.” She held a hand over her heart. “For that, I apologize on behalf of all humankind.”

  Miranda flashed a toothy grin. It felt natural to laugh with this woman, as natural as it had felt to hang out with Leesa. Maybe I can trust this woman after all.

  In a Brookhaven lab hallway, away from prying eyes – at least of the biological kind – Normand hugged Caron close to his chest. “We will see this through, together.”

  The engineer’s words were the comfort Caron needed after her cold interaction with Miranda. I have good reason to lie to Miranda. I am doing it for safety’s sake. But the time spent in Normand’s embrace gave Caron time to ponder. He was like a shield from a brewing storm. As long as I’m not inhibiting the accelerations from happening, what real difference does it make if I tell anyone about my interaction with the blue-suited man?

  Caron sighed audibly.

  “What’s the matter? Am I squeezing you too tight?”

  Caron pulled out of the embrace so she could kiss Normand’s lips. “Never.”

  Her mind continued to weigh options. Hmm. I already seem to know the answer to my own question. If I tell Schultz he’ll go bat crap crazy. But I will have loosened my burden. I won’t be deceiving my daughter. And…just maybe I can begin to think straight again.

  “Normand, I’ve got to tell the director about my experience. And I’ve got to do it now.”

  Normand clasped a hand onto Caron’s forearm as she began to walk away. “Um. Now of all times? Right before the acceleration?”

  “Yes. I want this off my head. If what I tell Schultz makes him stop the acceleration, so be it.”

  “But Caron, that’s exactly what you wanted to avoid. For Miranda’s safety.”

  Caron stood toe-to-toe with Normand. Pausing a moment before she spoke, she let her hands rest on Normand’s shoulders. “I think in a way they’re bluffing. Look Normand, they’ve taken the cardinal.”

  “Sheesh. You mean Red?”

  Caron nodded. “I don’t doubt the capabilities of our mystery men, but I do doubt their bite.”

  “Hmm. They are barking more than biting?”

  “Exactly. They took a bird. I think they need to leave the doctor, my daughter, Earth Cat Zero and even us in place for whatever they’re hoping to happen.” Caron tapped a toe. “That’s it. I’m telling Director Schultz.”

  Director Schultz ran a hand through his hair. “Ah. We are minutes out from the acceleration, Caron. I wished you would have told me sooner.”

  Caron stood tall with arms crossed over her chest, hovering over the director’s desk.

  “Is it a factor? I mean – will you call off the acceleration?”

  Schultz barked with sarcasm. “Gee. I don’t know. It seems that’s the very thing that’s going to endanger some lives, Caron.”

  Before Caron took a seat, she leafed through some printed photographs which pictured Miranda and Earth Cat Zero.

  “Those are stills from some of the live telecasts.” Schultz fiddled with his tie. “I am sorry. I just want to bark at someone, Caron, but there’s no one in sight.”

  “I believe in the power of global awareness. I think if those bastards make a move to harm Miranda or the cat, they’ll be hell to pay, and they know that. The world stands behind Miranda and that cat, Director.”

  “But what’s their end game?” Schultz looked genuinely confused. He ticked off the intrusions. “There’s the false scientist at the Bean, the kidnapping of the cardinal and now your abduction. Whomever they are, they have the tech, power and financial might to remain in the shadows.”

  “Well, that exactly wasn’t the order of their appearance.” Caron sighed. “Nevertheless, there are too many governmental agencies in the mix to tell. But in my experience…”

  “What is it, Caron?” Schultz’s gaze was penetrating her comfort zone so much that when she recalled flashes of her abduction she felt as if the director was seeing them as well.

  “I think this mystery man was some kind of marvel. It was as if he was there – and wasn’t there – all at the same time.”

  “But he broke the surveillance device. He had to have been tangible.”

  “Maybe that was for my benefit. It was the first thing he did when he entered the room. What would he care about surveillance if he can control communication, both receipt and deliverance, with a flick of his wrist? It’s just something he kept saying. It was an inflection on a certain word.”

  “Hmm. It would be great if you could remember. Close your eyes and relax. It’ll come to you.”

  Caron burst out the word after a moment of silence. “Global. He kept emphasizing global.”

  “Well, it does seem that whatever happens with the accelerations has a global reach, Caron.”

  “No. Maybe he was emphasizing the word for misdirection.”

  “Like when you told us about Miranda at the meeting the other day. You used reverse psychology with her.” Schultz batted eyes and peered upwards in reflection. “You said she could have all the ice cream cake she wanted at her tenth birthday party.”

  “And she ended up telling me that she had had enough ‘thank you’.”

  “Reverse psychology, huh? So, what if this isn’t just global but universal?”

  “Cosmic.” Caron snapped fingers. “That could be what he was trying to deflect with his speech.”

  “Well, if his whole visit was about misdirection or even reverse psychology; I’ve got to wonder if he was covertly discouraging the accelerations.”

 
“I don’t know, Director. I don’t think we can risk stopping the acceleration.”

  “You’re right, Caron.” Schultz slapped a hand on his desk. “I’m contacting Normand. He needs to get into his bunker. The acceleration runs as planned.”

  Caron raised a hand. For an instant, she wanted to question if Schultz should consult his superiors for guidance. But on further consideration, Caron employed her hand to make a sign of the cross. She recalled an Einstein quote: ‘God does not play dice with the universe’. If so, she would put her faith in a power some believed to be responsible for every creation imaginable.

  Chapter Twenty

  Brands and Miranda stood side-by-side at the kitchen island, its isolating construct made them both appear to be afloat and headed for some unmapped destination. Their waterway would be the collider, standing at ready for the first particle acceleration since birthing Earth Cat Zero. Where would it take them now?

  Miranda, chin propped on hand, observed how distant Earth Cat Zero seemed to her. The feline was resting on the couch, seemingly nonplussed by the impending event, listening to blues music via a tiny headset.

  “He appears enraptured.” Brands smiled with a closed mouth. “Like he doesn’t have a care in the world – or – at least in this world.”

  Miranda pushed her purple glass of goo nearer to Brands. “Here, Doctor. You may need this more than I do.”

  “You mean, you think I will experience another connection today?”

  “How could you not? You are connected with Earth Cat now. It would seem logical not to expect a connection.”

  Brands sipped the juice. “It can’t hurt, Miranda, but promise me, whatever happens just observe and let things play out. In other words, don’t be a hero.”

  Miranda shook pink bangs momentarily away from her forehead which made her appear older. “You do understand how helpless I’ll be.” She sighed. “I guess there’s no other choice. Observer it is.”