by B. C. CHASE
“Reebok! I thought you were—” Wesley started to say. He had seen the orang hit by the ax. She was dead. How was she standing before him, uninjured? Dead or not, she took Wesley’s hand and led him toward a nearby truck with a giant cargo container dotted with holes and white print that read “WARNING: LIVE CARGO.”
They snuck in the back. Inside it was dark, but once his eyes adjusted, Wesley saw that the container was sectioned into cage cells with straw on the floor. Several lions were in the foremost cells and a gorilla in the rear. Seated beside the gorilla was the shaved orangutan they had rescued.
They heard some men outside and ducked behind a stack of crates. A hissing sound from inside the crate made them back away cautiously.
The men were approaching the crate. They heard a metallic bang and then two doors slammed shut over the container opening.
They were being sealed inside with the animals. When the door slammed at the bottom and all the light was extinguished, Wesley reached for Kelle’s hand. They were in pitch black. A lion was growling.
Paradeisia Under the Earth
Doctor Kaufmann sat on a giant root. He spit his gum out on the ground and proceeded to explain, “There were originally five of us, including Andrews, who came down to evaluate. Three were PhD's and then myself.”
Bridges said, “Those are the ones you told me no longer work on Paradeisia—the ones I asked you about when I was assembling the team?”
“Yes, and they never did work here. They were guests of mine, friends from University of Basel. After what happened, they never would have stayed even if they had been paid, I think.”
“And what happened?”
“We were in the clearing: that was where he disappeared. We heard him, we heard Andrews shout. When we looked, he was being pulled. He was being pulled, but he was still standing up sliding across the ground. It was as if something in the dirt was pulling his feet. We ran to him, but it happened so fast, he was pulled down and away at the same time right into the ground. He was screaming the whole time. It was terrible. The grass did not move, he just sunk in as if there was no earth at all. I saw his face go under and then his arm and his fingers. He was sucked right into it, screaming. We couldn't do anything. We reached him too late.”
Doctor Kaufmann wiped his forehead before he continued, “I thought maybe something in quicksand was pulling him, but no. The ground was solid, solid as this right here,” he stomped with his foot on the hard earth. He licked his lips, visibly shaken by recalling the memory. Looking up at them with terrified eyes, he said, “Something took him. There is something down here that does not obey the laws of physics that I know. The ... they know much more than we do; they are cleverer. They are Genie.” Genius. “They are böser Geist.” Evil genius.
“So what did you do?”
“Well, we did as I said, we searched for him. First from the air in the gondola. Then on foot. We placed these cameras everywhere. But each one was destroyed and the memory removed, as you see. They are clever. We never found Andrews.”
“But why would you lie about this? You never told anyone that you witnessed his disappearance. We were always told Andrews must have wandered off!”
Doctor Kaufmann stood and shouted hoarsely, “I am under pressure, don’t you see! Even I could not believe what I had witnessed: how could I tell anyone the truth and expect them to believe it!”
“So you set some cameras up with your friends and called it good? You think that was a professional response?”
“We searched everywhere we could! But he was just sucked into the ground. Where could we possibly have searched and found him? He was gone! I am telling you they are clever, they are böser Geist!”
“Does Jinkins know anything about this?” Bridges asked.
Doctor Kaufmann paused, then said, “No. I told him that Andrews probably went off alone.”
“Then who put you under pressure?'”
Doctor Kaufmann didn't say anything as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. “I did, myself.”
Bridges shook his head, “Now when Andrews went into the ground, you say he was pulled?”
“Yes. They pulled him under.”
“Could it be some new, unknown process of physics we are dealing with, here?”
Doctor Kaufmann sat back down, “Well, there is quantum tunneling.”
Nimitz said, “What's that?”
“Quantum tunneling—it is a phenomenon in which particles (like electrons) pass to the opposite side of a seemingly impassable barrier. The probability that they can 'tunnel' over is decreased by the increasing size of the barrier or object, but with enough time, an object could theoretically pass through anything. This relates to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principal.”
When no one appeared to be following, he explained, “Take electrons, for example. Electrons surround the neutron in a cloud of probability, meaning a cloud of possible positions. Because electrons exhibit the features of waves and particles at the same time, they cannot be detected as either a particle or a wave at the same time. The more you treat them like waves, the more they behave like particles and vice versa; that's called wave-particle duality. You therefore cannot say where an electron is, only where it might be. And the more you narrow down the position, the less you know about the momentum of where it is going.
“So, going back to quantum tunneling; it is impossible to say that the electron couldn't be on the other side of the barrier simply because, mathematically, there is no reason this couldn't be the case. The cloud of probability extends beyond the barrier.”
Doctor Kaufmann clearly still wasn't getting through to his audience. Shaking his head, he said, “But that is irrelevant here where Andrews disappeared into the ground. Quantum tunneling's practical applications are things like nuclear fusion or how small nano-electronics like computer chips can be designed before electrons are lost. We are talking about nano-sized things. Not human beings.”
Bridges said, “But is it theoretically possible with something larger, such as a human being?”
“Well, I suppose it could be. With an infinite number of repetitions of the object hitting the barrier, anything is possible. If you could make a time machine, you could theoretically also apply quantum tunneling to large objects. But that is utterly foolish. No physicist fully understands Heisenberg uncertainty, let alone how to make a time machine.”
Bridges said, “Am I wrong in saying that we don't fully understand this place, though, either?”
“No.”
“So look, this is an entirely new world. The atmosphere is very different from the surface. How do we know the ground isn't also very different? Clearly there are forces at work here we do not comprehend. It's as light as day, yet there is no sun down here—“
Doctor Kaufmann interrupted, “My scientists think the light is electrically charged xeon gas.”
Bridges exclaimed, “Your scientists weren't down here long enough to think jack! Did they capture any xeon gas?”
“No.”
“Then I don't want to hear what they speculated. And as for you, you need to learn to start thinking outside the box. You saw what happened to Andrews: now you need to accept it and make it work with all your so-called science. I mean what kind of a scientist are you, anyway?”
“A physicist.”
“Why did Jinkins hire a physicist as his chief scientist? Wouldn’t a biologist have been more appropriate?”
Doctor Kaufmann raised his hands, “Okay, I am willing to entertain the idea that quantum tunneling, or more likely some process we don't even know about, could have been at work in Andrews' case. But by all appearances he was dragged down, so there was certainly some other force acting on him.”
Bridges said, “Regardless, allowing work on the island above to proceed when you knew what had happened to Andrews was unconscionable, especially since you lied about it. This place isn't safe for tourists.”
Kaufmann said, “No one was ever going to be let off the gondola
s on the tours! There was never any danger to anyone who stayed in the gondolas.”
Bridges said, “You should have told Jinkins anyway.”
“In hindsight, I'll admit that you are right.”
“Unfortunately, what you've told us now doesn't put us any closer to finding Andrews. And if I find out that you're still hiding anything from us, you can bet I won't be happy,” Bridges slowly raised his weapon to touch the tip of the barrel to Kaufmann's forehead. “Meet my lie detector.”
Doctor Kaufmann gulped.
Bridges waved to Adriaan, “Now lead on.”
“You want me to follow Doctor Kaufmann's old tracks or Andrews'?”
“Andrews'.”
Adriaan gazed darkly at Doctor Kaufmann, “I'd rather follow his.”
“They'll lead you to all the other cameras, if that's what you want to see,” Doctor Kaufmann said innocently.
“Or to the truth,” Adriaan said with a cold stare.
Bridges said, “Our priority right now is Andrews. We can follow Doctor Kaufmann's tracks when we come back.”
Adriaan shrugged. As they resumed the trail, Aubrey fell into step beside him. She said quietly, “What truth do you think he's hiding?”
“No idea, love. But whatever it is, I'm sure it isn't good, and it's probably very dangerous.” He gave her a sideways grin, “Good thing you like to walk on the wild side.”
The truth was, of course, that at this point Aubrey wasn't happy walking on this wild side. This place was beginning to give her the creeps despite its beauty and the increasing ease with which she walked. (She assumed this was due to the increased oxygen, but as they traveled she was not wearing, far from it. She actually felt more invigorated the longer they went.)
Nimitz suddenly joined them, interrupting her thoughts. “So what do you guys think?”
“About what?” Adriaan asked.
“Kauffman’s boser geist?”
“I don’t think it’s likely they exist.”
“Well you know what I think they are? Aztec gods. They are protecting their territory, which we have invaded.”
“Hmm. Did you tell Bridges your theory?”
“Yes, a year ago. But he doesn’t listen to me. Didn’t care about the disappearances. He can’t believe that anything he hasn’t touched can be real.”
“Well I know one thing for sure. Kaufmann doesn’t think they are Aztec gods.”
“How do you know that.”
“Because he called them böser Geist. That sounds very similar to the Dutch words for evil spirit, and Dutch and German are very similar.”
“Well there you go then, evil spirit. Evil gods. Same thing!” Nimitz exclaimed.
“He didn’t say he had seen them. He’s just attributing a phenomenon he did see that he cannot explain to spirits that he made up. People have been doing that since the first humans were born.”
“But what if he did see them but he isn’t telling us.”
Adriaan scoffed, “Oh of course he is.”
“You know the Aztecs used to appease their gods through human sacrifice.”
“Yes. So?”
“Spooky.”
“Oh come off it. There are no Aztec gods down here.”
“Then what are they?”
“There is no ‘they.’ That is all.”
The group traveled on, reaching the slope that led to the clifftop plateau. They encountered many large boulders that had to be either circumvented or, in some cases, climbed. There were also more roots and less ground cover which made the tracks harder to follow. Eventually they came to a river that roared down the mountainside in a cascade of little waterfalls.
Doctor Kaufmann suddenly stopped and leaned over, his hands on his knees, “A minute, please, guys.”
Bridges impatiently asked, “What's the deal?”
Doctor Kaufmann looked up, squinting, “Stomach is giving me trouble.”
“Well you'll just have to suck it up,” Bridges said.
Doctor Kaufmann was very pale, “Is there any way you could take me back?”
“No,” Bridges replied. “There isn't.” Then he dropped his pack and shouted, “Everybody take ten!” Looking at Doctor Kaufmann, he said, “And you'd better take some Pepto.”
Aubrey took a seat beside Adriaan on some rocks lining the rushing water. Through the clearing in the giant trees it was possible to see the river as it emerged into the valley forming a tropical lake. It was unspeakably beautiful.
They were simply enjoying the vista when suddenly Bridges was beside them, “Adriaan, I wanted you to know that I agree it's important to follow Kaufmann's prints. But I'm working on the theory that Kaufmann wouldn't travel with us on Andrews' trail if he knew of a specific danger it might lead to.”
Adriaan said, “That could be true. Unless ...”
“Unless what?”
“Unless he is allowing us to walk into a trap.”
“What trap?”
“He seems to be sure that Andrews was taken. So what if he has encountered those who took him? What if he has communicated with them? What if he is allowing us to walk straight into their grasp?”
“That seems pretty far-fetched. Have you been talking to Nimitz?”
Adriaan shook his head.
“Well I don't think we have any evidence that there is anyone else down here. Keep in mind that Doctor Kaufmann is a scientist, and a discovery of quantum tunneling or whatever he said would be extremely valuable to science. He very well could be leading us to believe that something took Andrews on purpose in order to keep his discovery to himself. Who knows how many times he’s actually come down here to try to research it.”
Aubrey commented, “He looks like he really is scared of something.”
“The longer we track, the less time Andrews has to survive. I want to get Andrews, get the heck out of here, and return to my wife and kids. That's all.”
Adriaan nodded, “Understood.”
After Bridges stepped away, there was a silence. Aubrey wanted to ask Adriaan how he had lost his arm, but she resisted the urge.
Before she could think of something else to say, she saw something rushing at her out of the corner of her eye. In an instant, it hit her, and she was thrown to the ground.
Preseption Logic Corporation
Keelung, Taiwan
“What do you mean one of the things that didn’t go as you planned?” Gary asked through clenched teeth.
“Well, the interns used him for an experiment, one which I most certainly did not condone.” Doctor Stoneham shook his head in irritation. “They injected a virus vector entirely of their own concoction, and while they achieved their aim, its usefulness to science is, well, come see for yourself.”
Doctor Stoneham led them to the elevator and pressed the button for one of the lowest floors. Gary became increasingly concerned with every floor they descended. When the doors opened, his worst fears were confirmed.
They stepped out into a bare hallway with fluorescent lights and gray walls lined with doors. Echoing everywhere was the sound of animals. All kinds of animals.
Following Doctor Stoneham's brisk pace down the hallway, Gary gripped the hand of Jeffery tightly—the child seemed to sense Gary's mood and trotted along in silence.
They entered a room like the ones Gary had seen on the ground floor, full of cages. They were empty, except for one, which Doctor Stoneham approached. With his large bulk in the way, Gary couldn't see what was in the cage, but he heard a screeching vocalization come from it when Stoneham opened the door. The scientist turned around.
Grasped firmly in his hands was a monkey no larger than a kitten. It had golden fur surrounding a gray face with huge eyes, tiny nostrils, and a down-turned mouth. Large, tufted ears at least half as tall as the head protruded conspicuously from the sides of the head.
It was without a doubt the cutest animal Gary had ever seen.
Clearly a juvenile, it struggled desperately to free itself with its stubby fingers
until it stopped, its little breaths quickly expanding its chest cavity. It looked up, directly into Gary's eyes. Its eyelids opened wide and blinked rapidly. It opened its mouth wide as if to scream, though no sound came out. Then it became totally still, seeming not even to breathe, slowly tilting its head. Gary was awestruck to see a tear glisten as it rolled down the small creature’s face.
He instinctively raised a finger to it, which the monkey grasped with its tiny fingers, so small they were like an infant's. Twitching its head to look at Gary's hand and then back up at his face, the primate's small, high-pitched voice spoke a single, clear word: “Dad?”
“Jeffery,” Gary said, almost in a question.
Doctor Stoneham passed the creature to Gary, saying “The species is golden snubnosed, from southwest China. Nearly extinct. They were thoroughly inebriated after a night out. Totally forgot he was most important piece of our entire operation! Trying to find a way to quickly replenish a depleted species. Creative, you must admit, and very unorthodox. But this is why I was obliged to make a duplicate… Didn’t really want to use a monkey as a Preseption. Just in case, you know.”
Gary held him with both hands in total surrealism, feeling the creature's—his son's—tail wrap around his arm. His son reached out his arms toward his neck, opening his mouth in what might have been a smile except that it exposed sharp canines. But then, as quickly as he did this, he recoiled, turning his head all the way around in shame. Gary, somewhat awkwardly, brought the monkey up to his neck to embrace him. “I'm here to take you home,” he said. The monkey's little arms wrapped around his neck.