Voyage
Page 1
VOYAGE
By
C. P. Lockman
*****
Published by C.P. Lockman
Published in EBook format by Holdrian Press
Copyright © C. P. Lockman 2011
All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce or transmit this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
WARNING: This book features graphic adult content throughout.
*****
Contents
PART ONE 5
Prologue 6
Chapter I: A Good Walk Spoiled 7
Chapter II: Signing In 11
Chapter III: Three Little Maids from the Science Ministry 16
Chapter IV: The Biological Studies Institute 19
Chapter V: Meeting Manisti 23
Chapter VI: Falik’s First Fuck 28
Chapter VII: Getting Checked Out 31
Chapter VIII: Takanli 37
Chapter IX: Morning Lessons 43
Chapter X: Upgrades 46
Chapter XI: Bionic Man 48
Chapter XII: Orbital Lunch 51
Chapter XIII: The Boffin 54
Chapter XIV: Eliria 58
Chapter XV: Sex for Dinner 64
Chapter XVI: The Council 66
Chapter XVII: The Erosine Raptor 71
Chapter XVIII: Daedalus 73
Chapter XIX: News from Home 75
Chapter XX: Departure 78
Chapter XXI: Jasira 83
Chapter XXII: Of Strange Lands and People 89
Chapter XXIII: Question Time 92
Chapter XXIV: Garlidan’s plan 104
Chapter XXV: Regime Change 109
Chapter XXVI: Revellers 115
Chapter XXVII: Lightspeed 125
Chapter XXVIII: Planet of the Time Lords 131
Chapter XXIX: Perspectives 141
PART TWO 163
Prologue 164
Chapter XXX: The Big Sleep 165
Chapter XXXI: Emergence 168
Chapter XXXII: Home 176
Chapter XXXIII: Déjà Vu 178
Chapter XXXIV: Installation Wizard 181
Chapter XXXV: Strategy 192
Chapter XXXVI: Mr. Lockman goes to London 198
Chapter XXXVII: Norfolk 213
Chapter XXXVIII: Security Leak 226
Chapter XXXIX: Day Tripper 232
Chapter XL: Totally Fucked Up 247
PART THREE 255
Prologue 256
Chapter XLI: Superstar 258
Chapter XLII: Paranoid Android 277
Chapter XLIII: A Stroll on the Mall 282
Chapter XLIV: Dvalin 289
Chapter XLV: Bailout 308
Chapter XLVI: Sojourn 313
Chapter XLVII: Incoming 315
Author’s Note 329
Appendices and System Diagram (external link)
In each atom of the realms of the universe,
There exist vast oceans of world systems.
The Avatamsaka Sutra, c. 4th century CE
PART ONE
Prologue
The spacecraft tumbled, glittering, end over end.
Out here – way, way out here – no two molecules have ever met, no stars have ever burst into life. Here there is nothing but ceaseless, fathomless time.
Years past its last encounter, and with years to wait until its next, the long, slender ship seemed, despite its staggering interstellar haste, almost listless, perhaps even derelict.
But there was a light.
It stood out, here in this inky blackness, and amid the ship’s apparent stillness.
Beneath the light, in silence except for the tiny whirring of ventilation fans, a shape was floating in the weightlessness. To another traveller, in this impossibly distant province of the galaxy, so familiar a shape would be astonishing.
It was a man.
He was dressed in baggy, white cottons. His tall frame had been set slowly spinning, counteracting the tumble of his ship; He had been quite still for many hours. He wore glasses.
And in his hands was a large, red, leather-bound volume of great age and importance. It was much-loved but heavily annotated, a startling anachronism in this man’s century. Breaking the silence of this deep-space journey, from time to time, he read, as he had always done. Whenever he did so, it was slow and deliberate, confident and precise:
Then it is He who gave birth to the Universe.
They are His Stars which shine,
They are His Planets which revolve
They are His clocks which have begun, and will end.
His Power is the only Power.
His Time is the only Time
Chapter I: A Good Walk Spoiled
I took a breather about 100m short of the summit and surveyed the scene. This was probably my favourite part of the country, a green valley with tiny specks below me, which were farms and cars on the road, flanked by imposing limestone cliffs like the one I was trying to ascend. I gave quiet thanks that I’d quit smoking, checked my altimeter and map once more, and headed off to the top.
Twenty minutes later, I was there. It must be one of the best feelings in the world – I was the highest object in the valley. I would have lit a joint to celebrate, but I’d probably have wandered off into the wrong valley and gotten lost. I just sat down and looked at my county. The hills seemed fur-lined and I could see tiny white flecks, which must have been sheep. I relaxed into a euphoric reverie. I love having time and space on my own, reflecting on events, or just daydreaming. I began to imagine how these valleys were formed, how millions of years ago this was a sea which receded, leaving rivers to cut powerfully through the rock and form these splendid features. Ah, weekends.
A dull, distant rumble reached my ear from the left. Strange, we were miles from any airport. Maybe the RAF? It got louder and I became irritated – don’t you guys take Sundays off, for Christ’s sake?! Insistently, the roar approached and I was sure the planes were going to fly straight over my head, ruining my peace. Finally, I turned around, planning to give the marauding jets the finger, but I couldn’t see anything. Must be very low in the other valley – wasn’t that against the rules? I might drop them an email and complain. People should say what they think more often.
Damn it, they’re still getting closer! But still they were elusive. Could be helicopters, I guess, those new ones we bought from the Americans, but I couldn’t hear the distinctive rotor noises. Where the hell were they? Ten more seconds passed and the roar became almost deafening. It seemed to be right over my head. Still, no sign of aircraft. It couldn’t be an earthquake, right? I glanced nervously at the ground, half expecting it to open up beneath my feet, but that didn’t happen either… no jets, nothing in the sky … I was whirling around by this time, trying to identify the source of the noise and getting more and more scared. I could swear it was right over my head, like standing right behind a plane on takeoff. There was no wind or heat, I couldn’t feel anything on my skin, there was only the incessant, growing noise…
*****
I was incredibly comfortable after perhaps the best sleep of my life. Strange that I couldn’t remember dreaming anything, but I was obviously well rested and felt great.
But this was definitely not my bed. I opened my eyes and started to look around.
I nearly had a heart attack. The bed was floating in a limitless void. There were no points of reference, no lights, no objects, just a billion miles of blackness in every direction. I put my head over the bed and looked down but was nearly sick with vertigo. Curling into a terrified, foetal ball I pulled the covers over my head and wished that I could wake up from whatever fucked-up nightmare this was.
Then some lights came on. Breathless with re
lief, I threw back the covers to find that I was in a modern hotel room. It was quite large, with an ornate dressing table, a widescreen TV, and what was probably a bathroom through a door to my left. There were large windows to the right but the curtains were drawn. I got up and felt thick, warm carpet between my toes. Although I could have done without the vertigo attack, this dream was getting cooler by the minute. I thought I was on a hill in Wales, but now I’m in some hotel. Had I passed out at the summit, perhaps?
I reached down. I’d lost my clothes somewhere along the line. What the fuck was going on? Had I been drugged or robbed? I felt OK, actually rather good. I walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. It was still me and I still needed a shave, testimony to a lazy Sunday morning spent reading the paper before setting out in the car to the National Park. Well, things can’t be that bad. Now, let’s try to figure out what’s going on while I clean up.
The phone rang as I was finishing drying off after a good, hot shower. Feeling freshly shaven and alert, I confidently answered. “Hello?” The voice was pleasant, quite charming, a woman aged about 30, I guessed. Anything else was difficult to tell. “Good morning, Sir. I hope you slept well.”
So, we were going to carry on as though there was nothing amiss, were we?
“Yes, thank you, very well indeed. I wonder if I might ask how it is that I’m here. And where I am?” She almost interrupted me, but not quite. Neat trick.
“Please don’t be alarmed. A member of our team will explain everything very shortly. You are in no danger. Please join us for breakfast in the lobby whenever you are ready.” The line clicked off.
I put the phone down and decided to finish my reconnaissance before going downstairs. I know my way around hotels, having done my share of IT conferences, so I quickly checked the cupboards and drawers, where I found suits, shirts and all I needed to get myself looking sharp. Then I opened the curtains.
I was in the biggest city I had ever seen and it went on for miles. Tens of thousands of skyscrapers teamed along broad avenues, interspersed with large, green parks. I was clearly on a very high floor of one of the tallest buildings. It was very quiet and the air was brilliantly blue. This was nowhere I’d been before. Tokyo, maybe? No, it looked kind of Western. There were no neon signs, and I couldn’t make out traffic. There was nothing in the room to indicate where I was. Time to get going, and start figuring things out.
Thankfully, the elevator and corridors were all standard hotel stuff. I quickly found the lobby, which was deserted. If this is a hotel, where the hell is everyone? I wanted a cigarette. It was far too quiet. After a minute spent stressfully glancing around the lobby, the lift doors opened and three women got out. “Thank God! Hi, there. Sorry to disturb you, but … “
One of the women, a very tall, slender type with long, black hair, motioned calmingly. “Please sit down. There is no reason to worry. Everything is going to be fine. We will answer all of your questions very soon. First, you must be hungry, and I know you’d like one of these”, she purred, offering me a cigarette.
I paused for a second and, surprised by my own willpower in such odd circumstances said, “Thanks, no. I’ve quit”.
She smiled and put the smoke back in her pocket, my eyes following it lustfully. “Shall we?” she said, motioning to the dining room.
I followed them to a table near the windows. Sunlight managed to stream through them, despite the cluster of buildings surrounding us, which I knew to be almost as tall as this hotel. A waiter in uniform brought bread, cheese, coffee, juice and cold meats. I discovered that I was starving and started buttering up a roll before remembering that I may have been abducted by total strangers and was now certainly in some foreign city against my will.
“You must have a lot of questions. Please be at ease with us. I can only assure you that, despite how this may seem, you will come to absolutely no harm. In fact, you are very important to us and will be treated in the best possible fashion. Please, help yourself to anything you’d like.”
I polished off the roll, drank some coffee, which tasted like an excellent Brazilian roast, and sat back. “You’re right. I’m being well looked after. This place must cost the Earth. But I’m very confused and I’d love to know who you are, where we are now, and why I’m here.”
The dark-haired woman placed her coffee cup down and began. “We are a race unknown to your planet.” There it was. No frills, straight to the point. I nearly choked on my croissant. “This is the first contact between humanity and our people, and we are delighted to have finally met you. As for where you are, you are our guest on our home world. We are some distance from the Earth, although we realize that, for you, the journey did not seem lengthy.” They were words, I knew, and they had meanings, but none of them were really getting through.
They pressed on, ignoring my stunned expression. “This building is one of a suite of structures dedicated to the furthering of our understanding of neighbouring systems and their inhabitants. And, to answer your third question, you have been chosen, I admit against your will, to take part in a series of experiments designed to increase our knowledge of you, your planet and the species which inhabit it. I must apologise for having effectively abducted you during an otherwise pleasant Sunday afternoon hike, but there was simply no other way. Please accept our apologies. Would you like more coffee?”
Just like that. Very matter-of-fact. “Ma’am, I was unaware until today that aliens even existed – I mean, really existed – and you’re telling me that I’m on your home planet, drinking coffee, and I’m here to enhance your understanding of Earth?” The three women nodded. “Sorry, love. Pull the other one, it’s got bells on”.
They chuckled. “We were warned to expect a degree of scepticism. That is quite understandable. In time you will come to both believe and understand where you are, and why. For the moment, we realise that you need plenty of time to digest this dramatic change in your environment. We are very used to dealing with situations like this and you will find us co-operative in every possible respect. Are you sure you wouldn’t like a cigarette? We have sensed from the beginning that you have a particular desire for this substance.”
I eyed the proffered smoke while I finished my croissant. “No, thank you very much. One of the first things you need to know about me is that I’ve stopped smoking, so please don’t offer me any more of those.”
The three women seemed fascinated by this detail and chattered briefly in some foreign language. This was irritating. “Ladies, you’ve answered my questions, but I’ve a lot more… why me? There are over six billion people on Earth and you chose me. Why?”
The woman looked down briefly before answering. “To be honest, because you are rather normal. Your physical characteristics are in line with the majority of your race. Although you do not represent the ethnic majority, you seemed to be an ideal candidate on a number of levels. Bear in mind that you were chosen from a huge number of candidates on a basis close to randomness – we simply don’t yet know what we’re looking for. We were hoping you’d be able to help us decide how best to choose future guests, perhaps those representative of certain character or ethnic traits that might be of interest to us. Think of it, for the moment, as blind luck”.
I thought about this. “But if you need to study my race so much, how come you already speak my language? That’s not the majority language, either.”
She nodded, “no, it is not. But it is the most complex of the languages we have sampled – over a hundred – and it contains the greatest number of expressive nuances. We are aware that your own vocabulary is rather large. We felt that this might make communications easier. How would it be, for example, to attempt to communicate grand ideas such as those we will put to you, without the benefit of a comprehensive grasp of language? It would only complicate matters. In this respect, too, you are highly suitable.”
I stared at her. The thought of my being a suitable subject for study by an alien race was just mind-blowing. “But I’m a
nobody!” I blurted gracelessly. “I’m not a professor or anything…”
She held up her hand with that lovely, calming gesture. “You are articulate, educated, creative and psychologically very fit. You are ideal for our purposes.” And that seemed to be the end of that discussion.
I looked out of the window at the entrance to another enormous building. “You are curious about our city”, she said simply. I was equally curious about why there was only one woman speaking to me. I looked at one of the others, a petite blonde. “You understand my language also?”
She nodded, “yes, I am fluent. But my purpose here is communication on a different level. I and my learned colleague”, she said, motioning to the redheaded girl sitting next to me, “are gifted in the sciences or non-verbal communication. I have particular interest in your use of gesture, and my colleague studies the energy waves you send out. These are all forms of communication, although many among your race seem not to notice them.” I stared at her rather blankly. “Perhaps you had not noticed that my colleague has been sending out amorous alpha-waves since you arrived. We have all been sending positive vibrations. Have you sensed this?”
I was about to answer when the dark-haired girl said, “perhaps it is best to discuss these matters under proper test conditions. Have you eaten sufficiently?” I nodded, still a bit stunned. Amorous alpha waves? They sounded like fun. “Then shall we ascend to the offices, where we can continue?”
I rose with the trio and followed them back to the elevator, eyeing the redhead with interest. She was gorgeous, sure. And sexy. And, I thought with a certain sense of alarm, an alien from god knows where. Sexy aliens?