Tee was pleased to be a part of this shuffling queue. In the past he’d only done this once with a female. He usually elected to stay home. Now he had a wife and a daughter. He’d mentioned wanting to have a second to Lain but she’d become distracted and so he’d dropped it. He didn’t need to turn their honeymoon phase into a climate of resentment. He was practiced at the art of shelving his thoughts. In his youth he had bouts of anxiety. With the help of Alex he had worked feverishly to put an end to ruminating on negative events, usually comments made by one of his peers.
Having lost his parents at an early age and being raised in a sanctioned group home he had insecurities that he felt were unrealistic. He had what everyone else had, a home, a roof, toys, companionship, food and he was surrounded by professionals that showered him in daily accolades. But he felt the absence of his mother’s warmth and the quick smile and the teasing of his father. If, like some of the others, he had never known them he wouldn’t know what he was missing. But he had, and it was good, and without it he reflected on the children with parents. A pattern inside him began to emerge. One of feeling less than the others started to fester and grow.
When he expressed his concern to Alex, by way of a sensor placed deep inside his temporal lobe, Alex responded with logic. The lack of emotion became a comfort to Tee. He knew these conversations were extricating him from his own emotions and moving him closer to a way of thinking that didn’t experience a visceral reaction to stimulus the way most people seemed to respond. This detachment gave him an advantage to the changes that occur in life. But he was a human and he wanted love and he needed affection. The distance that Lain expressed toward him and her distraction from him appealed to something in his core.
What he felt was a mutual sympathy. They were both damaged in different ways resulting in something that they had in common. Their emotions were not raw and exposed, they were in fact muted. And this recognition became an attraction to Tee, coupled with her natural beauty he felt a compulsion to at least try and gain her trust and win some physical attraction toward him. He believed, correctly, that she had given in to him for the sake of Lacy. She probably deemed him to be honest and loyal. He could see it was a calculated move on her part and that her emotional and physical attraction was limited. Most men would have felt slighted. But walking on the path in the warm night air, she squeezed his hand back and they shared a genuine smile and he knew they were growing closer and becoming what he had dreamed might be.
The following morning the spy satellites were sent to rotate around Zellhigh and send back a constant feed. The cloaking mechanisms were complex and every aspect of them needed to be hidden. They believed from the captured airship that there was an electronic umbrella surrounding the planet. The satellites had to enter the bubble without sounding alarms. To do that they needed to penetrate the skin of the umbrella disguised as a solar flare and all six satellites needed to enter the upper atmosphere at the exact moment from different locations. The programing was of course done by Alex.
If successful the watchers of Zellhigh would dismiss the vibration as a current in the stratosphere. The crucial implementation was 2 am, Zellhigh time. Six individual screens the size of an Olympic swimming pool each were set up in a cinematic arrangement in a large arena known as the dome, deep inside Wind Mountain. The room was packed and a human odor of nervous tension and anxious pheromones radiated throughout. Tee’s hand rested on Lain’s arm. They were near the front and in reclined positions staring at the screens as if it were the sky itself. Zellhigh could be seen from six different angles and the satellites were all moving closer to the planet as if to corral it should it bolt and try and escape.
An announcement echoed around the room, “Three minutes until shield contact.” There came a deafening silence. Clothes rustled and a few coughs could be heard here and there. The room was darkened by an unseen hand. Zellhigh filled their eyes. It was nighttime on half of the screen and sparkled with artificial lights. A bright blue and green planet on the other side rushed toward them. It was an attractive planet that appeared to offer everything a human would want.
An intrusive thought entered Tee’s psyche as he realized that if the good people of Triolux North could wipe out a planet it stands to reason the opposite holds true for them. If the Triolux clan launched a successful invasion, would the Zellhigh crowd feel compelled to destroy our planet? An early lesson learned in school crossed Tee’s frontal lobe. It was about electricity. If electricity can make motion, motion can make electricity. If electricity can make light, light can make electricity. If electricity can make chemicals, chemicals can make electricity. If chemicals can make thoughts, thoughts can make electricity. Everything is interchangeable and Tee’s last thought before the satellites punctured the protective umbrella that Zellhigh used for security was if we can destroy them, they can destroy us.
What they saw was a paradise
Chapter 9
The images of Zellhigh on the sunny half of the planet were stunning. Unlike Triolux North, which housed its citizens in high-rise buildings with crosswalks every eight stories that crisscrossed the clouds, the Zellhigh structures were huge mushroom- shaped buildings that blended in with the surrounding wilderness. The centers of these complexes were bursting with forested parks complete with waterworks for children, and gleaming pools of flowing clean water for the adults. Each swimming area was sprinkled with brilliant fountains of varying colors including tunnels of vibrant spray that meandered like a lover’s lane through the park. And everyone was nude.
Historians have commented throughout the years that man is a different animal. He needs to wear clothes and that this, more than a lot of other contributing factors, made all the difference. Others have argued that if man had not chosen to adorn himself he wouldn’t have developed as the dominant species that he is in the known universe. Yet, these people, obviously advanced in every technical aspect of society, chose to prance around oblivious to this one basic advancement that man has over the animal.
Tee wondered if what they were doing was hurtful or helpful or perhaps neutral. The point is they weren’t armed and they appeared to be extremely vulnerable. Someone in the back of the dome suggested that satellite number three magnify the image of the brunette by the purple fountain just a bit more. The dome erupted in laughter and it was the opposite of what they had felt only minutes earlier. If one were to make a physical assessment of the peoples of Zellhigh, it would be of a very robust and physically fit people. The men were tall and muscular while the women were toned and erect. The children were playful, energetic and by all appearances happy.
These are the same persons that assaulted, abused and murdered indiscriminately. They showed no mercy during their rampage and absolutely no desire to participate in the argument of reason or have one degree of empathy for their victims. So the mental image of draconian conditions and a people secured in bondage was being shredded with every close-up view of a contented crowd, naked and beaming with warmth and kindness.
On Triolux North toddlers were being scrutinized to see if they were the standard black-haired children usually produced. When looking at the children of Zellhigh there were noticeable differences in appearance. A wide variety of faces and color existed as if gene diversity was their goal. The problem with such a variation was the introduction of a mutation that could cause medical issues. When the genes are corralled into a limited pool and selected for vitality, the outcome is a known commodity. This Zellhigh hodgepodge of humanity seemed to Tee to carry with it a risk of defects.
At the same time there was an attractive aspect that couldn’t help but enter into one’s imagination. The dark skin of the Triolux people mating with a light – skinned, fair - haired person seemed so taboo as to be titillating. This must be the attraction that caused these barbarians to stray so far from the safety net of a scientifically - proven outcome. Once again this pointed to the Zellhigh psyche as one propelled by a perverse and sexually deviant compulsion that left
no room for any philosophical intercourse. Only a savage clan would let desire trample over historical facts and social norms.
The shock of finding a people who obviously were respectful of nature gave the Triolux pause. How could such ruthless people construct a world that had balance and harmony with its surroundings? They had obviously strived for a symbiotic communal balance. They appeared to be prosperous. The truth is the Triolux had barely scratched the surface. They were taking air samples and making gravitational measurements, speed of planetary rotation, hours of sunlight, various temperatures, probing for underground anomalies and so forth.
There were large Airlites flying in patterns and it looked like there was a shuttle system from gathering points where commuters or shoppers met. This meant the inhabitants were encouraged to walk or paddle in canoe - like boats to common areas that picked them up and took them somewhere. This had to reduce the need to charge a massive amount of Airlites and to keep the occupants in some kind of physical shape for muscle mass. It appeared to be a well – thought - out and planned society.
Too bad they didn’t keep to themselves, and instead became raiding psychopaths. Tee glanced at the information streaming from the satellites to the right of the screens. The temperature was moderate. Rain was being registered and soil moisture content was well dispersed. This didn’t occur by accident. Zellhigh had a weather management system in place that once again spoke of technological advancement. There were also small quantities of a manmade substance in the air near the surface, a gas that seemed to be expelled from the people as they breathed. It could also come from their skin and boil off from sweat.
Under normal circumstances a human exhales oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. There can also be the presence of argon but the body doesn’t add to it or change it the way it creates the waste product of carbon dioxide and changes the mixture of gases in and gases out. This meant the people of Zellhigh are being influenced, perhaps drugged by something that permeates all of them and their bodies may be dependent on its consumption. This would be considered an exploitable weakness and a murmur about it was beginning to be discussed in quiet voices throughout the dome.
Everything that was happening was considered a successful mission. Along with all the data being accumulated and an excitement about going back to the labs to evaluate all the information was a source of pride. The people of Triolux North had made a significant shift from a passive planet committed to noninterference in the universe to one of undetected spies. These subjects from Zellhigh were obviously under some kind of control and on a planet- wide scale. There would now be a search to find the source of the chemical - manufacturing plant or perhaps many of them and probe them for weaknesses. Tee patted Lain’s arm and gave her a curt smile, a business - like acknowledgement that they were collectively heading in the right direction. She nodded in understanding of the larger implication. They had now completed the first step in the invasion of Zellhigh.
The chemical plant was hardened against their own people.
A land invasion would never work. The one facility they found was vulnerable to an attack only from the sky. The scientists were pulling apart the components of the gas the inhabitants breathed and hoped to have some kind of report on what it was in the near future.
Chemicals in the human body can be used to stimulate and depress and influence all the emotions that fall in between those two poles. Some of the expressions that could be controlled by the introduction of certain compounds range from love to hate. The brain had been mapped and studied and it’s one of the tools used on Triolux North for magnetic mind manipulation. There were ways to nudge a person toward corrective thoughts. As drugs advanced for improvement in the history of mankind abuse has always marched alongside distribution.
In the early days of space exploration chemical suppressants were needed to hold travelers in a semi - catatonic state for exploration. As man conquered distance with quantum physics the need for such chemicals fell to the wayside. However medical engineers had long claimed that with the right mix of brain nutrients coupled with deep sleep people could wake and spend their lives experiencing a greater joy in their everyday world than they would without those refinements. Furthermore they claimed they could improve a person’s inner dialogue to the point of the elimination of self-doubt. According to this line of reason man would move forward in all the disciplines by leaps and bounds with the removal of internal conflict. Failure would be perceived as success. All endeavors would be digested as forward momentum since every stepping stone would be perceived as a major move toward the accomplishment of the stated goal.
A theory about Zellhigh that was being knocked around was that the occupants were chemically manipulated to supply the needs of a guarded few. The supply of women and material goods as well as things like life - extending plankton could be at the fingertips of someone who controlled an entire planet. Any wants or desires could be satisfied by simply pointing a standing army in the right direction. At this point it was all conjecture and the gas could be simply be used as some physical stimulant for greater muscle mass in the male population.
So much data was streaming back to Triolux North that round - the - clock teams were tasked with analysis. It was daunting. There were military types studying an entire globe looking for defense stations. Nutritionists were discussing observable diets and sleep patterns. Psychologists were meeting for roundtable analysis of family units. Air samples were constantly updated. Flight patterns were monitored as large airships were seen docking and unloading. Did Zellhigh trade with others or was everything that was being brought in plunder? They were observing every port to see if ships were being loaded with supplies going out and if they were, what was it the Zellhigh valued?
Tee was establishing an overview team that could separate the wheat from the chaff. The committee was still in play and with the help of Alex they had prioritized what they needed to know with two main goals in mind. The first, and perhaps foremost, would be a successful invasion that rendered the inhabitants of Zellhigh incapable of threatening the surrounding galaxies. This would mean the destruction of their spaceships as well as any weapons they had and control of the population, especially in regard to resistance. Secondly there needed to be a separation of those unable to accept a program aimed at improvement. Those individuals would need to be destroyed and possibly on a mass scale. A plan needed to be at the ready for implementation if such an unpleasant task needed to be carried out. And it should be done with haste.
From a distance it seemed that Triolux North was making progress by leaps and bounds but the truth was there was a tremor of anxiety just below the surface. It involved time and the clock wasn’t stopping. The committee believed that a card had been shown to the Zellhigh maniacs when they had destroyed their probes with their mines on Triolux South. It would seem that move would have alerted the Zellhigh or at least raised some concerns. If they suspected the people of Triolux had detected their cloaked probes then they may become aggressive toward the population of Triolux. The only hope was that the Zellhigh elite might accept the fate of their satellites as natural destruction because they had already lost a spaceship to Triolux South when it was swallowed by a fissure that had opened and closed from the advance invasion team.
With thoughts of the probe in mind, a realization that new satellites would be sent and this time not land on Triolux South but instead hover in space around their planet was bearing down on them to find a reasonable response, one that would send back false information to Zellhigh without detection of deception. So deep in the hidden headquarters of Wind Mountain was a beehive of activity. Pieces of the destroyed probes were under a microscope and reverse engineering was in full swing.
At the end of each day Tee was exhausted and felt an oppressive weight on his chest until he cast his eyes on Lacy and Lain. It was a visual - visceral elixir that calmed him down and caused his mind to settle and clear itself of work. With his thoughts still and the smell of a baby and his
wife, Tee turned to the moment and basked in his good fortune. After so much pleasant communion when all was quiet and serene, Tee would be plagued by the images of his family facing the mad marauders of Zellhigh and their crazy lust for domination. Tee knew he would go down with his laser in hand and take as many men with him as he could. And that was a shame. A pity how little man had advanced with all his knowledge of history, only to be ignored and employ violence.
The communications on Zellhigh between ground and air was deeply encrypted as well as continuously alternating with light pulse waves and varying frequencies. To move closer to understanding the communications, even in its most rudimentary form, such as destination, a tracking device would need to be attached to the airframe of a ship. This would be extremely risky and perhaps best performed by a human. Even a nanostructured robot on a molecular level could be detected and deflected as a piece of space junk. The device, no matter how minuscule, needed to put inside the ship with the cargo, which was loaded and unloaded undercover and out of sight. Once the destination was complete the information from that voyage would allow Alex to backtrack the communication and perhaps break some of the code.
A person with language skills and no modesty - because the folks on Zellhigh go in public naked and natural - would be best. The language skills would help them blend in and they would need to mimic the subtle nuances of common language used on Zellhigh. It is the language that most in the known Universe use, but each planet has developed its own colloquialisms. On Triolux North people were prone to say Airlite in a way that is pronounced “Are- Lite.” How that came about was a mystery to Tee, one he could research if he was so inclined, which he was not. The point was that Zellhigh would most likely have many of these local expressions and whoever went there would need to catch on quickly or be willing to self-dispatch themselves before they gave up secrets.
Ths Sacking of Triolux North Page 5