The Encounter

by Donal Myrick

  Ted spoke up immediately and said, “Max, I brought this cave to your attention, and I am not walking away now. I am with you all the way.”

  Scott said, “The Mueller Foundation is all in.”

  Peggy said, “Where Max Meccum goes, I go. Count me in.”

  Spider said, “Bufford and I are proud to be part of this team. We can’t think of anything we would rather be doing.”

  Sam said, “This is my home. You made me into a caver. There is no going back for me.”

  Dr. Fred said, “I am sorry that I have not been able to contribute more effectively to the team effort. I know that I have not carried my weight, but if you will permit me to continue, I would greatly appreciate being included on the team going forward.”

  Miguel said, “Max, I am not sure where I fit in, but if you have a place for me, I want to be on the team.”

  “Max, speaking for myself, Félix, and his two trusted associates who are busy packing, we definitely wish to continue being on your team.” Geraldo continued gesturing to everyone in the tent, “I think we all realize the immensity of the opportunity we are facing as well as the attendant obligation, and it would be immoral for us not to embrace it with everything we have.”

  That brought a chorus of “Amens!”

  Max said to Miguel, “Permanent Park Ranger Miguel Santos, you are definitely a welcome part of this team. I don’t know exactly where you fit in, but you are either our first line of defense for our operations here or our last line. I’m not sure which, but we could not be doing what we have been doing without your support.”

  Then addressing the entire team, Max said, “I am grateful that we are all of the same mind and are willing to see this adventure through. I think it is amazing how much we have accomplished in the short time we have been working together, but I think all that we have accomplished thus far is going to pale when compared to what we are going to accomplish. We are going to change the world, and I am not exaggerating. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There is the present, the here and now, that we have to deal with immediately or all is lost.”

  CHAPTER 42

  Precious Data

  First off, Max said, “There is certain information that we must protect at all costs, and which I believe we must get off this mountain as soon as possible. Specifically, it is that data that is comprised of a bunch of coordinates in the mapper that would be awkward if we lost. It would mean that we would have to return to the aliens’ chamber again before we could move forward. I certainly hope that we don’t have to invoke that option, because it would entail taking risks that we need to avoid at this time. There is not a lot of this critical data that we must have to continue, and I think most of it can be hidden in the text of our various expedition logs. Other parts simply need to be memorized.”

  Scott pointed out that virtually any type of numerical data could easily be hidden in his financial records, and that might be easier, more expeditious, and a lot more secure to do that rather than trying to fit it logically into our trip notes or memorize it.

  “Excellent idea. Peggy has all of the important data on the mapper. She can give you a copy, and you can decide how best to hide it in your records.”

  Peggy asked, “What about all of our other data? We have pictures and video of the aliens. We have our recorded conversations and our notes. These are important data. They document mankind’s first modern encounter with the aliens, and I believe that they absolutely must be preserved. Do you think we could ask the Ambassador to give us access to a secure network connection so that we could download it all to Scott’s servers again?”

  “That is a definite possibility, and I agree, all those data are priceless and must be preserved, but didn’t we leave copies of most of that data with Gharrizia?”

  Peggy answered, “We left a lot of it with them on an SDD but by no means all of it. There are a lot of files in which the only copies that exist reside on the Mapper.”

  Max asked Sam, “Sam, can all the data on the mapper be encrypted securely enough so that if it does get intercepted, it will take a decade or so to decrypt?”

  “The short answer is yes.”

  “Is there a relevant long answer?”

  “Yes, I need a little time to set up a procedure to do it. But I can do it.”

  “Okay, it looks like we need to pay the Ambassador a visit before we exit the country. I think this is a good strategy. If anyone is watching, and they will be watching, they will know that all-important information regarding any of our findings will have been sent to Scott’s server, and consequently, they probably will not give our carry-on luggage much if any scrutiny. However, Scott, this means that you need to head back to the states a day or two ahead of the rest of us and get ready to receive the data. As soon as you receive the data, you need to air-gap your server and stash the data somewhere where the ‘sun don’t shine’. They will probably be quick to mount an assault on your server, so be prepared.”

  “I can handle that. One thing we need to remember is that the data and the encryption keys should never be together in the same place and at the same time except when decryption is to take place, and further, only a few of us, not including me, need to know the keys or where they are to be hidden.”

  Max continued, “Understood. It appears obvious now that we need to stagger our leaving. We can’t all leave at once. I think we should send our support guys home immediately. Then, Félix and his associates can leave on their mission, and Geraldo, you can accompany them as far as you think appropriate. Scott, you need to leave next after you and Peggy hide some coordinate data in your financial records. I suggest that Bufford and Spider leave with you. You all can call back and let us know what kind of scrutiny you get. Meanwhile, the rest of us will pay the Ambassador a visit. After that, I think the rest of us will carouse around Caracas just to mess with the minds of whoever is watching. After that, the rest of us can head home. Ted, I think you and Dr. Fred should take some rock samples, and see if you can get them through Customs and security. I think we all need to be prepared to be questioned by our friends from the FBI, CIA, and DHS when we land stateside. Then after we are settled, I’ll contact everyone, and we can rendezvous somewhere to plan our future moves. Miguel, you are going to be left here all alone. Do you think you will be okay?”

  “I’ll be okay, but I am certain that I will miss all of you. Do you really think we will all ever get together again?”

  “Absolutely. We will all get together again soon, and then thereafter, we will be meeting together here many times in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, you need to keep tabs on everything that goes on here. Don’t let the Park Service transfer you back to Canaima Camp. You are our eyes and ears here. We will frequently communicate after things settle down. One thing I expect to happen is that when the beacon goes off, Kuznetsov will likely turn his attention away from here and direct it towards finding the beacon. You need to make sure that the Park Service continues to push the Russians to complete the aqueduct and restore the water to Angel Falls. That will be key to keeping activity going here that will provide cover for us whenever we need to return.”

  CHAPTER 43

  Meighen Island

  Over the next several days, Carlos ferried those who were leaving first to Caracas and beyond. Sam worked on his encryption scheme, and Ted and Dr. Fred sorted through rock samples trying to decide which were the most appropriate to attempt to take back to the states. Max, Peggy, and Jim found themselves with some unexpected leisure time.

  Leisure time was a commodity that none of them had enjoyed for months, so they were determined to make the most of it. While Peggy flew Charlie in and out of the cave watching every move that the Russians made, Max and Jim wandered around observing the Russian’s progress on the aqueduct and taking into account the large number of military-type vehicles arriving with building supplies for the aqueduct. When they weren’t overtly spying on the Russians, they spent a little time at the end of each day sit
ting out near the edge of the escarpment drinking Miguel’s beer, eating his special nachos, and watching the day pass in the valley three thousand feet below. Each evening they were rewarded with a spectacular sunset and the knowledge that Kuznetsov was probably going crazy watching them nosing around and doing nothing. It bothered him immensely that they did not act like someone who had a great secret to hide. But, they knew that he knew that they were hiding something, but they also knew that Kuznetsov didn’t know what they were hiding. And, they knew that it was grinding at his soul.

  Two days after Scott, Spider and Bufford headed back to the states, Scott called Miguel to check-in. He reported a minimum of scrutiny and that all had gone well, including the expected greeting and request for a full debrief when they landed. Scott said that the debrief was friendly but very thorough. They seemed to ask much more insightful questions than Scott anticipated; it was though someone had coached them on what questions to ask and which topics to probe in-depth. Scott said that the debrief lasted over three hours and did interfere with their connecting flight schedules. As Scott signed off, he asked for an extra day to prepare; he didn’t specify for what. He didn’t need to.

  Max said, “It looks like it is time to wrap things up here and head to town. Sam, are our data protected?”

  Sam replied, “Yes sir boss, it sure is. And as a little bit of extra protection, I have embedded a Trojan Horse that will wipe everything clean if someone tries to decrypt the data without first disabling the Trojan. This Trojan will follow the encrypted file even when we upload it to Scott’s server.”

  “How about the keys?”

  I figure that you, me, Peggy, and Jim should be the only ones with the keys. There are two keys for the encryption, and another key to disable the Trojan.”

  “Perfect. Let’s call Carlos and leave in the morning.”

  The next morning, Carlos touched down around ten o’clock, and by midafternoon, the group was entering the American Consulate in Caracas. The briefing with the Ambassador went well. He was pleased that the Americans felt that their mission was successful and that he hoped that they would find occasions to return. They assured him that they would be returning and that they would be bringing friends with them. They explained that as soon as the Russians completed the aqueduct and restored the Churún River flow to Angel Falls, the Churún River Cave would become a new Mecca for cavers worldwide. It would be a new tourist destination for Canaima Park.

  They asked for and were granted access to a high-speed, secure data line, and soon were connected via satellite with Scott’s server. Thirty minutes later, all of their data, secret and non-secret, were safely transferred. They made their good-byes, promises to return, and left for the international airport. Their early morning departure the next day was uneventful. All of their fears regarding potential excessive scrutiny gradually evaporated as their arrival back in the states neared without incident. As expected, they were met by a cadre of national security personnel and were ushered through security to a conference room where they gave a debriefing on all of their interactions with the Russians. They promised that soon they would publish their findings in a report and that they would allow the federal Agencies to review and comment on the report before publishing. This promise seemed to satisfy all of the parties, and the group was allowed to proceed on to Austin.

  As the weeks passed, each of their lives slowly began to return to a pace that resembled normal. Normal, however, was a myth. Each and every one of them harbored a feeling that they were being watched, watched by someone or something that was very good and very stealthy. This eerie feeling put a damper on their ability to speak freely among themselves and forced them to employ extreme measures in the protection of their communications.

  Peggy traveled to Huntsville so as to work directly with Scott in the development of the coordinate transform so that the alien’s spaceship location could be expressed in modern latitude and longitude terms. Max initially thought it was going to be necessary to actually travel to each of the historical sites to get the corresponding coordinates, but Peggy discovered that there existed an international geophysical database that registered all of the requisite sites complete with accurate location information. Completing the transform turned out to be a very easy task. Now it was time to discover the location of the spaceship if it still existed on the planet. This required Max to join them in Huntsville because only Max knew the alien coordinates. He had memorized them. They were not written or recorded anywhere. Max had insisted on this because if all of their data were compromised, and somehow someone else figured out the transform, the information would be useless to them without the last piece of data which was stored in Max’s head.

  When Max arrived in Huntsville, the trio cloistered themselves in Scott’s SCIF to calculate the last piece of the puzzle. After Max’s memorized coordinated were entered into the transform, the spaceship’s location was revealed. It was essentially where Xyllio explained that it would be, but now they had exact coordinates. It was located on the bottom of a shallow inlet on the north side of Meighen Island. The inlet was covered year-round by twelve to fifteen feet of ice.

  Scott said, “I’ve no idea how to organize an expedition to that area. Max, you knew that it was up here somewhere. Have you thought about what kind of effort is going to be required?”

  Max shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess dog sleds are out of the question.”

  “I suspect you are right,” Scott replied. “This is over a thousand miles from the nearest semblance of civilization.”

  Peggy pointed out that, “Whatever we decide to do, it will have to be stealthy, because, you know every move we make is going to be watched.”

  “We need to get everyone together and brainstorm this. It may be a more extensive effort than the Mueller Foundation can front. We may need to seek additional resources. Max, do you have any serious suggestions?”

  “Well, I can’t imagine that it will be more expensive than our Canaima Cave expedition, provided we don’t opt for some type of extensive airlift operation. My initial thoughts are that I suspect that we are going to need to charter a big boat that can take us into the arctic waters during the summer. I also think we need a cover story for being there, and a diversion activity to take the attention away from us. That is just for starters.” Max continued, “I think it might be necessary to return to the alien cavern and do some consulting. Surely they have some technology we can employ that will better our situation.”

  “Maybe we could start exploring arctic ice caves or something,” suggested Peggy.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” agreed Max. “Let’s get the group together. Shall we meet here or in Austin?”

  Peggy said, “Austin has better burgers and beer, but Scott has the only secure place we can meet. So, I vote for here.”

  “Your logic is unassailable, don’t you agree, Scott?”

  “I agree, so let’s get it set up as soon as possible.”

  Max put out the word that he wanted to throw a post-expedition celebration party, and Scott agreed to host it in Huntsville. He told everyone to be prepared to spend at least a week in Huntsville because he wanted everyone’s input into the preparation of the post-expedition report, which Scott wanted the Mueller Foundation to publish. Everyone in the know knew that this was just a cover excuse for everyone to get together to plan the next phase of this extended adventure. The party was planned for two weeks in the future.

  Meanwhile, Max decided that a quick trip back to Venezuela and Canaima Cave was necessary to coordinate with Miguel and Geraldo, and somehow manage a secret trip back to visit Xyllio.

  CHAPTER 44

  Carlos Joins the Team

  Three days later, Max and Peggy arrived in Caracas and were met by Carlos and Geraldo, and soon they were landing atop Auyán tepui, where they were greeted by Miguel. This time, Max requested that Carlos hang around and enjoy an evening consuming some of Miguel’s special Caracas cuisine and local beer. Max wan
ted an opportunity to evaluate Carlos and possibly invite him into the inner circle. He knew that Carlos, if he were willing, would be an invaluable member of the team. After all, he had been a peripheral member since the beginning.