RESTORATION (a science fiction novel) (RESTORATION (the science fiction trilogy))

by Utley, Todd

  At one time John even worked on a covert team of professional hackers hired by the CIA to hack into the Pentagons file system. They got the job done in less than a week followed by an intentional public disclosure of the breach and were immediately arrested by federal agents. It was the only way to force the hands of those in charge to improve the system. In less than 24 hours they were released and very quietly rewarded for their success in agreement with the contract.

  Their team spent the next two years remodeling the Pentagon’s security systems to be as un-penetrable as possible. Dodge had never asked John about the payoff but it was pretty well known that this was the beginning of John coming into some very good personal wealth. From then on he continued to make career moves that yielded even better salaries and accomplishments.

  John had worked so hard to get where he was and now Dodge was also on the cusp of great success and wealth. Dodge couldn’t help but think that if it blew up in their faces they could both lose everything, so it was pretty important to them that they find out what was going on.

  They each spent several hours going through numerous documents related to Ron Simpson. It was hard to believe how much of a trail one person leaves in the world of digital systems in this modern age. They saw where he was born, went to preschool, kindergarten, all his grades through high school, college, graduate school. Everything seemed normal and it seemed he was for sure a legit American Citizen. This discovery squashed any thoughts of foreign espionage that they were having. This guy was clean, squeaky clean; not even a traffic ticket, but where was he now?

  They started searching for his current whereabouts and it didn’t take long. There on the screen was the story from the newspaper; it caused a lump to form in Dodge’s throat, the kind that also makes the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

  “John, you had better take a look at this man, you’re not gonna believe it.” John quickly rolled over to Dodges station and he too had the “oh shit!” moment. There on the screen was a photo of a badly burned wad of metal that was once a car. It had a tarp draped over part of it with fire and police apparatus all around. He read the headline.

  “Local Tech Engineer Killed in Train Accident.”

  According to the story in the paper his car had become disabled at a railroad crossing. The engineer of the train said they came around the tree blinded curve in the tracks at 11:45 p.m. to see the car apparently stranded on the tracks at the crossing. A witness from another approaching car said the engineer leaned on the whistle and flattened the wheels of the train throwing a sea of sparks high into the air trying to stop but still hit the car at a fairly high rate of speed.

  Other witnesses said the man must have been unconscious because he made no effort to get out or to move the car. Upon impact the car burst into flames and was pushed almost a half mile down the tracks before the train could stop. The deceased man was later identified as their very own Ron Simpson.

  John and Dodge looked at each other; they were both thinking the same thing but neither of them wanted to say it, was this simply an accident? But on the other hand if it was an accident then the whole thing probably ended with Ron Simpson right there on those tracks; that would explain why nothing ever seemed to come of it. It could have been a single man working alone on some scheme that never got finished.

  “All right, well that’s a dead end,” said John, “no pun intended. I guess we move on to the other people and see what else we can find.”

  They worked for several more hours and found nothing on any of the other people. They were all still living and working at various jobs, some were still at ESS. Others had moved on but with no issues and no one else in the group was missing. It was getting late and Dodge needed to either head home at normal time or come up with a story to cover so that they could continue working.

  “Hey John, I have to either go home or call Linsey and tell her that we’re going out to do something, what do you think we should do?”

  “Well I don’t know about you but I would like to keep going. I’d like some answers before I sleep again.”

  Dodge agreed and decided to call Linsey. She answered in a very noisy environment.

  “Hey where are you?” Linsey’s voice blared out of the phone so loud that John heard it and grinned.

  “I’m hanging out with John tonight, we thought we should go get a sandwich and catch up some more, you know, old times.” Linsey paused. “Oh sure that’s fine, I’m taking the kids to that new movie they wanted to see and we’re standing in line, it’s really noisy. I was hoping you would come join us but that’s okay, you go ahead and catch up. You and John need to do that, I’ll see you when we get home. Love you!”

  “Love you too!” Dodge sort of yelled back into the phone so that she could hear him.

  “Okay, well I guess we’re good to go, what do you think we should do next?”

  “Well, my friend, what did we always do when we couldn’t find dirt on anyone during the hiring process? What was the last thing we always checked?” They pointed at each other and at the same time said, “Medical records.”

  All good investigators knew that medical records were very accurate and also very revealing. If you wanted to get into a person’s deepest darkest secrets, just go look at their medical files. This was no problem at all for John so they dug right in and started back at Ron Simpson again to see what they could find.

  There were several data warehouses that kept records much like different credit agencies keep duplicate records. They divided them up and started looking at Mr. Simpsons past. Everything looked normal. All the records documented the usual childhood illnesses, dental records, inoculations for measles, chicken pocks, polio, aids, leukemia, etc. It wasn’t until John, who had a habit of talking out loud while sifting through data, was mumbling about the parents driving so far to see a doctor. “Wait John, what did you say about traveling to see their doctor?”

  “Well, it appears that Ron’s parents at one time lived in Ohio and then when they moved to Indiana. They continued to see their old doctor in Ohio for little Ron’s shots and checkups.”

  Dodge went back to a similar file.

  “No that’s not what this file that I’m looking at says. It shows that he got all his inoculations right here in good old Indiana.”

  John was in disbelief.

  “Let me see what you’re looking at.”

  They both looked at it several times and came to the same inexplicable conclusion. Ron Simpson received double inoculations both in Ohio and Indiana, but why?

  Why would one kid need double treatment for the same things from two different doctors? It just didn’t make any sense. There was either a mistake or they were simply viewing an error in the system, there must have been another Ron Simpson that lived in Ohio and the records had gotten mixed up.

  They continued their digging to see what else they could find. Still it didn’t make sense because the two different files showed the same parents listed with the same social security numbers and the same addresses for the family. They first showed up in Ohio and then in Indiana where they lived later but there were still records of treatment for Ron after that move yet they seemed like duplicate treatments.

  They could both understand going back to your old doctor but why would you get double treatment for the same things? This didn’t make much sense at all.

  They decided the next logical step would be to call that doctor the following day and so they began to do a little research on his current practice to get his phone number or email address.

  His practice no longer existed so they looked up the old address and discovered there was a general practitioner there at that address but not by the same name.

  “Hey you don’t think he’s dead do you? said John. Ron was a kid many years ago and maybe the old doctor is just deceased.”

  “Yeah, good point,” said Dodge, let’s look him up.”

  A few minutes later they had their answer. The kind old doctor was
dead but not from old age, instead from something that sent chills up their spines. Hit by a train! The newspaper story from an Ohio news organization showed images of the fiery crash.

  The scene and description of the events were so eerily similar to the death of Ron Simpson that it couldn’t be a coincidence, no way, not in a thousand years. Ron Simpson and his childhood physician had died in exactly the same way. They were both in a stalled car on a railroad crossing late at night. In both cases the driver was apparently unconscious and unable to move the vehicle or get out. In each incident the rail crossing was following a blind turn in the tracks, where trains regularly travel at a high rate of speed.

  Why? What was the connection between Ron Simpson, His child hood doctor, and their project? Why would someone kill both men in the exact same way? Why was Ron Simpson receiving double inoculations for childhood diseases? It would have to wait until another day, it was late and both John and Dodge were exhausted.

  John walked out to the car with Dodge.

  “Have a good night buddy, and don’t worry, we’ll solve this, just don’t go anywhere near a rail road crossing tonight!”

  “Don’t worry Bro, I’m going straight home, locking the doors and staying put with my family, this stuff is freaking me out!”

  Chapter 9 Dodge arrived home at 9:55 p.m.; pulled his GTO right into the garage and locked everything up. His family reacted in the usual way to his coming in and didn’t really notice him being a little more vigilant about checking the doors. He was still a little on edge from all of the mystery surrounding Ron Simpson and his mind continued to race.

  He was having thoughts now that maybe he and John were going completely off the deep end, losing it, and acting like a couple of paranoid teenagers after doing something bad when they knew better. Was it possible that Ron and his Doctor had simply died coincidentally in very similar fashion? Maybe he and John just stumbled upon a unique situation. He certainly hoped that was the case and he tried to calm himself.

  He grabbed a soda out of the fridge and an open pack of crackers from the kitchen counter and headed for his chair in the family room. The whole family was watching some hilarious blooper real about dogs and cats doing funny things. He was glad to see them all smiling and laughing and it melted away some of the tension.

  “Well hello there stranger, glad you could make it home to see your family!” said Linsey. He smiled and sat down on the sofa with her instead of sitting in his big chair as usual. Linsey always liked that and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before going back to laughing at the show.

  “So did you have a good time catching up, you and John?” asked Linsey.

  “Yeah it was good, we talked about the good old days and had some fun remembering over a coffee and some scones. Not too healthy, but it sure was tasty.”

  He hated lying to Linsey even about little things, but it was for her own good at this point.

  It was bad enough that she had just gone through Bobby’s death and Restoration she certainly didn’t need any extra stuff to deal with and as of now it was still just speculation, there was no immediate reason to believe they were in any danger.

  The funny animals show ended and the local news came on. The kids lost interest and went to the game room to play some video games leaving Linsey and Dodge to watch their “super boring news stuff” as Sarah put it. The first story was the “breaking news story” and of course as they always are, it was bad news. Apparently a man had lost his mind after finding out his wife was cheating on him. He killed his wife and two of their three children and then turned the gun on himself. “What horrible news, wasn’t there anything good going on in the world anymore?”

  Luckily the in-laws came over at the wife’s earlier bequest due to the argument and found the murdered family within a few minutes of it happening. All the children were successfully restored but the crazed man shot his own Lifecorder unit and his wife’s unit before killing her and himself.

  They had no back up subscription plan so they couldn’t be restored. They were gone, dead forever, or as some people believed, gone on to eternity. Dodge thought to himself that the murderous man was probably not in a very good place right now and would probably like a do-over for that one.

  The following stories were the normal stuff; there was a drug bust, and a group of people at the town hall upset over a new liquor that was license granted to an eatery in their neighborhood.

  Then near the end of the newscast there it was, the story that brought Dodge out of the sleep that he was drifting toward. A very wealthy business man in Arizona claimed that he had been robbed in the most unusual way.

  He claimed he went to bed on Monday night and awoke Tuesday morning to a very strange feeling, someone else in his head! The entity in his head was controlling him but he was still himself. He recognized his family and was able to act normal that morning at the breakfast table with his wife and children.

  He was forced to leave the house as if going off to his office at work but the other presence was there and he couldn’t do anything about it. He claimed after leaving his home that the entity in his head coerced him into doing things against his will. It ended up going to the bank and transferring his entire family fortune to an offshore bank account, an account that he somehow knew the numbers for.

  The entity continued to control him all day until he went to bed that night. He fought it but he eventually succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep. The following morning he awoke, sat straight up in bed.

  “We’ve been robbed! Call the police!” he said.

  His wife thought he dreamed this and he hoped that she was correct. Upon calling the bank it was confirmed that he was in the day before and did in fact transfer the funds, and now they were nearly broke, two hundred fifty-six million dollars gone!

  Of course no one believed the man’s story including his wife who was certain he was giving it to a mistress and was planning to join her. She left him taking the children and he went nuts. They locked him up in an institution and were still investigating to find out what was wrong with him and what really happened to the funds. The bank account that the money was transferred to was closed out the very same day with no way to trace it.

  Linsey poked Dodge’s arm.

  “Hey there Hun, you all right? Look like you just seen a ghost?”

  Dodge was glued to the story and must have turned a little pale at the thoughts going through his mind. He had goose bumps at the very thought of this being somehow connected to their mystery. Could it be that controlling people in this way was Ron Simpson’s motive for adding layers to the chip? Or was Ron Simpson just an innocent man who happened to be the last person to view the file? Did someone watching murder him to keep it under wraps?

  Even if that was the case, why kill Ron’s childhood doctor? Just then Dodge realized he had zoned out on Linsey.

  “Oh, no, sorry dear I just remembered I forgot to lock my office at work when I left, you know how I am about security.”

  Linsey patted his leg.

  “Well you were just in a hurry to meet your old pal and completely forgot about work I guess. So how is Mr. John Calhoun these days?”

  Dodge thought for a second, he was supposed to be catching up with John and now Linsey wanted the details.

  “Think fast and make it believable!”

  “Well he’s been through a lot in the last few years. Karen left him a while back and ran off with a professional baseball player.” Linsey’s jaw dropped.

  “What! Seriously? I thought John and Karen were like the perfect couple, or at least they seemed to be?”

  “Yeah, I know, but apparently she had a secret, and well kept. She just dropped the bomb on him and left.”

  “It’s no wonder he needed to see you, how’s he holding up?”

  “Well that happened over a year ago, he’s fine now, even has a new gal in his life. We were talking about maybe getting together some night for dinner, all of us, so we can meet each other. John says he’
s happier now more than ever and that she’s just what he needed in his life.”

  “Well that’s good news and I’m glad he’s all right. We should definitely have them over some evening or better yet go out so I don’t have to cook!”

  Linsey grinned at Dodge with that look she could always use to get her way, the one that he couldn’t resist. Then she leaned over and kissed him with about as much tongue as lips. “Nice, that usually leads to more fun later.”

  Dodge agreed that they would all go out and then Linsey got that wild look in her eye like he hadn’t seen in a couple of weeks. “Oh man!” He never knew when this would happen with her or what would set it off but he wasn’t about to question it. Linsey grabbed the remote and shut off the TV without taking her eyes off of Dodge.

  “Hey kids, were going to bed, don’t stay up too late, okay?” A stereo “Okay” came back from the next room. Suddenly every other thought left his brain along with most of the blood as his mind turned to the fantastic sex they were about to have.

  Linsey had hold of his hands and was walking backwards toward the stairs leading him and looking directly into his eyes. “She sure looked good.” When they got to the bottom of the stairs she laughed as she spun around and bolted up ahead of him. She was feeling frisky for sure. Damn! Even after all these years she could still rock his world!

  A few minutes later he found himself being worked over like no body’s business by the hottest woman he had ever known. Not so much her looks, she WAS a looker for SURE, but it wasn’t that. It was more about the animal that came out in her, she had a hunger that had to be satisfied and once she started she wasn’t going to stop. He couldn’t even remember what he was concerned about earlier. It was the furthest thing from his mind and it didn’t even matter.

  An hour later they were both completely exhausted and had collapsed on the bed in a mess of sheets and blankets. After catching his breath for a minute, Dodge went downstairs in his boxers to the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator door and let out a “phew!”