The Thing: from the Depths of Hell

by V Bertolaccini

  Colonel Pratt, with his military view, believed some valuable rare mineral could have been detected from the ship, and the information hidden, which could be for military use.

  They believed the merchandise may be still in a vehicle, and they were monitoring all the vehicles, especially the sixth vehicle, and they were going to allow each vehicle to enter through the energy screen, one at a time, and check them.

  Kruger sat amazed, wondering where the sixth vehicle was, and who was in the sixth vehicle, and he looked out the window, miles out, and tried to see the vehicles.

  Colonel Pratt had said he believed the vehicle was identical to their vehicle, the fourth vehicle, and looked slightly aged, but he never said where it was, and he never mentioned anything about Dan, and if he was anything to do with what was happening, which confused things further. Was he really his twin? If not, how did they come up with him? Was he altered to look like him, by some form of cosmetic alteration?

  Yet why would they have done it? There was more of a chance of them being caught! And what was his mission?

  A shiver ran up his spine as he thought of what was going to happen in the next hours, and days ahead, and he could sense it could be bad, especially after watching Major Ripley giving unaccustomed reactions, and now looked as if he was going over everything, making sure that he had not missed anything.

  Chapter 7

  Aboard the GX1

  All the vehicles were allowed through the energy screen one by one until only vehicle four and vehicle six remained, and Kruger watched them on the screens in the vehicle being examined and searched, before being allowed to drive into the GX1.

  Hundreds of engineers and military robustly examined the vehicles and men, and Kruger noted all the vehicles had two or three people aboard, who were familiar, even though he could not fully recognize them, and he wondered if he had been chosen for special treatment, as they had the same vehicle as vehicle six, and they had been the second last to be taken aboard.

  He even forgot why he had wanted to come out in one of the vehicles in the first place. What time would it be before he got back to his quarters? He could not sleep here.

  When they finally got the signal to proceed he had almost dozed off, and he soon woke.

  A slight haze could be seen in the energy shield if you looked closely at it in places, if you searched for it, and he saw that there was now another screen going behind the vehicle, which joined to the front screen further up, like a bubble of energy around them, stopping anything else getting in, and Kruger knew that they, the vehicle, and everything in the bubble was being scanned to a degree that would not allow anything to enter undetected. The makers of it had gone to incredible lengths to secure the safety of them and the ship.

  The front screen, in front of them, was soon removed and they got the signal to move up to the spacecraft, and as they left the screen behind them shifted in and formed the normal screen again.

  The people at the spacecraft took them aboard, and into the immense vehicle center, where thousands of vehicles were stored, and began their search and investigation.

  The thing that started interesting him was their acceptance of Dan as being part of the crew, and he withheld what had happened, and what their suspicions were, until he was not there.

  He also wanted to see if they found anything unusual about him, without him affecting the investigation.

  After an hour of intense searching, and medical examinations, and every form of screening they were released into the food recreation center, where he and the other two astronauts were given their meals.

  Now that he was inside, and Dan had been examined, he started to become more and more interested in him, and he decided to watch him, and study everything he did and said, and carry out an investigation of him. If he really was his brother he should have information about him in his quarters. There must be pictures of him somewhere! Major Ripley now accepted him, as he had passed all the examinations, and only had the fact that he had not remembered him being there, in the first place.

  The sixth vehicle had also started to intrigue him, and when he had finished he joined the other two when they returned to the vehicle center, just as the sixth vehicle arrived into the spacecraft, and the spacecraft closed.

  They stood on an upper platform overlooking the vehicles, and section where they were carrying out the vehicle investigations.

  Kruger felt normal again after the great meal and having a proper air supply, and being in a properly lighted space and being allowed to move around freely again.

  For a few seconds he sat confused when someone nearby mentioned his name, and at the same time he saw someone was communicating with the people in vehicle six, before they opened the entrance.

  Just as the doors were being opened someone came over and informed him and Dan that Colonel Pratt had asked to see them, and wished to talk to them about urgent business.

  As they were marched down and over to the sixth vehicle he started to see people’s surprised expressions, and that they were baffled about something.

  At the approach to the sixth vehicle he watched the back of an astronaut that had come out the vehicle, and he watched him remove his helmet, and was startled when the figure turned in his direction, and stared over, looking directly at him, and he saw that he looked identical to him, and Dan, and he realized there was another twin, and he watched him gag when he looked at Dan.

  Chapter 8

  Another Twin Appears

  Colonel Pratt sat in the GX1 control center listening to the others discussing different situations, and he heard an occasional mention of his problem.

  He could not realize if things were worse of better than before. Even though they had checked all the vehicles and men in them, there was nothing there, and any indication that anything illegal had taken place. Yet at least they had checked everything, and what they think took place might not have taken place, which still left him back at square one. What had happened out there?

  The situation was worse in confusion, and he and everyone else had been left stunned, without any proper theories, or anything that they could say without coming out with some crazy notion, which they would be laughed at for.

  The sixth vehicle had to have another twin of Kruger!

  What really confused things was not only was there not any information available on all the vehicle people, there was no information from anyone on them knowing them.

  Someone had clearly done something to remove everyone’s memory of them. He could barely even remember seeing Kruger, never mind his two twins.

  After hours of interrogation with Don Kruger, the twin in the sixth vehicle, they had only come up with he was virtual identical to Kruger. Yet they thought he had something hidden, which he seemed amused at, which he refused to give them anything on, and suggested that it was for their own good.

  The three were being kept with guards wherever they went, and their quarters were being guarded when they were in them.

  The craziest thing though was both of the twins never had any quarters, and they had to be provided for them, and they claimed that they had lost their memories about them, and, of course, there was no recorded information about them, or what their professions or past lives had been.

  In fact, he would say that they had not been on the ship, but they had to have been somewhere. So they had to have been hidden away, which would have been easy to do on a ship of its size. Or they could have been at another sector, and not been in contact with anything at this section of the ship.

  If they could be sure that not everyone aboard had their memories affected they could put out photos of them for anyone to give them anything on.

  What were they up to? Did they actually have anything? What else could have occurred?

  They really only had the crime of computer record damage! Yet the crime of erasing everyone’s memories might be the first of its kind in that fashion.

  The case was keeping him awake, and he had become obse
ssed with thinking of it, and the others looked as if they were ready to start cracking jokes about.

  The incredible thing about the sixth vehicle had been how identical it was to the fourth vehicle. It had dents and scratches identical to the other. Yet all the information on the computers in it had been tampered with, and information was missing, which looked to him as though Don Kruger had done it before his arrival at the ship. It was not actually a crime, but it had to be reprogrammed, because of the missing information, and he had given little information about it, and that he might have done it by accident after the crash.

  He was covering stuff, and looked like he had not lost his memory as much as everyone else.

  At least they had profited from the episode by gaining an extra expensive vehicle, advanced and with new technology for the GX1, which must be of worth great deal, and have cost them a great deal of money to get, and he was sure it contained confidential technology too, which was a suggestion of another crime, if they had bought it by illegal means.

  What they were after had to be of great value, and it left another mystery of who was in it with them.

  Don reacted like they had not done anything really illegal, and Kruger as though he was innocent of everything, which he was sure he was, and he had provided ever piece of information that they had asked for, and had his quarters, which they had checked and found nothing but information showing his identity, and Major Ripley and others knew him, but gave claims of not knowing or properly knowing Dan Kruger, which could have been done by their losing their memories though.

  Carl Kruger could have been their dupe, and they had chosen him as the best caudate in the vehicles, and they would have to have altered their appearances to him, if that was possible. Perhaps because of his silence and keeping to himself, he might have been the person least likely to let anything out on anything.

  However, as he started to consider this fact in more detail, a document was delivered to his computer, from the medic who had examined them all, and he read through it swiftly, staggered at what they had found out about the three, and that they were more than twins. Twins had differences between them, and they never. All three were identical, as though they were the same person, but for the slight fact that Dan and Don were both slightly older.

  Chapter 9

  A Blonde Surprise

  Kruger rushed to the door of his quarters, and was surprised to find a beautiful blonde woman standing outside.

  At first he thought she was there for more questionings, but was amazed that she actually knew him. Yet he realized he did not recognize her, but he that knew he had forgotten things about her.

  She quickly told him, “We were supposed to go out today! To the bar! Don’t you remember?”

  Kruger gasped, and he realized the awkward situation and future situations he could end up in, and tried to remember everything he could as fast as he could, but it was useless.

  “I have suffered some memory loss!” he confessed, awkwardly, looking bewildered.

  She giggled, and replied, “I’m Marsha Pendleton! I heard about it! The whole ship must know of it! It was broadcast all over the media! I guess I have you! I’ll tell you what you want to know!”

  Kruger wondered if it was a plot to interrogate him further! The degree that they had gone to check him after the discovery of the second twin, or triplet, was worrying, and he had been left with warnings of further investigations.

  He definitely knew the woman, and liked her a great deal, and knew he was interested in her, but she could have been put there by someone. Yet what did he have to lose? Except they could set him up for some crime! Dan and Don were capable of anything, and could have given them false information, which she could be there to establish or dump on him.

  He wondered what the spacecraft prison quarters were like! It would be terrible being locked away out in space, and without any memories.

  He showed her to a seat, and she asked for a drink and went into the kitchen and opened a drawer and removed a bottle, and brought it and two glasses over to him, and he realized how well she had known him.

  He sat with her and drank his drink, and wondered what the future held. If only he had avoided going out in that vehicle, he would not have any problems.

  “So did you see my twins?”

  She burst out laughing, and managed to stop herself when she looked at the worry, still there, in his eyes.

  “It was on the media!”

  “But did you know they existed before?”

  “I am not sure! I could say they looked familiar ...”

  “Well, did I ever mention any of them?”

  “According to all the media something or someone caused people’s minds to be erased of information about the vehicle crew members, and information about them contained in all the computer records. Whoever did it seemed to have done the almost impossible, and almost did a good job of it!”

  “You still remember me though! And I seem to have been hit with more loss of memory!”

  She nodded, and held back a giggle, while drinking sips.

  The buzz of her communications device from her bag disturbed him, and she answered quickly, and put it away.

  He decided to ignore the blasted affair, and just answer anything if it came up.

  “What do you think of the two twins then?” he joked, and she finally burst out laughing, more uncontrolled than before, as though she had been laughing over it all day.

  “They look more similar to each other, and less similar to you, as though they are more connected to each other.”

  This fact surprised him, and he and the others also had seen it!

  “As though they are older?”

  “Yes! As if they are older.”

  “Well, now I seem to have two big brothers! And none of us seem to know each other!”

  She laughed again, and he joined in seeing the funny side of it.

  “What will happen when we get back home?”

  “That will be funny when the three of us meet people who know us – and we will not know them!”

  “But they will be able to give you information on everything, and what you forgot. You will just have to wait!”

  “There are another few problems as well! They insist a crime has been taken place! Even though it is just their records having been altered at the moment!”

  “Well, you never did anything!”

  He nodded in agreement, and finished his drink, and poured another.

  “When are you to meet Dan and Don again?”

  “Why do you want to meet them? I can call them up and ask them to meet us in the bar?”

  “Yes! I would like that. What are they like then?”

  “Identical! What’d you expect your identical twins to be like?”

  They laughed together, at the irony of it, and kept laughing, at the future situations that could develop.

  Chapter 10

  The Space Bar

  The drinks were great, and Kruger and Marsha sat laughing, as Don and Dan arrived at the bar, and he watched them with a slight hint of surprise. They were identical, and he could not tell the difference between them, and the other people around them watched on with amusement, and some casually tried to find differences in them to identify them.

  He knew there would be little to show the difference. They were genetically the same, for reason, and he thought he was slightly different.

  He kept wondering why he never had memories of having such a situation, which would have plagued his life. Surely something must exist in him that could be triggered by something?

  He noticed that the two could be distinguished from each other by the way Don argued with Dan, and Dan repeatedly revoked his approaches, remaining silent, and avoided making any proper contact or dispute with him or anyone.

  While they sat with them Don’s arguments increased, and he provoked Dan further and further, as if trying to achieve something. What amazed Kruger was their reactions were so similar to his that at
times he thought that they had been closely monitoring him in his quarters or somewhere and had started copying him for some purpose.

  Marsha laughed with the others, when she could get away with it, and Kruger was bewildered in not knowing what he should do or talk to them with. For one thing Dan was far too silent and hard to communicate with.

  He thanked Marsha again for letting him out of another awkward situation!

  Don tried questioning him on various subjects, and it was clear that he was testing him, trying to discover something.

  Kruger wondered why he never approached him instead, and considered how he would reply.

  Don leaned over the table, with his face bright pink, and suddenly removed a powerful hand energy weapon, which was one of the most powerful aboard, and Kruger did not know what he was more amazed with – him pointing it at Dan’s head or him managing to get hold of it, as nobody was ever allowed near the powerful stuff, and they were kept for emergencies that needed them. They would have a hard time getting a normal weapon without permission.

  Everyone stopped talking, and stared at it, and he followed their eyes to Don’s eyes, and the deadliness that was clearly there.

  “Right now,” Don ordered. “You or whatever you are – I want answers now! You start telling all of us who or what you really are! And this time I want the truth!”

  Kruger got what he was doing, and it was his only to get answers out of him, but not if he was right or why he was so certain and determined to do what he had planned.

  He waved it around Dan’s unworried face, trying to get him to react, as though he had it planned down to the last detail.