Discovery

by Douglas E Roff

  “Nothing would make me happier than to have you turn this car around and head me back to the Island and my comfortable and happy life there. Truthfully, I love you like a daughter, just as I do Cindy. And, I think you know that on some level as well. But truthfully, I couldn’t care less if you do or don’t fix things with my son and I really don’t give a rat’s ass if you always like me or not. In the business we must discuss presently, our feelings towards each other simply don’t matter. But this thing I’m doing is far more important than me and you, Adam and you, the entire St. James extended family, the Institute, my work, and even my Anna, God rest her soul. Our feelings, our careers and even our lives pale when considered in the context of this one singular thing, a thing so immense in its significance that nothing you could ever conceive can even begin to approximate its potential global impact.”

  Edward continued, measured and without even the tinge of his previous pique. “So, please let me answer your questions and then I can either get your signature and we can move this along or we turn around and go our separate ways. You know the rest stop near the joint base?”

  “Sure”

  “Let’s pull over there and talk.”

  Chapter 41

  Hannah pulled over to the rest stop to have a safe and proper talk. Edward began, “Let me get right to the point, answer all your questions and make an offer.”

  “An offer?” Hannah was puzzled by the abrupt talk of an offer before finding out what the project was about, its parameters and what her job would entail.

  “Yes, an offer. I can’t tell you what this is about until and unless you sign the document. But you will likely not sign the document unless you understand how important this is and how seriously I perceive this project to be. But I cannot tell you about the project and by extension how central you are to what is about to happen. So, it’s circular, no? One cannot proceed without the other and so on and so forth. Circular.”

  Edward continued his dialogue, “So here’s the deal. The NDA is a joint US/Canadian federal form used by CSIS and the NSA/CIA. Long, thorough and draconian. In short, you say anything about anything covered by the document and you’re screwed for life in two thirds of North America. And the other one third won’t make you welcome either, along with the European Union, most of Asia and the more developed regions of both north and sub Saharan Africa.”

  “There’s a point here I’m sure.” Hannah said. “So, if I chit or chat, I will have nowhere to hide in most of the world. Move along, Edward.”

  “First, about this document I’m asking you to sign, you should know that I had your father review it for you first.”

  “You told him, but you can’t tell me. That is so fucking paternalistic. I don’t need my Dad to approve a document or make decisions for me.”

  “I didn’t tell your father anything substantive about this project. The only thing I told him was that the subject matter we will be working on is a matter of great urgency and national security to both the United States and Canada. And, with that understanding, to be prepared to discuss the four corners of the NDA with you if it came to that. I’m hoping it doesn’t.”

  This was vintage Edward, Hannah thought. “Was anything you told him true? Did he believe you?”

  “No. Nothing I said was true. And I doubt he believed any job in anthropology has any connection to national security, at least not in the real world. But I think he understands that something important is going on, that I need your help and that if you agree to take this assignment neither he or your Mom can ever ask you anything about it. That part I’m certain he heard loud and clear. This was what I wanted him and your mother to fully understand.”

  “What did he say about the NDA? Did he advise me to sign it?”

  “He didn’t say not to sign it. He just read it, made some notes and sent me his approval to proceed if you were interested, along with a giant invoice as punishment for being less than forthcoming.”

  Hannah thought for a moment, then said, “Say for a moment I sign your doc, and then take your job offer. What then? I mean, what could this mean to me anyway?”

  “It means your grant and therefore your associated job are both at an end and you will sever all ties with the University. You will be employed by me and report only to me. You will have a staff and support team that always reports directly to you and sometimes indirectly to me.”

  He paused to see the reaction in her face, and seeing nothing but a blank stare continued, “You will be paid an obscene amount of money starting today and for the next ten years, your student loans will be paid off and the mortgage on your Mercer Island condo will be paid in full. Immediately. You will be given a substantial signing bonus, a generous travel and living allowance along with significant retirement benefits. You will want for nothing for the rest of your life in the material sense.”

  “And the downside?” Hannah was suspicious about Edward or any of the St. James Clan bearing gifts. This was window dressing meant to disarm. Nevertheless, she was intrigued.

  “You will be away from Seattle traveling for most of the year, every year. You will miss family birthdays and holidays and important family events. You will probably lose touch with many of your friends and cannot ever discuss what you do for a living with anyone outside your team and those involved in this project. You will have a cover story and you will write scholarly articles for academic journals that I will arrange. Except someone else will write the articles, not you. Nothing about your life will be known to anyone but me, your team and my team. You will probably have little contact with Adam or the Barrows Bay crowd. And…” Edward paused.

  “And what?”

  “It is very possible that your life will be in constant danger. You will have tight, experienced personal security 24/7/365 wherever you go. You may be hunted and stalked and if we fail to protect you and your identity, you may be killed.”

  “Well, that’s mostly unpleasant. How charming of you, Edward. You know just what to say to a young woman to get her in the mood.”

  Edward ignored her chatter. “Or this could all be utter nonsense, as Adam currently believes it to be. In that event, nothing ever happens, and you return to your former life and pursue a career in anthropology. You will be free to work things out with Adam or not, which at present seems very unlikely, but you will keep all the financial rewards I have promised.”

  “What’s the likelihood of either outcome?” Hannah was very interested but wanted to be cautious with her ex-boyfriend’s father, no matter how much she liked and respected him.

  “As we sit here today, pretty even. Fifty-fifty, I’d say. But that, in large part, is the first task you’re to undertake if you agree to take the job. Signing this NDA just means I can tell you about the project. You may look it over then come to fully appreciate the scope and immensity of the task and the inherent dangers to you. Then simply say ‘no thanks’. Perfectly understandable if that’s what you decide. But, if you think I’m right about the matters at hand, I am totally convinced that you will take the job. This is not a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is a once in the history of mankind opportunity and you will begin to pursue this now and possibly for the rest of your life. If you sign the doc, your life will change forever. I’m not prepared to say whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. Only that I believe it will be a life altering event.”

  Hannah looked at Edward, studying his face. “I’m in.” Hannah was curt and to the point. “Where do I sign?”

  Edward looked at Hannah, then said “You won’t regret this.”

  She signed the NDA, then smiled her delightfully crooked smile. “I already do, you foul old man.”

  ***

  Hannah had sat silently, for the most part, while Edward did his best to get her to sign a stupid agreement she had already resolved to sign anyway. She already knew about Edward’s contact with her father and could sense that something important was going down as a result. Edward wouldn�
�t concoct a maze of nonsense to repair Adam’s relationship with her; it was simply not in his DNA, although the subterfuge and deception certainly was. Her talk with her Dad had suggested that this was probably top secret but not ‘national security’. That was nonsense and a bald-faced lie.

  How she fit in, and why, was a mystery even though Edward had made it clear to her father that Hannah was chosen in part due to her academic background and scholarship but mostly since she could be trusted with something this sensitive. Edward had explained to him that Hannah would be surrounded with, and have access to, global expertise. However, the specifics and the precise nature of the subject matter couldn’t be revealed, at present and possibly never, to the wider academic world or indeed, the public. Even her close personal security team would know little of the actual details of the project and her operations team would only be provided with bits and pieces on a “need to know” basis. What she would discover would be kept in a tight circle controlled by Edward and she might not be told exactly how big that circle was.

  Hannah trusted in the importance ascribed to the project by Edward and that alone was convincing enough. But she didn’t trust Edward beyond that and it was clear that Edward would use her, as he had others, in his many well-documented previous exploits. He had helped many people in his personal and professional life but his emotional indifference to tragedy in the lives of others he worked with bordered on the sociopathic.

  Moth to the flame, Hannah thought, but what a beautiful flame.

  She doubted his ability to feel deep emotional pain if tragedy befell her. Instead she would undoubtedly become a mere footnote in the larger book of his life. Still, she was curious.

  “Where to, boss?”

  “Portland, and step on it. We’re going to be late for your first meeting. And lunch.”

  ***

  Edward gave Hannah a primer on what he knew, what had been discovered thus far and how the project had come about.

  “So, it was just a giant misadventure on the part of the FBI and Adam, is that what you’re telling me?”

  “Pretty much. In Mexico they say ‘que dichoso error.’ Loosely translated, ‘a blessed or happy mistake’. And it certainly was, if it turns out to be true. Or it may be a scam of monumental proportions, backed by a vast stack of greenbacks for some unknown cabalistic purpose. You pick. What I do know is all the objective and verifiable indicators point, thus far, to corroboration of the underlying data. Which isn’t to say the underlying data is ‘true’ only that it appears not to have been faked or manufactured.”

  Hannah said, “So you believe what happened in Tucson lets Adam off the hook for the Anniversary debacle?”

  “Oh, heaven’s no. When the Tucson escapade went bad and long, he should have called which, as we all know now, he didn’t. As much as I loved my Anna, and my Anna loved me, I always called. Didn’t once when I said I would but never made that mistake again after that. Adam can be an idiot and a child in many ways, locked in a grown man’s body. It’s the way he was raised and his life of academic achievement at such an early age. He never acclimated socially in the usual way and was spoiled and protected, first by Maria and then by me. I know this now, just as we all do in Barrows Bay. Including you, of course.”

  Edward paused. “You were right in everything you said at the Anniversary party.”

  Hannah said, “Go on. Don’t stop now.” She hoped this explanation wasn’t just for effect and therefore meaningless.

  “But Rod and Cindy saw it like siblings, and I saw it like a Dad. It just seemed to happen; slowly, steadily and over time. And when we finally connected all the dots and understood the result, it was far too late to do anything about it. Then you came along, and we didn’t know what we should say to you, if anything. Complicating everything was that we liked you and Adam seemed genuinely happy - happier than we had ever seen him. It might have worked out some way; we just didn’t know. So, we finally decided it wasn’t right for us to say anything; that your relationship would have to be something you guys worked out yourselves. Or didn’t. But we finally saw and eventually understood that Adam was acting like a twelve-year old – a spoiled twelve-year old brat at that. You put up with him longer than any of us ever expected. We should’ve said more to you, supported you but we were also afraid it might chase you away. In that, we made a mistake.”

  He paused again, then smiled. “Now you’re here riding in a car with me headed for who knows what in Portland.”

  “So, is this your way of saying you’re sorry for all the shit I’ve been put through by you and yours?”

  “Not at all, Hannah. In the end, your relationship with Adam was yours to craft. In that we really should not have had any role. But I will say I’m sorry for what is about to happen. And for the pain you will no doubt experience if this is what I fear it is. Adam, of course, has no idea I’m talking to you or that you will have any role in this project.”

  Barrows Bay was chock full of secrets and lies but most of the misdirection was intended for non-family. But when it did apply, it mostly had something to do with Adam. Lying to Adam was a tricky business; it was filled with deferred pain and, very often after that, remorse. It seldom worked out well but occasionally it did. Edward knew there was an expiration date on this deception but hoped Adam would have moved on by then. By then there would still be residual pain, but, he hoped, less of it.

  “He doesn’t know? Why haven’t you told him yet?”

  Edward said, “Might give him the wrong impression. And I don’t think I need to tell you what his reaction would be. Nor am I completely indifferent to the impact this may have on whatever is left of your relationship with him. I don’t know whether you could ever have fixed your issues with him or, for that matter, if you ever even wanted to try. Not my concern. Suffice it to say that he will eventually find out. Of that we can both be certain. When he does, it might not sit well with him. But from here on out, decisions will have to be made by folks that I can only marginally influence, beginning with you. This whole thing is bigger than family and feelings. I’m sad for that but, then, I didn’t manufacture this drama. But I do have a responsibility to do something and that brings us right back to you.”

  “How many people know about … this? So far.”

  He dissembled slightly, “Five plus me in Barrows Bay, two folks here in Portland and now you. That’s as far as we can go for now.”

  “So, you’re not telling, oh I don’t know, the government?”

  “Which do you have in mind? US or Canadian, or both?”

  Hannah said, “Either. Both. I don’t know, but one of them for sure.”

  “Seriously? They’re the last people I would tell. Aside from totally losing control over the project and being kicked to the curb, what do you think their reaction would be? How quickly would this get to a journalist, blogger or politician and how quickly would the hunting begin. Politicians and their leaks. That potential situation that is just a non-starter right now. This knowledge, if that’s what it truly is, cannot get out to the wider world until we know significantly more than we do now.”

  “Like?” Hannah was probing now. Kicking the fence boundaries to see how much give there was in the truth. Edward’s version of it anyway.

  “Like what they are doing and why. Something is up with these chaps if they are real and it doesn’t take a genius to hypothesize their likely or potential courses of action. I have a very bad feeling that time is short and may be growing shorter. Our luck has held until now but science and technology bring in a new world of possibilities, none of which is good news. For us or for them.”

  “I don’t follow. What do you mean?” Edward wasn’t so much obtuse, at least not intentionally, as he was cryptic. It was difficult to keep up with his elliptical meanings, one needed the skills to rapidly fill in the blanks. Occasionally the blanks were filled in wrong. In speed of thought versus clarity, Edward favored speed. But only with certain people who coul
d keep up. Like Hannah.

  “I have a contemporary diary written in English and another book written partly in English. Bitsie Tolan, who you will meet today, sent it to me when the materials Adam discovered first arrived in Portland. She didn’t read the whole thing, nor did she disseminate its contents. You need to read them both and tell me what you think.”

  Edward paused, “Then I believe you may begin sleeping with the lights on.”

  Chapter 42

  The diary that Edward mentioned to Hannah was the personal diary of Thomas Beneviste, a well-respected Chicago-based geneticist born in Italy and long-time resident of Chicago. The entries in the volumes of the diary appeared to cover a period of roughly one hundred thirty years, from his youth in a region called Gensarii in northern Italy, to his immigration to America in 1938, to his death in Tucson in 2015. The Diary was a chronicle of his life both as a respected Elder of his people, the Gens Collective, as well as his additional role as a respected and accomplished research scientist for BioGen International, PLC, the Swiss parent of BioGen International (America) of Princeton, New Jersey.

  The Diary was written in both modern Italian and, after 1945, standard modern English. Its contents were equally disturbing in its stark candor and troubling subject matter. Beneviste apparently thought he was a vampire of sorts and believed he and his people, the Gens, possessed supernatural transformative abilities. Through the consumption of human blood, the Gens would transform from their natural mammalian state to a proto human being. He was either one of the most unique beings on the planet, or, more likely, delusional paranoid schizophrenic.

  By contrast, the Book of Gensarii had not yet been translated from some unknown dead language or arcane dialect. Only the chapter headings and summaries were in standard modern English and were of recent vintage. Translation of the core content was still a project that needed a team leader and Edward had someone special in mind for that job. Not a priority right this minute, he thought to himself, since the task was vastly more complicated than even he was willing to acknowledge – even to himself.